They Say It's Your Birthday...

In a nutshell, I'd like to thank the Michigan Tech hockey team and staff for one of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

Tonight's Huskies perhaps took a little while to get going, but I was quite happy with their performance overall. I knew as soon as Nolan came up with a huge ass save within the first two minutes of the game that he would be fine. The defense came up pretty big too, with a lot of good blocks, a strong PK, and plenty of successful clearing attempts.

This having been my 21st, I will now commence with some celebratory adult beverages and begin to contemplate tomorrow's title game against a certain school from Ann Arbor. A school that I grew up cheering for. A school that I nearly attended. But that was then, and this is now.

My opinion is that Sparty was due for a rude awakening. They have played a lot of middle-of-the-pack CCHA teams, but have failed to defeat anyone with a record better than .500 at this point in the season. Beating Michigan will be a much taller order for the Huskies, especially since the Wolverines new lines (formed due to the temporary absences of some players to World Juniors) have now had a game to adjust.

{PROVICED played a decent first period against Michigan this afternoon, but the Wolverines eventually found their mojo and Sauer played well. Sure, a lot of shots were simply fired into his chest, but he made some good saves to preserve his shutout. None were as big as the shot that he stoned with a save against the side of his body, after he'd been caught wandering from the net. Bottom line - this is not the Billy Sauer that I saw against North Dakota in last year's NCAAs.

Sleep well Huskies, for tomorrow you must truly play to win.

PS. - Props to the Michigan Alumni Band for only playing "Let's Go Blue!" 8 times this year. In spite of the fact that I kept count, I felt that was reasonable. ;)

Jingle Bells

Two decently-played games, and almost nothing to show for it. We have GOT to score goals, or at least Stewart has got to stop making a career out of playing well against Tech. Although based on his embellishment Friday night, he might have a career in drama!

It was fun invading the BEC on Friday night, and I lost my voice as I intended to do. I may be biased, but I'd say we out-cheered the Puckheads. Oh, and Northern's hockey band does suck. But hey, at least they aren't the Michigan Alumni Band (*Let's Go Blue*...23...23!)

Frankly, in spite of the weekend, I'd rather be a winless Husky than any sort of Wildcat.

With that, it's time for an exam/holiday break here at tSBFitW. I'll be back with some GLI coverage after Christmas. 3rd place or bust!

Rivalry Week

Welcome to Rivalry Week here at tSBFitW.

Following a weekend off which saw SCSU slip into a tie for the rock bottom of the WCHA after a Denver sweep, and Wisconsin continue to languish in the bottom three after a 1-point weekend at Mankato (no tears shed by this blogger), we find ourselves almost at the midway point of the collegiate hockey season. Hell, even Minnesota nearly blew a 4-1 lead to earn a split with the Sioux and they remain in the bottom half of the league.

A look at the standings, however, shows the incredibly amount of parity within the WCHA at this point in the season.

Colorado College -------- 10-2-0 -------- 20 pts.
Denver ------------------ 9-3-0 --------- 18 pts.
Minnesota-Duluth ------- 5-6-3 --------- 13 pts.
North Dakota ------------ 6-6-0 -------- 12 pts.
Michigan Tech ----------- 5-6-1 -------- 11 pts.
Minnesota --------------- 5-7-0 -------- 10 pts.
Minnesota State --------- 3-6-3 -------- 9 pts.
Wisconsin --------------- 4-5-1 --------- 9 pts.
Alaska-Anchorage ------- 2-5-3 -------- 7 pts.
St. Cloud State ----------3-6-1 --------- 7 pts.

A mere four points separate 8th place Wisconsin from 3rd place UMD. That's a single weekend sweep folks, and a surprisingly tough UAA squad is now only another game behind that group following a three-point weekend at Duluth. There's no doubt that SCSU still has the guns necessary to get on a hot streak and improve too, with quite a bit of offensive talent.

At this point, the only thing certain is that CC and DU appear to be running away with the league's top-tier this season, but there's still plenty of time for that to change during the second half of the league schedule.

At any rate, Tech now has six non-conference games to prepare for, the first of which is coming up this weekend. It's the annual slugfest against Not Much Upstairs, eNeMa U, STD U, etc.

There really isn't a lot I can say about this series. As Jamie Russell himself has said, there is essentially no worthwhile pep talk you can give a Tech squad regarding the rivalry - if they aren't totally fired up to play their archrivals, words won't help. I would love nothing more than to pick up two, well-fought wins this weekend, and try to get some momentum going into the MSU game at the GLI. Besides which, we still have that loss from the beginning of the season to avenge, and I don't expect that the team has easily forgotten that either.

Regarding this stretch of non-con games, naturally I'd love to see a 6-0 record and a GLI championship. Realistically, I'd like to see 5-1 or 4-1-1. A win at the GLI, a sweep of Mercyhurst, and at least a win/tie against NMU. We need to use these games as a springboard for a good second half.

Notice

I realize that I've been slacking a bit lately, but I've been busy with finals projects, papers, and other end-of-the-semester BS. Expect a post on the upcoming eNeMa U slugfest at some point in the next few days. ;)

CPZ Not Attending MTU; Duluth Series This Weekend

Two sources have now confirmed that Casey-Pierro Zabotel will not be attending Michigan Tech. He was unable to achieve a high enough score on his entrance exam retake to meet the NCAA's standards. It's a shame, but tSBFinW wishes him good luck with the rest of his career. He has signed with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, so no doubt the major junior league trolls at WCHB will flood the announcement with comments about the NCAA's obvious inferiority by tomorrow morning. ;)

Swept by SCSU - yuck. Losing twice to the One & Done Huskies in our own barn does not make this blogger happy. News of tTeslak's back spasms also makes this blogger very, very concerned for the upcoming series against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. If Robbie Nolan wants to get back on track, he needs a strong showing out in Daloot on both nights, assuming tTeslak can't play again. Our offense must also create and bury a lot more chances than they did against St. Cloud. We cannot expect to sweep on the road if we can only score three goals per weekend.

This blogger will be traveling home for most of Friday, and won't have access to a computer again until Monday, so he likely won't be hearing any game results until then. Therefore, in lieu of listening to or being at the games, he'll just have to make sure to sieve/taunt a picture of Stalock before he leaves. :)

A Night of Futility

Awful defensive breakdowns, turnovers at the worst possible moments, shaky goaltending, and an offense that couldn't finish many of the limited opportunities they created. That describes the play of the Michigan Tech Huskies last night, as they were upset by St. Cloud State at the MacInnes.

If MTU intends to garner a top 5 spot in the conference this season, home weekends with less than three points are not the way to go about it. SCSU outskated us last night, and we should have been playing a crushing physical game against a smaller, younger team. It simply did not happen.

Perhaps the worst news this weekend is that Michael Lee Teslak could be suffering from back spasms, as he did not start on Friday (as expected). Robbie Nolan is really going to have to step up his play in the net if Teslak is out for any length of time. What happened to his play from last season? He's given up some of the sloppiest goals I've ever seen in his last two starts.

I hope we see a completely different Tech team on the ice this evening, and hopefully they can salvage a split out of last night's mess.

Weekend Recap

So it's a little late; deal with it. :P

MTU and UW split a pair of games down in Madison, at the Kohl Center. I was unable to go, though I did listen to Saturday's game (and I even got to watch the third period). I'm glad we came away with a road split, because Tech sounded/looked tired on Saturday. This win Friday/lose Saturday situation had better not become routine.

Looking Ahead

This weekend, we're back in Houghton for some hot, Husky-on-Husky action at the MacInnes, as St. Cloud State comes to town for a two-game series.

I've said this on USCHO and I'll say it again - we need to sweep St. Cloud this weekend. We need it to prove that we can be consistent and sweep a series, and also to gain some momentum going into a stretch of five straight road games. Next weekend we'll face what appears to be a surprisingly decent UMD squad at the DECC, and then we'll be down at the Mariucci at the end of the month (following a weekend off), looking to extend our recent winning record there against the Goofs, who by then will have six more games under their belt and should be ready to play. After that, it's another weekend off before the annual slugfest with eNeMa U, beginning Friday at the Berry in Marquette.

This is it - we're at home for the final time until mid-December, and the team will enjoy the benefit of a friendly crowd. St. Cloud has gotten off to a slow start (though they appear to be slowly gelling), so we need to take advantage of that.

We need a sweep - let's get it.

The Fine Line Between a Split and a Sweep

Weekend Recap

Friday

*3-1 Tech

*Teslak was brilliant, even when the Sioux finally started pouring it on in the third period.

*The defense kicked ass, keeping the puck out of the crease, and making passes to jumpstart the offense.

*Dobson had a very smart game-winning goal that Lammy never saw coming

*North Dakota took too many penalties

*Tech clearly wanted this win, played to win it, and did. That's really all there is to it. As they say, talent may win games, but heart and hustle win games when talent isn't playing sharp.

Saturday

*6-0 Sioux (yuck)

*Tech really needs to work on winning faceoffs. The Sioux dominated that statistic on Saturday, and we paid for it.

*The Huskies looked too flat on both offense (no goals) and defense (for example - the Sioux were 3 for 8 on the power play). They could not generate enough offensive chances, and often had difficulty clearing the puck.

*Nolan was borderline bad for his two periods in the net. Too many sloppy rebounds, and caught out of position too many times. After Teslak didn't allow a goal in the third (he relieved Nolan at the start of the period), I think it's clear that he is now the starter for the next few series - Robbie is simply too inconsistent to consider maintaining the split for the time being.

*Chippy play - fights, words exchanged, a completely uncalled for post-whistle cheap shot by Lamoureux (after he made a perfect glove save and had nothing to bitch about). Just look at the stats - a combined 60 minutes worth of penalties for both sides.

*I'll give North Dakota their due - they proved that they have more offensive talent, and they win when said talent plays well. They were obviously embarrassed about the previous night, they wanted the split, and they got it in a big fashion.

*Horrible officiating. I hate complaining about refs, because it's usually a lame excuse, but in this case I have to speak up - there were some bad calls (or lack thereof) against both teams. Marco Hunt is hereby crowned my Least Favorite WCHA Official, by a long shot. I can't count the number of times the arena was in an uproar after yet another terrible call.


So, thanks Huskies for a good win on Friday and 2 big WCHA points. Let's work on those mistakes and really take it to the Badgers next weekend, eh?

Other than that, I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who showed up at the arena and created an amazing atmosphere. I seriously think the Friday game might've been the loudest I've ever heard the Mac, and it was rocking.

We'll see the Sioux again in January, and you can bet that this weekend has setup what will no doubt be a great series at the REA. Until then, tell Lamoureux I said "Hostile and Abu-Sieve!" ;)

Ready for the Sioux?

This weekend, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux will travel to Houghton to take on the Michigan Tech Huskies at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. In fact, it's almost Friday morning - the Sioux have probably arrived already.

I've heard that the media respects the Sioux quite a bit - enough to give them some kind of #1 ranking, I guess. Not that polls matter much before Christmas.

They also say that this Jean-Phillipe Lamoureux guy is playing pretty well - shutting out three different opponents for 8 consecutive periods is certainly impressive, especially given some of the games I watched him play last season.

In the end though, does it really matter? Whomever plays better, more complete hockey this weekend should come away the winner, regardless of rankings. At this point in the season, anything is possible.

Which brings me to my nominee for Cliche Arena Rock Anthem of the Weekend - "Solution" by Tesla

Surprisingly, it's not a cliche mega-hit that seems appropriate this week, but instead a metal song you've probably never heard of unless you are a big fan of Tesla. It's the chorus that fits the most...

If we're gonna make it through tomorrow
The solution is to make a change today

With that in mind, did the Huskies spend this week fixing mistakes? Did they refine their penalty kill and defensive plays to help avoid the opportunities MSU-M got last weekend?

I guess we'll find out tomorrow night, because Tech is going to have to be on top of their game with North Dakota in town.

Since this is a three-event weekend for the pep band, I will be in the top row of Section M on Friday night, happy that I'll finally be able to keep a close eye on the game, rather than hunting for music every 15 seconds. My lips will need the break if I have to play for ~5 hours Saturday.

Mavericks Milked

9 goals on the weekend, and just one allowed. A pretty solid start to WCHA play for the Michigan Tech Huskies.

Of course, Mankato isn't really expected to run away with the league title this season, or even to garner home ice. But still, four points in the league is four points in the league, and a big confidence booster for this team going into this weekend's series with #1 North Dakota.

As for the games, it really all boils down to goaltending and team experience. Overall, Tech played like a veteran team who had already weathered three games, while Mankato definitely looked like a young team that was playing their first games of the season. The Mavs could not finish on many of their opportunities, in part due to the solid goaltending of Teslak and Nolan, and also because many of their shots were simply off target - wide or high.

Some positives for the Huskies to take away from the weekend:

1. The power play. While it still looks weak at times, it is definitely showing improvement, with our ability to capitalize on both of the 5x3s Mankato handed to us, and even a 5x4.

2. The goaltending. Much better performances from both Teslak and Nolan this weekend. Other than a mistake that cost Robbie the shutout on Saturday, these are the goaltenders I know from last season, and they should present a challenge for the Sioux.

3. Shot blocking. I saw several attempted shots get blocked, which is a good sign for the penalty kill. However, that being said...

Some things that need to be worked on...

1. The penalty kill. We got the job done, but I think luck played a role. A lot of times, Mankato would shoot and the puck would be lost in a scrum in the front of the net, then a Tech player would fortunately come away with it and ice it. On a team with a strong penalty kill, pucks should rarely spend that much time hanging out in or in front of the crease, waiting to be buried. The shot is blocked before the puck ever gets there, and if it does get there, a defender is quick to fire it out of the way.

2. Penalties. The best way to kill a penalty is to avoid it in the first place. 15 penalties on the weekend is, in my opinion, too much time spent in the sin bin.

So for now, Tech fans get to be happy with a sweep to start the season, but this is just the beginning of the year and there's still tons of hockey left to be played, so we can't get too excited yet.

Perhaps I'll have a little more on the series with the Sioux later this week.

A Reflection Upon Last Season...

As part of my pre-game speculation, let's take a look back at what happened the last time these two teams met.

Last season, Michigan Tech played MSU-Mankato only once, down in Mankato during February. Excitement was high following a tie/win weekend against Colorado College at home the previous weekend, and a minimum of three points were expected in the quest for home ice, if not four.

The result? Tech bussed back to Houghton with one measly point to show for their efforts, after a tie/loss weekend result. Once again, the Huskies faced the problem of playing down to opponents they should have beaten, even on the road. The team faced similar situations against Duluth, getting swept at tDECC after a disappointing GLI performance when they should have been looking to rebound, and all the way up in Alaska two weekends later, when they split with Anchorage, a team they pounded 9-0 and 5-3 at the MacInnes back in October. This pattern of playing down to lesser opponents and also frequently losing games in overtime naturally got very tiresome for us fans to witness.

What does all of this mean? Well, for one thing, it leads us to my selection for...

Cliche Arena Rock Anthem of the Weekend - "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister

That's right Huskies - we the fans, are no longer going to sit there and take agonizingly close losses to teams we ought to beat, and neither should you. Even the geezers will be angrily *click*click*click*-ing their dentures in displeasure if this happens at any point throughout the season.

Bottom line - That means no more playing down to weaker opponents, no more sub-par hockey against girly teams like eNeMa U, and no taking periods off. We expect you to come out, work your asses off, and play the best, most entertaining 60 minutes of hockey you can provide us with. If overtime is required, we expect you to play your hearts out for that 5 minute overtime period and skate to win it, not just well enough to avoid a loss. You do that, and we the fans will be happy.

It's Friday in Houghton. The puck drops in exactly 2 hours, 10 minutes. The quest for Jim's trophy begins this evening. Let's play to win it.

A Showdown In No Man's Land

Friday - NMU

The power play clicked twice, which was about the only highlight of the game for the Huskies. The kittens came out looking to get chippy, which Tech unfortunately played into, giving Northern too many chances, including a 5x3 that led to the GWG.

Teslak looked uncomfortable in the first period, especially after getting burned on a shortie (not entirely his fault, because someone did turn over the puck), but he did a good job of keeping his head on straight in spite of that, only allowing one goal in the next two periods. Unfortunately, our offense could not support him with any even-strength tallies.

Overall, Tech simply played down to Northern's level, and got stuck with a close loss for it. After so many similar losses last season (Mankato, UAA), this is really getting tiresome.

Sunday - LSSU


Tech came out looking pretty good in the first period, getting out to a 2-0 lead with a PP tally and an even-strength goal. I then experienced a horrible feeling of deja vu, as one of LSSU's players fired a shot from half-ice and scored with one second remaining in the period. Just like Saturday's Winter Carnival game last season, Robbie was faced with a long shot that bounced all over the place, took a weird angle that he misread, and the puck slipped through his legs for a goal.

That seemed to take the wind out of Tech's sails in the second period, as they played very uninspired hockey for the majority of the time. Robbie looked rattled, giving up some nasty rebounds that led to two goals and the lead for LSSU. Finally, with 4-5 minutes remaining, Tech seemed to pick up the slack and caught a break with LSSU's Perkovich off for slashing, making the most of the opportunity to gain some momentum going into the third frame with a PP goal from Jordan Foote.

The third period was mostly dominated by the Huskies, with Jimmy Kerr burying a point-blank opportunity from the slot early on to regain the lead, and good defensive play all around. Tech clearly wanted the win at that point.

We'll probably see the goaltending rotation again next weekend against Mankato, so Robbie will need to prove that he has shaken off the early-season jitters he seemed to experience tonight with a strong performance.

If I had to sum up the weekend, I'd say that overall I'd like to see more of the Huskies I saw in the first and third periods of the LSSU game (with continued improvement of course), and I'd rather not see the team I saw against Northern again.

Exhibition Against Toronto

OK, so I admit I was slightly worried when Tech couldn't even light up Toronto once in the first period, but I reminded myself that it was the first game of the season, and we are supposed to be more of a second and third period team.

And indeed, that thought still seems to hold true. 7 goals later, I walked away pretty impressed with the team's overall effort. Toronto's goalie, with some luck here and there, kept his team in the game for the first period and half or so, but I knew our team had found their legs after back-to-back goals 21 seconds apart in the second.

There was a lot of nice passing and puck movement going on (I never realized just how much I missed the sound of a crisp pass until tonight). The PP/PK units looked pretty good (PP looked better than last season anyway), though I reminded myself that Toronto is a CIS team, therefore not a great test of either.

Because I was frequently busy trying to locate sheet music and band quickies, I only got to see a couple of freshmen on the ice. Cousens definitely made his presence felt, and I got to see Royer play too, including his goal that put Tech up 5-0. I'm told by others who were able to watch the game more intently that both Baker and Kattelus also played hard. So the freshman class clearly holds a lot of promise.

As for the goalie situation, both Teslak and Nolan played well in spite of facing long stretches with the puck on the opposite end of the ice (where it belongs! :D) and very few shots. Teslak absolutely stoned a Toronto player who had what I consider to be their only serious opportunity to spoil the shutout.

I can't really think of anything else to write, so in summary I would say that this team definitely looks pretty good on the ice to start the season, and I'm sure they will look even better after some games against tougher competition.

Bring it eNeMa U. :P

It's The Time...Of The Season for Polling...

The USCHO/CSTV and USA Today pre-season polls were issued yesterday. Michigan Tech garnered 38 points in the USCHO poll and also picked up 3 points in the USAToday poll.

As usual, pre-season polls (and the majority of polls in general) should be taken with a grain of salt. It's just interesting to see what the "experts" think.

07-08 Predictions, Part 4

With just over two weeks to go until some exhibition games, today I'll wrap up my WCHA pre-season predictions and take a stab at some actual standings.


North Dakota

After struggling in the first half of the 06/07 season, the Sioux found themselves in the second half, claimed 3rd place in the league, and made it to the Frozen Four, before falling to Boston College in the semi-final.

Toews and Lee are gone, and Porter graduated, but otherwise North Dakota returns a strong team. Oshie and Duncan are back for their junior seasons, and a big question is just how much they will be able to produce this year without Toews on their line.

Defensively, even with the loss of Lee, the Sioux remain strong. Derrick LaPoint is a big recruit who is expected to help shore up Lee’s departure.

The Sioux also return netminder Philippe Lamoureux, who isn’t an amazing goalie. Sometimes his emotions get in the way, but he does have a lot of playing experience and should be consistent enough to post reasonably solid numbers, particularly with North Dakota’s defense in front of him. How far “reasonably solid” will carry them into the playoffs remains to be seen, but it’s hard to argue with last season’s Frozen Four appearance.

Overall, North Dakota looks like the pre-season favorite, as they start the year with the fewest number of concerns, a strong group of returning players, and a good freshman class.

Prediction: Somewhere between 1st and 3rd in the league.

St. Cloud State

After a very strong 06-07 regular season and 2^nd place finish in the WCHA, St. Cloud came crashing back to earth following another first-round exit in the NCAAs.

Goepfert is gone, which will hurt quite a bit. Jase Weslosky seems capable of filling the goaltending role after six starts last season that included a shutout of Clarkson in November (though he did have a couple of shaky games in the second half).

Offensively, Gordon and Kronick are gone (which will probably take a bite out of SCSU’s power play unit), but Lasch, Nodl, Dey and Swanson all remain. Recruits such as Garrett Roe and Aaron Marvin are expected to help fill the gaps. Defensively, St. Cloud lost three seniors, but they have at least one solid incoming freshman.

Overall, it’s hard to say just how SCSU will fare this season. The scoring punch, for the most part, is still there and I’m sure the defense will iron itself out; the questions are whether or not Weslosky can fill Goepfert’s large shoes, and how much losing Gordon and Kronick will cost them in terms of leadership and power play prowess. Regardless, this year’s SCSU team does not look quite like last year’s (at least on paper).

Prediction: Somewhere between 3^th and 6^th in the league.

Minnesota

It’s business as usual for Minnesota after claiming a second straight league title, and making their 7^th straight NCAA appearance last season, before ultimately falling to North Dakota in the West Regional title game.

The Gophers lose goalie Kellen Briggs and defenseman Mike Vannelli to graduation, but retain top forwards Kyle Okposo, Jay Barriball and Blake Wheeler. With high-quality forward prospects like Drew Fisher and Patrick White coming in this fall, it seems Minnesota shouldn’t have a problem with scoring.

Defensively, the Gophers take a hit. Aside form Vannelli, they also lost Erik Johnson and Alex Goligoski to the pro ranks. The loss of Goli is expected to hurt a lot at both the talent and leadership/experience levels, but Minnesota is preparing to reload as usual. How quickly the freshmen defensemen will adjust to the college game is uncertain.

Another big question is, can Jeff Frazee become the everyday goalie the Gophers need him to be? It’s no secret that he’s prone to giving up weak goals or having an off night more often than most starters. In 20 starts last season, he gave up four or more goals on four occasions and three or more goals on eight occasions. The Gophers’ significant losses on the blue line could leave Frazee more exposed than usual, at least for the first half of the season.

Overall, it looks like the Gophers have some question marks on defense (although I’m sure Don Lucia recruited d-men who will quickly adopt his system), and goaltending could become an issue if Frazee can’t keep his head on straight. Still, with the sheer amount of talent on offense, they should be able to outshoot and outscore just about anyone if they put their minds to it.

Prediction: Somewhere between 1^st and 3^rd in the league.

Standings

I realize it's ridiculously early to be doing this, but hey - so does everyone else.


1. North Dakota

The most complete team. Experience and talent in every position.

2. Minnesota

Lots of people say they are too young on defense, but let's be honest - they are the Gophers. They have strong recruits and will adapt quickly, I'm sure. Their offensive depth is top-notch and I'm sure Frazee will be fine, in spite of the occasional meltdown.

3. St. Cloud State

The returning offense is pretty strong, as are a few of their recruited forwards. Weslosky slipped a bit at the end of the season, but when you don't see ice time for a month and half, and then face a blistering North Dakota offense, you'll have that. Their defense is weaker this season, but the really tough part of their schedule isn't until the second-half, so new d-men will have some time to adapt. Could slip if they don't win enough games in the first-half of the season.

4. Michigan Tech

On paper, Tech returns almost all of the defense that propelled them to last year's results, plus both of their goalies. With a decent recruiting class, the question is - who will step into the leadership roles left behind by Helminen, Batovanja, and Skworchinski? The Huskies' schedule is pretty well-balanced, so they could get burned if they don't find their legs quickly.

5. Wisconsin

Wisconsin lost a ton of experience to graduation and early departures, but they did have the nation's top recruiting class. With Shane Connelly seemingly ready to start in goal, the question will be - who besides Kyle Turris will score for the Badgers? Could jump in the standings with enough depth on offense.

6. Colorado College

I considered placing CC higher, until it was announced that Jimmy Kilpatrick will be out until Thanksgiving to recover from surgery. Since they will be missing the guy who appears to be their top playmaker for the majority of the first-half, they will be more vulnerable. With a large question mark in goal, CC will need to rely on their defense heavily, and hope someone can fill Kilpatrick's skates while he is out. A first-half schedule that includes Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota in their first six games, plus St. Cloud State in December could make for a rough start.

7. Denver

The Pioneers are too thin on defense. Additionally, beyond their top 3 scorers, there is a sharp drop in offensive depth. As a goaltender, Mannino is pretty good and experienced, but hasn't been able to replicate his freshman year performance. Things could get harder without enough WCHA-caliber defensemen in front of him.

8. Minnesota State-Mankato

Now that their top goaltender has recovered from an injury, he will need to work his way back into top form for the Mavericks to have a chance at moving up in the world. Without Steve Wagner and Travis Morin to lead MSU-M, they will need to rely on players like Kalinski and Berge to step into those roles.

9. Alaska-Anchorage

With a large class containing some surprisingly decent recruits, it seems that Dave Shyiak could be laying the foundations for the Seawolves. They've got a ways to go however, and this year they will need to find players into step into the voids left by Jay Beagle and Justin Borune. Still, they should be good enough to avoid rock bottom.

10. Minnesota-Duluth

No Raymond (huge loss), No Niskanen (significant loss), thin on defense, big question mark in goal. Things do not look good in Bulldog land.



Of course, injuries and under/over performance will likely come into play. I'd say most of these teams could end up +/- 2 places outside of these predictions.

Pre-Season Predictions: Part 3

Next up, Denver and CC...

Colorado College

Last season, CC finished 5^th place in the WCHA by two points and just missed the NCAAs.

Up front, the Tigers lose Polich and Cox. Perhaps a much bigger blow is that they will be without Kilpatrick until at least Thanksgiving, which may negatively impact their early season as he seems to be an important leader and playmaker. However, their other top three scorers are all back and they will gain two strong recruits in Steve Schultz and Tyler Johnson. Back on defense Lee Sweatt is gone, but there’s still enough depth and experience for CC to get by.

The big question will be goaltending. Zaba has graduated, and backup Drew O’Connell doesn’t have much to offer in the way of statistics or big game experience. He will likely be competing for the starting job with incoming freshman Richard Bachman.

If the Tigers can hammer out their goaltending issues early on, they could be pretty good this year. Assuming they get past a seemingly-suicidal opening stretch against Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota with a 3-3 or even 2-4 record, they will be a team to keep an eye on.

Prediction: Somewhere between 4^th and 6^th in the league.

Denver

Denver completed the 06-07 season with a narrow claim to 4^th place in the league and just missed out on the NCAA tourney following a Wisconsin upset in the first-round of the WCHA playoffs.

The good news for the Pioneers is that even though Dingle left early, Trotter, Rakhshani, and Ruegsegger are all back for their sophomore seasons, and talented forwards like Tyler Bozak and Jesse Martin are on the way in. The bad news is that Denver suffers from a lack of depth on the blue line.

The Pioneers will be relying upon Mannino heavily in goal this season, and he has plenty of experience, though he has been unable to repeat his strong freshmen year performance when he helped Denver win a national championship.

DU’s predicament is similar to St. Cloud’s – the offensive prowess is there, so if the defense Denver has can get the job done and Mannino plays well, they should have a decent season. If Mannino gets left out to dry too much, there’s no telling what might happen. Bottom line – it’s probably something of a rebuilding year at Magness.

Prediction: Somewhere between 4^th and 7^th in the league.

Part 4 will conclude this pre-season analysis sometime next week, and I will also take a stab at actually ranking the teams.

Moving On...

Next on my set of predictions are the two teams who rounded out the bottom half of the 06-07 WCHA standings - Wisconsin and Michigan Tech. My write-up on MTU is a bit longer, seeing as how I am a Tech fan, and so my knowledge about them is more concrete.

Wisconsin

The Badgers are coming off of a down year, claiming 7^th place in the WCHA just one season after winning the 2006 National Championship.

One thing the Badgers can probably count on is goaltending. Brian Elliott is gone, but Shane Connelly looks ready to start after shutting out 3 opponents in the seven games he played last season.

Offensively, UW lost a fair bit of experience to graduation and an early departure. Senior forwards Andrew Joudrey, Jake Dowell, and Ross Carlson all graduated after 20+ point seasons last year, and sophomore Jack Skille departed for the pros. The good news for the Badger offense is that their incoming class contains the #3 overall pick of the NHL draft in Kyle Turris, as well as Josh Turnbull and Sean Dolan.

On the defensive side of the puck, Wisconsin lost three experienced defensemen, notably junior Joe Piskula who departed early for the pro ranks. The biggest incoming d-man will likely be Ryan McDonagh, although Brendan Smith was also taken in the first round back in June.

Overall, the Badgers are a pretty young team this season, and will probably start off a bit slow. However I would be surprised if they didn’t gather some steam as the year wears on, and by the end of the season I expect that they will be a team nobody wants to face during the league playoffs.

Prediction: Somewhere between 3^rd and 6^th in the league.

Michigan Tech

The Huskies are coming off of a surprising 06-07 campaign which saw them earn their first winning season in 15 years, and their first trip to the WCHA Final Five since 1996.

A strong point for Tech this season will be goaltending. Michael-Lee Teslak and Rob Nolan are both good goalies and they will enjoy a solid defense in front of them. They will be competing for playing time, and with some room at the top after the departures of Schneider, Curry, and Elliott, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one of them sitting among the country’s Top 5 netminders for most of the season.

Some people have argued that their season save percentages (91.6% for Teslak, 91.0% for Nolan) are merely average. Keep in mind that Tech suffered a mid-season slump, because if you look at the second half of the season (when Teslak emerged as the starter and Tech made their run), beginning with the Friday game against Bemidji up until the loss to Wisconsin at the Final Five (13 starts), Teslak posted a 93.03% SV. He also posted four shutouts on the season (two in the second half); I don’t consider those average stats. Having watched both of them in action many times, when either one of them is playing well, he is tough to beat.

On offense, MTU needed a shot in the arm, which was painfully obvious after so many one-goal losses and narrow victories last season. Key returning players will be last year’s top two point-getters Peter Rouleau (7-23-30) and Tyler Shelast (15-9-24). Jamie Russell and his crew of assistants seemed to have recruited an excellent class which included third-round draftee Casey Pierro-Zabotel (‘CPZ’ for short). Unfortunately, CPZ was unable to qualify academically on his first try (although Russell reports that he was very, very close), so he will continue to play with Merritt of the BCHL until he can retake his exams in October, and hopefully join the Huskies in December, in time for the series against Northern Michigan.

Until then, MTU can still look forward to Eric Kattelus, who racked up 39 points with Indiana of the USHL last season and was second on his team in PPG (an area in which Tech really needs improvement). There is also Bennett Royer, who led the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL with 76 points (including 18 PPG), and averaged almost 1.5 points per game. Finally, there is Jordan Baker, who was second in scoring for the Olds Grizzlies of the AJHL, with 50 points (including 20 PPG). Jordan sustained a shoulder injury later in the season and missed the team’s last 15 or so games, but should be healed in time for the start of practices at Tech.

Defensively, the Huskies lost senior Lars Helminen to graduation. While Lars was an important part of the team and his leadership will be missed, the rest of the defensive core remains, which will go a long way towards sustaining the performance Tech showed in the second half of last season. The Huskies have just one incoming defenseman, but Deron Cousens is expected to perform well as an offensive d-man after compiling 51 points last season with Penticton of the BCHL, including 9 PPG and 2 shorties. Hopefully, he can help fill Lars’ shoes down the line.

Tech will be looking for home ice this year after narrowly missing it last season, and I anticipate that we will get it by a hair. As for making the NCAA tourney, it’s too early to say for certain whether or not it will happen. How will the defensemen fare without Lars to lead them? How much grit will the team show without Batty to fire them up? Can any upperclassmen step in and fill their shoes this year? Can Teslak and/or Nolan play for a whole season like they did at their peaks last year? The answers to these questions will likely determine how far Tech goes this season.

Prediction: Somewhere between 4^th and 7^th in the league.

September Arrives...

With just a little over a month until the hockey Huskies take the ice and begin another season, I feel it's now safe to start speculating about each WCHA team's chances this season. All of the major early departures are likely public by now, and the status of almost all recruiting classes is known. That said, I'll go ahead and post my first three predictions tonight.


Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs claimed 9^th place in the WCHA last season.

With the loss of senior goalie Josh Johnson, Duluth is left with sophomore Alex Stalock in the net, who had some trouble adjusting to college play and posted 3.34 GAA and an .881 SV% in 23 games his freshman season. They are also bringing a freshman by the name of Kenny Rieter into the mix, who played his junior hockey in the NAHL. Between the inconsistent Stalock and a raw, untested freshman, it seems like Duluth’s goaltending situation could be unstable.

More woes abound in front of the net, where both of UMD’s top point-getters, forward Mason Raymond and defenseman Matt Niskanen, decided to forego their final two years of eligibility and turn pro. The Bulldogs also lost top goal-scorer Bryan McGregor and two experienced defensemen to graduation, leaving them with just two 20+ point players returning, and a lot of shoes to fill.

On the recruiting front, UMD seems to have found some potential goal-scorers in Justin Fontaine, Kyle Schmidt and Rob Bordson, but will they be able to contribute much as freshmen and if so, how much?

Between the goaltending questions and a big loss of scoring punch and leadership, I’m afraid the Bulldogs and their fans are in for a long season. Stalock needs to prove that he is a competent, everyday goaltender, upperclassmen need to fill leadership roles, and freshmen must start producing quickly if Duluth is to make any progress this season.

Prediction: Somewhere between 8^th and 10^th in the league.

Alaska-Anchorage

The Seawolves claimed 10^th place in the WCHA last season.

After an interesting first half which included a home sweep of North Dakota and splits with Wisconsin and Colorado College, everything seemed to go downhill for the Seawolves after Christmas.

Up front, Bourne graduated and Beagle moved on. Back on the blue line, Anderson graduated. In goal, Lawson moved on (probably a good thing for both him and UAA).

Incoming recruits include Chris Rengert, Tommy Grant, Winston Daychief, and Nick Haddad on offense, Jeff Carlson on defense, and Matt Gordon between the pipes.

Overall, it could be an interesting year for the Seawolves provided they can play some defense, and get decent goaltending out of either Olthuis or Gordon. Whether or not that can happen remains to be seen.

Prediction: Somewhere between 8^th and 10^th in the league.

Minnesota State-Mankato

The Mavericks claimed 8th place in the WCHA last season.

The story of 06-07 seemed to be goaltending and penalties. The Mavs were the most penalized team in the league, and both of their starting goalies suffered injuries. Both Tormey and Zacharias should be fully healed in time for the start of the 07-08 campaign, however it seems that they will have their work cut out for them.

On offense, losing Morin to graduation will be tough, but the Mavs retain Hanson, Kalinski and Berge, all of whom are important elements of MSUM’s power play. Kalinski is also particularly adept at scoring shorties.

On the blue line, MSUM suffers a bit from the early departure of Wagner and the graduation of two seniors, but they pick up a couple of decent-looking freshmen.

Similar to St. Cloud, it’s tough to predict exactly where this team will wind up, but I’d say that they have the potential to be a force in the bottom half of the league, and could surprise a higher seed in the WCHA playoffs come March. They need to work on reducing their penalty minutes though.

Prediction: Somewhere between 7th and 9th in the league.


I'll post two more predictions later this week.

John MacInnes to be Inducted into US Hockey Hall of Hame

*Link*

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Legendary Michigan Tech hockey coach John MacInnes, who led the Huskies to three NCAA championships and 555 wins in 26 seasons, will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as announced today by USA Hockey.

***************

Follow the link to read the full story. This honor is overdue, and I offer a posthumous congratulations to Coach MacInnes, as well as his surviving family.

A Minor Setback...

The Daily Mining Gazette has the *full story*...

The quick version is that prize MTU recruit Casey Pierro-Zabotel will not be playing for the Huskies until the December 15th game against NMU (Saturday night, in Houghton).

According to coach Jamie Russell, his ACT and/or SAT scores are just a few points short of the threshold required for full NCAA eligibility. Therefore, Casey will continue to play junior hockey with the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL and take the tests again in October. Hopefully he will be better prepared on his second try. Most people I know improved the second time they took such tests, so because he was supposedly so close to the necessary threshold, I'm not too concerned. But we could have used him much sooner.

Russell was quick to stress that he contacted Casey, Casey's adviser and the Pittsburgh Penguins (who recently drafted him) as soon as he heard the news, and that all three are in agreement that Michigan Tech is still where he should develop. It would be very easy for him to bolt for a Canadian major junior team, but the consensus seems to be that he should stick to his plans, which is good news for Tech fans.

While it would be easy to panic right now, there is really no reason to do so. Let's examine a few things about this team...

1. We still have Teslak and Nolan, both of whom I expect will have excellent seasons. At least one of them should be among the country's Top 5 goalies, and likely in contention for the top spot all season.

2. We still have our top two point-getters from last season, Peter Rouleau (7-23-30) and Tyler Shelast (15-9-24).

3. Still coming in October are Deron Cousens, Eric Kattelus, Bennett Royer and Jordan Baker, all solid players and good recruits. Cousens will probably try to fill Helminen's shoes as an offensive defensemen, Kattelus should help out our PP numbers, and I expect all of them will put up some points.

4. We still have a solid core of defensemen, all with at least one year's experience under their belts. Our freshmen d-men started to look pretty capable towards the end of last season, blocking shots and being aggressive.

Furthermore, I expect most, if not all of our upperclassmen to take their play up another notch from last season. As I said in a comment on MEg's blog, with plenty of hard work, practice, and smart play, I don't see why this team cannot have a solid winning record by the time Casey arrives. The schedule for the first half looks like this (exhibition games omitted)...

October

12/14 - Northern/LSSU (Superior Cup)
19/20 - MSU-Mankato
26/27 - North Dakota

November

02/03 - @ Wisconsin
09/10 - St. Cloud State
16/17 - @ UM-Duluth
30 - @ Minnesota

December

01 - @ Minnesota
14 - @ Northern
15 - Northern
28 - Michigan State (GLI)
29 - Michigan/Providence (GLI)

So there will be 9 home games, 7 away games and 2 "neutral" games through the end of the December, for a total of 18 contests. The hardest games will probably be home against the Sioux and on the road at the Goofs. Wisconsin will be strong, but they are a very young team that will be prone to mistakes in the first half and while Connelly is pretty good in the net, he's no Elliott. St. Cloud will be a bit softer this season without Goepfert backstopping them, but they still have a lot of scoring punch.

I'm sure the games against Northern will be as hard fought and up for grabs as they normally are, but I think Tech has a bit of an edge in talent, plus two of them will be at home. And as usual, the team must be careful not to overlook even UMD and MSU-M, as just about any WCHA team can take out another on any given night.

Bottom line - I think the team is very capable of being, say, 10-4-1 by the time Casey suits up for his first game as a Husky on December 15th. Panicking is not acceptable yet!

Another Possible Blue Chipper...

Jacob Johnstone has committed to Michigan Tech for the 09-10 campaign and will spend this coming season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. Johnstone recorded 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 26 games last season with Capital Centre of the MWEHL, including 7 PPG and 2 SHG. Good enough to make him the U18 division scoring leader.

*Link to MWEHL 'U18 Scoring Leaders' page.*

Thanks to 'John Scott Rocks' at USCHO for bringing this to my attention and Heisenberg's recruitment page for confirmation.

This will give Tech fans three recruits to follow in the USHL next season, including Anthony Schooley (Waterloo), Jake Hauswirth (Omaha), and now Jacob Johnstone (Green Bay). There is also Alex MacLeod, who is still up north with Penticton of the BCHL.

Axtell to Defect?

Earlier this year, it was reported that Phil Axtell had been dismissed from the hockey Huskies for "repeated violations of team policy".

Now, Heisenberg is reporting on his recruitment website that Axtell is transferring to - you guessed it - eNeMa U.

Phil wouldn't be eligible to play with the Mildkittens until Sept. 2008, but this is interesting gossip nonetheless.

Memories...

First, I would like to thank Chris at the Western College Hockey blog for mentioning this blog in a recent post.

Second, there's another new blog out there that's going to be covering the world of college hockey at large. It's called "The College Hockey (& Other Stuff) Blog", and you can find it near the top of my links to the right of this post.

Third, like some of us have been doing in the Tech thread on USCHO, I thought I'd share a few memories from 06-07 - my first full year of following Tech hockey. Some (read: 'all') of the photos are nipped from MEg's Tech blog, but my camera sucks and I'm behind the net playing with the band anyway, so I have an excuse for not having pics of my own to share this season. Other than that, I can assure you that I was at these games and I will remember them fondly...








"Ladies and gentlemen, here is tonight's starting lineup for the Northern Michigan Wildcats..."

**YAWN**









3 seconds to go in the 3rd, score 1-1...ST. LOUIS SCORES!

(photo courtesy of Anthony Reynolds)








Final score - MTU 9, UAA 0. Teslak's first shutout of the season, Rouleau's first career hat-trick.








Someone at the Joe forgot to reset the score from the State-Haahvaad game, resulting in several minutes of entertainment. Too bad it didn't actually happen.











Skworch firing up the crowd on Senior Night after sweeping Wisconsin.

Hauswirth to Sign NLI...

The Misfits are reporting that there's a strong chance Jake Hauswirth will be signing a National Letter of Intent to play for Michigan Tech soon, beginning in 08-09.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jake finished his 06-07 season with Marquette of the NAHL, totaling 21-19-40. He will be playing with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL in 07-08, and has been described as a big, physical player who can make good hits and has a nice shot.

For the Misfits' story, go *here*.

Schooley, Hauswirth to USHL...

08-09 Tech recruit Anthony Schooley will be playing his last year of juniors in the USHL, after he was drafted by Waterloo earlier this week.

Schooley had originally played for Waterloo, but had family issues this year and transferred to Traverse City of the NAHL to be closer to home. With things apparently settled, he will now return to Waterloo for one more season before joining Tech for the 2008-2009 campaign.

Additionally, potential Tech recruit Jake Hauswirth, currently with Marquette of the NAHL, was drafted by Omaha. Hauswirth has not yet given a verbal to any university, but back in April it was mentioned in the MTU thread that Hauswirth had received some interest from MTU (he even took a visit), and would like to play in the WCHA. He had been scouted for 07-08, but he felt he was not developed enough and wanted to play another year of juniors. Hopefully the USHL should give him that edge.

Thanks to Shirtless for digging up the draft info, and USHL.com for confirmation.

Official 2007-2008 Schedule Announced...

The official announcement can be found at the Tech athletic site. (link)

I would expand a bit, but I think MEg's got it covered over at THB. (link)

:)

Axtell Axed?

The rumor on the street is that freshman forward Phil Axtell has been dismissed from the hockey Huskies for "repeated violations of team rules". No specifics have been gleaned and there has not yet been an official announcement.

Truthfully, I was a bit unimpressed with Axtell's play. 10 pts. is decent for a freshman campaign, but I felt he should have been throwing his massive physical size around a lot more. He was also forced to sit out all of the WCHA playoff games against CC and the F5 game against Bucky for poor grades, so something tells me the issue is likely academic.

If this turns out to be true, then I wish Phil the best of luck in any future endeavors.

Michigan Tech 2007-2008 Preliminary Schedule

The annoucement has not yet been made so this is still subject to change, but this is what some people have been able to determine, through deductive logic...

Home games are denoted in bold

Oct. 12 - eNeMa U (Superior Showdown)
Oct. 14 - Lake State (Superior Showdown)
Oct. 19 - Minnesota State-Mankato
Oct. 20 - Minnesota State-Mankato
Oct. 26 - North Dakota
Oct. 27 - North Dakota
Nov. 2 - @ Wisconsin
Nov. 3 - @ Wisconsin
Nov. 9 - St. Cloud State
Nov. 10 - St. Cloud State
Nov. 16 - @ Minnesota-Duluth
Nov. 17 - @ Minnesota-Duluth
Nov. 30 - @ Minnesota
Dec. 1 - @ Minnesota
Dec. 14 - @ eNeMa U (nc)
Dec. 15 - eNeMa U (nc)
Dec. 28 - vs. Michigan State (GLi) (nc)
Dec. 29 - vs. Michigan/Providence (GLi) (nc)
Jan. 4 - @ Mercyhurst (nc)
Jan. 5 - @ Mercyhurst (nc)
Jan. 11 - @ North Dakota
Jan. 12 - @ North Dakota
Jan. 25 - Colorado College
Jan. 26 - Colorado College
Feb. 1 - @ Alaska-Anchorage
Feb. 2 - @ Alaska-Anchorage
Feb. 15 - Minnesota-Duluth
Feb. 16 - Minnesota-Duluth
Feb. 22 - @ St. Cloud State
Feb. 23 - @ St. Cloud State
Feb. 29 - Denver
Mar. 1 - Denver
Mar. 7 - @ Minnesota State-Mankato
Mar. 8 - @ Minnesota State-Mankato

Pros

1. No trips to Colorado
2. String of early home games to (hopefully) build some momentum.
3. NMU rivalry series in the middle of the season, instead of wasting it right away.
4. For that matter, a second home game against Northern.

Cons

1. LOOONNNGG stretch of road games in the middle of the season. If it weren't for the H&H against Northern, we'd be going two months without a game at the JMSIA.
2. Ending the regular season on the road (at least it'll be against Mankato)
3. Watered-down OOC schedule (MSU? Good. NMU? Tradition, and perhaps they'll bounce back next season. Mercyhurst? C'mon!)
4. No visit from UAA (can't heckle Nathan Lawson again)

Overall, this proposed schedule feels a bit unbalanced, even though the number of games is correct and the opponents are accurate. When the finalized schedule is announced (hopefully soon), we'll see how close the actual dates are to this mock up.

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to the Michigan State Spartans, 2007 National Champions. After the woes your football program has been suffering recently, it's nice to see at least one MSU team do well, especially after being underdogs through it all.

That would be MSU's third title - Christ they're tied with Tech now. It's alright though, we're gonna win our fourth in the next two or three years. If State can break a 21-year titleless streak and BC can break a 50+ year titleless run (back in 2001), then MTU is due to end 38 years of suffering (as of 2008) soon. ;)

And with that, hockey is officially over for about the next six months...

*ahem*

...

So...is it October yet?

One Last Quick Wrap...

I guess it's only appropriate that my first 'real' post here reflects upon our team's accomplishments this season.

After going 7-25-6 in the '05-'06 campaign, the Huskies got their shit together this year and earned their first winning season since '92-'93, going 18-17-5 overall. The biggest change that allowed them to achieve this crucial first step in the direction of a rebuild is the defense. I don't know what Coach Russell did with the defense during the off-season, but whatever it was, the Huskies went from allowing 148 goals last season, to just 86 this year. This made the majority of our games much closer - in fact, many of our losses this season were by just a single goal. So while the defense is good, our offense is mediocre at best. We have a couple of consistent playmakers in Peter Rouleau and Tyler Shelast, and everyone else just seems to contribute when they can.

I witnessed several offensive plays this season that were very well-executed, but the pass was fired just a bit too high or too fast, and bounced right over the stick of the player sitting in front of the net, waiting to bury it.

In summary...

The Good

*Shot-blocking, puck-stealing defense
*Penalty kill (87.3% - among the nation's top 10)
*Goaltending (Teslak - 2.00 GAA, Nolan - 2.26 GAA)

The Bad

*Anemic offense (prone to little mistakes that add up)

The Ugly

*Pitful power play (9.3% - we really need snipers)

Moving forward, I'll take a more in-depth look at recruits another time, but this year's class looks promising.

Up & Running!

My new hockey blog is now rolling, off-season updates will follow as I deem them necessary.