> St. Norbert making believers in NCHA
> Gregg Wong - Staff Columnist
>
> St. Norbert proved during the weekend that its first
> Northern Collegiate Hockey Association championship
> last season was no fluke.
>
> The Green Knights of De Pere, Wis., rallied from 2-0
> deficits both nights in sweeping preseason league
> favorite Bemidji State 9-4 and 6-3. The Beavers, the
> reigning NCAA Division II champions (and the NCHA's
> only Division II team; the rest are Division III),
> had won 12 in a row dating to Feb. 6 before being
> swept by the Green Knights.
>
> ``That surprised me. I thought it would be a tighter
> series,'' said Wisconsin-River Falls coach Steve
> Freeman, whose Falcons share first place with St.
> Norbert at 6-0 (both are 7-0 overall).
>
> Green Knights coach Tim Coghlin was ecstatic after
> the sweep.
>
> ``I had people telling me that Bemidji was big and
> strong and that we'd have our hands full. We were
> the underdogs,'' Coghlin said. ``But we felt that we
> hadn't been given us as much credit as we deserve.
> And the kids responded very well to the challenge.''
>
> Coghlin called Saturday's game ``rough and tumble.''
> The 167 penalty minutes, including 87 in the third
> period, attest to that. ``We knew it would be
> physical, and we knew we couldn't back down in our
> building,'' he said. ``We ended up going 5 for 9 on
> the power play', and that was the difference.''
>
> Green Knights junior wing Scott Jewitt had two goals
> in each game and four assists for the series. He
> leads the NCHA in scoring with seven goals and 10
> assists for 17 points.
>
> ``The other 11 goals were scored by 11 different
> kids,'' Coghlin said. ``That balance is one of our
> strengths, along with the goaltending of Roby Gropp
> (last season's league most valuable player). Roby
> has been dynamite. He's a big, aggressive kid who
> challenges the shooter and then makes the big
> save.''
>
> St. Norbert faces another huge test Friday at home
> against Rochester Institute of Technology, the No.
> 2-ranked Eastern team. ``This will be a good
> barometer for us and our league,'' Coghlin said. ``I
> think the NCHA is the best Division II-III league in
> the nation, and this will be a time to prove it.''
>
> While St. Norbert is winning with its veterans,
> including 23 lettermen, River Falls can thank
> several newcomers for its quick start.
>
> ``We picked up some good defensemen who are a lot
> bigger, stronger and grittier,'' Freeman said,
> citing freshmen Peter Cullen of Moorhead, Minn.,
> Eliot Komar of Seattle and Ernie Thorp of Eau
> Claire, Wis. ``They've added toughness, which we
> lacked in the past. Plus, Brady Alstead is doing a
> good job in goal again and we're scoring more goals.
> We've worked on adding more puck movement to the
> offense, which hasn't been typical for River Falls
> hockey.''
>
> Senior Mike Schauer scored five goals in last week's
> sweep of Wisconsin-Stout, including a pure hat trick
> in a span of three minutes on Friday, to lead the
> rejuvenated Falcons attack. Schauer was named NCHA
> player of the week for his performance.
>
> Because River Falls and St. Norbert do not meet
> until Feb. 6-7, the next-to-last weekend of the
> regular season, it's too early to say their series
> will be a showdown.
>
> ``I think things will settle in and it will be a
> typical NCHA year,'' Freeman said. ``St.
> Norbert, Stevens Point, Bemidji, Superior and us all
> can win it. Whoever is the most consistent over the
> long season will be on top at the end.''
>
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