Updated: November 3, 2005, 3:37 PM ET
INCH College Hockey Extra
For Quinnipiac and Vermont, the buzz around campus this week is all about new beginnings.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Quinnipiac's Ben Nelson made the Atlantic Hockey all-rookie team as a freshman.
Vermont, at the northern edge of that region of good feeling, and Quinnipiac, to the south, have more reason for excitement than just the nation's two longest winning streaks, respectively. This week marks the official introduction to new leagues for the Catamounts and Bobcats; Vermont beat Northeastern Tuesday night in its first Hockey East game, 5-3, while Quinnipiac faces Harvard Friday night at the Hartford Civic Center in its ECACHL debut.
The sense of history in the making -- especially in college hockey, which hasn't experienced the sweeping conference shuffling of its football and basketball counterparts -- isn't lost on the schools.
"This one means a lot to the guys and it means a lot to players past and present," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said Tuesday night. "It's a historical moment for Vermont hockey and it's certainly nice to get that first one on the road."
The energy around these two programs was evident in Vermont's five-goal first period against Northeastern. Quinnipiac hopes to get a similar boost on Friday, when it will play at the Hartford Civic Center. About 20 buses will make the 40-minute trip north from campus, and the school has hopes of setting an ECACHL regular-season attendance record.
"There's a nice little buzz around campus," said Quinnipiac defenseman Reid Cashman, a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year last season. "I don't think [the switch to the ECACHL] changes our mental approach, or how we practice, but it definitely adds to the excitement."
Vermont and Quinnipiac are experiencing this success even as they have joined more challenging leagues, moves that many thought would lead to a drop-off in performance. The Catamounts were picked sixth in the Hockey East preseason coaches poll, while Quinnipiac was tabbed for last in the 12-team ECACHL.
"There's always been that question mark about each team I've played on here, how good we are because of the level of competition we've played," said Cashman. "We understand that. Now we're ready to show what we can do. We don't believe that we have a 12th-place team here."
With Cashman (1-10-11), Jamie Bates (5-4-9), David Marshall (6-2-8) and three talented goalies leading the way, Quinnipiac certainly hasn't looked like a last-place team in its 6-2-0 start. Likewise, Vermont's 7-0-0 mark has the Catamounts, led by Brady Leisenring (4-9-13), Torrey Mitchell (3-10-13) and Joe Fallon (6-0-0, 1.66, .917) thinking about a Hockey East title.
For these two teams, at least, Fall has been the perfect time for new beginnings.
BUCKEYE TROUBLE?
Ohio State entered last weekend with a top-five ranking and left with a sub-.500 record. At 2-3-1 overall, OSU is one of just four CCHA teams with a losing record -- and we're pretty sure the Buckeyes weren't planning on keeping company with Notre Dame, Bowling Green and Lake Superior State before the season started.
So what's gone wrong in Columbus? Well, special teams for one thing. Western Michigan converted 7 of 17 power plays, while OSU went 0-for-18. That more than offset the Buckeyes' 78-36 shot advantage. Ohio State also got sub-par goaltending from all-CCHA performer David Caruso and his backup, Ian Keserich, and the Bucks were victimized by bad luck. With Ohio State leading by a goal halfway through the third period of Saturday's game, a WMU dump-in took a funny bounce off the boards and squirted out in front of a vacated OSU net. Jason Moul's goal tied the game (which the Buckeyes had led 4-1) and set up the eventual sweep.
"We haven't scored a goal like that in my 13 years here," OSU coach John Markell said. "It was kind of like, 'Are you kidding me?'"
But Markell's not making excuses for his club, which was the odds-on favorite to win the CCHA in preseason polls.
"We could have competed a little harder," he said. "And we've been a little snake-bitten on the offensive end. We might change some guys and some positions on the power play. But we've been put on a pedestal, and we've warned the guys that they have to learn how to deal with that. It's new for us. Every program has to go through it. Boston College, Minnesota, Michigan, they've gone through it. Hopefully, we've learned our lesson. I still love our hockey club -- I don't like them at times -- but I think we'll be there at the end."
-- James Jahnke
So what's gone wrong in Columbus? Well, special teams for one thing. Western Michigan converted 7 of 17 power plays, while OSU went 0-for-18. That more than offset the Buckeyes' 78-36 shot advantage. Ohio State also got sub-par goaltending from all-CCHA performer David Caruso and his backup, Ian Keserich, and the Bucks were victimized by bad luck. With Ohio State leading by a goal halfway through the third period of Saturday's game, a WMU dump-in took a funny bounce off the boards and squirted out in front of a vacated OSU net. Jason Moul's goal tied the game (which the Buckeyes had led 4-1) and set up the eventual sweep.
"We haven't scored a goal like that in my 13 years here," OSU coach John Markell said. "It was kind of like, 'Are you kidding me?'"
But Markell's not making excuses for his club, which was the odds-on favorite to win the CCHA in preseason polls.
"We could have competed a little harder," he said. "And we've been a little snake-bitten on the offensive end. We might change some guys and some positions on the power play. But we've been put on a pedestal, and we've warned the guys that they have to learn how to deal with that. It's new for us. Every program has to go through it. Boston College, Minnesota, Michigan, they've gone through it. Hopefully, we've learned our lesson. I still love our hockey club -- I don't like them at times -- but I think we'll be there at the end."
-- James Jahnke
BALANCING ACT
While balance is clearly a good thing, being a one-line team isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when two of the three Hobey finalists are on that line. Nevertheless, Colorado College coach Scott Owens saw something to work on in his team's lack of offensive diversity last season, when linemates Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling combined for 61 of the team's 160 goals en route to the team winning a share of the MacNaughton Cup and making it to the Frozen Four.
"That was one of our Achilles' heels last year, and one of our points of emphasis this year," said Owens, after his team's dozen-goal sweep at Minnesota State, Mankato last weekend vaulted the Tigers to the top of the INCH Power Rankings. "We had our power play clicking pretty good, and were able to get some other people scoring, which was important."
A glance at this year's team statistics shows the usual suspects (Sterling and Sertich) again leading the way offensively, with Sterling the reigning WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. But last weekend was a breakout of sorts for the likes of freshman forward Chad Rau, who put up a goal and three assists at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center and was named the league's Rookie of the Week. Top defenseman Brian Salcido complemented the team's solid play throughout with his first two goals of the season. He anchors a defensive unit that is quickly overcoming the early departures of Mark Stuart and Brady Greco, and the graduation of Richard Petiot.
"It's coming together," says Owens of his defense. "We've had several different combinations out there. We lost three pretty big guys and we're still adjusting to that, so it's definitely still a work in progress."
The Tigers and their newfound fame as the nation's top-ranked team return home to face a St. Cloud State team that has upsets of Minnesota and Northern Michigan on its resume already.
-- Jess Myers
"That was one of our Achilles' heels last year, and one of our points of emphasis this year," said Owens, after his team's dozen-goal sweep at Minnesota State, Mankato last weekend vaulted the Tigers to the top of the INCH Power Rankings. "We had our power play clicking pretty good, and were able to get some other people scoring, which was important."
A glance at this year's team statistics shows the usual suspects (Sterling and Sertich) again leading the way offensively, with Sterling the reigning WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. But last weekend was a breakout of sorts for the likes of freshman forward Chad Rau, who put up a goal and three assists at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center and was named the league's Rookie of the Week. Top defenseman Brian Salcido complemented the team's solid play throughout with his first two goals of the season. He anchors a defensive unit that is quickly overcoming the early departures of Mark Stuart and Brady Greco, and the graduation of Richard Petiot.
"It's coming together," says Owens of his defense. "We've had several different combinations out there. We lost three pretty big guys and we're still adjusting to that, so it's definitely still a work in progress."
The Tigers and their newfound fame as the nation's top-ranked team return home to face a St. Cloud State team that has upsets of Minnesota and Northern Michigan on its resume already.
-- Jess Myers
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
66
RIT goaltender Jocelyn Guimond tied an NCAA record for saves in a victory when he turned aside 66 St. Lawrence shots in the Tigers' stunning 3-2 home win Friday night at Ritter Arena. Guimond, a sophomore, sat out last season because he appeared in a major junior game for the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Beavers five years ago. He made up for lost time against the Saints, stopping 37 more shots in Saturday's 6-3 loss. The first-year Division I Tigers are 3-3-0 and host Alabama-Huntsville for two this weekend.
Ohio State at Miami (Ohio) (Fri.) Miami (Ohio) at Ohio State (Sat.) |
 
Miami was idle last weekend; Ohio State played like it. The Buckeyes plummeted in the national picture after two losses at Western Michigan in which their special teams and goaltending failed them. The CCHA preseason favorites will have to bounce back against a 3-1-0 Miami team that suffered its only loss in the season opener against North Dakota. The RedHawks have been bolstered by reuniting the top line of Matt Christie, Marty Guerin and Chris Michael. When the two teams played early in the 2004-05 season, OSU swept Miami, which had won its first four games in convincing fashion, starting the RedHawks on a seven-game losing streak from which they would never recover, while the Buckeyes kicked off a 10-3-3 run.
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Wisconsin at North Dakota (Fri., ESPNU 8:30 p.m. ET) (Sat., FSN North, 8 p.m. ET) |
 
Goaltending has keyed the success of the Badgers and Fighting Sioux, with Brian Elliott and Jordan Parise ranking 1-2 among WCHA goalies in goals-against average and save percentage. But with both goalies allowing less than two goals per game, the focus turns back to offense -- as in, who can generate some? All Wisconsin eyes are on Robbie Earl and Joe Pavelski, while North Dakota also has its two best weapons skating together in Drew Stafford and Travis Zajac. Stafford and Zajac have been overshadowed somewhat by their freshman teammates, but have shown signs of life lately. |
Want an early look at future NHL stars? Tune in to one of those aforementioned Wisconsin-North Dakota games. More than one-tenth of the first-round picks in the 2005 NHL Draft will be on the ice (four of 30). In all, 23 draft picks dot these rosters, including several players on opposing sides who figure to be teammates down the road.  Two of those -- Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott and North Dakota defenseman Brian Lee -- could end up in Ottawa playing alongside Patrick Eaves, the son of Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves, and another former Badger, Dany Heatley.
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• One lesson Denver's coaches took from the aftermath of Brock Trotter's season-ending injury last weekend is to not put too much stock in early information. Trotter, who crumpled to the ice behind the net early in Friday's game after a hard check, was taken off the ice by stretcher. At the time, an arena medical staffer told George Gwozdecky that Trotter had a cut that would be sewn up and that he would likely return. It was only after North Dakota's 3-1 victory that the team learned Trotter was in surgery. Doctors repaired a four-inch cut that had severed the Achilles tendon and two major muscle groups in the freshman forward's right leg. The school is expected to apply for a medical redshirt for Trotter.
• As many as eight would-be contributors might be out of the Michigan State lineup against Northern Michigan. Forward Jim McKenzie (leg) and defensemen Chris Snavely (shoulder) and Brandon Gentile (abdomen) are questionable, while forwards David Booth (rib), Chris Mueller (shoulder), Tim Kennedy (hand), Nick Sucharski (mono) and Justin Abdelkader (game disqualification at Cornell) are out. What's more, forward Peder Skinner left the team this week to seek more playing time in the OHL. • Providence's 3-0-0 start in Hockey East before faltering its 2-1 third-period lead over BC on Saturday was the team's first unblemished three-game start since 1998-99. The loss to the Eagles also ended PC's six-game conference winning streak, dating back to last year. • For the first time in six years, Brown opens its season against a team other than Harvard. The ECACHL's new travel partners -- adjusted to accommodate Vermont's departure and Quinnipiac's arrival -- have the Bears and Yale hosting Colgate and Cornell this weekend. • North Dakota won one of the bigger remaining recruiting battles for 2006, beating out Minnesota for a verbal commitment from forward Michael Forney of Thief River Falls, Minn. • A rare sight Friday at Rensselaer's Houston Field House (beyond the Engineers' comeback from a 4-0 deficit to beat Northeastern): four European-born players in the game. The best of the bunch was Northeastern freshman Matti Uusivirta. The Huskies are off to a disappointing 0-4-1 start, but Uusivirta has impressed, posting 2-3-5 in four games. • Atlantic Hockey has three teams checking in at 2-0-0 in the league -- Holy Cross, Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart -- and all have to be considered favorites to sweep again this weekend. Mercyhurst, the preseason favorites, had the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week in Scott Champagne after his six-point weekend (1-5-6) against Connecticut. • Air Force jumped to a 3-0 lead in the upset of the week in College Hockey America, over previously unbeaten Bemidji State. Each side of the Falcons' defense pairing of Brian Gineo and Brooks Turnquist chipped in a goal in the win. Air Force is off this weekend before traveling to Army for a service academy series next weekend. |
