Hello all,
I hope you have all had a great summer. I know I have. For those of you keep up on college hockey year round, most of what I'm writing about here is old news for you. If you don't follow other sites throughout the summer, much of this will be news to you. I'm just warning you now, this is pretty much SCSU hockey here. I'll get further in depth with the others closer to the season.
Welcome to the WCHA!
I'd like to welcome Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha to the WCHA family. Although I'm not thrilled about the expansion, I am looking forward to seeing you both beat up thoroughly this season! I don't know any Omaha fans, but do know a few Beaver fans. I'd like to say to all of you Beaver fans out there looking for your team to finish in the top 6, good luck. It's one thing to have success against WCHA schools during non-conference play. It's a whole new ball game now that there's 2 points on the line for every game. Teams will take you seriously now, and this won't be the cake walk you all think it's going to be. Stay tuned for my analysis and predictions for the upcoming season as we get closer to the opening weekend.
A new assistant for SCSU
Assistant Coach Eric Rud left the team on August 24th to become the Head Coach and GM of the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers. Rud has been with the Huskies since 2005 and worked with the defensemen while he was with us.
"It was by far, the hardest decision of my life," said Rud. "My family absolutely loved St. Cloud, I loved working at St. Cloud State and all the people we've met. It was a hard few days to make the decision. But you know you're going to a good spot when you pick up and leave a great spot, but we made the decision together."
On August 9th, the Gamblers began their search, and despite not putting an ad out for the position, they had 50+ applicants. In the end, they chose Rud for the position. He was one of the people contacted by Green Bay.
"He's well-respected in USA Hockey, having been the head coach of two national select teams," Gamblers President Brendan Bruss said. "Everyone at our level was aware of his experience working with players in an international setting."
On September 7th, the Huskies announced the hiring of Steve Johnson, a long-time USHL coach. His most recent experience in the USHL was with the Fargo Force. His team finished the season with a 45-22 overall record and were the 2010 Clark Cup Finals (USHL post-season championship) runner-up.
Head Coach Bob Motzko on Steve Johnson, "Steve has been one of the most successful coaches in the history of the USHL and he is one of the great players in the history of the WCHA. His experiences as a player and a coach will be a huge asset for our program."
Steve Johnson on coming to SCSU: "I am very excited to be coming to St. Cloud State and getting back into the WCHA. I've gotten to know Coach Motzko and Coach Gibbons very well over the years, and I am looking forward to becoming a part of the program at St. Cloud State."
Believe it or not, Motzko and Johnson have somewhat of a rocky history with one another. They both were head coached in the USHL from 1998-2001. Johnson with the Lincoln Stars and Motzko with the Sioux Falls Stampede.
"We both had some great teams and if I had had a head (college) coaching job, and there was an opening (for assistant), I wouldn't have hired him back then because we were rivals," Motzko said. "When I got back into college hockey, I had to recruit some of his players and we became friends and I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and what he's been able to accomplish."
"We both had good teams and high-end players and we were real competitive," Johnson said. "I didn't have a friendship with him back in the United States Hockey League, but we've become friends and I've had many players play for him (since)." Those players include: Garrett Raboin, John Swanson, Brent Borgen, Dave Carlisle and Andy Lundbohm.
Johnson began his USHL coaching career with Fargo-Moorhead in 1995-96, and was named the head coach of the Lincoln Stars the next season. Johnson's team achieved a 40-13-1 record his first year and went on to win the Clark Cup Championship.
His USHL career record is 470-223-54. His 470 career victories rank 4th on the all-time list and his .665 winning percentage is fifth. He was named USHL Coach of the Year in 1996, 2000, and 2001. He led the Stars to the Clark Cup title in 2003, and also guided the Stars to 3 Anderson Cups (regular season titles) in 2000, 2001, and 2003.
Johnson played college hockey at UND from 1984-88 where he was named All-WCHA and All-America status during his career. He was part of the 1987 Sioux team that won the national title as well. He was a Hobey Baker finalist in 1987 and was named the WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year in 1988.
In his four season with the Sioux, Johnson posted 70 goals and 121 assists in 153 games. During his senior season, he had 34 goals and 51 assists for the Sioux.
He played two seasons in the minor leages in the late '80's as wells.
Johnson will coach the forwards at SCSU while Mike Gibbons will be coaching the defense.
Huskies add another recruit
The Huskies have also added another recruit for the upcoming season in forward Mitch MacMillan, a recruit of Northeastern University (Mass.). MacMillan de-committed from NU at the beginning of August because of "...scholarship and paperwork issues...". The coaching staff at SCSU was up in the air early on about bringing in another forward before they finally decided not to. Then, out of the blue, MacMillan called and answered their needs.
He played in the BCHL for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs where he led the league in goals with 61 and power play goals with 33. He was also third in the league in points with 93 in 53 games. His next closest challenger in goals was Penticton's Beau Bennett and Westside's Trevor Bailey who each finished the season with 41 goals, 20 behind MacMillan.
"Obviously, he's got a great stick," Motzko said of MacMillan's goal scoring. "Sixty goals doesn't lie. That tells a story in itself. He's a quality young man and comes with a work ethic."
"I'm a hardworking forward. I like to go to the net and take the body," MacMillan said. "I like the sound of the program. I talked to other people in the hockey world and they said that (Motzko) is one of the best coaches in the college hockey."
His younger brother, Mark, has committed to play at UND beginning in the 2011-2012 season.
To put him in some kind of perspective, Mark Hartigan was also a product of the BCHL and was also one of the top scorers in that league. I think we all remember the 165 points he produced in three seasons as a Husky, including the 75 he put up his last year here. I don't want to build this kid up to Hartigan levels, but it sure would be nice to have someone who could step in and produce like Lasch and Roe both did early on.
Other Husky news and notes
The Huskies will be without sophomore forward David Eddy for the first half of the season due to academic ineligibility. He had 12 goals and 11 assists in 35 games for the Huskies last year.
Aaron Marvin has been named captain for the upcoming season. Garrett Roe and Chris Hepp have been named alternate captains.
The Huskies will have their first official team practice on Saturday, October 1st, and then will play an exhibition game against the University of Manitoba at 7:07 pm at the NHC.
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