THN WCHA preview:
(From the October 23 issue of _The Hockey News_, written by Andy Baggot)
Predicted order of finish, with notes on each team:
1. Minnesota Golden Gophers (26-6 in WCHA last year)
No surprise here. Minnesota has good depth on offense with Craig
Johnson, Darby Hendrickson, Jeff Nielsen, John Brill, and Scott Bell,
and goalie Tom Newman, with 19 wins as a freshman three seasons ago,
has a proven track record. There are holes on defense, with three of
the Gophers' top defensemen not returning, and the departure of the
versatile Larry Olimb does not help either. There is also the aura of
post-season failure; Minnesota has not won the WCHA tournament since
1981 or an NCAA title since 1979.
2. Wisconsin Badgers (19-11-2)
Plenty of pressure on the Badgers, who as the "host" team for the 1993
NCAA championship in Milwaukee have helped sell out the 18,000-seat
Bradley Center. The Badgers have the potential to make a return trip
to the NCAA final, with 10 of their top 12 scorers back. Jason Zent
notched 27 goals last year, and seven of his teammates scored between
10 and 16 goals each. The defense is a solid collection of veterans,
led by Barry Richter, Brian Rafalski, Mark Strobel, Maco Balkovec, and
Chris Tok. The big concern is between the pipes, with the departure of
record-breaking all-American goaltender Duane Derksen. Senior Jon
Michelizzi and freshman Jim Carey will try to fill in.
3. Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (14-16-2)
UMD's luck is about due to change. The Bulldogs have endured their
share of injuries and defections in recent seasons, but senior center
Derek Plante gives them a top-notch player to build a team around.
There is plenty of depth at forward to make something work, and Brett
Hauer, Jon Roloff, Jeff Parrott, Brett Larson, and Rod Aldoff return on
defense to help make goalie Jerome Butler's life easier.
4. Northern Michigan Wildcats (17-12-3)
Five forwards who combined for 150 goals -- Jim Hiller, Dallas Drake,
Mark Beaufait, Scott Beattie, and Tony Szabo -- are gone, as are blue-
liners Phil Soukoroff and Lou Melone. Joe Frederick, with 26 goals
last year, assumes the featured role on offense, along with Troy
Johnson, Mike Harding, and Brent Riplinger. The Wildcats have the
makings of a competent defense with Jason Hehr, Geoff Simpson, Garett
MacDonald, and Steve Carpenter.
5. Colorado College Tigers (14-14-4)
With their best record since the 1979-80 season, the Tigers made a big
impact in the WCHA last year, and some excellent talent from that team
remains. Defensemen Kent Fearns, Chris Hynnes, and Shawn Reid all
return, as do forwards Jody Jaraczewski, R.J. Enga, and Ryan Reynard.
Paul Frank and Paul Badalich will split the goaltending duties. Coach
Brad Buetow's 60-day suspension could hurt the program.
6. Michigan Tech Huskies (14-17-1)
Newell Brown had the Huskies moving in the right direction when he left
on August 22 to take the Adirondack Red Wings job. It remains to be
seen how much the change to Bob Mancini will have, but the new coach
has some good tools to work with. Forwards John Young and Jim Storm,
defensemen Layne LaBel, Kirby Perrault, and Liam Garvey, and goal-
tender Jamie Ram are all back.
7. Denver Pioneers (8-22-2)
Injuries and lack of depth have hurt the Pioneers' program over the
past two years, but coach Frank Serratore has done a good job of re-
building, and Denver should move up. The team has a number of young
forwards led by Brian Konowalchuk, Brent Cary, Jason Elders, and Angelo
Ricci. A veteran defense gets a boost with the return of Ken MacArthur
and Brett Petersen, medical redshirts last year.
8. North Dakota Fighting Sioux (12-19-1)
Center Greg Johnson, a two-time Hobey Baker finalist, returns for his
senior season, but he doesn't have much help as far as proven scoring
goes. Dixon Ward (33 goals), Jeff McLean (27), Dane Jackson (23), and
Justin Duberman (17) have all left. Marty Shriner, Donny Riendeau,
Chris Cotziaman, Scott Kirton, and Kevin McKinnon return on offense.
9. St. Cloud State Huskies (12-19-1)
Jeff Saterdalen, Tim Hanus, and Bret Hedican are all gone, and the
Huskies lack depth, especially on defense. However, St. Cloud should
have no trouble scoring, as WCHA Rookie of the Year Sandy Gasseau, Tony
Gruba, Fred Knipscheer, and Dan O'Shea are back to lead the offense.
Goalie Grant Sjerven is likely to see a lot of action.
10. Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (27-8-1 as an independent, WCHA affiliate
this year)
Would finish higher if they competed with the rest of the league on a
week-to-week basis. The Seawolves have lost goaltender Paul Krake and
forwards Steve Bogoyevac, Derek Donald, and Trent Pankewicz from last
year, but a number of proven goal scorers are back -- including Keith
Morris and Mitch Kean. Also returning are defenseman Brad Stewart and
goalie Shaun Gravistin.
Top freshmen:
1. Brian Bonin, C/RW, Minnesota. Should follow in the footsteps of Darby
Hendrickson
2. Jim Carey, G, Wisconsin. Top US high school goalie, has some big
skates to fill.
3. Mike Figliomeni, C, Michigan Tech. Brings scoring touch to a team that
badly needs it.
4. Nick Naumenko, D, North Dakota. Defensive specialist will boost a blue
line corps that lacks depth.
5. Colin Schmidt, LW, Colorado College. Will fill the void left by
departed sniper Steve Strunk.
Coach's Corner, a seniority list of WCHA coaches:
1. Rick Comley, 45, Northern Michigan, 17th season. Has the toughest
rebuilding task in the WCHA.
2. Gino Gasparini, 47, North Dakota, 15th season. Continues to build his
team around Greg Johnson.
3. Brush Christiansen, 46, Alaska-Anchorage, 14th season. His big goal is
to make the Seawolves a contender.
4. Craig Dahl, 39, St. Cloud State, 12th season. Will try to guide the
Huskies' youngest team ever.
5. Jeff Sauer, 48, Wisconsin, 11th season. His 440 wins make him the
eighth-winningest coach in NCAA history.
6. Mike Sertich, 45, Minnesota-Duluth, 11th season. The WCHA's gift to
quote marks.
7. Doug Woog, 48, Minnesota, eighth season. Moonlights as a broadcaster
at Stars games.
8. Brad Buetow, 41, Colorado College, fifth season. His suspension will
cause him to miss the first seven games of the season.
9. Frank Serratore, 35, Denver, third season. Led the league's best team
that didn't make the playoffs. [Is this a backhanded compliment or
what? The Pioneers were the league's ONLY team that didn't make the
playoffs -- Bill]
10. Bob Mancini, 34, Michigan Tech, first season. Coming in from Ferris
State, he inherits a program that could crack the top three.
--
Bill Fenwick | Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94 | [log in to unmask]
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