The following is something I have written for Blue Ice. It is posted
here with the written permission of the publisher. Hope some folks
enjoy it...
- mike
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HOCKEY EAST by Mike Machnik
As college hockey's youngest Division I conference enters its
eleventh campaign, the theme as usual is change.
SHOOTOUT. Hockey East has been granted permission by the NCAA Ice
Hockey Rules Committee to experiment with a shootout. Regular
season conference games that end in a tie after a five minute
overtime will go to a shootout, with both teams automatically
receiving one point and the shootout winner being awarded an
additional point. However, shootout games will be considered ties
toward NCAA tournament selection.
EXPANSION. Hockey East welcomes the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst. Mass Amherst, in only its second season of varsity hockey
since the sport was rejuvenated, will play out of the 8,389-seat
Mullins Center, the largest arena and only Olympic-sized ice
surface in the East. HE's scheduling changes to accommodate the
Minutemen with teams facing each league opponent three times for a
total of 24 league games.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...AND AGAIN. Awaiting construction of a new on
campus rink, New Hampshire plans to play all of its 34 games away from
Durham this year. Home games will be in either Manchester, NH, or
Portland, ME.
PLAYOFFS. For the tenth time in eleven years, the league playoff
format will change. The 8th place finisher will host the 9th place
team in a first round game. The winner will play at the regular
season champion in the quarterfinals, which revert to a single game
format this season. The league hopes this change will make it
easier for fans to support the sport through four straight weekends
of postseason play in the Boston area.
NEW FACES. Interim Commissioner Robert M DeGregorio, Merrimack AD,
has accepted the position of fulltime commissioner. He is joined
by Tim Burton, Director of Marketing and Media Relations, and
Brendan M Sheehy, Supervisor of Officials. HE also welcomes three
new coaches: Boston College's Jerry York [from Bowling Green], Mass
Amherst's Joe Mallen, and Providence's Paul Pooley [former player
at Ohio State and associate head coach at LSSU].
(Teams are previewed in order of projected finish. - mike)
1. BOSTON UNIVERSITY. The Terriers return 18 players from the team
that went to the NCAA championship game last year. Biggest losses
are HE scoring champ Mike Pomichter [turned pro] and JP McKersie.
McKersie, who split goaltending duties with Derek Herlofsky, is out
for the season following a bicycle accident in Boston over the
summer. But enough returns to make Jack Parker's troops the heavy
favorite to capture first again. Herlofsky is aided by perhaps the
strongest defensive corps in the nation, headed by Rich Brennan,
Kaj Linna and Chris O'Sullivan [who may also see action at
forward], as well as blue chippers Jeff Kealty and Chris Kelleher.
Jacques Joubert and Jay Pandolfo are the big threats at forward,
and depth abounds in Mike Prendergast, Steve Thornton, Bob Lachance
and Shawn Bates. The Terriers will be tabbed by many to win their
fourth NCAA title, and from the looks of it, that's right where
they belong.
2. NORTHEASTERN. Twenty-four lettermen return to Ben Smith's team
that nearly upset Lake Superior in last year's NCAA first round.
JF Aube scored 28 goals and Jason Melong, Jordon Shields and Dan
Lupo also scored consistently. Look for Hart Webb to emerge this
season. Goaltending is solid as long as Todd Reynolds' back holds
up, although Mike Veisor has spelled Reynolds well in the past.
Francois Bouchard is one of the better offensive defensemen in HE
and is joined by playmaker Danny McGillis. In any other season,
the Huskies might have been a favorite to finish first, but they
should still challenge and earn a second straight NCAA berth.
3. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Despite heavy losses on the front line [Jason
Dexter, Rob Donovan, Glenn Stewart] and defenseman Scott Malone's
decision to turn pro early, Dick Umile's Wildcats are balanced
enough to be a strong threat to the league's best. Sophomore Eric
Boguniecki will key the offense, along with Eric Flinton, Nick
Poole, Eric Royal and Mike Sullivan [65 goals among the five].
Defense is deep, led by Ted Russell, Tim Murray and BC transfer
Todd Hall, but no real quarterback has yet emerged. Goalies Mike
Heinke and Trent Cavicchi comprise one of the better tandems in HE,
and if UNH plays tough at their homes away from home, look for the
Wildcats to challenge Northeastern.
4. MAINE. Shawn Walsh's Black Bears would have finished second to
BU last season if not for the 14 games they forfeited due to using
ineligible players, landing them in the basement. Key losses
include high scoring forwards Paul Kariya, Cal Ingraham and Patrice
Tardif, with Mike Latendresse [20] the only scheduled returner to
register more than ten goals. But Latendresse was recently
declared ineligible for what would have been his senior year.
However, left wing Reg Cardinal has the potential to shine, and
players like Dan Shermerhorn and Tim Lovell seem primed to move
into the spotlight. Chris Imes returns from the US Olympic Team to
shore up the defense which also features Dave MacIsaac and several
promising newcomers. In goal, a pair of Blairs, Allison and Marsh,
return for their sophomore seasons and should backstop another
Maine run at an NCAA berth. But the team is still rebuilding and
will need balanced scoring from the youngsters to return to
national prominence.
5. MERRIMACK. Ron Anderson's club will rely on defense as
netminder Martin Legault, a rookie surprise last season, returns
along with eight letterwinners on the blueline, led by Dan Hodge
and Mark Cornforth. Sophomore twin towers Steve McKenna [6-8 225]
and John Jakopin [6-5 225] provide protection for Legault. Scoring
is a question mark, with only seniors Matt Adams and Mark Goble as
guaranteed go to guys. But Merrimack played six freshmen at
forward much of last season, and if Claudio Peca and Tom Johnson
progress as hoped, the Warriors could move into the first division.
6. BOSTON COLLEGE. New head coach Jerry York begins his attempt to
revive an Eagle program that has suffered through three straight
losing seasons. Sophomore goaltender Greg Taylor gives him room to
work with, and BC returns experience at all positions. Jerry
Buckley, Don Chase, Ryan Haggerty and David Hymovitz all reached
double digits in goals last year, but depth could be a problem.
Replacing defenseman Michael Spalla will be difficult, but if
Taylor has another strong year and Tom Ashe and Greg Callahan meet
the challenge in front of him BC, will be in the hunt.
7. MASS LOWELL. The River Hawks [formerly Chiefs] lose the
backbone of the team which advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals as
All-Everything goalie Dwayne Roloson, forwards Shane Henry, Norm
Bazin, Ian Hebert and Mike Murray, and defenseman Kerry Angus have
all graduated. 1994 HE Coach of the Year Bruce Crowder welcomes
back only two forwards who scored more than eight goals last
season: Rookie of the Year Greg Bullock [24-35--59] and Christian
Sbrocca [14-24--38]. The pressure will be on Bullock to produce
without Henry and Murray, and on Sbrocca [80 PIM] to stay out of
the box. Kent transfer David Dartsch [15-20--35] should offer some
relief. Ed Campbell has already established himself as one of the
league's better defensemen and will key the special teams.
Goaltending will be up for grabs between inexperienced Craig
Lindsay and newcomer Scott Fankhauser, an 11th round NHL pick in
June.
8. PROVIDENCE. New head coach Paul Pooley loses only four
letterwinners, but the Friars were plagued by inconsistent play
last year. Chad Quenneville returns as the top gun [22-18--40],
but only he and Brady Kramer [12] scored over ten goals last
season. Potential exists up front in David Green, Travis
Dillabough and Dennis Burke, among others, but for PC to move up,
they must have an improved team defense and better goaltending from
Bob Bell and Dan Dennis.
9. MASS AMHERST. Joe Mallen's inexperienced squad [all but two
were freshmen last year] went 20-9-0 over a schedule made up almost
entirely of Division II and III schools. The going will be
considerably rougher as they face HE foes night after night, but
the potential exists for some surprises along the way. Forwards
Warren Norris, Rob Bonneau and Blair Wagar all scored 20+ goals
last season, and defensemen Rich Alger and Jaynen Rissling
impressed in front of steady goalies Dave Kilduff and Rich
Moriarty. Incomers Tom O'Connor, Mike Gaffney, Brad Norton and
Brian Regan are all blue chippers who were lured away from
established Division I programs, and the addition of several
veteran transfers will help the Minutemen...but the baptism by fire
comes early with three season opening HE road games at Mass Lowell,
BC and Providence.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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