Huskies Drop One to Quinnipiac

The Huskies decided they didn't want to show up for tonights game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. After a sluggish first period, which saw the Huskies standing around most of the period, the Huskies managed to come out tied at 1.

The Huskies found their stride in the 2nd and outshot the Bobcats 10-1 and took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd.

The Bobcats, then, poured on the pressure in the third and put three goals behind Husky goalie Mike Lee and secured a 4-2 win.

Cam Reid scored his first collegiate goal and Taylor Johnson scored his first goal of the season for the Huskies.

Alright Husky fans, I know it looks grim right now, but it is still early and this is a pretty stacked team. We need to be patient. I know that all of us want to see the Huskies tearing it up and amassing win after win right now, but I'd rather see us get off to a slow start and finish strong than start strong and finish weak.

We've got one more non-conference game before we get into the bulk of the WCHA schedule. Tomorrow's another night, and I expect to see the Huskies come out with some fire.

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Week Four Matchups

Week four is here, and we have some pretty good matchups. NoDak takes on Denver at REA, Bemidji takes on Duluth at the BREC, and Wisconsin takes on Tech at the Kohl Center.

The NoDak/Denver rivalry has been brewing since the Robby Bina incident at the 2005 Final Five. There have been some pretty tense games over the last five seasons. Let's not forget the Gwoz being tossed twice in the span, too.

The Duluth/Bemidji matchup is intriguing because they are so close to one another...natural rivals. In addition, this is the first time these teams have met in league play.

Wisconsin/Tech is intriguing because of the role reversal we've seen, so far, this season. Tech is top five in scoring in the nation this season and Wisconsin has had recent trouble scoring.

Now, I saw a blog today that said it was almost do-or-die time for Bemidji because they're 0-2 in league play. Anyone who follows the WCHA knows that just isn't true. We're not even heavily into the season at this point, and I've seen more than one team come from a slow start to finish in the top 3 of the league.

Last weekend I went 8-4 and predicted 2 scores correctly. That puts my record on the season at 28-23 with 3 scores predicted correctly.

WCHA Games
Denver at North Dakota, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Some pretty heated games have been played in this series recently. With Denver not have a very offensively talented team, and the Sioux coming off of an embarrassing last weekend, I expect to see the Sioux sweep.
UND 5-2, 3-2

Duluth at Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
With the arena opener out of the way against the Sioux, the Beavers welcome the Bulldogs to town for their second league series of the season. Unfortunately for the Beavers, things don't get any easier. The Dogs have outscored their opponents 24-7 in their first six games, and I don't see that streak ending against the Beav's. Duluth sweeps the Beavers.
Duluth 7-1, 4-2

Michigan Tech at Wisconsin, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Tech is off to its best start since the '72-'73 season when they went 8-0 to start the season. Wisconsin has been able to win a few games this season, but they've been against the likes of Holy Cross and Alabama-Hunstville. We'll find out more about Tech this weekend and see how far the Badgers have fallen.
Split. Tech wins Friday 4-3, Wisconsin wins Saturday 3-2

Minnesota at Colorado College, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
The Gophers have not faired well in league play so far this season, but they did manage to squeak out a win against SCSU on Sunday. CC has had a tough go of it as well, dropping a game last Friday to Mankato. This series could go either way, so I'll pick a split.
Minnesota wins Friday 3-2, CC wins Saturday 2-1

Mankato at Anchorage, Friday/Saturday 10:07
These two teams are "rivals" for scheduling. They always play each other four times per season. They're also two unpredictable teams. Last Friday, Anchorage took the Bulldogs to the brink, but fell short in OT and Mankato knocked off CC at home on Friday. It's tough to say who wins. Both teams have scored a few goals this season, but both teams have given some up too. I'll go with a split.
Mankato wins Friday 4-3, Anchorage wins Saturday 5-3

Non-Conference
Quinnipiac at St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Quinnipiac is 3-1 so far on the season, but they haven't really played anyone, and all of their games have been at home. The Huskies, on the other hand, are 2-3-1 and are looking for a breakout weekend. After being embarrassed during their last home stand against Miami, the Huskies should be hungry to win a couple at home. They were able to put a mostly complete game together last Friday against the U. I'm gonna go with a sweep for the home team.
St. Cloud 6-1, 4-3

Gophers Hold Off Huskies to Manage a Split

The Huskies have apparently reverted to their old ways. After scoring first, to go up 1-0, the Huskies gave up a goal a mere 33 seconds later. The Gophers scored the game winner with 1:30 left in the first.

The Huskies opened the scoring on a Brett Barta goal to take a 1-0 lead at 6:12 of the first. After some nice puck movement down low, Mitch MacMillan passed the puck to Kevin Gravel, who then passed to Barta who buried his head and unleashed a slap shot from the point that beat Kent Patterson, in net for the Gophers.

On a play that I didn't get a good look at, the Gophers managed to beat Dan Dunn at 6:45 of the first. With 1:43 left in the 1st, the Huskies Drew LeBlanc took a penalty for interference. It too the Gophers just 13 seconds to score. The puck took a funny bounce right to Eric Haula, who was standing in front of the Husky net. He passed to Jacob Cepis on the far side, and he passed the puck to Jay Barribal, who shot the puck into a wide open net.

Today's game was completely different than Friday's game for the Huskies. They came out of the gate pretty slow and sluggish, and ended the game controlling play and competing. The Gophers, on the other had, came out of the gate flying. They beat the Huskies to lose pucks all over this ice and created good opportunities for the first two periods of play.

The Huskies found their stride in the third, and had multiple opportunities to tie the game, but Patterson proved too strong in nets for the Huskies.

All-in-all, the Huskies only showed up for 20 minutes of a 60 minute game, and it caught up them here. They should have already learned this in their first few games, but if they don't learn how to play for 60 minutes EVERY night, they're not going to win as many games as they should. Hopefully they'll figure it out soon enough.

Huskies Smoke the Gophers

Well, Husky fans, this is something we all enjoy seeing. Our hockey team took down the "mighty" Minnesota Golden Gophers in a very convincing manner. Yeah, they scored a couple of late goals on us, but the game was pretty much over at that point anyway. It was a bummer to see Mike Lee miss the shutout, yet again, though.

The Huskies opened the scoring 2:21 into the game on a Brian Volpei goal. Garrett Roe shot the puck from the point and the puck deflected right to Volpei who buried it into the open net, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Nine-and-a-half minutes later, the Huskies struck again; this time on the power play. With the Gophers a man short, the Huskies were controlling the puck in the offensive zone. They were getting some good rotation on the power play and created some space to open the door for Jared Festler. From the half wall, Drew LeBlanc passed to Tony Mosey, standing in the faceoff circle, who then passed to Festler on the backside for a beautiful bing, bing play to put the Huskies up 2-0.

Period two saw even more offense from the Huskies, and effectively put the game out of reach for the Gophers. With the Huskies on a 4-on-3 power play, Nick Jensen and Roe were playing catch from about the top of the faceoff circles trying to setup one-timers for one another. Finally, Roe got a clean one off and it hit the pipe. Fourtunately, it bounced right to Tony Mosey, who was camped out on the back of the crease, and he buried it to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead at 5:22 of the second.

The Gophers started to show signs of life after the third goal by the Huskies, but it didn't last too long. St. Cloud took a penalty chasing after Gophers in their zone. With Minnesota on the power play the Huskies got another break. The Gophers dumped the puck in deep and Chris Hepp found the puck behind the net. He rang the puck around the boards and Roe picked it up around the Husky blue line. He then skated up the wall, into the Gopher zone, and cut back to the middle of the ice where he fired a shot, using the defenseman as a screen, that beat goalie Alex Kangas to put the Huskies up 4-0.

A mere 44 seconds later, the fourth line for the Huskies found the back of the net on a nifty move by freshmen wing Nic Dowd. He got control of the puck near the boards, cut towards the net, used a great move to freeze the defenseman, moved around him, and got Kangas to bite on the play, thus opening the net for the fifth goal of the game for the Huskies.

Mike Hoeffel scored midway through the third for the Gophers and Tyler Matson scored with just over 30 seconds left in the game to cut the embarrassment for the Gophers down a little. They were, however, meaningless goals.

Overall, I thought the Huskies played well. They gave up some turnovers, but they didn't end up in the back of the net because of the superb play of goalie Mike Lee. The D and forwards did a nice job, all night, of clearing the puck away from the front of the net any time there was a rebound which eliminated a lot of scoring chances for the Gophers.

The Huskies finally had a offensive outburst tonight, and it was led by Roe's three points. "In the first four games, I haven't played well," Roe said. "There's a lot of pressure and a lot of focus on me and how I play.

"I had been turning the puck over," said Roe. "The coaches had kind of been harping on me to improve right away and deservedly so. I'll take that. I got back to my roots and working hard."

"Nobody puts more pressure on Garrett than he does to himself," said Husky goalie Mike Lee. "I know I wasn't worried about him and I don't think anybody else was worried about him. He's going to find a way to get it done and be that little bulldog."

And that's exactly what happened.

The rematch is set for 2:07 on Sunday afternoon at Mariucci arena. Let's hope the Huskies can close out their first sweep of the season.

What would you like to see?

I've been struggling to decide on how often to post and on what I should post on a weekly basis. I'd like to know what you all would like to see and how often. Please leave your suggestions in the comment area.

Week Three Matchups

Week three of play is upon us already. It's still too early to predict too much, but some of the early results have been interesting thus far. Take, for instance, Michigan Tech. Through five games they're 3-0-2 and are off to their best start since the '70's. Who ever would have thought that would have happened. I know I wouldn't have. I guess that trip to Europe, in August, has helped them out.

Instead of sweeping, or even winning a game, the Gophers decided that it would be better to lose their first two WCHA games to UNO while they were welcoming them to the league. UND, on the other hand, decided to welcome Bemidji into the league by sweeping them at the brand new Bemidji Regional Events Center. Denver lost two games at home to the #1 ranked BC Eagles, and SCSU managed to squeak a tie out of their series with Miami last weekend. On a positive note, Duluth and Wisconsin both swept their opponents last weekend.

I went 9-8 in last weekends picks and am 20-19 so far on the season. At least I'm over .500. Here are this week's picks.

WCHA Games
Anchorage @ Duluth, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Duluth has put up some goals in the first two weekends of the season and they're at home. I don't see Anchorage having too much of a chance here. I'm going to go with the Duluth sweep.
Duluth 5-2, 6-3

Colorado College @ Mankato, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
The Mavericks are a pretty feisty team and have scored more goals than CC has so far this year. However, they've also given up twice as many. I'm going to go with a split on this one.
Mankato wins Friday 4-3, CC wins Saturday 3-1

Wisconsin @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
This is really going to be the first tough weekend for the Badgers. You saw what happened against BU in their first game, and the subsequent three games have been against sub-par competition, to put it lightly. The Pios are coming off of being swept at home by the Eagles. I honestly don't know on this one, so I'll go the easy route and pick a split.
UW wins Friday 4-2, Denver wins Saturday 4-2

St. Cloud @ Minnesota, Friday 7:07, Sunday 2:07
Instead of your typical Friday/Saturday series, game two in this one had to be pushed back to Sunday due to a visit from Obama. This is the second time I can recall that the Huskies have played the Gophers in back-to-back games at Mariucci in the regular season, so it ought to be interesting. This one could yield some interesting results. The Gophers are fresh off of being downright embarassed on their home ice last weekend by UNO, and the Huskies should be hungry for another win. The Huskies played a much improved game on Saturday nigh, as compared to Friday, and they looked like they were starting to finally get their feet under them. It sounds like the Gophers, really, have yet to do that. This is always a fun series as it's one of the closest geographically in the league. It's tough to pick a sweep in this one, so split it is.
Huskies win Friday 5-2, Gophers win Sunday 6-3

Non-Conference
North Dakota @ Maine, Friday 6:30, Saturday 6:00
These non-conference games are always tough to pick because we just don't see the teams enough to really know them. Just looking at the record of Maine, and knowing the level the Sioux compete and play at, I have to pick a Sioux sweep here.
North Dakota 3-1, 4-3

Omaha @ Michigan, Friday/Saturday 6:35
UNO has been hot so far this season, and they haven't, necessarily, beat only slouches either. However, this is being played at Michigan, and the Mavericks haven't done too hot against these guys in the past. I will give them the benefit of a new season here and go with the split.
UNO wins Friday 4-2, Michigan wins Saturday 5-3

Well, there you have it. Please feel free to leave any comments you may have.

Week Two Matchups

Well, who would’ve thought that Michigan Tech would be 2-0-1 after three games, with two of those games coming against Northern Michigan? If you’re read my blog, you know it wasn’t me. I also wouldn’t have picked the Sioux to blow a four goal lead to Anchorage…ANCHORAGE!

It was an interesting weekend for the WCHA. They went 13-2-5 in all games, with SCSU and UW losing the only two. In what is the most surprising loss, Clarkson defeated SCSU 6-2 in what should’ve been an easy game for the Huskies. Predictably, UW lost to BU. Although, it was a closer game than I thought it would be.

I went 11-11 on my picks last weekend, with seven of those games picked wrong actually ending in ties. I only picked one final score correctly.

League Games
North Dakota @ Bemidji, Friday 7:37, Saturday 7:07
Bemidji is opening up its new arena so expect them to be pumped up for this one. The Sioux are still a pretty good team though. Expect a split.
Bemidji wins Friday 3-2, UND wins Saturday 3-2

Mankato @ Tech, Friday/Saturday 6:07
We have the 2-0-1 Michigan Tech Huskies vs. the 0-0-2 Mankato Mavericks. Who’d have thought either one of these teams would be unbeaten at any point in the season. I’m going to go with a win and a tie for the home team.
Tech wins Friday 4-2, Tie on Saturday 3-3

Omaha @ Minnesota, Friday/Saturday 7:07
The Gophers are coming off of a high scoring weekend last weekend. Jay Barriball is officially back folks. Omaha won pretty convincingly on Friday with an 8-0 win over Clarkson. They then capped the weekend off with a win over RIT. I’ve gotta go with the home team both nights on this one. Welcome to the WCHA…
UMN sweeps 3-1, 3-2

Non-Conference Games
Boston College @ Denver, Friday 8:37, Saturday 8:07
This is going to be a tough series. Both games could go either way. I still don’t know what to expect out of this new look Denver team. I’m predicting a split.
BC wins Friday 3-1, DU wins Saturday 4-2

Miami @ St. Cloud, Friday/Saturday 7:07
The Huskies record against Miami isn’t the greatest at 1-7-1. Miami went to UNH last week and managed to split a pair of 6-3 games. The Huskies struggled to score against RIT, but managed to win. Saturday’s games were marred be defensive errors in a 6-2 loss against Clarkson. Expect a Miami sweep.
Miami 3-1, 4-1

Providence @ Duluth, Friday/Saturday 7:07
Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect out of Providence as I’m not real familiar with Hockey East schools. I can say that UMD will be a tough team, and if you put them on the PP you’re probably not going to win. I’m going to call both games for UMD.
Duluth 4-1, 5-2

Huntsville @ Wisconsin, Friday 7:07, Sunday 1:07
I don’t expect a lot out of Huntsville. However, they are an independent trying to prove themselves to the different leagues to try and gain admission into one. The Badgers, on the other hand, still have some question marks they’re dealing with, like who’s going to score, etc.? They lost a close one last weekend to BU and then killed Holy Cross. Should be an easy sweep for the Badgers.
UW 5-2, 6-2

Alaska Gold Rush, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, Alaska
Colorado College vs. Anchorage, Friday 7:07
Anchorage came away with a surprising tie last Friday against UND. They were down 5-1 in the game and scored 4 unanswered goals to tie the game. They then went on to beat Air Force. CC won a 2-1 game against RPI and then tied them the following night. Offense could be an issue for CC. I have to go with Anchorage here.
UAA wins 3-2

Union vs. Anchorage, Saturday 7:07
Union has scored some goals this year, but they were against lowly Sacred Heart. I’m going to give this one to the “home team”.
UAA wins 4-2

Colorado College vs. Alaska, Saturday 10:07
Alaska had a tough time scoring against the Sioux last weekend, but didn’t give up much. I’m gonna stay with the WCHA again.
CC wins 4-2

SCSU/Gopher Schedule Change

The Saturday, October 23 game between the Huskies and Gophers has been moved to Sunday, October 24 at 2:07 due a visit by the President to the U of M campus on the 23rd.

This Shouldn't Be Shocking, but It Is...

So I'm listening to the Gopher hockey game on my way to a friends house this evening and heard UMass score a goal. It just happened to be their third goal of the evening and a Gopher player committed an infraction deserving of a penalty. Wally Shaver (play-by-play guy) proceeds to tell the unintelligent Glen "the Gophers do no wrong" Sonmor that he remembers reading somewhere that a team can score on a delayed penalty and it will still result in a power play. Well, this is a new rule in the WCHA this year. The part that really got me was when he commented on how he didn't know what league it was and that he thought it was the NHL. The genius Sonmor then pipes up with a classic, well I don't know. I never heard that. 30 seconds later the ref brought the Gopher player to the box and Wally says, "I guess it was college that they introduced that rule to."

Seriously!?! How stupid are you two? You are the radio broadcasters for one of the biggest programs in the nation and you can't keep up on the few rule changes that come through each year. This is why your fans are so stupid! You're being paid, what I'm sure is a hefty sum of money, to know these things and pass them on to the fans throughout the course of the game!

TV Schedule

For those of you looking for a nation wide TV schedule, I found one on USCHO.com.

Game on! SCSU vs. RIT, SCSU vs. Clarkson

Finally, the season is starting. I don't know about all of you, but I've been waiting for this. Sadly, we Husky fans have to wait another week to see our squad in person. Sadly, all I've been able to find is streaming audio for the game, but I'll keep my eyes open for streaming video as well.

RIT comes into this season having advanced to the Frozen Four last season. They are the coaches pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this year. The line on them is that they should have some good offensive fire power, but lack defensive depth and have some question marks in goaltending.

The Huskies actually are a similar team, in respect to the defense. Last year's D was mediocre at best, and the loss of minute-eater Garrett Raboin could be a problem. However, I do think guys like Oliver Lauridsen and Chris Hepp are ready to make that next step and eat some valuable minutes. We have one of the best one-two goalie tandems in the country in Mike Lee and Dan Dunn, and Hobey hopeful Garrett Roe up front to lead the team.

This years teams should have no problem scoring goals. We still have Roe, Mosey, and LeBlanc who can not only score, but can skate with the best of them. We also have one of the fastest skaters in the country in Travis Novak who, if he can finally match his puck handling to his speed, should be able to have a 30+ point season. Captain Aaron Marvin is also looking to bounce back after a very mediocre, if not bad, junior season and lead this team. The addition of forwards Mitch MacMillan and Nic Dowd should prove to be invaluable, and we also have Ben Hanowski and Jared Festler coming back with improved games.

The Huskies should win this game. I'm going to keep it close, though, and say 3-2. It is possible, however, that the Huskies will put up some bigger numbers if RIT's goaltending is suspect like people are saying it is.

Clarkson, on the other hand, is a completely different story. They were picked to finish 12th in their league by the coaches and the media. They look to have issues on offense and between the pipes. Then again, the offseason can do a lot for a player if they really work at it. I don't think they have a shot, though. The Huskies should win this fairly convincingly by a score of 5-1.

Week One Picks

 Each week I will be giving quick breakdowns and predictions on each of the series. I'll do my best to track my accuracy. Enjoy.

Non-Conference

Massachusetts at Minnesota, Friday/Saturday 7:05 CT

The Gophers come into the season with something to prove. Is there a better way to start the season than with two, what should be, easy games against UMass? Not for this program. It should be an easy sweep for the maroon and gold.

Gophers: 4-2, 5-1

Rensselaer at Colorado College, Friday 8:35, Saturday 8:05 CT

RPI was picked to finish sixth in the ECAC and CC was picked to finish sixth or seventh, depending on the poll. CC needs to win some of these early games to build confidence for the season. RPI is returning it’s leading scorers from last year, though, and they’re mighty impressive. Split

CC wins Friday 3-1, RPI Saturday 3-2

St. Lawrence at Mankato, Friday 7:35, Saturday 7:05 CT

Mankato should have a pretty easy time dispensing of the predicted bottom dwellers of the ECAC. If for some reason they split. It could be signs of things to come for Mankato.

Mankato sweeps 3-2, 4-2

Denver at Vermont, Friday/Saturday 6:05 CT

This could be a good battle for the Pioneers to start their season. Vermont was picked to finish sixth, but it looks like it was a pretty close vote. I think these two teams will both be finding themselves early on. Split.

DU Friday 3-2, Vermont Saturday 4-1

Northern Michigan at Tech, Tuesday 6:05 CT

See below for the breakdown.

NMU wins 4-2

Ice Breaker Tournament (St. Louis, MO)

Boston University vs. Wisconsin, Friday 8:30 CT

BU is a middle of the pack finisher according to the preseason polls. Wisconsin lost too much fire power in the off season. It’s going to be awhile before the Badgers find themselves again.

BU wins 5-2.

Holy Cross/Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin, Sunday 12:00 or 3:00 CT

If the Badgers play Holy Cross, Badgers win 4-1.

If they play Notre Dame, they lose 3-2.

Maverick Stampede

RIT vs. St. Cloud State, Friday 4:35 CT

RIT made its first Frozen Four trip last April. St. Cloud State had its first ever NCAA win. St. Cloud’s in a much better league playing better competition nightly. I have to give it to the Huskies.

Huskies win 3-2

Clarkson at Nebraska-Omaha, Friday 7:35 CT

The coaches picked Clarkson to finish 12^th in the ECAC this season after only winning nine games last season. Should be an easy win for UNO.

UNO 4-2

Clarkson vs. St. Cloud State, Saturday 4:05 CT

Last place finisher vs. a potential top three.

SCSU 5-1

RIT at Nebraska-Omaha, Saturday 7:05 CT

I’m going to give RIT the edge here and give them the upset.

RIT 2-1

Superior Showcase

Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan, Friday 6:35 CT

NMU should field a decent team this year after having made the NCAA tournament last season. They’ve been picked to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth. Tech, on the other hand, will be on the bottom of the WCHA this season. Northern Michigan should win this one.

NMU wins 3-1

Duluth at Lake Superior, Friday 6:05 CT

LSU doesn’t a ton of scoring punch, but does have, what looks to be, decent goaltending. With Duluth’s returning firepower I don’t think LSU has a chance to win this, though.

UMD wins 5-2

Duluth at Northern Michigan, Saturday 6:35 CT

NMU looks to be bringing back its leading scorers from the previous season. They should be able to give Duluth some fits. I think home ice will play into this game.

NMU wins 3-2

Tech at Lake Superior, Saturday 6:05 CT

A battle of the bottom feeders. Who will win?

Tech wins 2-1

Kendall Hockey Classic

North Dakota at Anchorage, Friday (Saturday) 12:05am CT

Do I need to say anything here, really? Should be an easy one for the Sioux. Sorry Seawolves fans.

Sioux win 5-0

North Dakota vs. Alaska, Saturday 8:05 CT

Alaska was picked to finish fifth in the CCHA this year. I think they could give the Sioux some trouble, but not enough.

Sioux win 3-1

Air Force at Anchorage, Saturday 11:05 CT

There’s not a lot of firepower left for the Falcon’s. Anchorage is missing one of its better defenseman in LaFranchise for the first half of the season. It’s a tough call here, but I have to give it to the team from Atlantic Hockey.

Air Force wins 3-2

WCHA Season Preview Final Edition

University of Minnesota-Duluth:
WCHA: 16-11-1, Overall: 22-17-1 (6-5-0 NC)
Key Losses: Rob Bordson, F, Jr (12-28-40); Drew Akins, F, Sr (6-11-17); Jordan Fulton, F, Sr (4-13-17); Brady Hjelle, G, So (9-7-1, 2.85 GAA, .898 SV)
Key Returners: Jack Connolly, F, Jr; Justin Fontaine, F, Sr; Mike Connolly, F, Jr; Brady Lamb, D, Jr; Mike Montgomery, D, Sr; Kenny Reiter, G, Sr
Key Recruits: Justin Faulk, D; Joe Basaraba, F

The Bulldogs come into the season not having lost a whole lot. Their biggest loss was 40 point scorer Rob Bordson, and the next biggest was sophomore goalie Brady Hjelle. Overall, though, the Bulldogs retain nearly 90% of their scoring from last season, and only lost six total games on defense.

They need to have a solid year out of goalie Kenny Reiter, and also need to find a mediocre backup for his nights off. This league is too tough for one goalie to play every night. Their biggest problem could be coaching. I’m not big on Scott Sandelin; never have been. Yes, he got his team to the Frozen Four earlier in the decade, but his teams have under achieved, for the most part, much of his tenure, including last year’s team.

I can see them pushing the Huskies for the number two spot, but don’t see them pushing the Sioux for the top spot. Strong defense and good goaltending are the keys to finishing here.

Predicted finish – 3rd

St. Cloud State University:
WCHA: 15-9-4, Overall: 24-14-5 (9-5-1 NC)
Key Losses: Ryan Lasch, F, Sr (20-29-49); Garrett Raboin, D, Sr (8-16-24); Craig Gaudet, D, Sr (3-7-10)
Key Returners: Garrett Raboin, F, Sr; Tony Mosey, F, Sr; Drew LeBlanc, F, Jr; Chris Hepp, D, Sr; Oliver Lauridsen, D, Jr; Mike Lee, G, So
Key Recruits: Kevin Gravel, D; Mitch MacMillan, F; Nic Dowd

The Huskies have one of the best returning scoring groups in the league. They did lose leading scorer Ryan Lasch and their top scoring defenseman in Garrett Raboin, but that’s pretty much it. The Huskies get back Garrett Roe (who tied Lasch for the scoring lead last year), Tony Mosey (who quietly put up 42 points), and one of the best one-two goalie tandems in the league.

The big question for SCSU is defense. Even though they only lost two defensemen from last year’s team, the defense wasn’t the best. Things should be ok, though. The Huskies have some size on the blue line in Oliver Lauridsen and some grit in Chris Hepp. The key for the Huskies is going to be finding offense from the blue line. Raboin led the D with 24 points last year, and I’m curious to see who’s going to step up. Sam Zabkowicz, Taylor Johnson, and Lauridsen all had 12 points from the blue line last year, with the latter’s coming mostly in the second half of the season.

Special teams will also be a key for the Huskies this season. They were very much middle of the pack last season on the PP, but their PK was in the bottom four of the league. They need to find more hustle and make sure that their spacing is consistent.

I can really see the Huskies challenging for the top spot in league most of the year, but think that the solidity the Sioux has will be too much for them to overcome.

Predicted finish – 2nd

University of North Dakota:
WCHA: 15-10-3, Overall: 25-13-5 (10-3-2 NC)
Key Losses: Chris Vande Velde, F, Sr (16-25-41); Darcy Zajac, F, Sr (8-11-19); David Toews, F, So (4-11-15)
Key Returners: Jason Gregoire, F, Jr; Danny Kristo, F, So; Evan Trupp, F, Sr; Chay Genoway, D, Sr; Derrick LaPoint, D, Sr; Brad Eidsness, G, Jr
Key Recruits:  Derek Forbort, D; Dillon Simpson, D; Brock Nelson, F

The Sioux, as always, are stacked. They lost only three forwards from last year’s team and ZERO defensemen. Hands down, the Sioux should have no problem being the best defensive team in the league. They return all of their defensemen and get a first round pick on defense in Derek Forbort. I didn’t think Eidsness was that great of a goalie going into last season, and still don’t think he’s the best. However, he has one of the best defenses in the country playing in front of him and that makes such a tremendous difference.

In addition to that, they get Chay Genoway back for this season. Chay could be the most dynamic defenseman in the country. In fact, I’m sure he is. It’s very rare that one player can make such a huge impact on a team, but we all saw what happened to the Sioux last season when he left. They went from unbeatable, to beatable. They were, in no way, pushovers, though, and still had one heckuva team.

I am hoping that all of you Fighting Sioux fans out there can finally let go of the hit that cost Chay his season. I am in no way saying that it wasn’t a hit from behind, but it wasn’t malicious and wasn’t dirty as all of you people say it was. Heck, CHAY even said it wasn’t a dirty hit! (I’m hoping this is the only time I have to talk about this this season.)

With all of the returning players, and the addition of Genoway, I can’t see the Sioux finishing lower that number one.

Predicted finish – 1st

WCHA Season Preview Part Three

Colorado College:
WCHA: 12-13-3, Overall: 19-17-3 (7-4-0 NC)
Key Losses: Bill Sweatt, F, Sr (15-18-33); Mike Testwuide, F, Sr (21-10-31); Nate Prosser, D, Sr (4-24-28)
Key Returners: Rylan Schwartz, F, So; Tyler Johnson, F, Sr; Stephen Schultz, F, Sr; Gabe Guentzel, D, Jr; Ryan Lowery, D, Sr; Joe Howe, G, So
Key Recruits: Jaden Schwartz, F; Dakota Eveland, F; Eamon, McDermott, D

Things weren’t great for CC last year. Joe Howe had a great start to the season, but eventually joined us back here on earth. The good news is that CC has the coaches pick for the rookie of the year in Jaden Schwartz. He’s considered to be an offensive threat already, and could help bring some of the scoring back to CC.

CC needs to have more than Jaden Schwartz carry this team. They need to have players like Rylan Schwartz build on his great freshman season, and senior’s like Tyler Johnson continue to lead this team.

Either way, they’re going to be a competitive team, as always. Scott Owens won’t let them falter too much. I suspect we’ll see them in the middle of the pack.

Predicted finish – 6th

Denver University:
WCHA: 19-5-4, Overall: 27-10-4 (8-5-0 NC)
Key Losses: Rhett Rakhshani, F, Sr (21-29-50); Joe Colborne, F, So (22-19-41); Tyler Ruegsegger, F, Sr (16-25-41); Patrick Wiercoich, D, So (6-21-27); Marc Cheverie, G, Jr (24-6-3, 2.08 GAA, .932 SV)
Key Returners: Anthony Maiani, F, Sr; Kyle Ostrow, F, Sr; Jesse Martin, F, Sr; John Lee, D, Jr; Matt Donovan, D, So; Adam Murray, G, So
Key Recruits: Sam Brittain, G; Beau Bennett, F; Nick Shore, F; Jason Zucker, F

Denver was also hit hard with key losses from last year’s team. Three of their top five scorers are gone, as is one of the best goalies in the league in Marc Cheverie. Defensively, they’re still going to be one of the best, and that is going to help out their young goalies tremendously.

The Gwoz seems to always have his teams ready to play, and that goes a long way in this league. Offensively, they should be able to hang in there as they have one of best scorers from the BCHL coming in this year in Sam Brittain (2nd in the league to SCSU’s Mitch MacMillan).

The Pioneers could finish anywhere in the top half of the league, but with goaltending a question, I can’t place them any higher.

Predicted finish – 5th

University of Minnesota:
WCHA: 12-14-2, Overall: 18-19-2 (6-5-0 NC)
Key Losses: Tony Lucia, F, Sr (11-17-28); Jordan Schroeder, F, So (9-19-28); Mike Carman, F, Sr (8-10-18); Nick Leddy, D, Fr (3-8-11)
Key Returners: Jay Barriball, F, Sr; Jacob Cepis, F, Sr; Mike Hoeffel, F, Sr; Aaron Ness, D, Jr; Cade Farichild, D, Sr; Alex Kangas, G, Sr
Key Recruits: Nick Bjugstad, F; Tom Serratore, F

The Gophers are somewhat of a question mark this year, but they shouldn’t be. They certainly have the talent to be a tremendous hockey team. It’s going to come down to whether or not the players want to play for Don Lucia. For the past two seasons I’ve watched Gopher teams take the ice and play uninspired hockey. The intensity seems to have left the team, and I believe it falls squarely on Don Lucia’s shoulders.

The Don does have some pretty good recruits coming in this year in Nick Bjugstad and Tom Serratore, and they will get Jay Barriball back from injury to help Jason Cepis carry this team. They have one of the better WCHA goalies between the pipes in Alex Kangas. Their Achilles heel will be on defense, as they have a pretty young D-corps.

I have a feeling that the Gophers are going to be much tougher than people are giving them credit for. They could finish anywhere from 7th to 4th. I think they’re going to bounce back this year.

Predicted finish – 4th

WCHA Season Preview Part Two

Bemidji State University:
CHA: 14-3-1, Overall: 23-10-4 (9-7-3 NC)
Key Losses: Tyler Lehrke, F, Sr (9-15-24); Chris McKelvie, F, Sr (8-10-18); Chris Peluso, D, Sr (1-8-9)
Key Returners: Matt Read, F, Sr; Jordan George, F, So; Ian Low, F, Sr; Brad Hunt, D, Jr; Brady Wacker, D, So; Dan Bakala, G, Jr
Key Recruits: Radislov Illo, F; Drew Fischer, F

The Beavers have finally made it to the WCHA. For many of you Beaver fans, this is something that you have been waiting for for a very long time. I’m sorry to tell you, though, that it’s not going to be the cake walk you may think it’s going to be. It’s one thing to be competitive in the CHA, but the WCHA is a whole new ball game. Yes, I understand that you’ve had success against the WCHA in the past, but you have to remember that those were non-conference games. When teams play non-conference games, they typically don’t play all of their top guys. Let us not forget that it’s not always easy to get up for those non-conference games against schools that aren’t going to do much for, like Bemdji typically is (last year was the exception to the rule).

With all that said, I think the Beavers are going to be fairly competitive. They have all of their top scorers back, including a possible Hobey Candidate in Matt Read. Overall, they had the second highest goals per game average of all the WCHA teams, but they also played six games each against teams like Niagra, Robert Morris, and Alabama-Huntsville. I’m not saying it’s easy to score a lot against any team, but come on folks…

They also have one of the better coaches in college hockey, and they play a very rough, in your face style of hockey that should help them win a few games. However, being physical doesn’t always beat talent, and there are a LOT of talented teams in this league. Additionally, the grind of the WCHA will be like nothing they’ve ever seen. I touched on teams not getting up for non-conference games prior. It’s going to be tough for them, now, when their opponents are playing for two points each game instead of nothing.

Predicted finish – 9th

University of Nebraska-Omaha:
CCHA: 13-12-3, Overall: 20-16-6 (7-4-3 NC)
Key Losses: Eddie Del Grosso, D, Sr (7-23-30); Nick Fanto, F, Sr (9-17-26); Jeric Agosto, F, Sr (15-10-25); Jeremie Dupont, G, Sr (7-6-2, 2.73 GAA, .895 SV)
Key Returners: John Kemp, F, Jr; Rich Purslow, F, Sr; Joey Martin, F, Sr; Eric Olimb, D, Sr; Kyle Ensign, D, Jr; John Faulkner, G, Jr (13-10-4, 2.60 GAA, .905 SV)
Key Recruits: Matt White, F; Tony Turgeon, D; Brock Montpetit, F

Well, Dean Blais has made his way back to the WCHA. In my mind, Blais is one of the best coaches in the game. His teams are always competitive and never seem to have an off night. Their biggest problem last year seemed to be lack of scoring. Heck, their leading scorer had a whopping 30 points. Goaltending could also be an issue for the Mavericks this season. It sounds like consistency may be an issue, and you need to be consistent to win in this league.

I need to give UNO the benefit of the doubt here over Bemidji. The Mavs know how play a long, tough season having been in the CCHA. Also, they have the reigning USHL Player of the Year joining the team in Matt White and forward Brock Montpetit who also averaged more than a point per game in the USHL last year. Add that to the 6’4” incoming defenseman Tony Turgeon and you have makings of a decent class.

Bottom line, Blais’ familiarity with the WCHA, and his team’s familiarity with a tough schedule should put them ahead of Bemidji this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish higher than 8th either. Only time will tell.

Predicted finish – 8th

University of Wisconsin:
WCHA: 17-8-3, Overall: 28-11-4 (11-3-1 NC)
Key Losses: Derek Stepan, F, So (12-42-54); Michael Davies, F, Sr (20-32-52); Brendan Smith, D, Jr (15-37-52); Blake Geoffrion, F, Sr (28-22-50); Ben Street, F, Sr (14-16-30)
Key Returners: Craig Smith, F, So; Jordy Murray, F, Jr; Derek Lee, F, So; Justin Schultz, D, So; Jake Gardiner, D, Jr; Scott Gudmandson, G, Sr
Key Recruits: Jason Clark, F; Frank Simonelli, D; Chase Drake, D; Mark Zengerle, F

Where to start… The Badgers lost more than any team in the WCHA, and probably the country this offseason. Their top four points scorers had more than 50 points EACH, and they’re ALL GONE. That’s 208 points that they lost in just four players. They lost another EIGHT on top of that. In all, they lost nearly 75% of their total scoring from last season’s team.

Others seem to think that the Badgers are going to be fine this year. They certainly have a decent goaltender in Scott Gudmandson, but it’s tough to win if you can’t put the puck in the net, and that’s something that could be a problem.

What else is there to say? Unless they get a lot of guys stepping up, I don’t see them finishing much higher than this.

Predicted finish – 7th

WCHA Season Preview Part One

Well, as promised, here's the start of the season previews. I would've liked to get them all out today, but I've been pretty busy as of late and just flat haven't had time to do it. I'm going to release them three teams at a time, and will get the other nine teams done before the season starts with games that count next Friday.

University of Alaska Anchorage:
WCHA: 9-17-2, Overall: 11-23-2 (2-6-0 NC)
Key Losses: Kevin Clark, F, Sr (23-14-37); Josh Lunden, F, Sr (8-8-16); Jon Olthuis, G, Sr (8-15-2, 3.59 GAA, .871 SV); Bryce Christianson, G, Jr (3-8-0, 4.37 GAA, .848 SV)
Key Returners: Tommy Grant, F, Sr; Sean Wiles, F, Sr; Daniel Naslund, F, So; Kane Lafranchise, D, Sr; Curtis Leinweber, D, Jr; Dusan Sidor, G, Jr
Key Recruits: Rob Gunderson, G; Chris Kamal, G; Jordan Kwas, F

What a mess Anchorage has here. They lost two goalies last year. One to graduation and the other because he was unhappy. That leaves UAA with one goalie who has played one game in his career. This is not looking good for Anchorage. Their incoming goalies numbers are ok, but not great. Oh yeah, this is also D-I and not the AJHL or NAHL. The competition level is so much higher at this level than either of those, but I digress…

Let’s not overlook the loss of freshman (would’ve been a sophomore this season) Lee Baldwin to the pros. He was a pretty good defenseman for the Seawolves, and it’s going to hurt them. Their goal differential isn’t as high as MTU’s (-2), but it’s pretty close.

Offensively, they really don’t have anything. Their top returning scorer put up 26 points last year. The departure of Kevin Clark is going to hurt this team, and it doesn’t look like they have much offensive talent coming in.

Unless the Seawolves find a number one goalie, can get their D-corps in order, and can find some scoring up front, they’re not going to go far.

Predicted finish – 12th

Michigan Tech University:
WCHA: 4-24-0, Overall: 5-30-1 (1-6-1 NC)
Key Losses: Malcom Gwilliam, F, Sr (18-12-30); Drew Dobson, D, Sr (4-12-16); John Kivisto, D/F, Sr (4-8-12)
Key Returners: Brett Olson, F, Jr; Jordan Baker, F, Sr; Bennett Royer, F, Sr; Steven Seigo, D, So; Deron Cousens, D, Sr; Kevin Genoe, G, So
Key Recruits: Brad Stebner, D; Daniel Holmberg, F; Dennis Rix, F

Tech comes into this season having lost only two of their top five scorers. However, that’s not saying a whole lot since those two players combined for a whopping 46 points… Bottom line, they’re going to need some help.

This is a team that, perennially, cannot score and doesn’t have the best goaltending. Heck, they gave up two goals more per game than they scored last year. Now, I know that this is a new season, but c’mon folks. They’re not going to close that gap over night.

They do have some ok recruits coming in. Most notably is forward Dennis Rix, who had 32g, 67a for 99 points in 60 games last year for Grand Prairie of the AJHL. Decent numbers, but a lot of those points were assists which tells me he’s much better at setting them up than he is at burying them.

If they can get their special team numbers up this year (15% PP and 71% PK), they may get themselves out of the cellar (possibly into 10th!)…although, I wouldn’t count on it.

Predicted finish – 11th

Minnesota State University, Mankato:
WCHA: 9-17-2, Overall: 16-20-3 (7-3-1 NC)
Key Losses: Kael Mouillierat, F, Sr (13-12-25); Jerad Stewart, F, Sr (13-12-25); Zach Harrison, F, Sr (8-16-24); Geoff Irwin, F, Sr (8-16-24)
Key Returners: Rylan Galiardi, F, Sr; Mike Louwerse, F, So; Michael Dorr, F, Jr; Kurt Davis, D, Sr; Ben Youds, D, Sr; Channing Boe, D, Sr
Key Recruits: John McInnis, F; Matt Leitner, F

When a defenseman is leading your team in scoring with 26 points, you have a problem. Such is life for Mankato. They come into this season having lost some talent last year. Most notably, Tyler Pitlick to major juniors and Kevin Murdock to the USHL. They don’t have a whole lot coming in this season, though. Matt Leitner could be their “biggest” recruit this year. He put up just over a point per game last year in the USHL. Not huge, but at least it’s something, right?

Expect to see a hard working, hard hitting team out of Mankato, but not one that’s going to put up a ton of goals on you. Uunless their upperclassmen can put it together I don’t see a whole lot of upside to this team. However, they will not be as bad as Anchorage or Tech, so you can take solace in that.

Predicted finish – 10th