The ugliness continues......

I was so inspired by the play of the Badgers during their Friday night contest that I decided to record the game and put off a family event to watch it. As it turns out, that was a very bad idea.

The Badgers started off extremely well and even caused me to crack open a beer for their short handed goal. From the get go, I was watching the game on delay and I saw the poor offensive play come out. I figured that checking the real time score would be a bad idea due to the poor zone play. Then the short handed goal came, and I thought this might be a really good game.


As it turns out, Wisconsin ended up losing the game 3-1 and stifled down the trove of losses that has become known to their name. Rumpel did well, allowing two goals with the third being an empy netter. At this point, I maintain a high confidence for the Badgers due to their missing components. However, this kind of play cannot continue or Wisconsin will end up lower than anyone anticipated.

Pioneers ice CC, Gophers and Badgers....

Another Friday, another day of hatred coughed up in the lineage between rivals. On this day, four teams took part in arguably the two best rivalry's in all of college hockey: CC vs. DU and WI vs. MN.


CC has had a strong year from their team in terms of points, defense, player contribution and teamwork. This time last year their junior goalie, Joe Howe, was swirling down a season that belonged in the toilet. The CC defense was lagging behind and really made the offense look mediocre. This was a sad season because CC had an awesome player in Jaden Schwartz.

Fast forward to this season: Putting the Cornell series aside, CC has had an absolutely dominant season. Josh Thorimbert has looked stunning while Joe Howe has returned to form and found his swagger. The matured defense looks great from their hard knocks a year ago, and the offense has sizzled everything in it's path. I was one of the few people who gave CC absolutely no chance this year because Jaden was gone. Tisk, Tisk. I'm bad. The good news is, without Jaden the Tigers have looked great and have proved to almost everyone that they will not be a bottom feeder in the new NCHC, but a possible contender.....

....Well that was until last night when the Tigers played their first game against a future NCHC team. Denver staple-gunned the Tigers to the boards and railed four goals on 12 shots against Josh Thorimbert. By the fourth goal, Josh seemed to be out of it and everything appeared in line for Josh to leave the game. Howe came in during a tough spot and gave up another goal within two minutes making the score 5-2. Not long after, Joe gave up his final goal making the score 6-2 and the Tigers officially washed out of the game.......but wait a second....The Tigers came back in the third period and literally stunned the Pioneers. CC ripped, clawed and scratched their way to a 6-5 game using the exact same formula that got them past Bemidji and Wisconsin. To say how good the tigers did, they left their net open for over a minute and no goals were even scored. Denver never even got a shot off to the empty netter. It was the exact kind of empty netter that fans want to see. The one that never attracts a puck. With 15.4 seconds left, Rylan Schwartz posted on Denver's goalie skated forward and slapped a shot which was only stopped by a defender in the way. The play wound down to about 3.4 seconds and a faceoff near the blue line all but keeping CC from a season sweep of the Pioneers. Looking back at the game, I think the Tigers showed some real fortitude in playing this game. They showed that they can compete. They did give up quite a few goals, but at least they can work off of this.

BADGERS VS. GOPHERS

I am not one who is nice to college goaltenders. I tend to rip them when I see poor performances. For references on my past views of college goalies, just consult CC fan Lee Siewart. He can tell you personally how many poor reviews I gave of CC goalies in the past. Given my history, I was less than thrilled to see the Wisconsin back up starting for the Badgers. Landon Petersen is a capable goalie who can definitely make plays. However, he did not play much last year and played one game this season. Joel Rumpel has played okay in the past and has a respectable GAA. My main concern with Petersen was not his lack of work, it was the lack of personnel in front of him that worried me. Nic Kerdiles(2nd rd, Anaheim, Suspension) and Mark Zengerle(Broken Finger) were both out leaving Wisconsin without capable scoring options. So my first thought was to grab some beers because I would need a buzz to watch this game. Boy was I wrong! The Badgers never led, but did some solid tape to tape passing and played incredibly good defense against #3 Minnesota. Last year, Minnesota was #2 in the nation for goals scored and all of their top scorers (Bjugstand, Condon, Haula) all came back for another round. Although they lost their goalie to graduation, they picked up a capable replacement in Adam Wilcox. During the first period, Wisconsin showed some talent with the puck. They only had nine shots on goal, but kept the Gophers to the same. They played a solid effort game with a few penalties which they killed off. During the second period, the badgers fell flat. They got scored on, but came right back to score the game equalizing goal. I was not impressed to see a 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. However, the badgers played through it and kept their skates moving. Most importantly, Landon Petersen held strong facing 20 shots in the period and only allowing one goal. Enter the third period and yet again another 10 minute game misconduct and a 5 minute major for a blow to the head. Yet again, the badgers killed the penalty off and staved off wicked break away's by Bjugstand and Condon to force an uneventful overtime and a tie. Minnesota gave the first and second star to their players and the third star to Michael Mersch who scored both goals. I however, would have given a star to Petersen for standing tall. He faced 44 shots and only allowed two goals. As a fan, I am optimistic for the Badgers to play another round against the Gophers. However, they are going to need to keep this defense up to continue.

All in all it was a great night for college hockey. Between the two games, I give the goalie star to Landon Petersen. He played better than any of the other goalies mentioned in this blog. I give the player star to Rylan Schwartz because he played outstanding and led by example (except after the game had ended he slammed a DU player into the boards causing a DQ which will force him to watch the next game from the stands). My defensive star is going to Minnesota. Although they didn't play well, I think they were a key contributor into the fine play of Wilcox. Denver, CC and Wisconsin all left their goalies out to dry while the Gophers held a good D.

Badgers go down in flames

What a week of hype and showdowns. This blogger used to be a tiger fan.....bad weekend to say that.....YIKES!

Coming into this weekend, CC had fire from the Cornell series and Wisconsin looked poised to end all things after dominating Duluth.


My weekend preview was that Joel Rumpel would take the pipes against Josh Thorimbert and possibly Joe Howe. Rumpel proved his worth in the Northern Michigan series after Petersen messed up big time.

It's slipping my mind (note for a later edit), WI had a player injured this week during practice. Not that it would have changed the outcome.


So then begins my thoughts.......

When WI went up 2-0 on Friday night I thought that my friend Lee Siewert and Tim Matteson would be the laughing stock of the WCHA. I laughed at the Kohl Center during the Tiger frustration. What I didn't know is the resilience of this Tiger team. They began to play like a team and more importantly, began scoring. Their work was a thing of beauty that had not been seen since the Boston College playoff game a couple of years ago.

Now, it was back.

With the scored tied 2-2 I was wanting Justin Schultz and Nic Kerdiles to be on the ice so badly. Both players had the same chance of playing on these nights. Schultz is now a pro and Kerdiles is suspended.

CC took over and never looked back. They did give up the lead once, but never really felt like they were down. I watched as my Badgers looked in misery.

My night ended with an AK-16 goal which for the first time, ruined my night.

Enter Saturday. It didn't get much better.

Now during my time as a Tiger fan I often gave criticism to Joe Howe. I gave honest critiques and never gave anything that I didn't feel was deserved. I never felt that I gave Joe a scolding just because he had a bad play. It just happened to be that his Junior year was not his best, and one of my most public as a Tiger fan.

With that being said, Joe looked like the Joe that I knew. The Joe who signed my goalie mask. The Joe who took the world arena from Colorado Springs and held it on his shoulders in St. Louis while the rest of his team dismantled BC. That same base lowered him to the ground when Michigan owned St. Louis for only a night. A costly one.

But tonight, Joe was back in form. He played well and really saw the puck. I was very impressed with his work, but more impressed with the defense. Last year, people saw the defensive problems which was such a poor outlet for that team. They did so many good things.

However, on this night the Tigers would not be denied their lineage. The right to say that they had Bob before the Badgers did. The right to say they didn't sell out for him.

My Badgers have an incredible amount of work. The offense did nothing on Saturday and the defense messed up on Friday. We need Kerdiles more than he needs us. Hopefully he'll be a force in Denver.

To all my CC friends: Fans of CC 1. Jim 0

College Hockey talks

This has been a lonely week for the news casters of college hockey. Inside College Hockey tied up their skates and called it a career. Although this is not as big of a shift change as the conference line up, it's pretty big in the sports world. Almost 75% of what INCH wrote or ranked ended up on other news feeds.

Being such, I have decided to put my money where my mouth or in this case fingers are and start my own news agency. All of the legal framework is set and I hope to have it up and running for the next season.

Since I am quite a crafty guy, I called some sports bloggers and ended up talking with some representatives from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Yes, they corrected me UAH is referred to properly as "in" rather than "at". During our talks, I spoke with a number of people sensitive to the required conference shift and in the interest of keeping peoples names out of the news I have decided to withhold all names from these talks. Basically, UAH is in a battle with the WCHA to gain acceptance. With the folding of the CCHA, no team will want to take UAH. This is because Hockey East is not looking to add teams without a name lineage (Notre Dame) far away from the bulk of their campuses. Atlantic Hockey would be a good choice, but they would reduce the allowable scholarships. The Big Ten or B1G is untouchable. No team in that league will exit or form in another conference. This leaves the WCHA as the only hope for UAH. The problem is in the travel. When the CCHA folded, they left the burden of Alaska-Fairbanks on the WCHA. Combined with Alaska-Anchorage the bills are going to add up quickly.

From what I gathered, most of the meetings with the WCHA have been positive with the general exception being getting accepted. It appears the WCHA is hinging upon Iowa State to turn their club team to varsity. As a former director of a college club team, I have played Iowa State. I know that this team is likely the best team to move up. Although the WCHA won't say it, they don't want UAH because of the travel. If the WCHA does indeed get the opportunity to strip Air Force from Atlantic Hockey, this conversation is completely over. But that likely won't happen, so if you are a UAH fan just hope that I.S. doesn't elevate their program.

Two games. Two perspectives.

The WCHA had a good weekend of non-conference games. As a Badger fan, I am not sure what to take from this weekend. I was also able to take in a Colorado College game and caught some surprises in the arena.


First up is Colorado College.

For the past three years I have been a fan and a season ticket holder to the Colorado College Tigers. I thought the first two years were real good ones and the last one was the sucker punch that I needed to take off, amongst moving being the other.
So this year I watch the games from the television unless Wisconsin comes to Colorado (NOV 30,DEC1).
But I took in a CC game on Saturday and this will be the review that I was waiting to write.

Coaching: I've known the staff at CC for quite a while. Coach Owens is pretty good at staying the course and not falling to pressure from outside sources. He makes tweaks but a overhaul is rare. I saw the same coaching staff as I have the past three years: steadfast and loyal to the way they do things. So nothing new, take that as a good thing.

Offense: This is what I thought I wouldn't see. Losing Jaden Schwartz to the NHL and a host of talented seniors was sure to cost the Tigers. Not the case, they continue rolling but more as a team. I like that a little better than playing one guy for most of the minutes. Good job to all four lines getting action. I thought everyone played really well, while most players did little to no developing last year, I feel from this one game that they picked off where they stopped two years ago.

Defense: This is what I knew I wouldn't see this weekend. I guess everyone goes into Vegas knowing they will leave rich, but no one ever does. I was wrong here too. Wow was I wrong, and happy for it. Last year was a horrific attempt at defending and I really couldn't pin point the faults. Guentzel was a great player, Dineen was a good leader. The defense looked good on paper but never made the impact they needed. But I also knew that CC was a bomb on defense waiting to explode. That happened from what I saw. Harstad played well and so did Stoykewych before he was injured. I'm most impressed with Marciano. He was a stay at home defender for the last two years. That changed on Saturday and I think that's the biggest difference from last year.

Goaltending: I only got to see one night, and from that one night I can only judge off the goaltending I did see. That goaltender was Joe Howe. Joe is a great guy and I don't know what the future holds for him but I wish him the best. With that being said, I think the best way to sum up this Saturday's effort was horrible. I had seats which made me privy to Howe's net. He's not tracking the way he did his freshman and sophomore year. The puck has become a problem and he seems to lock up before the shot is taken. Needless to say the goals he did give up were pretty bad. On this case, I'd have to disagree with Owens that CC has a good tandem. Howe just isn't the same goalie he was his first two years.

Overall: I think CC is way under-rated. I would venture to say CC will finish top five this year. They have the ability to make plays. Given that Clarkson didn't look like much of a contender, CC still put up 40 shots and got 5 goals. That bodes well for top competition where they will probably get 10 less shots and two less goals.


Wisconsin:
I'm a bit shaken by what I saw this weekend. I shouldn't be shaken, but I am. Last season WI got most of their goals off rebounds and Justin Shultz was the leading scorer. He's gone now and nothing left me thinking national championship banner for the Badgers.

Offense: Anemic. They played horrible on both nights, and nothing about this offense says "reloading OR rebuilding". The whole "twitter-gate" with Kerdiles hurt the Badgers big time.

Defense: The bright spot that I didn't think would be there. Wisconsin changed their game quite a bit from last year. They still have good players but they block shots A-La Ferris State. I think this will help the shaky offense and maybe team red can find their stride mid season.

Goal-Tending: Rumpel played pretty well. He's a big body who takes up much of the net to begin with. I think he tries to sell that when playing puck handlers and then get's burned. I think he can improve there. Peterson played Saturday when I was not watching and I've already heard the groans of his play. I knew this was a one goalie team, so nothing new to report.

Overall: I saw a report placing WI 4th in the WCHA for predictions. If Kerdiles' suspension does hold up, and/or something does change soon expect this team to be the Enron of the WCHA.

Wisconsin Hockey: Gear up for 2012!

So here we are, nearly a month removed from the college hockey season and I am already stoked. This year presents a couple of new styles for me. First off, I no longer have season tickets to CC and second I no longer am a fan of CC.
The first and second are interrelated so I'll address them here. Last season I decided to reach out into the CC fan base and find people as like minded as myself and my friend who I attend games with. At first the introduction was fun and smooth. I met quite a few people who enjoyed the game, but were quite older than me. They came off as the casual fan and less of what I was looking for. However all of them had deep roots to the school, so I thought why not try it? Well I was no worse for the ware after introducing my family to this group of people at a local restaurant. But things slowly changed. After about a month into the season, Joe Howe stumbled in net and things were looking down. I saw his obvious dragging in net, but I knew something had to be wrong. After all, Joe had spent many hours of every day training over the past summer. I even had the opportunity to train were Joe trains and found that his trainers were baffled by his performance. But none the less, I proceeded to write a blog about the situation in net after a disasterous outing against Nebraska-Omaha. I called upon Scott Owens to replace Howe with Thorny and to rework the defense. What I got was cold hearted reviews and heated rants to the point where I deleted the blog. However, that did not stop people in the CC group from making comment after comment just to play devils advocate to anything I said. Eventually I made enough of them mad that they just stopped talking to me altogether. It was at that moment that I realized many of the CC fans outside of the student section were not typical fans you would find at UND, WI, MN or any other school for that matter. Most were older who had solid jobs, grown up children and made significant contributions to the CC family. I realized why there is such a disconnect between Denver and CC beyond the location rivalry. CC is founded by fans who give more to the school, take less and love the school more than the sport. I find no passion in this atmosphere because I was there for hockey.
So during the playoffs last year I purchased DU tickets to watch my old badgers play. They lost in 3, but I realized how much I missed a team with fans who identified with me.
So now that the past is behind me, I move forward with Wisconsin as my team of choice. With that comes my first review of the season which is a long awaited debut.

First I have to address the obvious: Justin Schultz is gone. To put this into perspective, Schultz was a great defenseman. He ate ice time like I eat twinkies. His contributions were not as present if you attended one or two games, but viewed his work from a whole. This throws people off into thinking that Schultz was just a cog in the wheel. To put this to rest, Schultz was the wheel. But with every new season comes the chance for new recruits to headline the system.

Bucky's fifth quarter does a good job of breaking down the player positions so I wanted to focus on the evolving goalie situation. Peterson and Rumpel are back for round 2. If experience has anything to do with the goalie situation then expect Peterson to meander over the the bench at the opening practice. But even with that, something has to be addressed with Rumpel. Although he is talented, and a possible future NHLer, he lacks the upper body movement of a Richard Bachman or Sam Brittain. This guy is all lower body and keeps his upper body generally rigid. He needs to be more fluid in his motions or the badger red light behind him will light up. That's never a good thing.
With Schultz gone, Rumpel is going to get the opportunity to remake himself. He's going to have to prove to himself and everyone else that he can dominate the net.

Peterson will need to be strong in his no doubt low amount of minutes. His best attributes need to be on display as their is room in the Wisconsin locker room for a goalie controversy.

All in all Wisconsin looks good this year. They have a bit more experience in their net minders, but lack a power defenseman. I wouldn't project Wisconsin to take the league championship but then again UND, UMD, UM, and SCST will all have new netminders. These were three of the powerhouses last season and if any one of them slips, a team like Wisconsin surely can take over.

From what I saw last season, Denver looks to be a favorite from a goal tending standpoint. The loss of Schwartz at CC and Shore in Denver are going to raise big question marks.

Here is the questions that I want to ask for 2012-13:
St Cloud State: Will Mike Lee's departure actually mean anything to the huskies?
Duluth: With Reiter and Connolly both gone, who is going to make this team dance?
North Dakota: A logo change, Dell and Nelson gone could probably mean the end of the broadmoor trophy landing in Grand Forks.
Denver: How big of a loss is shore anyways?
Colorado College: For 2 years the QB of this team has been Jaden Schwartz. Now that he is gone, does this team have anyone who can control?
Wisconsin: A team without offense last year now presents itself as a team without anything this year. Could this be the end of the line for coach Mike Eaves?

We will see.....

A look forward in the WCHA

With the WCHA down to one team currently competing, I thought the time would be right to try and do some simple analysis of what fans can expect for next season.


(updated as of 3/27/2012):

Minnesota: This is the one team that truly worries me for next season. In the world of finances, anyone with the least bit of aptitude will tell you to diversify. In the sports sense, this is a very good buzzword that can be applied or thrown in the trash can for later un-crumbling. In Minnesota's case, they will have some problems.
1.) Kent Patterson played all but 20 minutes in net for 2011-12! Shibrowski is his talent placed natural back up. Shibby has seen 2 games for Colorado College and 2o minutes for Minnesota. Coming off of this season (as of this blog, a frozen four appearance), Shibby will have the ultimate pressure upon himself. Lucia is known for doing things well when he does them right. He's also known for royally screwing things up when he's wrong. This one depends on how many of the guys in front of Shibby defect for the pro's before he get's the chance to make the pipes shine.

Denver: When it rains, it pours. As goes the CC saying, "Zucker will make Denver a sucker". That he did. Count his partner, Drew Shore and there is a serious problem in the mile high city. All is not quiet on the western front. Coach Gwozdecky has the fit to take care of. Although Zucker and Shore were not sole leaders for the Pioneers, they represent huge chunks of performance. I fully expect the weight to be felt upon Sam Brittain's shoulders. Should be a good season for the guy.

Colorado College: This is where the spectrum starts to turn from epic fail to just fail. CC lost Jaden Schwartz to early defection. Take him out of this season's equation and the bitter taste left in the tiger fans mouth seems to be better understood. Net minding issues came at a bad time for these tigers. Thorimbert should provide a better foundation coming into the year. With Harstad and Stoykewich now defensive leaders, this team should have something to build on.

Minnesota-Duluth: With the Connolly duo officially out of duck town, it's time to start thinking about the future. Offense looks good, defense looks good. Goaltending might be an issue. Duluth probably won't hold true to the form they held the past two seasons but they should have a decent year. The goalie situation is the only place that I can find discomfort. Reiter, like his counterpart south of Duluth, will leave a wide open gap in net. Only time will tell if this squad can handle the load.

Wisconsin: Justin Shultz is the key. He didn't leave the Badgers after they lost a key game to Denver. He could have suited up for Anaheim the next night in Denver. Instead he flew back to Madison to complete his classes. This tells me one thing: at some point, Shultz wants his degree. The more he stays on campus, the more of a lasting impression bucky will make on the junior defencemen. This could be key for him returning. On the flip side, Shultz could be biding his time for NHL free agency to open. Because Schultz spent a year in juniors and was drafted there, Anaheim loses his rights after the draft. Schultz could bolt for another team.
Basically the Badgers are not set up for a drastic run. Goaltending is murky, and without Schultz the defense is left in shambles. The only high note is center Mark Zengerle. I wouldn't put a nickel on the Badgers doing any better than 5th in the WCHA next year.

North Dakota: Losing only two players to graduation is not bad. Getting Grimaldi back for the season will be great. Dell should be able to shine. UND should carry a heavy load next season and are my bold prediction for WCHA champs.

I will complete the other teams in the next part of this blog.

To be continued......

Looking forward: National Championship predictions for 2013

Now that the Tigers, Badgers, Seawolves, both Mavericks and Bemidji have been eliminated from the national championship hunt I thought it would be fitting to see which one if any of these teams present a possible run towards the National Championship in 2013.

Colorado College: Cold fact: Jaden is gone. I believe that most of the tiger fans have already put this behind them and are ready to support the Tigers no matter what. CC, as I wrote in earlier blog, looks to have a solid defensive unit next season. The offense may struggle but will ultimately pull together as a team. As long as Josh stay's healthy, he'll be the starter for the season in net. Looking at what I see now, this team has a good probability to make the tourney next year based on the sole idea of stability. Many underclassmen got substantial time this year and that will boost the tigers all around.
Prediction: 1st round NCAA tourney losers

Wisconsin: The Badgers were a surprise exit team. They came on strong at the end of the year and gave Denver a run for their money. Ultimately, the lack of experience was too much to overcome. Most of this stems from last season's mass exodus of players to the NHL. After losing in Colorado Springs during the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs, many Badgers took a walk. One prominent player stayed: Justin Shultz. Currently he's ranked as the 10th best defensive prospect on this team. Justin is also the big question mark in next season's game. Will he or won't he stay? If he does, this team is going to be chalk full of great players at the defensive position. If not, they will still be looking good.
The problem that the Badgers will have is in goal. Joel Rumpel is a solid puck reader, but didn't play at his top level this year. Much of that has to do with Wisconsin not having a solid net minder for Rumpel to learn from. He had to go on the ropes and learn the hard way. It didn't turn out so well. Hopefully some off season adjustments can make his game turn for the better.
I have watched a couple of Wisky games and from what I have seen, nothing provokes me to say that this team will rebound any better next season.
I would watch for the Badgers in the Final Five, but wouldn't bet any higher than that.

Alaska-Anchorage: Recruiting has been a problem in recent years. Alaska is not a well rounded team and that number was on display this year. They won just over 5 games in total. They will be spending the off season finding the bottom feeders from high school and the ushl. If they plan on rebuilding, nothing will show in their best interest this coming season.

UNO: I just don't see this team as a stable one. They are on and off. The Mavs need to get their team in order before they start playing rather than trying to put a hodge podge game together.

Mankato- Minnesota State is the forgotten team in Minnesota. They lack talent and depth and rarely put on a good show. Austin Lee is their best player and he's the goalie. Since he will be gone next year, the mavs will likely be looking for someone to fill his shoes and fast. I don't expect Mankato to do anything in next year. Their best bet will be in the new look WCHA.

Bemidji- Dan Bakala will be gone. Although the new freshman goalie looks good, Tom Serratore will have his hands full. I believe a good USHL recruiting class will have this team ready for the new look WCHA as well. Nothing prominent will get this team any further than they performed this season.

Current Contenders:

Minnesota: This is the team that I predict will bomb. It's one thing to play a goalie for MOST of the season. It's another thing to play the goalie in EVERY game during the season. Kent Patterson will be gone and the job will rest on the shoulders of Mike Shibrowski. Not a good combo considering his last college start was two years ago while a CC tiger. I really don't know how to sugar coat this situation. If Lucia doesn't win it all this year, I'd be pissed if I was a gopher fan. Nothing good will come next season.

North Dakota: T.A.L.E.N.T. That's the other way to spell UND. Grimaldi will be back and this team should rock the WCHA for the final year. I expect UND to lead next year's charge.

Minnesota-Duluth: Jack Connolly will be gone but this team will still be explosive. I really doubt much will change in Northern Minnesota.

St. Cloud State: These guys will likely sink with the loss of Mike Lee. It's unfortunate, but true.

Mich Tech: This is the team to watch out for. Mel Pearson knows what he is doing. Expect this husky team to kick some major ass next season.

Denver: Some players will stay, some will go. With two excellent goalies returning, this team is stacked like the empire state building. Don't expect Denver to back down....AT ALL.

Onward Tigers, Onward.

All season long I have been blogging away about the deficiencies of the Colorado College Tigers. This team in reality just wasn't that good for many reasons. Today, many of the players are in class studying hard knowing that they don't have practice.
Some are at the golf course. At least one is getting ready to skate for a pro team.

So with this season over, what is there to look forward to?

Well if you are a tiger fan, that's easy: stability. This season saw wholesale changes due to problems.
With the goalie situation taken care of, Josh Thorimbert could easily be a lock for a top 3 slot in next year's pre-season awards. The only net-minder currently playing at a higher caliber than Thorny is Denver's Sam Brittain.

The defense next season should rock. In years past, the person getting the C on their jersey from Defense was an alternate the year before. If I had to guess who next year's captain would be (assuming it will go to a defensive player) I would guess either Mcdermott or Marciano possibly Boivin.

Speaking of next season's defense, I don't think a single team in the WCHA will be able to handle the experienced defense of CC next season. Now that Guentzel is officially gone, someone will have to fill in the shoes one again on the defensive side. I believe Boivin, Marciano, McDermott among others will have the ability to do the job.

The offense is the only thing I find troublesome. For this blog's sake, I will assume that Rylan is returning until otherwise noted. Looking at past results, Rylan had good numbers as a freshman. He didn't do quite as much goal scoring but was the focal point among players just as Jaden has been the past two seasons.
What's different about these two situations is that during Rylan's first year, he fed Bill Sweatt. A fan favorite. Now, without a clear cut superstar on offense, Rylan will have to take on a much bigger role. I believe that by him staying for this year, his game will improve IMMENSELY! He will go from the goal scorer of the past two seasons back to the guy who has to make the difficult plays to help the tigers score. That will make him much more marketable with the NHL not to mention he'll have a college degree.

Although Rylan wouldn't have a Bill Sweatt type player to feed like he did his freshman year, he will have some weapons to use.

1.) Going forward this guy is my favorite offensive weapon: Alexander Krushelnyski. The guy is good and he is clutch. I fully expect the Krusher to be the captain of this team in 2013-2014. He's just that taleneted.

2.) Scott Winkler: Although Winks is drafted, I don't see him as the type of player that can complete a play all on his own. He, like Jaden was last year, is a feeder. He's not a natural sniper. Owen's will have his hands full of playmakers like winks but will lack the firepower they had this season.

3.) William Rapuzzi: Many people have given Rapuzzi a tough time this year. I spoke to him prior to the beginning of the season when he had surgery and one can only speculate that he is still a little tender in his elbow.

All in All: The offense will have a GIANT hole in it left by Jaden. That kind of talent comes around once every so often. I honestly do not believe that the tigers can overcome his loss on offense. When I watched him play, he would take the game on his shoulders and move the puck for the benefit of his team. The only player who can handle the load in a similar manner is his brother, Rylan. Even #13 will have trouble filling the shoes of Jaden.

The bad part is that this offense will lack natural snipers. As of right now I can name only one shoot first, pass later player: AK-16.

I believe that Krushelnyski will be the focal point of the Tigers next season. Well on offense anyways.

Hopefully all will be will with the goaltending situation and Josh will be on his game. I don't expect Joe to recover from this season in time to make a big difference. Owens loves goalies, so I also wouldn't expect Josh to play every game like Minnesota's Kent Patterson this season. If it were my guess: Joe would play no more than 10 games next season.


In total: The tigers should be in a good situation overall. The offense will be shaky, but they can build on each other knowing that they won't have to deal with their star player leaving for World Juniors.

However, with all of that said I do not believe the Tigers will have the depth to win the National Championship next season. They will be in rebuilding mode for what could be a monumental first year of the NCHC.

CC loses it all

This was not supposed to be the year of the big market college teams dominating the WCHA. This was supposed to be the year where UND and CC made a run for the post season.

That was at the beginning of the season, and today tells a different story.

Colorado College has had a rough season. From coaching all the way down to goal-tending, CC has had problems with it all. To give a break down, I will analyze the Colorado College issues from the very top to bottom:

Coaching:
Colorado College has seen ups and downs over the years, but this could possibly be one of the worst downs in the Owens era. This was supposed to be the season that the Tigers did something. Instead of doing something, the coaching let the fans, players and school down. Owens clearly showed his inability to make valuable changes from Friday to Saturday night. Most of the time, CC would win on Friday and not make any adjustments resulting in a Saturday loss. On the last game of the season, when everyone needed Owens present, he was gone. His adjustments were weak and thus cost this team a chance at the post season and a shot in the WCHA final five. Another problem with Owens is that he relied too much on the Schwartz brothers and Gabe Guentzel. All three are remarkable athletes but two of the three are guaranteed to be gone next season. With a hole that deep in the team, CC is destined to be relegated to a low spot next season less any adjustments which Owens could not seem to make this season.

Offense:
This was the story of the season. At one point, CC had the best offense in the nation. Everything seemed to be clicking. Unfortunately for the Tigers, most of the offense was a result of the Schwartz brothers. Rylans back-to-back hat tricks against UND. Jadens flawless ice vision and showmanship. Unfortunately most of the offense failed to show outside of these two players. Unfortunately, one for sure but maybe both of the Schwartz brothers will be gone next season.

Defense:
This was the bad story of the year. Ryan Lowery left a hole to fill that no one could do. Having the captain on offense proved to be disastrous. The defense needed the leadership. They just didn't have it. Which brings me to the last point.

Goaltending:
Joe Howe was absolutely horrible this year. This was not the time to hit a slump but never the less, Howe hit one. Luckily Thorimbert picked up his tab and earned the fans money. Unfortunately, Thorny came too late. Too little experience coming from last season. This situation is probably the only area the tigers have that will improve. Thorny should be a starting lock for best goaltender next season. I doubt Joe will recover before graduation.

Prediction:
CC's 21 consecutive winning season streak will end. So too will other things.

CC drops auto bid hopes, Wisconsin prevails

In a similar fashion as last season, CC has dropped the first game of their WCHA best of three home ice playoff series. Last season the story line was the same. CC came into game two needing two wins against the Badgers. They got them. Unfortunately, last season and this season are two different entities.
1.) CC was playing a better Badger team than this years Husky team.
2.) CC had a shot at a pairwise ranking berth.

Basically what this loss does is send CC reeling so far back that they cannot recover from any amount of wins without a bracket busting final five win. I predicted CC to take the final five if they went to Michigan Tech. Unfortunately that didn't happen and now CC is at home in what could be the final game for the Schwartz brothers.

I don't think tomorrow's game will get any easier for the Tigers. Scott Owens has been absolutely horrible at making adjustments for the second game during the entire season. My prediction: CC fans leave the world arena tomorrow unhappy while Jaden and Rylan see their banks accounts fatten.

On Wisconsin!

I predicted that Wisconsin would give Denver a run for their money and I was right! I have looked at stats the entire season. Many fans in Denver were irate with their Pioneers tonight. They compared the game as being less than a high school game. The shots were great and the defense was top notch.
Denver had a better shot the entire night to win, but blew it by letting Wisconsin back into the game during the 3rd period. For the entire game, Wisconsin trailed in shots. During the 3rd, Wisconsin came with a heavy dose of power and put DU's goalie out of position for a great goal. It shocked the barely attended DU crowd.

Tonight's game vs DU was a microcosm effect for both teams. Wisconsin has been great on one night, and horrible the next. DU has had three goalies blossom into well groomed starters during the season. Who get's the nod and when?

The key to the next match up will be to see how Coach Eaves can adjust to the high octane offense that Denver presents. I wouldn't expect Coach Eaves to be as piss poor as Scott Owens in making adjustments. I do however expect the Pioneers to come out with more flair tomorrow possibly winning.

Either way, my upset pick is in Denver. Always has been. Not because I'm a fan of Wisconsin
but because for one of these teams, their back is against the wall.

5 teams that may never have "national champs" by their name again

Over the past two years, I have watched the college hockey landscape change enormously. Even before the Big 10 came into existence, a shift had begun to take place. Larger, more well known universities and colleges became the front and center of the national championship race. Little teams with low funding or small enrollment have suffered. Now that the Big 10 is around the corner, many of these smaller teams will find competition in the post season that much tougher.

The 5:

1. Alaska-Anchorage: Now that the Big 10 and NCHC are a season away from realization, one small factor has been forgotten: since neither of these conferences are obligated to travel to Alaska, will they? My prediction is no. Anchorage, along with it's sister campus Fairbanks will only go as far as the WCHA will take them. Thankfully many good WCHA teams will be leaving for either the Big 10 or the NCHC. This should give Alaska a better chance. The unfortunate part is that when playoff time comes around, the new WCHA might be as just as easy as the current Atlantic Hockey Conference.

2. Alabama-Huntsville: There is not another D-1 program within 150 miles of AL-H. The nearest school within range is Bowling Green which is 178 miles away. Next is Miami of Ohio (418 Miles) followed by Ohio State University (498 miles). With the WCHA already tackling two Alaska teams, there seems to be absolutely no way that UAH can get into that conference. The Big 10 is all about big universities, which UAH is not. The NCHC is all about hockey prestige, which UAH is not. Even hockey east, which now has Notre Dame within 700 miles of UAH would be a long shot. In state recruiting is horrible, not to mention this team will likely never see a championship of any kind of they cannot win games, much less the 4 a year they get at home.

3. Colorado College: Out of all of my picks, this one is the most subjective. Colorado College has been around longer than the University of North Dakota, and the University of Denver. Yet they have five less championship trophies to account for. The real problem is not the team or the fans. It's the school. Colorado College enrolls less than 2,000 students. This is not good for any type of division 1 sports team, much less hockey. The world arena could fit 3 and a half CC student bodies easily in it. Hell, at the rate they are at, they could probably teach all the classes in the World Arena. Recruiting is not a problem, but the coaching is. And until the mindset in Colorado Springs is not the school but the team, don't expect this team to be raising a banner anytime soon.

4. Minnesota - State: Another tragedy like CC, just with more students. This is more of a commuter campus than anything. Similar to UNO, but with less support. Mankato is not a hockey derived town. They have plenty to celebrate about, just not the Mavericks. The local high school hockey team is usually one of the best in the state. Who wants to pay high prices to watch the Mavericks lose nearly every game?

5. Lake Superior: This team has some talent from past years, but really everything has evaporated in recent years. Nobody really knows this team. Being a so so team in the CCHA might make them superstars in the new WCHA. Only time will tell. If you have lots of money to spend, or waste, I would bet on these guys winning the national championship. It's a more humane way of putting your money in a paper shredder.

--------------------
Teams likely to have their name on the national championship roster, and soon:

1. North Dakota: As much as everyone claims that the NCHC is the new hockey power house, there are only three teams with the ability to take this conference by storm: UND, Denver, and Miami. Focusing on UND: they build solid every year. No team expects to go into Grand Forks without getting into some kind of fight. These guys are scrappy, every....single....year. That kind of man handling will get this team far. UND will probably be the first team to get their hands on the NCHC trophy.

2. Wisconsin: This year has not been good to bucky. In the past it has been Minnesota who has taken an off year, or 4. With the new Big 10 forming, Penn State will probably not be in any kind of contention for a couple of years. Michigan State will have to play more than just the crap CCHA schedule with the occasional Michigan and Ohio State games thrown in. Although Ohio State has the largest arena in the NCAA's, and the big 10 for that fact, they rarely use it during basketball season. They are relegated to a 1,600 person arena. Putting teams like this in the Kohl Center which seats 15,000+ will be a major advantage to the badgers. Plus bucky is in prime recruiting territory.

3. Denver: For all the reasons that UND will be the best in the NCHC, Denver has a fighting chance. For some odd reason, Denver has always recruited well. They seem to be the best at it year in and year out. I don't know if this is a long term idea, but I would pick Denver to be in the Frozen Four soon after the NCHC is formed.

4. Notre Dame: Playing in a league where just about every single opposing team is a football rival makes this team a constant battling team. They fight in front of every Big 10 crowd. Now they will go to Hockey East which craves hockey on a different level. They will bring this same attitude to Boston. I doubt that the talking heads know what is headed their way in this ND team.


Thanks for reading!

WCHA: In Review; Team Jersey suppliers

This blog will address the past season in the WCHA and the upcoming apparel contracts with respective teams.

First topic: WCHA/NCHC/Big 10 apparel.

As reported last week by College Hockey News, Reebok and Adidas are expected to announce deals with the NCHC, Big 10 and WCHA regarding team apparel. This decision, although not confirmed by Reebok or Adidas, has been rumored after Nike released a statement regarding their partnership with the NFL beginning in 2013. After that point, Reebok will no longer be the primary jersey provider for the NFL.
Nike is expected to pull their supplier deal from Minnesota at that time. Currently, Reebok has set up North Dakota and Wisconsin as their flagship Universities.
Adidas has a 4 year option left with the university of Denver and Bauer currently controls an undisclosed contract with Colorado College after the Nike-Bauer venture ended two years ago.

AROUND THE WCHA:

Every year, I write a blog at the beginning of the season on what to expect and a blog at the end of the season describing the teams who I felt did or did not do as expected.

Did as expected:
Minnesota-Duluth: I expected this team to finish 1st in the WCHA. They finished second and only by 1 point. I believe it's fair to say that the Bulldogs met what I had thought they would do.

Denver: I believed Denver had a strong shot at the #2 spot in the WCHA. They had a great year last season and showed off Sam Brittain in style. During the beginning of the season, the Pioneers had early troubles stemming from poor goaltending to team congruence. Things have changed with the emergence of Juho Olkinura. The Finnish goal tender showed himself as a stalwart in the pipes. With Sam Brittain coming back from an injury, I expect the net situation to be a very gut wrenching call every night.

Minnesota-State: Austin Lee is a great goaltender. He's probably the most recognizable player on this team. However that is a problem, since Mike only stops shots. He doesn't usually put them in the opposing net. I didn't expect this team to make it far this season, and they proved me right.

DID NOT DO AS EXPECTED:

Michigan Tech: If anyone can say wow, this is when you do it. Going from a 2 win team to 2 wins from home ice is a feat in itself. The Huskies should be proud. 2012-13 might not produce much different but this team is definitely set for the new look WCHA in 2013.

Colorado College: 2011 was a highlight reel for CC. Making the tournament and falling to the eventual national champion runner up is a great work. Not to mention slaughtering the defending national champions in juggernaut fashion. This year though has been one for the dumpsters. CC has managed to maintain home ice in the first round of the WCHA for the second year in a row. This team is fading, and fast. Jaden Schwartz missed 15 games last season and still scored more points than he did missing his 5 games this season. I'm sure quite a bit is on his mind including his impending off season decision as to whether or not turn pro. I don't see this situation getting better in the next year. It doesn't help that the "Powerhouses" of college hockey will show en-force during the 2013 season. That might be the last year the World Arena see's Owens being the bench boss.

North Dakota: Out of all the negative stories, NoDak has to be the one case with an Alibi. This team lost Matt Frattin, Chay Genoway, Brad Malone, Ewan Trupp and others before the season started. Within 3 games, NoDak lost their top 2011 prospect in Rocco Grimaldi. Not a good combination. However NoDak has turned their fortunes around. I thought this was the surefire 2012 WCHA champions. I was wrong. NoDak is in power mode now. Hard to beat a team like this.

Minnesota: WTF? This team was picked 6th by the media for the WCHA standings and currently sits 7th in the PAIRWISE. Wow! Good thing for the Gophers: a reliable net minder has emerged. Bad news for the Gophers: the only back up to see minutes this season saw them last Friday night. For 1 20 minute period. Minnesota will likely see some growing pains in the net come next fall.

Alaska-Anchorage: Coming off of a half way decent performance last season, the seawolves had a real chance to turn things around. Instead they turned things upside down and fell badly. It's hard enough to get good recruits to Alaska in the first place. Having a performance like this relegates this team to a top tier high school team. No bueno.

Bemidji State: Goaltender Dan Bakala is one of the better undrafted netminders in the WCHA. This year he just couldn't be the star that he needed to be. Bemidji will have to prove they are for real starting next week in Sioux Nation. Unfortunately, that's not the place you want to prove yourself. That's the place you plan ahead on getting swept so that you can focus on other teams. Not good for the Beavers.

Wisconsin: On Wisconsin.....On to something else. For years Mike Eaves has been known as bench boss of the team which is always reloading. Never a rebuilding team, the Badgers always have talent. This year the team has 1 senior. Defections are never a good thing, but even the normal graduation system can wipe out a team. Joel Rumpel had nobody to look up to this season. It showed. He's progressed since the beginning of the year. This team needs to grow. I was expecting them to do better than 10th.

Although I have not covered every team in the WCHA I covered the ones who I felt made the impacts from the beginning of the season. I will spotlight UNO and SCSU next week regardless of their fate in the WCHA playoffs.

This was supposed to be the year that the WCHA was weak. As it turns out, weak is a subjective word.

WCHA fans...get ready...get set....MCNAUGHTON!

This weekend marks the conclusion of the WCHA regular season. A big weekend which caps off the milestones each program has made. I'll start by listing the season surprises:

August 31st, 2011: College Hockey News names Aaron Dell #1 goalie in the WCHA with Joe Howe of Colorado College coming in second.

The news - Aaron is good, as he always has been. Beating out an NHL drafted goaltender for the top spot is never easy. Chalk one up for the guy between the pipes.
Sad news is that Joe Howe is no where near this prediction. He fell so far he could start and win both games this weekend and still end up with a losing record. Not too good for him. Defensive effort in the beginning of the season kept Joe down and he never really rebounded. Josh Thorimbert stepped up with a B- game. Definitely show's that Colorado College does not have a dependable man in between the pipes.

August 31st, 2011: USCHO picks Minnesota-Duluth to finish first place in the WCHA. Not a bad call considering the bulldogs have locked up the #2 seed and are looking for #1 this weekend. This surely is the last season of the feel good national championship story from 2011. Jack Connolly leaves along with Kenny Reiter and this team is about as talented as Minnesota State.

September 7th: College Hockey Network (not to be confused with (College Hockey News) predicts Minnesota to have another lack luster year.
What really happened: Minnesota played like the team they are: 4 players short of an entirely draft picked team. This team has shown up in force. Unfortunately the goalies on the bench have kept themselves busy by writing down stats as Kent Patterson has done ALL the work. Should St. Patty go down in the NCAA tourney look for Minnesota's stock to fall quickly. Not to mention next season will be the second debut for former Colorado College goalie Michael Shibrowski. Having not played a single minute this season, he may be a bit rusty and that could cause some problems in the state of hockey.

Other notables:
Michigan Tech: Talk about the New York Yankees! Tech hires and new coach and takes a 2 win team to within three points of home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. That says something. Look for this team to be around for a while.

St. Cloud State: Many thought that State's long term focus was gone after the 2010 Florida Classic debacle. Fortunately the staff at St. Cloud have been able to keep this team together. Only time will tell how detrimental the loss of key players last season will be.

Wisconsin: Reload or Redo? Every year Wisconsin is in the thick of the punch. They are always able to contend with the best. Two years ago they attempted to win the National Championship. They lost. With no early defections the Badgers slumped last season and lost the home playoff ice to Colorado College. This year, the entire team has lost their way. Joel Rumpel has been horrible and every player on this team is scratching their head.

Colorado College: Leave it to one of the wealthiest college hockey teams in the country to make the bone headed decision: Extend a coach who has no prior history of doing anything great with his team before the team really starts to go downhill. I for one am a CC season ticket holder. On Sunday I will be a former CC season ticket holder. No reason to waste my money. I'll come back when A.) I'm watching CC play someone else(who I'll be rooting for) or B.) CC fires Owens. Looks like I won't be seeing the latter anytime soon.....which other team should I like?

It's been a great season of Colorado College hockey. I have had a great time reading the blogs, posts, and articles displayed in the recent WCHA Hockey forum and in the Colorado College hockey forum. For all of you CC fans, keep your head up. I'm excited to see what the WCHA and the new NCHC is able to do for the Colorado College family. For all of you WCHA fans, next year will be a wild finish to this era of hockey.

So long............

CC vs UMD: The battle begins

Note: Subjective blog.


Colorado College has spent this past season wondering what has happened. After last years devastating loss to Michigan in the NCAA tournament, many players were optimistic about this years team. Joe Howe even said "2012 national championship: The journey has already begun" the day after the loss.

Things have not gone the Tigers way this season for a variety of reasons. No one outside of the tigers can really say why this is happened. Sometimes it just does. Look at Alex Kangas for Minnesota. Probably one of the better college goalies of his time. During his tenure the Gophers only made the tournament once, during his freshman year.

So it's usually not the level of talent that a team has, but their overall focus that drives the national championship bid.

Colorado College has a very large test this weekend: Minnesota-Duluth. Last season, CC played a very good series against the bulldogs in Colorado Springs. That was well before anyone knew that the bulldogs had N.C. aspirations.

This season, the bulldogs have thrived on their offense and defense. I still don't understand how a team with average goaltending can be as high as they are.

Why will this series mean so much to the tigers?
If CC can sweep, they stand a very good chance of moving into the top 16. As the saying goes "the higher you are, the farther you fall". In this instance, that saying speaks volumes. The tigers need something big out of their offense. In my biased opinion, Thorny is far better than Reiter. That should be a story by itself going into this weekend. The bulldogs have not dealt with quality goaltending in weeks. This will honestly be a test for them.

I am also mystified by what the tigers have done on defense this year. Many players who I thought should have been on the ice, have been benched. I don't yet know the lines for this weekend, but I think Coach Owens has quite a bit of adjusting to do. Our defense is improving but is not fully capable of handling this offense without some help. If the defense can do their part, this game can stay close. I don't expect the tiger defense to match up well against the bulldog offense. But I do expect the 5 skaters and 1 goalie for the tigers to make the normal opportunities for the bulldogs become luxury.

CC's offense scares me a bit in this series. During the bemidi series, the tigers didn't produce much. That speaks volumes for how much of a leader Nick Dineen is. During the second game against Omaha, CC brought the power during the second period. It's the first period that is troublesome. If CC only manages 3 shots during the first period of the game, thorny is going to be a very tired student athlete at the end of this game. Forget about studying friday night, he can make his plans to be sleeping.

I predicted in an earlier blog that CC has a chance for 1 win and will likely face a loss. I still stick with the series split. CC has not been known for making adjustments well from game 1 to game 2. Most of the time that CC wins, they do it on a friday. The other team makes great adjustments and comes back to win on Saturday. I believe that the focus of this weekend will have to be on Friday night first. Make the adjustment from period to period. Make this game difficult.
If CC can do that, I think they can win Friday nights contest.

Saturday will be a different story. What won you the game on Friday, could turn to be your weakness on Saturday. Once Duluth figures out what CC did the first night, they will correct themselves as every other team has and put a great showing on Saturday night. The question then becomes: What does CC have to adjust for during their Saturday night game.

My answer is this: I do not believe that CC's offense is going to get any better than it already is. The injury bug has hit this team hard. Keeping the offense the same and possible moving the wings around could help. They key will be to adjust the defense. Duluth will likely come with a very fast attack during the saturday game. Putting in players who can handle that will be key.

As before, My prediction:
Friday win, Saturday loss.

Friday: 4-3 win or a 1 goal game.

Saturday: 6-3 loss.

The tough losses

Note: Subjective blog, do not read any further if that bothers you..........



Colorado College hockey has been around for many years. In fact, the record books indicate that of the three major teams in Colorado....CC,DU and AF, CC has been around the longest. That's a good thing, as tradition is a multiple of time.

CC hockey has been a staple to the Colorado Springs area. The arena is usually at 80% or better capacity, and according to the jumbotron is the top attended winter sport in the state.

CC fans are loyal, as they should be. The great thing about the relationship between the school and the community is that they are almost one. Being from Wisconsin, I know a thing or two about watching big time hockey. The badgers and the gophers were always on t.v. But they never offered anything like CC does. In Colorado Springs, fans are able to skate with their favorite players twice a year in a program called "skate with the tigers". Nothing similar to this is found at any other university that I am aware of.

So when CC loses like they did tonight, fans tend to get a bit grumpy about others talking negatively about their team. It's almost like a direct insult. But even past that point, one has to look at the reality of the situation: where is CC this season?

I don't know if anyone knows that answer. The only thing that has been for sure is who is the captain of this team, as far as inside the actual team goes. The goaltending has been unreliable. The season started with the same goalie for the past two years, transitioned into a platoon and now features the back up goalie as the starter from last year.
Lineup changes in front of the goalie have left fans scratching their heads. The defense started week while the offense started strong. Then a mid season shift happened and things started to go the other direction. Then line up changes like tonight happen and I just wonder if Scott Owens is not content with this years team.

No doubt, it's tough being a coach. Especially one with such passionate fans as CC. The point here is that Colorado College hockey has to make some serious rebounds to get anywhere. They came out strong in their Friday night series against UNO. I predicted a second game loss or tie due to an adjustment by both teams. I was unfortunately right. Coach Blais altered his netminder and gave his team a talking that they really needed.

CC came out in the second game and looked absolutely flat offensively. Defensively, the team showed no signs of life and players came as they pleased towards Josh Thorimbert. Luckily, Thorny only let in 1 goal during the first. That was obviously enough to get the blood flowing in Coach Owens veins to pump this team up.
The second period featured an offensive explosion and a more up tempo defense. Then the third period came and the game returned to 1st period style. The offense lagged, the defense lagged and thorny just couldn't do the shots by himself.

It's these kinds of losses that put this Tiger team at a disadvantage. Their backs are against the wall nationally. CC needs life support to stay alive in the pairwise. As a tiger fan, I can only look past that ranking at this point and believe that Coach Owens can use these next four games as motivation for the WCHA playoffs. Last season was a truly remarkable one. CC finished the regular season at Wisconsin and brought the badgers back to the world arena for a playoff feast. To get a home series this year, CC will likely have to do the same against michigan tech during the final regular season game and continue that into the playoffs.

The tigers can win it. They just need a solid team effort.

CC vs. UNO: what to expect

Good news, according to Brian Gomez of the Colorado Springs Gazette, Josh Thorimbert will likely start this weekend.
Bad news: Trying to think of something......nothing coming to mind......

In my past couple of blogs I have given brief details of what goalies are going through in games. I have been critical of our goaltenders and of our coaching staff. Today I am going to take things on the players and what they must do in order to get the "W".


Lines:

Offense:
This will be key for the Tigers. When CC went into Omaha last fall they had a rolling offense putting up stats somewhere in the 2nd in the nation category. Things have slipped a bit since then. Scoring 2 goals against a slow Bemidji team and not putting up much of anything against Denver or Minnesota the weeks prior, really points to where this offense is headed.

This time last year, the talk was getting Jaden back. This year the talk is again, getting Jaden back. For different reasons of course. Let's face it, Jaden has not been himself this year. Many things could be at stake here, such as the passing of his sister or just a sophomore slump. It's hard to tell. Jaden has done well, not to take any credit from him. One would just expect that last seasons showcase performance minus 15 games would make a full season this year the ride of the World Arena's life. Hasn't been the case.

Rylan has been a HUGE factor this year. Even with Jaden gone, he still has been taking feeds from others and scoring big. For his first two years, Rylan really didn't do this much. Last year he became the other Schwartz brother. This year he's come out of his shell. Something tells me that if he does stay at CC for next season, this could be the non-NHL draft pick to watch out for.

David Civatrese: I know, he's on defense. However his work during last year's tourney brought him many praises. He still has been the same old defender over the regular season as in years before. Hasn't really put up the goals that people thought he could after the BC game.

Will he or won't he? William Rapuzzi has always been a mid level star for CC. He's been a backbone for pissing the other teams off. He's always been good playing against Alaska. I guess I was just hoping for a break out year for this kid. Possibly a hobey nomination. Maybe his off season surgery was just too much to recover from.

Defense:
This is an area that I am excited about. UNO poses no serious threats to CC's game plan. Then again neither did Bemidi, and CC got swept back to Colorado in that series. I don't expect CC's defense to fail like they did in Omaha, but one's got to think that with the pressure this side of the puck has been getting that something is going to let loose. I feel fairly confident that the Tiger D can show up during this series.


Goaltending:

I'm a little worried about this one. The team and the fans will know really quick if thorny still has concussion symptoms. He'll likely let everything his way come in. Reeling from a bad weekend in net, Joe Howe has some serious thinking to do. He's got a year left at CC and coming back to the starting position with one season to go is really hard. I think Joe might have lost his starting position for good. At best he can expect to be platooning next fall should Thorny show any regression. After Howe's great performance last year, I can firmly say that anything is possible.

Overall:
I picked CC to get a win and a tie out of this with thorny in net, well before his concussion I might add. Not a whole lot has changed since then. A couple of losses due to injuries but nothing so significant that another tiger couldn't pick up.

I still think CC has a guaranteed shot at winning one of these games. I think all things remaining equal that if CC wins the first game and Omaha adjusts for the second one that the defense and goaltending can remain strong for the tigers. I do believe they can handle an extended period of time without much offense. However, not having a good offense is not good either.

I still think CC will lose or tie the second game. If they win, I'll be happy. The only way they will do that though is if this offense grows up and plays hard on the saturday game....when really, only 7,000 people will be watching....


THANKS FOR READING!

Thinking like a goalie......

This season has been especially hard on Colorado College. A rough defense to start the season and awkward goal-tending to say the least. Now the side flips and the defense gets better while the offense bare bones.

So really, what is a goalie thinking? How is it that a goalie is so much different than the rest of the players?

Well it's simple: as much as people want to say hockey is a team sport, it's not. It's about the 5 guys in front of the goalie working to do their job while the goalie try's to isolate himself on an island and disconnect with everyone.
Emotions drive a goalie. I would venture to say that during my time of playing competitive hockey, 20% of the game was physical and 80% was mental. It's incredibly tough to be a goalie, both financially and actually. When a goalie gets the chance to separate himself from the rest of the team, he is free to do his job. When he starts thinking about the players and being angry at what they did or didn't do, he loses his focus and is no longer a valuable asset in net.

So why is it that I say that hockey is not a team sport? To answer this best, being a goalie is like being on a different team. When you walk into the locker room, you say hello to everyone and go to your stall or locker. At that very moment, you shut out the world. You can't hear anyone or even see them. Yes you can hear noise and you can see people, but they are no longer anything you know. This is the emotional side of the game. This is where you must be strong. You put your helmet on and begin to think about what your coaches have taught you in the past week. You envision the crease, where you are going to stand and how you will defend against those difficult shots. Everything you know and believe about hockey is now your number one goal.

Then you get on the ice and all of a sudden, the game takes a turn. You again cannot see or hear anyone. The crowd is not there. Only some players and this obviously dark black thing. During the course of the game, you stare at this black thing which we will refer to as a puck. In your zen state of mind, you are relaxed and the only thing you do is watch how that puck will move. You see it come off of the stick and you follow it into your glove. You see a player coming at you with the puck and you try to divert it. But then, at some key moment in the game, the puck goes behind you. You begin to hear things. If you are away, you hear the goal horn. You see a group of guys wearing different jerseys than yours piling up next to one another with smiles on their face. You then see a group of guys with the same jersey you have, looking down at the ice. Looking back at you. They begin to talk to you and you begin to hear them. They offer condolences and tell you that it's their fault.

All of a sudden, your grip on the mental game starts to decline. You start to lose sight of the puck and you begin to see all of the players. When the puck gets close you focus your body on the other players and not the puck. When you continue to let more goals in you begin to get angry at your team mates. They are no longer offering you condolences. They just skate away after each following goal.

Now you've lost it. You no longer have control of the game. You see the players. If they are any good, they can move you where they want with their skills and score on you. Then comes the dreaded left hand of the coach. He sticks it up in the air and all of a sudden another goalie with the same color jersey as you begins to skate out. You don't want to leave the net, but you know it's time. Your out. Only to consider what might have been.

It seems like a nightmare, but this is what goalies go through every game...save for the last part unless they win. I can only imagine that Joe is feeling this same thing. From a goalies stand point, each player can have three dimensions. These three dimensions are what separates those who you can stop when you begin to lose the mental edge and those who will take you to the cleaners when you slouch.

Since this is on a CC fan forum, I will relate to our players with the occasional outside reference to other teams.

As I said, every player can have up to three dimensions as far as a goalie is concerned. This is taught in goalie schools all over the place.
Most beer league players barely have this first dimension, so this will help you understand:

Dimension 1: Stick Handling. At it's basic form, this is required for any type of competitive hockey. Generally players without this get cut right away from high school teams. Players who only have this don't go any farther than high school, because this is the basic building block that every college and NHL level player is expected to have.

Dimension 2: Skating. This adds another layer to the complex set of skills a player must have to even survive at the college level. No player in college level can get by without this. It's a key characteristic, but it's not one that requires mastery.

Dimension 3: Vision. This is one of those skills that comes over time. The more exposure to higher level players a skater has, the more vision they will get.

So here is why I made these for you:
No skater in college hockey has less than two of these. Very few possess all three. Those that do possess all three are found in the National Hockey League.

So who has what?
Some of you might know who Nathan Condon is. He's a player for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. He's got excellent stick handling and great skating. His vision is not that great. This can be seen perfectly when he get's loose at the blue line for multiple break aways.

Then there is Jaden Schwartz. Rarely do players come out of "the box" with his skill set. He possesses all three of these. Read further as to what this will do to a goalie.

A great player on the CC roster with stick handling and vision is Alexander Krushelnyski. See his OT shootout goal against denver. He came and and looked at the lower left side of the net to unseat the goalie and then put the puck on the right side. Complete fake out.

So what do these players do to a goalie, especially when the goalie is headed downhill?
The answer:
At the college level, a goalie must be able to do more than just stare at the puck. The goalie must be able to read the tilt of the stick, the speed of the player and the angle that they are skating at.
Missing any one of these will result in a goal against depending on who you are playing against.

For instance: When playing a guy like Jaden, one must be able to read his stick, his eyes and where he is transferring weight to on his skate. Jaden can tilt his stick to make it look like he's going to roof it. His skates may make him look like he's going straight which would mean that he's going over your shoulder. But if you don't see his eyes, he'll burn you. Jaden can make 2 out of 3 of these traits look fake and score on you with the one you forgot. Luckily for most college goalies, not many Jadens exist.

Playing other skaters is easier. Take Rylan Schwartz for example. A pure sniper at his best. Rylan doesn't have the skating that his brother does. He has the stick handling and the vision to use. This means that a goalie must not only read the stick but also look at the eyes of Rylan in order to predict where he will shoot. Although I am making this sound easy, if you do both of these, Rylan will not score on you without a pass to someone else.

This is what Joe Howe is up against every week. I have been critical of him lately, I know. He's far better than I am, but I think he's losing his mental edge in the game. If he figures out what he's up against quicker, he will have a better chance of stopping these critical skaters when he begins to lose control of the game.

The adjustment bureau: CC vs. UNO

It's Monday night and the tigers have the day off. Somehow they earned that after a chilling sweep away against a far inferior opponent.

I won't bludgeon that horse anymore. I'll move on to this weekends match up against the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Last fall, CC had the wild chance to play Omaha. Even then, the team struggled and it seemed that making adjustments was not in the cards for Scott Owens. At the time the defense was lagging and our previous goaltender of two years had fallen victim to becoming part of a goal tending tandem. During the weekend the tigers picked up a split. Considering it was an away game, that's pretty dandy.

The first night, CC lost 7-5. I really bad night in net for joe as he let in 7 goals on 35 shots. The next night, Thorimbert stepped in and held up the net for 45 saves and only two goals. Offense was the key at the time, as it seemed to be the only consistent thing. Goaltending was difficult to predict at best and the defense was floundering.

Fast forward a couple of months and the situation is quite precarious. Josh has established himself as the new #1 guy and Joe continues to disintegrate. The offense has cooled and become unreliable while the weeks of learning has paid off for the defense.
One could be quite excited for this game, but the problem is that our #1 guy in net is hurt. He likely won't see action on friday judging from the nature of his injury. Which means the team will need to rely on Joe Howe to get the job done. Not an easy task for a guy who's 5-7-1 on the season including a loss to anchorage and a sweep against bemidji. To be fair, Joe also participated in the home sweep against bemidji as well.
So here lies the task: How does Scott Owens adjust his team for this game. Well based on what I've seen during the past three months of this season, Owens doesn't do anything except give Jaden and Rylan more time. It seems that whenever the team is doing bad, that duo get's more time than Chris Pronger(when he's not injured).
How does Scott adjust Joe to get back in the game? Simple: he doesn't. Joe has to do that himself. He's got the ability to do it as we saw him in relief against Denver.

In my opinion, here is what has to be done...INEVITABLY!
1. Split the Schwartz brothers up. Jaden needs to come off the first line. It's not that Jaden cannot handle the first line, it's that Jaden could go anywhere and make that line better. Rylan on the other hand can score until the cows come home. If Owens splits these guys up, the team will have two solid lines.

2. Put Harstad and Stoykwich on the same line. They are both draftee's and they both have the ability to do good things. I believe that these two can provide speed for an entire shift.

3. Put Bidwill and Guentzel together. These guys are a good tandem. They work well together and Bidwill has a hard work ethic.

4. If thorny cannot play, get lockwood ready. Joe needs some time off away from the game. He has been to every road game since he came to CC. He should get a night on the bench behind Lockwood. Better yet, when thorny comes back, don't dress howe. Get his mind off the game for some time. He needs it. He needs perspective. Because he's all CC has right now and we've got to get him better.

CC swept out of Bemidji, Likely NCAA auto-berth

And just like that, CC has fallen victim the same way Bemidji did back in October. Both have swept each other this season on home ice. The difference is that Bemidji was expected to be swept in Colorado Springs. CC was not expected to be swept in Bemidji.

This late in the season, with the pairwise being what they are, CC has almost automatically ejected themselves from contention in the NCAA playoffs without a bracket buster. I won't say they are out, but they have some work to do.

Starting by winning every game. CC has 6 games left which leaves them needing 5 to hit the 20 win mark, an essential formula to get into the tourney. To put things into perspective, last season Yale and Boston College both topped the 30 win mark to get into their respective places.

I have been predicting that CC would only hope to go far by winning at the Final Five. So I've come up with a bit of a stat sheet on the chances that CC wins the next 6.

Nebraska-Omaha:
I don't see much competition from the Mavs, but then again I didn't see much from Bemidji either. If thorny is still out, I have a sneaky suspicion that the entire nation might see Joe tank on national television. I really don't know where howe has gone or what has started this funk, but if any time were perfect to redeem yourself it would be on national television. The last time Joe played on CBS, CC won on an overtime shootout goal.
My prediction: Win and a tie.

Minnesota-Duluth:
This is the series that will be most difficult for the tigers. Duluth will gladly staple gun any team to the boards and run up the scoreboard. If CC doesn't play as a team, this one is completely out of reach.
Although I'm not a fan of resting players for the big games, I think some key players with minor injuries should sit out the Omaha game in preparation for this one. CC needs to be at 100%.
My prediction: Two way: If CC plays as a team and stays away from the boards, A win and a loss. If CC shows up like they did against Bemidji: Goals against for the season will go up by at least 10.

Michigan Tech:
CC will need to look in the mirror when playing this game, because one of a couple things will happen: both teams are on again off again. When either of these teams are on, they will show no mercy in downing an opponent and making them feel like crap. See Mich. Tech against Duluth and CC against Denver. When they are off, they are off. See CC vs Bemidji and Mich Tech vs. Minnesota State.
My prediction: Michigan Tech comes into the world arena for the last time and gets four points sending the tigers to michigan tech the following week for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

Who can win it all from the WCHA?

I wrote an article last week and kept it pretty clean so that my friends on the CC page would not get too made. I'll do the same today except that I will talk a little bit about the chances of the WCHA going back to the national championship and win it all.

As always, this post is subjective and I tend to lean towards the skilled teams.


Who can win it, and why:

1. Minnesota-Duluth: Honestly, Duluth caught me off guard last season making it as far as they did. I believe their first round loss in the WCHA Final Five was to Bemidji State. Kind of a rough way to start the post season and that really turned my attention away from them. This season is different. I don't see the super power team that I did last year. This does not appear to be the talent loaded team like last year, but a team that knows each other. I've always told my friends that a team with heart will always beat a team with skill. I believe this year's Duluth team is pure heart. However, I don't think Duluth will win it all. A giant hole in the defense left by Faulk is going to make the difference when the tournament comes a knockin'. My prediction: Second round loss in the NCAA tournament.

2. Minnesota: It appears that the type of team that lived in Duluth last year, now resides in Minneapolis. This team is 4 players short of an NHL team and they have the confidence of an all-star team. Nick Bjugstad has picked up the play and defense has played great. Problem with Minnesota is that they loaded up their beginning schedule with teams like Holy Cross and Sacred Heart. Being the power house that they are, it only seems like they were trying to get a head start on the good rankings. If Patterson can stay hot in net this team can go far. If he clunks out in the tourney, this team is toast. My prediction: Loss in the frozen four.

3. North Dakota: Injuries have plagued this team and made things downright horrible. The second half has proven to be good to the Sioux. If a dominant effort is maintained through the remainder of the season, UND just might make the tourney without having to win the Final Five. My prediction: 1st round lost in NCAA tourney.

4. Colorado College: I enjoy watching CC play. The fire, passion and emotion takes this team far. During the first part of the season, the defense played horrible and CC sunk. Now CC is in the bad position of having to play some good teams down the stretch to keep their tourney hopes alive. I'm not holding my breath for CC, so based on pure performance I don't think they will make the tourney. However, if the team plays like it has into the Final Five with Thorny in net I think this team is the 2012 bracket buster. My prediction with a bracket buster: Frozen four loss.

5. Nebraska-Omaha: Unless this team plans on winning some serious games in the next two months don't expect to see them in late March. My prediction: WCHA Playoff Loss.

6. Denver: I'm at odds with this team. Not because I am a CC fan but because Sam Brittain is returning. Sam is a good goalie but the team has made it's fortunes this season off of the work of Juho Olkinura. I just don't think that Sam will be able to gel with this team enough to make it far into the post season. Surely Juho is not capable of a national championship run. My prediction: WCHA Final Five Championship loss to CC.

7. Michigan Tech: Another team that will not go anywhere without a bracket buster. They played well in the beginning of the season and then lost some steam. They are not in an automatic pick for the tourney as it stands and I don't see them doing well in the WCHA playoffs. My prediction: Loss in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

8. Bemidji State: Bemidji just doesn't have it this year. Not a contender and nobody notable who can carry this team past the first line. My prediction: WCHA first round loss.

9. St. Cloud State: SCSU has done well this season in the second half. Taking out Minnesota for a game and sweeping UND. I think SCSU can get into the Final Five but that's about it. My prediction: Loss in the Final Five.

10. Minnesota State: My prediction: First round WCHA playoff loss

11. Wisconsin: Nothing note worthy about this team. They need to grow and reload before they can get past the horrors of this season. My prediction: First Round playoff loss.

12. Alaska Anchorage: Really tough year for these guys. My prediction: first round wcha playoff loss.

Results:

Final Five Participants
UMD
UM
CC
DU
UND
SCSU

Teams from WCHA in Tourney:
CC
UM
UMD

All other things held equal, National Championship game:
Boston University Vs. Minnesota

WCHA GOALIES: THE BEST OF THE BEST

About two months ago I wrote a blog about the Colorado College goaltending situation. Many people praised it as truth in action and a call for Owens to do something. Just about everyone in my CC facebook group called me some obnoxious name. I was even called, yes, a DU fan.

I'm not a DU fan, but I love watching goalies play. That's because I play goalie so I understand the position better than I do any of other other five spots. While two months ago I was heckling Owens for his defensive problems, I now praise him for figuring it out amidst a goaltending problem.

So without further ado, my "subjective" views of the WCHA goalies:
(Note: With the exception of a couple of teams, I am only including starting goalies)

My rankings:
1: Aaron Dell, UND: This guy is my favorite goalie in the NCAA. At 6 feet tall, Dell fills in as the "average" height for a goalie. College net minders have a range from 5'7 all the way to 6'6. Getting in anywhere in the 6's almost guarantee's success. Aside from Dell's height, I have quite a bit to like about him. First his stance. Dell plays a shallow stance on the dead angles and widens up out front. This is common of a goalie who lacks speed to go post to post when a guy like Nick Bjugstad or Jaden Schwartz is waiting on the other side. But the thing is, Dell carries speed..and a lot of it. Dell will usually wait on the side for the wrap around and bait the player into thinking they have a centering pass option. Then he will explode to the puck and pick off any attempt at a centering shot. His lateral movements are great and trying to score on this guy down low is almost impossible. Which is why his shallow upright stance presents a problem for anyone thinking about roofing for the peanut butter. A so-so team in front of him has UND as a middle of the pack team this year. If things were different, UND might be ranked #1 right now.

2: Sam Brittain, DU: At 6'3 I have a hard time not picking Sam over Aaron Dell. He explodes the same way Aaron Dell does but has the extra 3 inches of height to cover his posts. As a goalie, you have to use whatever means is available to get the save. I'm not a fan of DU because I like CC, but I really enjoy watching Brittain play. Like Dell, he plays with a shallow stance and explodes to the puck....sometimes. Brittain has tremendous speed, but spectators rarely get to see it because this guy is always in position. Instead of making flex saves or doing t-pushes to get from side to side, brittain shuffles. This is a sign that a player is at or near in line with the puck. I would rank Brittain tied with Dell, but he doesn't hold the same speed as Dell so this is why he get's #2.

3: Kent Patterson, UM: At 6'1, Patterson again makes a strong case for a good goalie. The difference between the first two goalies and the remaining ones is a landslide. Patterson is not my favorite goalie to watch by any means. In fact I doubt I would rank him this high if it wasn't for the fact that Minnesota is like 4 players away from a fully drafted team...including Patterson. I would say that Patterson's best area's belong to his puck tracking. Seeing a puck from the blue line is not a hard task, unless your name is Adam Murray. Seeing the puck through traffic can get difficult, but again positioning will save you on that. Seeing the puck from five feet away with a heavy handed sniper is a difficult task that separates the elite from the rest. Patterson's glove reaction time is second to none. He's not a body player like Howe, Faulkner and Reiter, but he puts himself in position to make body saves. A very good attribute. Ultimately Patterson starts the decline of netminders who start lacking. If anyone had the chance to watch CC play Minnesota you may have caught Dineen's goal against patty. Patterson left his five hole wide open and Dineen snagged him going from left to right. As a low playing shot, Patterson should have pushed off and followed Dineen with a closing-five hole slide. He didn't because he lacks the low shot play.

4. Dan Bakala, BSU: Dan is below the 6'0 mark which starts the disadvantage. It's not all bad news being shorter than six feet, the work required to make a casual save is more though. Dan is a puck reader like Patterson. He's also a positional guy like Brittain which makes him ever more dangerous. His downside is the rebounds he kicks out. If he was playing on a team like Minnesota or Minnesota-Duluth, these problems would disappear. But he's not. He's playing for bemidji where the goalie is not the last line, it's the defense.

5. Josh Thorimbert, CC: Another guy shorter than 6 feet, thorny has the slight disadvantage in this area. The defense in front of him has been non-existent for most of the year yet he has played strong. Thorny is not a guy who opens his stance much or applies a heavy amount of speed. He's a puck reader and a stand up style goalie. This is by no means a disadvantage, it just is the way thorny plays. Breakaways and odd man rushes are Thorny's specialty. He can handle just about anything coming his way. If not for a little bit more speed, thorny would be 1,2, or 3 on this list.

6. Mike Lee, SCSU: Mike is a guy who stands at 6'1 and really looks quite a bit bigger than that in the net. He plays a very wide stance and covers most of the net by playing in one spot. He's got the speed to come out of a wide stance and make critical saves. One of the marquee traits of a wide stance player is their flexibility. This is what mike lacks. It's because of this that he had troubles at the end of last year and prior to his injury this year. Maybe some flexibility training will improve his odds that he won't be the next guy to be cut when he show's up for his AHL assignment next fall.

7. Juho Olkinuora, DU: The fall of Sam Brittain and Adam Murray certainly left a big hole to fill in the DU net. Enter Juho. I don't understand Juho fully because he only has one season under his belt. From what I have seen, he looks like a set player. These are the garden variety goalies who come in their freshman year expecting the plays to be as slow as they were in high school or juniors. The wake up call comes quickly. Juho has broken out of that shell a bit, but he certainly showed that his comfort is a solid read and a hold when Alexander Krushelnyski came down on a penalty shot last December. He's got some work to do if he ever wants to be higher than the third goalie within DU's goalie corps.

8. Joe Howe, CC: Joe came into this season as the #1 goalie from the past two seasons. Joe has worked hard each off season to make himself better. His appearance in last years NCAA tournament against Michigan was great. Although he lost, he made some crucial saves that kept CC in the game. Joe plays a different type of game than any other goalie in the WCHA thus far. I grew up playing pond hockey and I see the image of Joe's style from the ponds in Minnesota. Ponds are much rougher and harder to slide on when playing goalie. The pads stick to the ice and often require the goalie to make flex saves or include a heavy dose of power. Joe has both of these. I would say he's the strongest positional goalie in the WCHA. When the puck gets into his zone, he locks on like a missle. He watches the puck for every square inch it moves. But unfortunately, the world arena is not a pond. This makes Joe's incredible power and high flexibility nearly useless. Joe can handle players in his zone, but when the puck comes one on one players tend to deke him into making a flex save and then they roof it on him. Without a stellar defense in hand, this type of tending is difficult to do in the WCHA. Hopefully Joe can rebound from this year and revert to his old self.

9. Kenny Reiter, UMD: Of all the goalies on this list, I dislike reiter the most. For his first two seasons, Reiter split time with his partner Aaron Crandall. Until last year, Crandall had the upper hand. And until last year, the Conolly pair had not developed into a forceful duo. Now that one conolly is gone, reiter still has a stellar defense in front of him. However, to be at this level is no coincidence. Reiter is another puck tracker. He can see all the pucks in his zone and stop them. It's the 1 on 1's and the odd man rushes that ruin his days.

10. John Faulkner, UNO: Justin is a great minder who has lost his thunder this season. Another above six foot tall net minder, Faulkner is an open stance type player similar to Mike Lee. His problem rests with his speed. He has too much of it to control. His C-cuts are often sliding stops and that is never good for a goalie. He reminds me of a raw Richard Bachman. Bachman had all of the fundamentals down that Faulkner seems to be missing.

11. Joel Rumpel, UW: For the pat three years, Wisconsin has been treated by Scott Gudmanson and Brian Bennett. Bennett won the World Juniors in net for team USA and Gudmanson took the badgers all the way to the national championship game. Now the game starts over and a new goalie is in. It's Rumpel. Rumpel is by no way fine tuned. He lacks in many area's and looks quite unrefined. I dare ask what Wisconsin's back up goalie looks like if Rumpel beat him out for the starting job.