Dave Fischer wrote:
 
> Thursday, March 19, 1998
>
> WCHA ANNOUNCES 1997-98 AWARD WINNERS
>
> All-WCHA First Team
>
> F       Brian Swanson   Colorado College        Jr
> F       Jason Blake             North Dakota            Jr
> F       Andre Savage    Michigan Tech   Sr
> D       Curtis Murphy   North Dakota            Sr
> D       Craig Anderson  Wisconsin               Jr
> G       Karl Goehring   North Dakota            Fr
 
My only disagreement here is Jason Blake.  He led North Dakota in
scoring. but I thought the team had several more valuable forwards.
Hoogsteen and Jay Panzer come to mind.  Then again, I don't make any
secret of the fact that I simply dislike Blake (a lot), so I might be
biased.  Andre Savage is a surprise; I certainly hadn't considered him,
but he is definitely a good choice.  He certainly killed the Gophers
during the crucial series played in Houghton and I' ve gathered the
impression it wasn't a unique weekend.
 
>
>
> All-WCHA Second Team
>
> F       Steve Reinprecht        Wisconsin               So
> F       Reggie Berg             Minnesota               Jr
> F       David Hoogsteen North Dakota            Jr
> D       Andy Sutton             Michigan Tech   Sr
> D       Calvin Elfring          Colorado College        Sr
> G       Brian Leitza            St. Cloud State Sr
>
> All-WCHA Third Team
>
> F       Wyatt Smith             Minnesota               Jr
> F       Mike Peluso             Minnesota-Duluth        Sr
> F       Paul Comrie             Denver          Jr
> D       Scott Swanson   Colorado College        Jr
> D       Josh DeWolf             St. Cloud State So
> G       Doug Teskey             Alaska Anchorage        Jr
 
I have a couple of disagreements here.  Where's Curtis Doell?  He's got
good numbers (31 pts for a defensemen ain't shabby) and every time I saw
him, he was making a menace of himself on the ice.  Big, tough kid who's
no fun to play against and knows when to jump into the play.  Okay, he's
a thug, but you need one of those.  I'd probably have Doell and Scott
Swanson on the second team, with Sutton and DeWolf on the third.
 
 And anyone putting Reggie Berg ahead of Wyatt Smith is only looking at
the scoring totals.  Berg was inconsistent, disappearing during November
and December when a different stamp could have been placed on the
season.  And Berg, while improving, isn't exactly the best two-way
forward around.  Smith has done it all for the Gophs this year, scoring
big goals, taking key face-offs (when he's not getting tossed out),
establishing a physical presence.  In my view, Wyatt Smith belongs on
the second team, and someone else should take Berg's space (Anders Bjork
and Jay Panzer come to mind).
 
>
>
> All-WCHA Rookie Team
>
> F       Jay Panzer              North Dakota
> F       Mark Rycroft            Colorado College
> F       Kevin Granato   Wisconsin
> D       Paul Manning    Colorado College
> D       Ryan Coole              Minnesota-Duluth
> D       Trevor Hammer   North Dakota
> G       Karl Goehring   North Dakota
 
No real disagreements here, except that Jay Panzer is a junior; his
brother Jeff IS a fine pick for the all-rookie team.
 
>
>
> PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Curtis Murphy, North Dakota
> STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Mitch Vig, North Dakota
> CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andy Sutton, Michigan Tech; Matt
> Henderson, North Dakota
 
Again, I'll push for Curtis Doell, but I explained all of that above.
 
> ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Karl Goehring, North Dakota
> WCHA COACH OF THE YEAR: Craig Dahl, St. Cloud State
 
I'd have to take Dean Blais (I've never thought that getting the most
out of a very good team is as easy as it looks) or Jeff Sauer over
Dahl.  Still, the Huskies did surprise considering the loss of Cullen
and Parrish.  Punting away second place at the end, though, costs Dahl
my (theoretical) vote.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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