Maine and Denver are two of the biggest surprises in college hockey this
season.  What do they have in common besides being near or at the top of their
respective leagues and ranked in the top 10?  Both are coached by former
Michigan State assistants- Shawn Walsh at Maine and George Gwozdecky at Denver.
    Walsh coached at MSU under Ron Mason from 1979-1984 and then moved on to
Maine.  Ironically, Gwozdecky replaced Walsh at MSU in 1984 and served five
years before becoming head coach at Miami of Ohio in 1989.
    Maine, ranked No. 1 this week, is the only unbeaten team in the country
with a 12-0-5 record.  The Black Bears are in first place in Hockey East.
    Denver is college hockey's hottest team with eight straight victories,
including a sweep of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  Six of the eight wins have come
on the road.  The Pioneers, ranked No. 8, are 11-5 overall and in second place
in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a 9-5 record.
    "In my mind, this team has improved drastically after the last five or six
weeks," said Gwozdecky, who's in his first season at Denver after a five-year
stint at Miami.  "Our players are buying into the new system and other changes.
 They're starting to believe in themselves and we're growing as a team."
    The Pioneers have received outstanding goaltending from junior Sinhue
Wallinheimo and sophomore Jim Mullin.
    "A major factor in our success is the way our two goaltenders have played,"
said Gwozdecky, whose wife, Bonnie, is from East Lansing.  "They've kept us in
games and allowed us to come back and win some in the third period."
    "Our forwards have had to learn how to play at both ends of the ice and
they're doing a good job."
    The Pioneer roster includes five Europeans- three from Finland, two from
Sweden.
    Preseason pools had Denver in the middle of the pack of the WCHA.
    Gwozdecky was named CCHA Coach of the Year in 1991-92 and 1992-93.  The
Redskins won the regular-season title in 1992-93 and earned a berth in the NCAA
tournament.
 
    Walsh admits he's surprised by his teams outstanding start, especially
after losing his top returning scorer due to eligibility problems a few weeks
before the season.  "This team went through a lot last year with all the
problems with the NCAA and that's made us come together this year," said Walsh,
Mason's son-in-law.
    "We don't have the forwards we had in the past but our defense is good.
Our top three scorers are defensmen.  And we're getting good goaltending."
    Maine won the NCAA title in 1992-93 but last year was a nightmare.  The
NCAA ruled several players ineligible, Hockey East unsuccessfuly tried to ban
the Black Bears from the playoffs and the NCAA scrutinized hockey, among other
Maine programs.
 
 
 
    This article in taken from the *Lansing State Journal* 12/15/94 and was
written by Neil Koepke.  I thought members of the list would enjoy its content
and see how a particular paper covers college hockey.  In general, the LSJ does
a good job covering college hockey.  They usually post the scores and standing
from around the country (though lately they've been a bit down) and every once
in a while they have articles such as this.  Plus, they obviously cover MSU
hockey to the max.  Lately I've noticed list members complaining about how
newspaers (and media in general) cover college hockey.  It would be interesing
to hear further comments.
 
 
 
 
Kevin Weber
MSU '95