> Gregg Wong
> College hockey beat report
 
> First-place Huskies prove critics wrong
>
> Good defense, great goaltending and the motivation to prove people wrong have
> elevated surprising St. Cloud State to the top of the Western Collegiate Hockey
> Association.
>
> The Huskies, who finished third last season, were picked for seventh by the league
> coaches in the preseason poll because their top two players who could have returned,
> Matt Cullen and Mark Parrish, left school early.
>
> Cullen turned pro with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Parrish thought he was going to
> sign with the Colorado Avalanche but could not agree to terms and is playing major junior
> hockey in Seattle.
>
> Last season, they combined for 42 goals and 87 points and struck terror in the minds of
> opposing coaches every shift they were on the ice.
>
> Losing them was a big hit for the Huskies, similar to the Gophers losing Mike Crowley
> and Erik Rasmussen early to the pros. The Gophers have been unable to make up for
> those losses, especially Crowley. The Huskies have.
>
> ``The way we approached it was that all the wishing in the world was not going to bring
> back those two guys,'' Huskies coach Craig Dahl said. ``They're two great players and
> fine young men. But we didn't have 'em, so we had to move on.
>
> ``When we got picked for seventh, I told our guys they must think we're a two-man team.
> I said if they believe that, then we won't be a good team. Obviously, we'd be better if we
> had them. But not having them put pressure on other guys to step it up and score, and
> they have.''
>
> The Huskies have been winning because of balanced scoring, solid defense and the
> outstanding play of senior goalie Brian Leitza.
>
> Six players are in double figures in scoring, led by Mike Maristuen and Matt Noga with
> 12 points each and Jason Stewart with eight goals. Returnees Andy Vicari, Geno Parrish,
> Kyle McLaughlin, Jost DeWolf and Tom Lund anchor the defense. And Leitza has been
> superb, with a 9-1-1 record, 2.25 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in
> league play.
>
> ``I thought we could finish fourth if we got any kind of scoring at all, because I knew what
> kind of defensemen we had and I knew our goaltending would be OK,'' Dahl said. ``The
> seniors have stepped up, and that's been the big difference.''
>
> In a turnabout from the norm in the WCHA, the first-place Huskies (10-4-2, 9-2-1
> conference) play the last-place Gophers (4-10, 3-7) this weekend in the usual
> home-and-home series. The Huskies are 8-1-1 since Nov. 1 and 7-1 on the road. Their
> first road loss was 2-1 on Friday night at defending NCAA champion North Dakota, but
> the Huskies bounced back to win the rematch 5-2, showing their balance by getting goals
> from five players.
>
> Combined with their sweep at Colorado College a month ago, the Huskies have taken six
> of eight points on the road against the teams picked to finish 1-2 in the league. The
> Gophers, by the way, were picked for third behind North Dakota and CC.
>
> ``There's a lot of hockey to be played, but so far I couldn't be more pleased,'' Dahl said.
> ``These guys continue to amaze me. They take a licking and they keep coming back.''
>
> Around the WCHA
>
> Mariucci Arena might be the site of next year's season-opening Ice Breaker Cup,
> which matches teams from each of the four major NCAA Division I conferences in a
> four-game, two-day exhibition tournament.
>
> Wisconsin, which played host to the inaugural Ice Breaker in October that was won by
> Michigan State, hopes to serve as host to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame exhibition in its
> new Kohl Center in October. The Gophers have played host to that game the past two
> seasons at Target Center.
>
> If the Gophers get the Ice Breaker, their home schedule next season will be outstanding,
> with Michigan and Michigan State coming in for the College Hockey Showcase on
> Thanksgiving weekend and Boston University, Ohio State and Princeton playing in the
> Mariucci Classic. Also next season, the Gophers and Wisconsin begin a home-and-home
> series against BU and Boston College, with the sites to be determined.
>
> Where has all the offense gone?
>
> Through 52 WCHA games, teams are averaging 6.21 goals a game, the lowest average in
> league history. Last season's 6.91 goals a game is the full-season record low.
>
> The decline comes from a high of 9.87 goals in 1979-80. The goals a game this season
> and last mark the first time the average has been under 7.30 since 1967-68, when the
> average was 6.95.
>
> Road kill: Wisconsin has killed all 20 opposing power plays in its four league road
> games.
>
> North Dakota freshman Karl Goehring of Apple Valley continues to lead league
> goalies with a 1.69 GAA and .946 save percentage. He is 5-1-1 with one shutout.
>
> Around the country
>
> Michigan has not allowed an even-strength goal in winning its past five games, part of a
> seven-game winning streak and a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1). In a span of 324
> minutes and 34 seconds during the past five-plus games, the Wolverines have allowed just
> eight goals -- seven on power plays (including three to the Gophers in a 4-3 victory on
> Nov. 28) and one short-handed.
>
> Shannon Basaraba of International Falls, a senior wing at Massachusetts-Lowell and
> one of five Minnesotans playing in Hockey East this season, recorded three assists in a tie
> and loss against Maine.
>
> Notre Dame junior Brian Urick of Minnetonka had two goals and an assist in the split
> with Wisconsin. Irish freshman wing Dan Carlson of Edina assisted on both Urick goals.
>
> Women's hockey
>
> The three Minnesotans playing for New Hampshire are among the Eastern College
> Athletic Conference scoring leaders. Melisa Heitzman of Bloomington Jefferson ranks
> fourth at 8-9--17, and Winny Brodt of Roseville (4-6--10) and Jaime DeGriselles of
> Apple Valley (1-7--8) are among the league's highest-scoring defensemen.
>
> USA Hockey is working on staging the first women's national championship on March
> 20-21 in Boston. There will not be an NCAA-sanctioned championship until there are at
> least 40 varsity teams, about 10 more than now.
>
> Around the area
>
> Wisconsin-Stevens Point goalie Bobby Gorman is the Northern Collegiate Hockey
> Association player of the week after stopping 63 of 64 shots in a sweep of
> Wisconsin-Superior. Gorman made 35 saves in a 1-0 shutout, his NCHA-record fourth
> of the season.
>
> St. Thomas junior defenseman Ryan Hartung is the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic
> Conference player of the week after scoring a hat trick and adding an assist in an 8-6
> victory over Superior.
>
>
>
>
> Gregg Wong's Pioneer Press Top 10:
>
> 1. Michigan (12-3-1) Wolverines back in familiar No. 1 spot.
> 2. Michigan State (12-2-1) G Chad Alban's 1.43 GAA leads
>    country.
> 3. Boston University (11-1-2) Twice tying Terriers tumble to third.
> 4. North Dakota (8-3-1) Sioux not as dominant as predicted.
> 5. St. Cloud State (10-4-2) Huskies continue overachieving ways.
> 6. New Hampshire (12-3-1) Jason Krog's 37 points leads Division I.
> 7. Miami (10-3). RedHawks' .320 power-play pct.tops nation.
> 8. Colorado College (11-3-2) Brian Swanson starting to come on.
> 9. Yale (8-2): Best start since 9-1-1 in 1950-51.
> 10. Providence (10-3-1) Friars 5-0-1 vs. non-conference foes.
 
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