Jutting stories

Former MSU coach Troy Jutting listens to President Richard Davenport discuss Jutting's reassignment  during a press conference on Monday morning in the Johnson Alumni Room in Taylor Center. Next to Jutting is Mavericks assistant coach Todd Knott. Seated is player Tyler Elbrecht. (John Cross/The Free Press)

Here's what went down in today's Free Press: Three stories on the Troy Jutting reassignment at Minnesota State:

Both MSU President Richard Davenport and athletic director Kevin Buisman heaped praise upon Jutting during the press conference. So much so that the question had to be repeated: Why make the change? All of the speakers, including Jutting, came back to one real theme, and that was economics. Specifically, they're hoping a new coach will pump some life into a dwindling fan base, boost walk-up ticket sales, season-ticket sales and Blue Line Club memberships. Said Buisman: "We hope the investment we make in a new coach will help us revive interest in the program and bring fans back into the stands. All those factors will help turn it financially.

Jutting addressed his team, as did Buisman, on Sunday night, and they were pretty shocked by the move, according to the players present at the press conference. They didn't seem angry. Eriah Hayes said he had mixed feelings about it but owed a lot to Jutting. Tyler Elbrecht said he hopes this will bring the team closer together. Former MSU coach Don Brose also attended the event and said he was "saddened" about the decision.

Finally, we look to the the future a bit. Buisman said he has a short list of candidates that he'd like to recruit, and Davenport said the university has already received calls about the head coaching job. When will they get a person in place? Quickly, they said but did not mention a timeline. Davenport said by the end of summer, but he may have misspoke. Buisman said there's a 5-6 week window between now and the end of the school year. The players both said they'd like to know who will be leading them before the semester ends.

A couple of other nuggets worth noting: 

• Associate coach Darren Blue's contract with MSU runs through June 30, 2013, the same time Jutting's deal ends. Assistant coach Todd Knott has a contract through June 30 of this year. Buisman said he would encourage whomever is hired to consider both coaches.

• According to MSU VP of finance and administration Rick Straka, the fact that Jutting is due to make about $200,000 over the remaining 15 months of his contract will not be a detriment to the search for a new coach. Straka called it a "university cost," not a cost specific to the budgets of the hockey team or the athletic department. He also doesn't believe it will be a "sunk cost," considering Jutting's new position at the university and if attendance/support increase with the presence of  new coach.

• Both Davenport and Buisman said that outside pressure did not factor into the coaching change. Said the president: "There are always a lot of rumors in regard to the hockey program. I didn't personally feel any pressure to make the change." 

Academic accolades for Galiardi

Minnesota State's 2010-11 captain Rylan Galiardi has received some nice postseason accolades for his work in the classroom at MSU. Galiardi graduated earlier this month with a degree in sports management and left college with a 3.81 GPA.

On Thursday, MSU announced that Galiardi was selected as a member of the Capital One Academic All-District Second Team. Earlier this month, he was presented with Minnesota State's Don Buchanan Award as one of the university's top male student-athlete and was named Second-Team Academic All-District by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA).

Galiardi gave a touching speech at the Maverick Achievement Awards, which you can see here.

Boe's season still going

Minnesota State defenseman Channing Boe is still playing hockey. After playing 38 games for the Mavericks this past season — his senior year — Boe has played 19 games for the Wheeling Nailers, including 11 in the playoffs. The Nailers will try to keep their season going tonight when they play the Kalamzoo Wings in the Eastern Conference finals. The Wings lead the series 3-2.

I talked to Boe on Monday for a column that appeared in Tuesday's edition of The Free Press (read that story here). Boe missed a few playoff games in order to return to Mankato for final exams. He said that his new team and coaches were very supportive of his need to finish his course work, as were his professors at MSU of his opportunity to start his professional hockey career.

"I've been playing a lot," Boe said. "It's been fun. It's been a great experience, getting to the next step and seeing what pro hockey is all about. It's definitely different."

Boe was one of two MSU seniors to sign after the season. Rylan Galiardi played 10 games for the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. He had two assists.

As for the other seniors, little word on their professional future. I ran into Ben Youds the other day, and he said he was hoping to agree to a minor league deal with an NHL team. I know he and Kurt Davis are also considering Europe. Andrew Sackrison is a St. Louis Blues draft pick.

McKelvie hired at Lake Forest

Former Minnesota State hockey player Ryan McKelvie has been hired as the head coach at Division III Lake Forest College in Illinois. McKelvie spent the last season as an assistant at Alaska-Anchorage. Before that, he was the associate head coach for the Wenatchee Wild junior team in the North American Hockey League for two years and a graduate assistant at Bemidji State prior to that.

McKelvie was at Minnesota State from 2002 to 2006 and was a three-year assistant captain.

He takes over a program that hasn't had a winning season since 2005-06. The Foresters went 5-21-1 last season, playing in the MCHA with Adrian, Concordia (Wis.), Finlandia, Lawrence, Marian, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Northland.

While with the Seawolves, McKelvie helped UAA to one of its best seasons in several years and its second trip to the WCHA Final Five.

"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to lead the Lake Forest College men's hockey program," McKelvie said in a school press release (read the entire release here). "It was clear throughout the interview process and during my visit to campus that my coaching goals align with those of the college. Recent enhancements to the rink and other athletic facilities at the college also strengthen my believe that Forester hockey has the potential to be very successful."

Alaska-Anchorage also had a release about McKelvie's departure. Said coach Dave Shyiak: "Ryan has been an integral part of our success this year. He has worked very hard in his responsibilities and recruiting efforts. This is a great opportunity for him at Lake Forest College and we wish him all the best and thank him for all he has done."

For more, check out Doyle Woody's blog.

Around the rinks

Earlier this week I checked in with North Mankato native Tyler Bruggeman, who just wrapped up his third season of junior hockey. The goaltender played for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL and saw his playing time drop a bit from last season when he was with the NAHL's St. Louis Bandits. Bruggeman, 20, says he plans to return to the Bucs for a final season of junior hockey in hopes of landing a college opportunity somewhere. You can see Bruggeman's career numbers here.

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Unfortunately, this was kept on the downlow and was publicized after the fact, but before country-music star Dierks Bentley's show in Mankato Thursday night, he skated over at All Seasons Arena with members of the MSU men's and women's hockey teams and a few others. Bentley, who plays rec-league hockey in Nashville, told Paul Allan that he keeps his hockey gear on his tour bus just in case he gets a chance to skate during his tour.

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This has been one of the busiest offseasons in terms of coaching changes. So far, six teams are in the process of making changes, and that could grow depending on how those jobs get filled.

A few weeks ago, Michigan State hired CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos as its new coach, and this week, UMass-Lowell hired alum and former Colorado College assistant Norm Bazin to take the reins. That leaves Michigan Tech, Providence, Clarkson and Penn State still open.

Tech is an interesting, as it appeared to be was close to hiring alum and longtime Michigan assistant Mel Pearson, only to have Pearson turn down the job. Now, some reports are coming out that Nebraska-Omaha assistant Mike Hastings might be interviewing in Houghton.

Penn State, which is looking to make a big splash with its first coach, has/is in the process of interviewing Minnesota Duluth's Scott Sandelin. Sandelin has a career record of 192-200-52 in 11 seasons at UMD, but this month's national championship certainly makes him a hot prospect. Adding intrigue to the story is the fact that Sandelin's wife is a Penn State graduate.

Meanwhile, Providence might be in the process of poaching national coach of the year Nate Leaman away from Union.

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Even the women's hockey world is seeking coaches, as Ohio State's Jackie Barto announced that she is stepping down after 12 seasons with the Buckeyes and 27 years overall.

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The Minnesota Wild have been busy signing some college starts, inking North Dakota's Chay Genoway and Minnesota Duluth's Justin Fontaine. Both players' seasons ended at the Xcel Energy Center a couple of weeks ago, with Fontaine winning the national title, and Genoway making it to the national semifinals.

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The Minnesota State women's hockey team announced its postseason awards this week. They were:

• Most Valuable Player — Lauren Smith, so. F
• Most Improved Player — Kari Lundberg, fr. F
• Rookie of the Year — Kathleen Rogan, fr. F
• Tiffany Searles Award (all-around student-athlete) — Jenna Peterson, jr. F/D
• Maverick Pride Award — Ariel Mackley, jr. D
• Daniel Mundahl Service Award — Emmi Leinonen, jr. F

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News broke Friday morning that Kurt Davis' dad, MSU alum Carl Davis, has stepped down as Wayzata High School coach. In 16 years, Davis had a record of 247-146-24, five conference titles and two state-tournament appearances.

Oilers ink Pitlick

Ex-Minnesota State player Tyler Pitlick signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the Oilers announced last week.

Pitlick played one season with the Mavericks (2009-10) before leaving to play major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. This season in The Hat, the 19-year-old center had 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points in 56 games.

With the Mavericks, he showed tremendous college potential, scoring 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 38 games. Pitlick seemed poised to have a breakout sophomore year (how bad did the Mavs need him this past season?!?!) but decided that school wasn't his thing and headed to Canada.

During last summer's NHL draft, Edmonton selected Pitlick with the first pick of the second round (31st overall), making him the highest draft pick with MSU ties.

According to capgeek.com, Pitlick's deal will pay him $2.665 million over three years if he plays the entire time with the big club ($67,500 annually if he's in the AHL).

My WCHA ballot

It's a tradition like no other. It's the time of year when several college-hockey writers unveil their all-conference ballot selections and wait to be pummeled by the fans. This year was tough, and several very good players were left off my -- and others' -- ballots. So here it is. Release the hounds!

FIRST TEAM

F-Matt Frattin, North Dakota

F-Jack Connolly, Minnesota Duluth

F-Jason Zucker, Denver

D-Justin Schultz, Wisconsin

D-Jake Gardiner, Wisconsin

G-Aaron Dell, North Dakota

SECOND TEAM

F-Mike Connolly, Minnesota Duluth

F-Justin Fontaine, Minnesota Duluth

F-Drew Shore, Denver

D-Kurt Davis, Minnesota State

D-Chay Genoway, North Dakota

G-Kent Patterson, Minnesota

THIRD TEAM

F-Jason Gregoire, North Dakota

F-Matt Ambroz, Nebraska-Omaha

F-Tyler Johnson, Colorado College

D-Ben Youds, Minnesota State

D-Eric Olimb, Nebraska-Omaha

G-John Faulkner, Nebraska-Omaha

ROOKIE TEAM

F-Jason Zucker, Denver

F-Jaden Schwartz, Colorado College

F-Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin

D-Justin Faulk, Minnesota Duluth

D-David Makowski, Denver

G-Sam Brittain, Denver

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Matt Frattin, North Dakota

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Jason Zucker, Denver

COACH OF THE YEAR

Dean Blais, Nebraska-Omaha

Like I said, a lot of tough choices here. Players who got left off who deserved -- and got -- close consideration for one of the top-three teams include, among others: Craig Smith (UW), Drew LeBlanc (SCSU) and Matt Read (BSU); Matt Donovan (DU), Cade Fairchild (UM) and Ben Blood (UND) on defense; and Sam Brittain (DU) and Scott Gudmandson (UW) in goal. Rookies on the outside looking in include: J.T. Brown (F-UMD), Nick Jensen (D-SCSU).

As for the individual awards, I think they were pretty much no-brainers. Frattin was simply clutch all year and is tied for the national lead in goals. Zucker has 20 goals (the Mavs hope that number doesn't change this weekend) and might have had some competition from Schwartz had Schwartz stayed healthy. Blais seems like a lock for best coach. Everyone knows he's great but it's no easy jump, joining the WCHA, and the red Mavs finished third.

Mavericks getting votes

The Mavericks' sweep over Minnesota caught the eyes of some USCHO.com voters. Minnesota State received nine points this week, which wasn't good enough for the top 20 but is enough to get some consideration.

Some disclosure here. I vote on that poll and did not have MSU in my top 20. The Mavs were on my list of teams to consider but they didn't quite make the cut (neither did Minnesota or Colorado College or Bemidji State, by the way). Let's see what happens against the Sioux.

Here is this week's poll:

1. Yale (34 first-place votes) 10-1-0
2. Minnesota Duluth (13) 12-2-2
3. New Hampshire 9-2-4
4. Boston College (3) 11-5-0
5. North Dakota 11-5-2
6. Miami 10-5-3
7. Boston University 7-3-5
8. Maine 7-3-4
9. Denver 11-5-2
10. Nebraska-Omaha 9-4-1
11. Notre Dame 10-5-2
12. Michigan 9-5-4
13. Union 8-3-3
14. Alaska 8-5-3
15. Rensselaer 8-4-3
16. Wisconsin 8-7-3
17. Merrimack 7-4-4
18. Ferris State 8-6-3
19. Dartmouth 6-3-1
20. Western Michigan 7-5-4

Others receiving votes: Clarkson, Minnesota, Robert Morris, Colorado College, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Michigan State, Bemidji State, Princeton, Providence, Niagara

By the way, I was one of the votes who kept UMD No. 1 this week.

Cook's got some competition

After getting swept by Minnesota State, Minnesota coach Don Lucia on Saturday night declared, "I think we know who the player of the week is."

He was referring to Phil Cook, Mavericks goaltender, who stopped 49 of 50 shots in Saturday's win. But Bemidji State pulled off home sweep of a ranked team, too, beating Nebraska-Omaha twice thanks to goaltender Dan Bakala. Bakala shut out the Red Mavericks 3-0 on Friday.

So who will win WCHA defensive player of the week honors this week? The league often gives co-winners, and I'm betting that's what happens this week. But if only one could get it, who would it be? Let's compare goalies:

Phil Cook: defeated 17th-ranked Minnesota 3-2 and 3-1. He stopped 33 of 35 shots in the opener and 49 of 50 shots (including 22 of 23 in the third period) on Saturday for a weekend save percentage of .965. The Gophers were scoreless on 10 power plays.

Dan Bakala: defeated fourth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 and 3-1. He stopped 25 shots in the shutout and 39 of 40 shots the next day for a weekend save percentage of .985. Omaha was scoreless on nine power plays.

Tough call.

Meanwhile, here are a few more notes from this weekend's series.

Women's hockey news

Catching up on some items in the women's hockey world ...

Gustavus Adolphus coach Mike Carroll hired Ruthann Kragh as his new assistant coach. Kragh was an assistant at Minnesota State for five years (2001-2005) and the head coach at Bemidji State for three years  (1998-2000). After leaving MSU, she has worked as the registrar at Mankato's Bethany Lutheran College. Kragh, who is married to Bethany baseball coach Ryan Kragh, will replace Andrea Peterson on the Gusties bench. According to Gustavus' release, Kragh will assist Carroll with practice planning, player development and recruiting.

Speaking of former MSU assistants, Dan Lichterman (2003-2007) has stepped down as the head women's coach at Maine to pursue other opportunities. He and his family have moved to the Toronto area. In three seasons with the Black Bears, Lichterman's teams went 15-70-13.

As for the Mavericks, they announced their 2010-11 schedule earlier this month. They will open the season at home on Oct. 8-9 against Niagara.

Getting to the high school (possibly future college) ranks, Mankato East's Savannah Quandt was picked to participate in the USA Hockey Select 15 National Camp in Rochester, N.Y., next week. Quandt will play with and against the best 100 or so 15-year-olds in the country. It's believed that she's the second Mankato player to get chosen for the festival, joining West's Katy Kvasnicka, who went to the event two years ago. Look for more on Quandt's opportunity in The Free Press in the coming days.

First round passes on Pitlick

Minnesota State continues to wait for its first first-round NHL draft pick. The first 30 picks went by on Friday night, and Tyler Pitlick, who many predicted to be a first-rounder, was not taken. He still has a chance to be the Mavericks' highest draft pick -- if he goes among the first seven picks in the second round on Saturday. Tim Jackman was taken 38th overall in 2001.

Several players with WCHA ties did get drafted on Friday. The group included: 14. Colorado College recruit Jaden Schwartz (Blues), 15. North Dakota recruit Derek Forbort (Kings), 19. Minnesota recruit Nick Bjugstad (Panthers), 20. Denver recruit Beau Bennett (Penguins) and 30. North Dakota recruit Brock Nelson (Islanders).

Warroad's Nelson, by the way, got the distinction of getting his name announced by "E" from Entourage. How cool is that? I'm not sure why he was there; I wasn't watching the draft because I was busy bailing water out of my basement after the storms. So it goes.

Besides that group of WCHA guys, four other players with collegiate ties were taken.

Other notes: Forbert, a defenseman, becomes the first Duluth native to go in the first round. ... Bjugstad was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey last year, out of Blaine HS.