Showing posts with label Michigan Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan Tech. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
GLI: Alex Gillies Goal (Reviewed goal)
Michigan Tech forward, Alex Gillies scored this goal at 08:44 mark of the third period of game one of the Great Lakes invitational. After a long review, it was ruled a good goal.
Watching the video, you can see that Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos wasn't very happy with the call. I don't think Gillies interfered with Spartans goalie Jake Hildebrand. I also think that Hildebrand thought that he had the puck frozen. What do you think, good goal or not?
Monday, July 07, 2014
Minnesota Wild Development Camp Roster (College Hockey Connections)
The Minnesota Wild are holding their development camp on July 9-14. There will be a scrimmage on the 14th of July.
2014 MINNESOTA WILD DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER
2014 MINNESOTA WILD DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER
FORWARDS (College Hockey Connections)
40 Tyler Sheehy 5-10 185 Right 11/20/95 Burnsville,
Minnesota Minnesota Big 10
41 Alex Iafallo 6-0 176 Left 12/21/93 Eden, New York U. Minn.
Duluth NCHC
43 Mario Lucia 6-3 195 Left 8/25/93 Fairbanks, Alaska Notre
Dame Hockey East
50 Vinni Lettieri 5-9 170 Right 2/6/95 Excelsior, Minnesota
U. Minnesota Big 10
52 Alex Tuch 6-3.5 218 Right 5/10/96 Baldwinsville, New York Boston College HE
57 Adam Gilmour 6-4 192 Right 1/29/94 Albany, New York Boston
College HE
59 Eric Scheid 5-9 163 Left 5/5/92 Coon Rapids, Minnesota
Penn State Big 10
62 Avery Peterson 6-3 200 Left 6/20/95 Grand Rapids,
Minnesota Nebraska-Omaha
70 Adam Phillips 6-0 195 Right 8/11/90 Farmington Hills, Michigan UMass- Amherst HE
70 Adam Phillips 6-0 195 Right 8/11/90 Farmington Hills, Michigan UMass- Amherst HE
71 Brooks Bertsch 5-11 185 Right 5/10/90 Dubuque, Iowa St.
Cloud State NCHC
73 Tanner Kero 5-11 175 Left 7/24/92 Hancock, Michigan
Michigan Tech WCHA
79 Grant Opperman 6-0 185 Right 11/15/93 Wayzata, Minnesota
Dartmouth ECAC
DEFENSEMEN (With College Hockey Connections)
5 Christian Folin 6-3 210 Right 2/9/91 Gothenburg, Sweden
UMass-Lowell HE
44 Gustav Olofsson 6-4 191 Left 12/1/94 Boras, Sweden
Colorado College NCHC
60 Carson Soucy 6-5 200 Left 7/27/94 Viking, Alberta U.
Minn. Duluth NCHC
72 Hunter Warner 6-2 202 Right 9/21/95 Eden Prairie,
Minnesota Minn. State Mankato
75 Zach Palmquist 5-11 175 Left 12/9/90 South St. Paul,
Minnesota Minn. State Mankato WCHA
80 Louie Belpedio 5-10 190 Right 5/14/96 Skokie, Illinois Miami U. NCHC
GOALTENDER
86 Michael Shibrowski 6-1 199 Left 11/15/90 Andover, Minnesota U. Minnesota Big 10
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
North Dakota’s Knight Named Red Baron® WCHA Men’s Player of the Week
Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Corban Knight • Junior, Forward, University of North Dakota
MADISON, Wis. – University of North Dakota center iceman Corban Knight, who led his team with three goals and four points in a victory and tie against visiting conference rival Michigan Tech last weekend, has been named the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for February 21.
A junior from High River, Alberta, Knight also won more than 62% of his face-offs in the two-game series in addition to his four scoring points and played a key role on UND’s penalty-killing units that blanked the Huskies on all six weekend power-play chances. He scored two goals, including a third period insurance goal with 1:37 remaining, drew an assist on teammate Carter Rowney’s game-winning second period tally, earned a +2 plus/minus rating and was the No. 2 star of the game last Friday (February 17) night as North Dakota won 4-2 over MTU. Knight then came back last Saturday (February 18) to score his team’s only goal in a 1-1 (ot) tie against Michigan Tech, giving his club a 1-0 lead with his power-play marker at 6:04 of the third period, earning No. 3 star of the game honors in the process.
In 28 games played so far this season, Knight ranks third in scoring among UND players with 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists. He is a draftee of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers.
Also nominated: Jaden Schwartz, F, CC; Jason Zucker, F, DU; Erik Haula, F, UM.
Corban Knight • Junior, Forward, University of North Dakota
MADISON, Wis. – University of North Dakota center iceman Corban Knight, who led his team with three goals and four points in a victory and tie against visiting conference rival Michigan Tech last weekend, has been named the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for February 21.
A junior from High River, Alberta, Knight also won more than 62% of his face-offs in the two-game series in addition to his four scoring points and played a key role on UND’s penalty-killing units that blanked the Huskies on all six weekend power-play chances. He scored two goals, including a third period insurance goal with 1:37 remaining, drew an assist on teammate Carter Rowney’s game-winning second period tally, earned a +2 plus/minus rating and was the No. 2 star of the game last Friday (February 17) night as North Dakota won 4-2 over MTU. Knight then came back last Saturday (February 18) to score his team’s only goal in a 1-1 (ot) tie against Michigan Tech, giving his club a 1-0 lead with his power-play marker at 6:04 of the third period, earning No. 3 star of the game honors in the process.
In 28 games played so far this season, Knight ranks third in scoring among UND players with 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists. He is a draftee of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers.
Also nominated: Jaden Schwartz, F, CC; Jason Zucker, F, DU; Erik Haula, F, UM.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
WCHA unlikely to punish coaches for Saturday's dust up.
Image via WikipediaAccording to Roman Augustoviz the WCHA is probably not going to discipline the coaches from either team. I believe it's a good decision by the league. But Spencer said things happen sometimes in the "heat of the moment" and mentioned that everyone shook hands at the end of Saturday's game.Here is some audio from Michigan Tech head coach Mel Pearson and what he had to say about the incident between the benches. [Click to listen to the audio]
Lucia used the same "heat of the moment" phrase on his radio show on Monday in talking about what happened. Lucia also said that he regretted the trash-talking between coaches late in the Gophers's 6-2 victory over Michigan Tech at Mariucci Arena.
Lucia said he was upset because the Huskies were getting too aggressive A handful of penalties, mostly for roughing, were handed out in the final minutes of Saturday's game.
Reading between the lines, it seems unlikely the WCHA will take any action in this matter and considers it closed. If the officials' report does contain any hidden bombshells, I could see the three coaches possibly be given reprimands at worst. Don't think so, though.
Monday, December 05, 2011
INCH Power Rankings
As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them to be interesting and they make me scratch my head in disbelief. B.C. is pounded on Friday night and they come back to get the win on Saturday night but still are third in the power rankings.
1. Minnesota
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Boston College
4. Merrimack
5. Colorado College
6. Notre Dame
7. Ohio State
8. Colgate
9. Western Michigan
10. Union
11. Ferris State
12. Denver
13. Boston University
14. Cornell
15. Michigan State
16. UMass Lowell
17. Yale
18. Lake Superior State
19. Providence
20. North Dakota
Dropped out: Miami, Michigan Tech, Nebraska-Omaha
Bubble-licious: Air Force, Michigan Tech, Nebraska-Omaha
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Who coaches Tech?
There is a vacancy at Michigan Tech University for a head hockey coach; you would think that Michigan Tech will probably want to fill that coaching vacancy before too long, because the offseason isn’t that short and there are many coaching duties that need to be carried out during the offseason, recruitment, player evaluation, preparations for next season, etc... You would have to wonder who would want to coach the Michigan Tech hockey team a perennial doormat team. Matt Wellens threw a couple of names out there back in March after the Huskies head coach resigned.
Minning Journal --- Let the debate begin. Who can take over the historic Michigan Tech University hockey program and bring it out of the basement?
Longtime University of Michigan and Red Berenson assistant coach Mel Pearson sounds great, especially since he is an MTU alum.
North Dakota assistant Cary Eades would be considered a steal for any WCHA team hoping to compete with the Fighting Sioux.
Nebraska-Omaha and former Minnesota assistant Mike Guentzel, former Miami and current Denver assistant Steve Miller and another Tech alum, Ron Rolston at the U.S. National Team Development Program, are all great head college coaching candidates as well.
But if Michigan Tech hires any one of them, the Husky hockey program will continue to be the punching bag of college hockey's elite.
It's time for Michigan Tech to be more like Northern Michigan University, as painful as that may sound to MTU alumni.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Huskies Put Down by Sioux 11-2
Ok, Ok, a harsh title, but the Sioux absolutely destroyed MTU today 11-2.
The Sioux scored on all but one, maybe two powerplays and even scored a shortie. Jason Gregoire had a hat trick while Frattin, Nelson, and Hextall each had 2 goals each. It got brutal RIGHT AWAY. The Sioux scored 2 within the first minute. It was 2-1 UND only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the first period!
MTU Starting Goaltender Josh Robinson's glove must have been weighted down because he looked ridiculously awful when UND shot glove side. No matter as he was gone with about 4.5 minutes left to go in the first period. Genoe relieved him and lasted until the 3rd period only giving up a paltry 5 goals. Third Stringer Corson Cramer, MTU announcers proclaimed him the first Colorado-born player on MTU to play, actually looked decent... by MTU standards only giving up 2 goals. After looking at one of the two goals, there was nothing Cramer could do about it. Both goals were redirected shots.
How Embarrassing and Shameful!
You'd think with the horrid officiating that took place today, I'd be lighting up the officials with this header but no. I'm talking about whoever the idiots were who ran the cameras and production area for MTU. They missed 2 goals entirely and for about a minute, perhaps more, did nothing more than focus on the goaltenders and forgot completely about the puck and the hockey going on. Hextall's second goal was missed entirely because of their idiotic idea to blow up and show the jumbotron time stamp!
Who are these guys? I will never throw stones at grainy pictures or poor graphic quality because sometimes such things just aren't able to be afforded, but the minimum qualification for running cameras at a sporting event is to record what the EFFING H-BOMB is going on!
Ok, I get the fact that no one likes to watch their team get utterly destroyed and I recognize how hard it must have been for MTU faithful watching this game but... wait a minute... I guess nobody but those present got to watch at certain points in time.
MTU's Radio Commentators
Believe it or not, I'm going to give props to them. They didn't come close to the homerisms I thought I'd experience and they definitely gave props to both sides when deserving. They did correctly call a few times when UND forwards (Hextall or Malone... I can't remember) did a bit of diving. Unfortunately, MTU's first penalty came off of a dive as well. They called it good play by Johnstone. Oh well.
Regardless, they are my MTU second stars of the game. It wasn't bad to listen to at all.
The Officiating
I have often wondered what it would be like if the officials completely ignored UND and called the other guys like they often called UND... well, tonight we saw it. UND did play the majority of the game clean, but there were several instances where we SHOULD have been called and weren't. I'm not talking about gray areas either. A UND point man prevented a short handed break away by taking down an MTU player in what can only be described as "ILLEGAL." Only it wasn't. Hextall shot the puck after the whistle at an MTU player too. Those were only two.
The CFB on Dorriott was borderline major. There was no head contact and the force in which Marto was hit was not out of control. Now, I know those two factors aren't considered by officials when making the call... even when it takes them a few seconds to suddenly decide that it was an illegal check. They could have given Dorriott a minor for boarding and it probably would have been ok.
Sportsmanship
MTU announcers lauded both teams over sportsmanship entirely forgetting the fact that Ryan Furne (commentators made it seem like his name was Burn) was absolutely beyond retarded. I expect that everyone expects the chirping like I'm sure Hextall and Lamoreaux were doing all game long, but Furne, a first line winger no less, mouthed off to the officials on the way into the box for his second penalty (a tripping call) and then left the box mouthing off to the officials, who apparently called a 10 minute misconduct and then Furne apparently mouthed off AGAIN and recieved the rest of the night off. Looks like he has a learning disability. Hey.... next time you get a warning for conduct to the officials, LISTEN THE EFF UP! They gave him the misconduct after the SECOND time he mouthed off in that whole scenario (he may have mouthed off after his first penalty but it wasn't apparent from the webcast or the commentators)!
That being said, it was very nicely played. The coaches were cordial and even the intermission entertainment wasn't too rough to watch... though I'd be pissed if I were the guy who got the RC truck with the bad batteries or controller.
What's Next?
We see if the rest of the MTU team learns anything from this weekend: Go to the Box, get out of the box before 2 minutes is up. Pretty easy. UND's powerplay is ok, but not great.... and MTU made it look like we're unstoppable up a man.
UND cannot party it up even though we play the next series against MTU as well in Grand Forks. MTU did play us very well in Period 1 on Friday and they could do so again if we play like we're playing a cupcake like MTU and not a team that has nothing to lose.
The Three Stars:
1st Star: Jason Gregoire (3g 1a 4pt)
2nd Star: Matt Frattin (2g 2a 4pt)
3rd Star*: Brett Hextall (2g 1a 3pt)
* - I could give it to Brock Nelson or Corbin Knight as well. All three had 3 point nights.
The Sioux scored on all but one, maybe two powerplays and even scored a shortie. Jason Gregoire had a hat trick while Frattin, Nelson, and Hextall each had 2 goals each. It got brutal RIGHT AWAY. The Sioux scored 2 within the first minute. It was 2-1 UND only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the first period!
MTU Starting Goaltender Josh Robinson's glove must have been weighted down because he looked ridiculously awful when UND shot glove side. No matter as he was gone with about 4.5 minutes left to go in the first period. Genoe relieved him and lasted until the 3rd period only giving up a paltry 5 goals. Third Stringer Corson Cramer, MTU announcers proclaimed him the first Colorado-born player on MTU to play, actually looked decent... by MTU standards only giving up 2 goals. After looking at one of the two goals, there was nothing Cramer could do about it. Both goals were redirected shots.
How Embarrassing and Shameful!
You'd think with the horrid officiating that took place today, I'd be lighting up the officials with this header but no. I'm talking about whoever the idiots were who ran the cameras and production area for MTU. They missed 2 goals entirely and for about a minute, perhaps more, did nothing more than focus on the goaltenders and forgot completely about the puck and the hockey going on. Hextall's second goal was missed entirely because of their idiotic idea to blow up and show the jumbotron time stamp!
Who are these guys? I will never throw stones at grainy pictures or poor graphic quality because sometimes such things just aren't able to be afforded, but the minimum qualification for running cameras at a sporting event is to record what the EFFING H-BOMB is going on!
Ok, I get the fact that no one likes to watch their team get utterly destroyed and I recognize how hard it must have been for MTU faithful watching this game but... wait a minute... I guess nobody but those present got to watch at certain points in time.
MTU's Radio Commentators
Believe it or not, I'm going to give props to them. They didn't come close to the homerisms I thought I'd experience and they definitely gave props to both sides when deserving. They did correctly call a few times when UND forwards (Hextall or Malone... I can't remember) did a bit of diving. Unfortunately, MTU's first penalty came off of a dive as well. They called it good play by Johnstone. Oh well.
Regardless, they are my MTU second stars of the game. It wasn't bad to listen to at all.
The Officiating
I have often wondered what it would be like if the officials completely ignored UND and called the other guys like they often called UND... well, tonight we saw it. UND did play the majority of the game clean, but there were several instances where we SHOULD have been called and weren't. I'm not talking about gray areas either. A UND point man prevented a short handed break away by taking down an MTU player in what can only be described as "ILLEGAL." Only it wasn't. Hextall shot the puck after the whistle at an MTU player too. Those were only two.
The CFB on Dorriott was borderline major. There was no head contact and the force in which Marto was hit was not out of control. Now, I know those two factors aren't considered by officials when making the call... even when it takes them a few seconds to suddenly decide that it was an illegal check. They could have given Dorriott a minor for boarding and it probably would have been ok.
Sportsmanship
MTU announcers lauded both teams over sportsmanship entirely forgetting the fact that Ryan Furne (commentators made it seem like his name was Burn) was absolutely beyond retarded. I expect that everyone expects the chirping like I'm sure Hextall and Lamoreaux were doing all game long, but Furne, a first line winger no less, mouthed off to the officials on the way into the box for his second penalty (a tripping call) and then left the box mouthing off to the officials, who apparently called a 10 minute misconduct and then Furne apparently mouthed off AGAIN and recieved the rest of the night off. Looks like he has a learning disability. Hey.... next time you get a warning for conduct to the officials, LISTEN THE EFF UP! They gave him the misconduct after the SECOND time he mouthed off in that whole scenario (he may have mouthed off after his first penalty but it wasn't apparent from the webcast or the commentators)!
That being said, it was very nicely played. The coaches were cordial and even the intermission entertainment wasn't too rough to watch... though I'd be pissed if I were the guy who got the RC truck with the bad batteries or controller.
What's Next?
We see if the rest of the MTU team learns anything from this weekend: Go to the Box, get out of the box before 2 minutes is up. Pretty easy. UND's powerplay is ok, but not great.... and MTU made it look like we're unstoppable up a man.
UND cannot party it up even though we play the next series against MTU as well in Grand Forks. MTU did play us very well in Period 1 on Friday and they could do so again if we play like we're playing a cupcake like MTU and not a team that has nothing to lose.
The Three Stars:
1st Star: Jason Gregoire (3g 1a 4pt)
2nd Star: Matt Frattin (2g 2a 4pt)
3rd Star*: Brett Hextall (2g 1a 3pt)
* - I could give it to Brock Nelson or Corbin Knight as well. All three had 3 point nights.
Monday, November 29, 2010
John Scott vs Kevin Westgarth
s/t to the Hockey Wilderness I was over on the Hockey Wilderness checking out the score of the Wild game when I saw this hockey fight. Holy Cow! Talk about a beat down... I don't know why anyone would subject themselves to that type of a beating? The former Michigan Tech bad boy John Scott has found himself a niche in the NHL and he worked Westgarth like a clown.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
WCHA Season Preview Intro & Part I (RW77)
The 2010-11 DI Season is Coming!
Yup, Season ONE of the 12 team WCHA is just around the corner, and despite the filth that is the NCAA and the Nickname issue, I'm getting excited (add to that that the NFL season is around the corner and the Cubs have once again crapped out and renewed all the haters' claims that they really are baseball's professional punch line organization)!
The season brings old challenges and new challenges and I plan to outline the new challenges and what the league brings to the table this year in my own way as well as briefly (I promise) review the old challenges. This will be done in several parts as this would surely make an unbelievably long blog post and one that I don't have the time to dedicate to writing all in one go. I plan to review a new and old challenge as well as 2-3 teams per blog post until I've run out of challenges this season faces and have previewed all 12 WCHA teams. I will not be spending any time talking about the latest nonsense regarding the BTHC or Major Juniors.
Hopefully this will be well received and I will make this a yearly occurrence.
And So It Begins
The first thing I'll hit on is the age old challenge regarding Obstruction. A few years back, the NCAA issued a crackdown on Obstruction, including what the WCHA fans call "Clutch and Grab Hockey." The result was the same as any other crackdown issued by the NCAA: Unconcern, overzealous implementation, Gradual Indifference, and finally bogus exclamation of resolution.
The WCHA almost seemingly didn't care about this, as McLeod stooge Greg Shepherd (then only a part time Head of Officiating) only half heartedly implemented his interpretation of the rules. This resulted into penalties being called every 30 seconds or so. However, as the season progressed, the penalty calling decreased and clutch and grab returned gradually, this time more adapted to make it not so overt. Inevitably, Shepherd was asked to report the progress the WCHA has made on the crackdown on obstruction and he said that the teams were very sharp and fast to learn to the point that clutch and grab practically didn't occur any longer.
Don't worry folks, you'll sense a theme here. Today, the old challenge is to engage in the up tempo style that many of the WCHA teams employ (such as UMN, SCSU, UND, and as of late UW) with a seemingly non existent Clutch and Grab mentality blinding the FOUR officials on the ice.
Teams to Preview: Michigan Tech University, University of Alaska-Anchorage, MSU Mankato
Michigan Tech University (MTU)
WCHA Record last year: 4-24-0 Overall Record: 5-30-1 (1-6-1 in Non-conference Play)
Key Losses: Malcolm Gwilliam, Drew Dobson
Key Returnees: Kevin Genoe, Jordan Baker, Brett Olson, Deron Cousins, Josh Robinson
Key Recruits: Brad Stebner, Daniel Holmberg, Dennis Rix
My Take: Well.... if you are a betting man, avoid Tech. They have some gems, but none of them produce offensively. Mainly, their top player is Kevin Genoe, a goaltender who is only a sophomore this year. Josh Robinson is also returning, and he is my sleeper on this team. I've always thought pretty highly of Tech's goaltending since watching Cam Ellsworth play way back in my on campus days. Unfortunately, they can't get offensive help. Dennis Rix comes into Houghton with a pretty good offensive output all things considered last season with Grande Prairie of the AJHL. Daniel Holmberg is a BIG Swede center who could possibly fill a role as big bodied finisher, but who knows how Europeans convert their game to the NCAA way. They do get leadership back in Baker and Olson.
Remember: Most NCAA student athletes go pro in something other than sports. Watch Tech players become good pros in other areas than hockey as soon as their eligibility is up.
Predicted Outcome: 11th
University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA)
2009-10 WCHA Record: 9-17-2 Overall Record: 11-23-2 (Non-conference Record: 2-6-0)
Key Losses: Lee Baldwin, Bryce Christianson, Jon Olthuis, Nils Backstrom, Kevin Clark, Jared Tuton, Josh Lunden
Key Returnees: Curtis Leinweber, Tommy Grant, Daniel Naslund, Kane Lafranchise, Luka Vidmar
Key Recruits: Rob Gunderson (G), Chris Kamal (G), pretty much all forwards
This team is much similar to MTU...except the defections have begun and it's hurt them as only one defection was to the pros (Baldwin) and the other was seemingly discontent. However, when the discontentment involves a player that could have been... no, essentially WOULD HAVE BEEN the #1 goaltender coming into this season and couple that with the graduation of the only other goaltender on UAA that has even ONE NCAA DI game under his belt.... This can't be good.
Junior practice goaltender Dusan Sidor (0 games entering his 3rd year in Anchorage) is joined by AJHL graduate Rob Gunderson and NAHLer Chris Kamal to vie for the starting position. Lookie at all that inexperience. This question mark is simply too GIGANTIC to even consider putting this team in any role in the WCHA other than spoiler/ruiner of PWR... if they manage to win. There's even a significant chance that they'll lose to whichever CIAU college they are playing this year.
The saddest thing is their Head Coach Dave Shyiak. I really don't think he's that bad of a coach. He's no Serratore or whoever it was that coached RIT, but UAA has the misfortune of being, well, UAA. Recruiting to Anchorage is very nearly impossible. And that means that UAA is doomed to be a virtual cellar dweller in the talent-heavy WCHA.
Predicted Outcome: 12th
Minnesota State University at Mankato (MSUM)
2009-10 WCHA Outcome: 9-17-2 Overall Record: 16-20-3 (Non-conference Play: 7-3-1)
Key Losses: Geoff Irwin, Kael Mouillerat, Kevin Murdock, Zach Harrison, Tyler Pitlick
Key Returners: Michael Dorr, Phil Cook, Andrew Sackrison, Ben Youds, Ryan Galiardi, Channing Boe
The Mavericks aren't the worst team in the league. They're just not talented enough to hang with the top pack. Add into that their historical penchant for rather...ahm...unethical standards of play and it's hard to get excited about the Mavs unless you are a diehard fan...which means you are a current or former student at Mankato.
They have some talent. Phil Cook and Austin Lee were ok. Andrew Sackrison, Galiardi, Dorr, and Youds have talent... they just can't seem to put it all together. They had the future in hand with Kevin Murdock and Tyler Pitlick but they bolted for greener pastures (Major juniors for Pitlick and the USHL for Murdock). It's too bad. That being said, of the bottom three, MSUM can best act as the best spoiler and can steal some games against the top of the league on any given night.
They give UND fits in Mankato, even when UND gets the win. That being said.... They'll fight with UNO and BSU for the top 10. In the end, I think Blais and the experience of the Beavers will be too much.
Predicted Finish: 10th
Yup, Season ONE of the 12 team WCHA is just around the corner, and despite the filth that is the NCAA and the Nickname issue, I'm getting excited (add to that that the NFL season is around the corner and the Cubs have once again crapped out and renewed all the haters' claims that they really are baseball's professional punch line organization)!
The season brings old challenges and new challenges and I plan to outline the new challenges and what the league brings to the table this year in my own way as well as briefly (I promise) review the old challenges. This will be done in several parts as this would surely make an unbelievably long blog post and one that I don't have the time to dedicate to writing all in one go. I plan to review a new and old challenge as well as 2-3 teams per blog post until I've run out of challenges this season faces and have previewed all 12 WCHA teams. I will not be spending any time talking about the latest nonsense regarding the BTHC or Major Juniors.
Hopefully this will be well received and I will make this a yearly occurrence.
And So It Begins
The first thing I'll hit on is the age old challenge regarding Obstruction. A few years back, the NCAA issued a crackdown on Obstruction, including what the WCHA fans call "Clutch and Grab Hockey." The result was the same as any other crackdown issued by the NCAA: Unconcern, overzealous implementation, Gradual Indifference, and finally bogus exclamation of resolution.
The WCHA almost seemingly didn't care about this, as McLeod stooge Greg Shepherd (then only a part time Head of Officiating) only half heartedly implemented his interpretation of the rules. This resulted into penalties being called every 30 seconds or so. However, as the season progressed, the penalty calling decreased and clutch and grab returned gradually, this time more adapted to make it not so overt. Inevitably, Shepherd was asked to report the progress the WCHA has made on the crackdown on obstruction and he said that the teams were very sharp and fast to learn to the point that clutch and grab practically didn't occur any longer.
Don't worry folks, you'll sense a theme here. Today, the old challenge is to engage in the up tempo style that many of the WCHA teams employ (such as UMN, SCSU, UND, and as of late UW) with a seemingly non existent Clutch and Grab mentality blinding the FOUR officials on the ice.
Teams to Preview: Michigan Tech University, University of Alaska-Anchorage, MSU Mankato
Michigan Tech University (MTU)
WCHA Record last year: 4-24-0 Overall Record: 5-30-1 (1-6-1 in Non-conference Play)
Key Losses: Malcolm Gwilliam, Drew Dobson
Key Returnees: Kevin Genoe, Jordan Baker, Brett Olson, Deron Cousins, Josh Robinson
Key Recruits: Brad Stebner, Daniel Holmberg, Dennis Rix
My Take: Well.... if you are a betting man, avoid Tech. They have some gems, but none of them produce offensively. Mainly, their top player is Kevin Genoe, a goaltender who is only a sophomore this year. Josh Robinson is also returning, and he is my sleeper on this team. I've always thought pretty highly of Tech's goaltending since watching Cam Ellsworth play way back in my on campus days. Unfortunately, they can't get offensive help. Dennis Rix comes into Houghton with a pretty good offensive output all things considered last season with Grande Prairie of the AJHL. Daniel Holmberg is a BIG Swede center who could possibly fill a role as big bodied finisher, but who knows how Europeans convert their game to the NCAA way. They do get leadership back in Baker and Olson.
Remember: Most NCAA student athletes go pro in something other than sports. Watch Tech players become good pros in other areas than hockey as soon as their eligibility is up.
Predicted Outcome: 11th
University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA)
2009-10 WCHA Record: 9-17-2 Overall Record: 11-23-2 (Non-conference Record: 2-6-0)
Key Losses: Lee Baldwin, Bryce Christianson, Jon Olthuis, Nils Backstrom, Kevin Clark, Jared Tuton, Josh Lunden
Key Returnees: Curtis Leinweber, Tommy Grant, Daniel Naslund, Kane Lafranchise, Luka Vidmar
Key Recruits: Rob Gunderson (G), Chris Kamal (G), pretty much all forwards
This team is much similar to MTU...except the defections have begun and it's hurt them as only one defection was to the pros (Baldwin) and the other was seemingly discontent. However, when the discontentment involves a player that could have been... no, essentially WOULD HAVE BEEN the #1 goaltender coming into this season and couple that with the graduation of the only other goaltender on UAA that has even ONE NCAA DI game under his belt.... This can't be good.
Junior practice goaltender Dusan Sidor (0 games entering his 3rd year in Anchorage) is joined by AJHL graduate Rob Gunderson and NAHLer Chris Kamal to vie for the starting position. Lookie at all that inexperience. This question mark is simply too GIGANTIC to even consider putting this team in any role in the WCHA other than spoiler/ruiner of PWR... if they manage to win. There's even a significant chance that they'll lose to whichever CIAU college they are playing this year.
The saddest thing is their Head Coach Dave Shyiak. I really don't think he's that bad of a coach. He's no Serratore or whoever it was that coached RIT, but UAA has the misfortune of being, well, UAA. Recruiting to Anchorage is very nearly impossible. And that means that UAA is doomed to be a virtual cellar dweller in the talent-heavy WCHA.
Predicted Outcome: 12th
Minnesota State University at Mankato (MSUM)
2009-10 WCHA Outcome: 9-17-2 Overall Record: 16-20-3 (Non-conference Play: 7-3-1)
Key Losses: Geoff Irwin, Kael Mouillerat, Kevin Murdock, Zach Harrison, Tyler Pitlick
Key Returners: Michael Dorr, Phil Cook, Andrew Sackrison, Ben Youds, Ryan Galiardi, Channing Boe
The Mavericks aren't the worst team in the league. They're just not talented enough to hang with the top pack. Add into that their historical penchant for rather...ahm...unethical standards of play and it's hard to get excited about the Mavs unless you are a diehard fan...which means you are a current or former student at Mankato.
They have some talent. Phil Cook and Austin Lee were ok. Andrew Sackrison, Galiardi, Dorr, and Youds have talent... they just can't seem to put it all together. They had the future in hand with Kevin Murdock and Tyler Pitlick but they bolted for greener pastures (Major juniors for Pitlick and the USHL for Murdock). It's too bad. That being said, of the bottom three, MSUM can best act as the best spoiler and can steal some games against the top of the league on any given night.
They give UND fits in Mankato, even when UND gets the win. That being said.... They'll fight with UNO and BSU for the top 10. In the end, I think Blais and the experience of the Beavers will be too much.
Predicted Finish: 10th
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