The first USCHO.com/CSTV men's college hockey poll was released Monday, and Minnesota State is starting the season ranked 18th in the country. The Mavericks finished last season ranked 14th in the poll. Defending national champion Boston College is No. 1, and Colorado College is the highest-ranked WCHA team at No. 3. Seven WCHA teams are in the top 20, and two others also received votes.
Here's the list (first-place votes in parenthesis; WCHA teams in bold):
1. Boston College (36) 969
2. Michigan (5) 922
3. Colorado College (7) 874
4. Notre Dame (1) 829
5. North Dakota (1) 789
6. Denver 704
7. New Hampshire 648
8. Miami 613
9. Boston University 565
10. Minnesota 503
11. Michigan State 440
12. Princeton 427
13. Clarkson 375
14. Wisconsin 358
15. St. Cloud State 299
16. Northern Michigan 257
17. Cornell 186
18. Minnesota State 170
19. Harvard 134
20. Vermont 90
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Air Force, Niagara, Ferris State, UMass-Lowell, UMass, Minnesota Duluth, Providence, Yale, Maine, Bowling Green, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, Rensselaer, Union, Bemidji State, RIT, Robert Morris, St. Lawrence, Mercyhurst, Michigan Tech
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Practice begins
Minnesota State officially kicked off the 2008-09 season Saturday morning with a two-hour practice at All-Seasons Arena. Although the team has been working out with captains practices and limited workouts with coaches for a few weeks, Saturday was the real deal.
"We're six days away (from the first game), so it's full go," coach Troy Jutting said afterward. "It's different than most other sports in college. We get to start and, in six days, we're playing. There's a lot to make sure everybody understands so we're ready to go in six days."
The Mavericks will have two practices on Sunday.
"We're six days away (from the first game), so it's full go," coach Troy Jutting said afterward. "It's different than most other sports in college. We get to start and, in six days, we're playing. There's a lot to make sure everybody understands so we're ready to go in six days."
The Mavericks will have two practices on Sunday.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Seventh sign
Apparently the WCHA coaches and media think a lot alike. Both the Grand Forks Herald preseason coaches poll and the brand new Capital Times (Madison) media poll were released Wednesday with the exact same results, including Minnesota State in seventh place and a tie for fourth between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Here are the polls with the Herald's first-place votes and points first, followed by the Cap Times' numbers:
Here are the polls with the Herald's first-place votes and points first, followed by the Cap Times' numbers:
1. Colorado College (8) 78 ... (22) 247
2. North Dakota (2) 67 ... (3) 210
3. Denver 62 ... 192
4. (tie) Minnesota 53 ... 156
4. (tie) Wisconsin 53 ... 156
6. St. Cloud State 48 ... 133
7. Minnesota State 38 ... 124
8. Minnesota Duluth 24 ... 78
9. Michigan Tech 14 ... 51
10. Alaska-Anchorage 13 ... 32
Three coaches picked Colorado College goalie Richard Bachman as preseason player of the year, with Denver forward Tyler Bozak, St. Cloud forward Ryan Lasch and Duluth goalie Alex Stalock each getting two votes, and CC forward Chad Rau getting one. North Dakota freshman forward Jason Gregoire and Duluth's Jack Connolly each received three votes for preseason rookie of th year, with two Minnesota players, defenseman Aaron Ness and forward Jordan Schroeder each getting two.
The media picked Rau (14 votes) for player of the year, followed by Bachman (4), Bozak (2), North Dakota's Tyler Bozak (2) and Lasch (2). Rookie honors went to Denver's Joe Colborne (7 votes), followed by Ness (5), Schroeder (5), Wisconsin's Jake Gardiner (2), Gregoire (1), Wisconsin's Derek Stepan (1) and North Dakota's David Toews (1).
The media also picked an all-league team, which ended up: forwards-Rau, Lasch, Duncan; defensemen-Jamie McBain (UW) and Chay Genoway (UND); goalie-Bachman.
In interest of full disclosure, PucKato participated in the media poll, and here was my stab in the dark:
1. Colorado College
2. Denver
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota State
5. Minnesota
6. St. Cloud State
7. Wisconsin
8. Duluth
9. Michigan Tech
10. Anchorage
Player of the year: Rau ... rookie of the year: Gardiner ... all-conference: Rau, Lasch, MSU's Trevor Bruess up front, Genoway and McBain on D and Bachman in goal (with strong consideration for MSU's Mike Zacharias, but it was hard not to vote for the reigning player of the year).
So what do you think of the Mavericks' seventh spot? I can't say I'm surprised. When you look at the league and last year's finish, it would be hard for most observers to think that Minnesota and Wisconsin would both finish in the lower half of the conference two years in a row.
CC, DU and UND appear to be the strongest teams (although the Sioux must replace Jean-Philippe Lamoureux in goal), and you could probably put MSU, UM, UW and SCSU in a hat and pull them out to fill out a ballot. This seems to be the first year voters haven't overrated Duluth. I just don't see Tech and Anchorage getting out of the cellar.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Let's hear from you
PucKato wants to know what you, the fans, think of the upcoming hockey season.
Post a comment with your predicted order of the WCHA standings, your preseason WCHA player of the year, preseason all-WCHA team (three forwards, two defensemen, one goalie) and your preseason WCHA rookie of the year.
Post a comment with your predicted order of the WCHA standings, your preseason WCHA player of the year, preseason all-WCHA team (three forwards, two defensemen, one goalie) and your preseason WCHA rookie of the year.
Others receiving votes?
Just got back from vacation and nearly ready for hockey to begin. While I was away, USA Today released its preseason men's hockey rankings -- a top 15 -- and Minnesota State is among the others receiving votes. Despite last season's fourth-place finish in the WCHA, the Mavericks are behind six conference teams in the poll, including North Dakota (fourth), Colorado College (fifth), Denver (sixth), Minnesota (ninth), Wisconsin (13th) and St. Cloud State (15th). Defending national champion Boston College is ranked No. 1, followed by Michigan and Notre Dame.
Here are the rankings (first-place votes in parenthesis):
1. Boston College (27) 490
2. Michigan (4) 432
3. Notre Dame 376
4. North Dakota (1) 371
5. Colorado College (2) 355
6. Denver 299
7. New Hampshire 287
8. Miami 263
9. Minnesota 223
10. Boston University 203
11. Clarkson 173
12. Michigan State 159
13. Wisconsin 103
14. Northern Michigan 75
15. St. Cloud State 69
Others receiving votes: Princeton 51, Cornell 30, Harvard 30, Minnesota State 28, Air Force 24, UMass 9, UMass-Lowell 9, Niagara 9, Vermont 6, Maine 3, Northeastern 3
Here are the rankings (first-place votes in parenthesis):
1. Boston College (27) 490
2. Michigan (4) 432
3. Notre Dame 376
4. North Dakota (1) 371
5. Colorado College (2) 355
6. Denver 299
7. New Hampshire 287
8. Miami 263
9. Minnesota 223
10. Boston University 203
11. Clarkson 173
12. Michigan State 159
13. Wisconsin 103
14. Northern Michigan 75
15. St. Cloud State 69
Others receiving votes: Princeton 51, Cornell 30, Harvard 30, Minnesota State 28, Air Force 24, UMass 9, UMass-Lowell 9, Niagara 9, Vermont 6, Maine 3, Northeastern 3
Monday, September 15, 2008
Preseason stuff
MSU released its men's hockey preseason prospectus on Monday. You can read it here. Practice will get underway on Saturday, Oct. 4, with the Mavericks playing right away on Oct. 10-11 in a nonconference home series against Bemidji State.
A few items of interest:
The Mavericks have nine freshmen, including redshirts forward Mike Louwerse (medical), goalie Austin Lee and forward Brett Peterson.
For those of you who like the numbers game, here are the jersey numbers of the incoming freshmen: 3-Cameron Cooper (D), 8-Baylor Dieter (D), 15-Justin Jokinen (F), 16-Tyler Thompson (F), 24-Adam Mueller (F) and 26-Joe Schiller (F). "I really like this group of kids," coach Troy Jutting said in the news release. "When you add the redshirts, it gives us some competition for positions for positions on the roster. This is a talented group with skill and offense, just great additions to our program."
Forward/defenseman Ryan Gunderson is no longer on the team. He is the only underclassman besides Jon Kalinski, who signed with Philadelphia last spring, not to return. Gunderson had one assist in 18 games last year and two assists in 24 games over two seasons.
Scott Rideout is the team's new equipment manager. He replaces Eric Pederson and is the husband of MSU women's assistant coach Mandy Krause-Rideout.
This will be the Mavericks' 10th season in the WCHA and 13th year of Division I hockey. In regular-season play, MSU is 102-117-33 (.470) in nine seasons in the conference.
A few items of interest:
The Mavericks have nine freshmen, including redshirts forward Mike Louwerse (medical), goalie Austin Lee and forward Brett Peterson.
For those of you who like the numbers game, here are the jersey numbers of the incoming freshmen: 3-Cameron Cooper (D), 8-Baylor Dieter (D), 15-Justin Jokinen (F), 16-Tyler Thompson (F), 24-Adam Mueller (F) and 26-Joe Schiller (F). "I really like this group of kids," coach Troy Jutting said in the news release. "When you add the redshirts, it gives us some competition for positions for positions on the roster. This is a talented group with skill and offense, just great additions to our program."
Forward/defenseman Ryan Gunderson is no longer on the team. He is the only underclassman besides Jon Kalinski, who signed with Philadelphia last spring, not to return. Gunderson had one assist in 18 games last year and two assists in 24 games over two seasons.
Scott Rideout is the team's new equipment manager. He replaces Eric Pederson and is the husband of MSU women's assistant coach Mandy Krause-Rideout.
This will be the Mavericks' 10th season in the WCHA and 13th year of Division I hockey. In regular-season play, MSU is 102-117-33 (.470) in nine seasons in the conference.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Xcel game tickets on sale
Minnesota State announced Monday that tickets for the WCHA College Hockey Showcase, are available through the MSU athletic department.
The Nov. 1 event at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul features two regular-season games: Minnesota Duluth vs. St. Cloud State at 4 p.m. and Minnesota vs. Minnesota State at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are for both games.
Prices are $40 for lower level, $35 for upper level along the side and $30 upper level end-zone seating, with an additional $2 facility fee added to the final purchase price for each ticket. All tickets are “best available” in each team's designated section.
Tickets are available through the MSU Department of Athletics (507-389-6111) until Oct. 1. After Oct. 1, tickets will be available through Ticketmaster outlets.
Meanwhile, MSU single-game home tickets for Alltel Center will be available, starting Oct. 6, four days before the Mavericks' home opener against Bemidji State.
The Nov. 1 event at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul features two regular-season games: Minnesota Duluth vs. St. Cloud State at 4 p.m. and Minnesota vs. Minnesota State at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are for both games.
Prices are $40 for lower level, $35 for upper level along the side and $30 upper level end-zone seating, with an additional $2 facility fee added to the final purchase price for each ticket. All tickets are “best available” in each team's designated section.
Tickets are available through the MSU Department of Athletics (507-389-6111) until Oct. 1. After Oct. 1, tickets will be available through Ticketmaster outlets.
Meanwhile, MSU single-game home tickets for Alltel Center will be available, starting Oct. 6, four days before the Mavericks' home opener against Bemidji State.
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