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 ==================================================================== 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. ======================================================================= --- --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93 <<<<< Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors (station TBA for 94-95) >>>>>