2001/2002 Season
It is tough to figure out how Hockey East will work out this year. In a league where the preseason #1 in the Coaches Poll didn’t even get a first place vote, you can tell this league is up for grabs. As is usual, the league is in two tiers, with the haves (PC, Maine, BU, BC and UNH) in one group and the remainder of the teams trying to catch up. But it could be argued that the league is closer this year in talent than it has been in a while. How will things play out? We’ll just have to wait and see … but here’s my prediction …
1. Providence College (22-13-5 last year, 13-8-2 in Hockey East).
Usually it’s difficult to not give a preseason #1 pick to the winner from the previous year, a team that not only won the Hockey East Regular Season title, but the Tournament as well, on it’s way to winning the National Championship. But Boston College’s losses to graduation and early departures have helped give other teams a chance to move up. And the team most expect to jump high in the standings is Providence College. The Friars return a lot of talent, beginning in goal with junior All-American Nolan Schaefer. Unfortunately for the Friars, they don’t know if Schaefer has the ability to carry his team for the entire year. He had a great start to last year, with a 94.3% save rate in the first 13 games, but that fell to a respectable 88.8% for the second half of the season. He finished the season with a 15-8-2 record and a 2.47 GAA and a 91.5% save rate. The offense returns a lot of talent as well for the Friars, including each of the five highest scoring forwards. Another junior All-American Devin Rask (23-28-51) will have to live with larger expectations, but will have help up front with seniors Peter Fregoe (16-21-37), Drew Omicioli (12-15-27), and Marc Suderman (7-19-26). Two others that will play a huge part in the Friar offense will be sophomore Jon DiSalvatore and incoming freshman Chris Chaput (Jr. Coyotes, EJHL & 2000 US U-18). If PC has a question mark it will be on their blue line, having lost two very talented players in Jay Leach and more importantly Matt Libby, who led all Hockey East defenseman in scoring last year. The best defenseman returning for the Friars is sophomore Regan Kelly (4-21-25). While it’s likely that the remainder of the blue-liners won’t be at Kelly’s level, they are a consistent group, with fellow sophomores Stephen Wood and Jason Platt leading the group.
2. University of Maine (20-12-7, 12-7-5)
While BC lost three extremely talented players early, and other programs also lost players to the professional ranks early, the biggest loss of the off season has to be Maine Coach Shawn Walsh. As has been in other sports, when an important sports figure passes away, it’s hard to tell how that person’s team will respond. It’s harder to tell how the passing of a coach will affect a team, but the bet here is that it most likely will help inspire the Black Bears. As is normal in hockey, a team’s strength has to start in net, and Maine has it in senior Matt Yeats (18-9-4, 2.40 GAA, 89.7%). Maine also has a capable backup in senior Mike Morrison (2-3-3, 1.96 GAA, 92.3%). Once again like PC, Maine’s defense is a slight question mark. The Black Bears lost 4 blue liners including early departure Doug Janik, who might be the biggest loss at the position for the Bears. As is usual the Black Bears do have depth at the position, beginning with senior Peter Metcalf (5-9-14) and talented sophomore Francis Nault. Two newcomers that might make some noise for the Black Bears are Troy Barnes (Pembroke, COJHL) and Prestin Ryan (Extevan, SJHL). Up front, Maine has a dearth of talent beginning with five juniors including Martin Kariya (12-24-36), Michael Schutte (15-10-25) and Chris Heisten, Lucas Lawson and Robert Liscak. Senior Niko Dimitriakos (11-14-25) will be leading the group, which also will include Colin Shields, a 2000 recruit who had to sit out a year and talented freshman Ben Murphy (Cushing Academy).
3. Boston College (33-8-2, 17-5-2)
It feels strange to not list the reigning National Champions as the favorite in their own league, but with all the losses that BC suffered, it’s tough to rank them #1. The Eagles lost 10 players in total, including 3 early departures. The early departures, it could be argued, are 3 of the biggest names that BC still had on their roster, as defenseman Brooks Orpik left after his junior year, and forward Krys Kolanos (25-25-50) departed after his sophomore year, while Chuck Kobasew (27-22-49) left after winning the Rookie of the Year Award. While a lot of graduating talent left as well (including Brian Gionta, Mike Lephart, Bobby Allen, and Scott Clemmensen), these are the Eagles, and they still bring plenty back, and add on another great recruiting class … and who knows what this team can accomplish. While the losses are the #1 reason the Eagles are ranked 3, the second has to be in goal. The only player with any experience is junior Tim Kelleher, who only played in 5 games last year, compiling a 3-1 record, with a 2.90 GAA, and 88.3% save rate. There will be a lot of pressure on Kelleher if the Eagles are to repeat, and he will get pushed from two incoming freshmen, Matti Kaltiainen and Robbie Miller. Kaltiainen is the higher regarded of the two, as he was picked by the Boston Bruins in the 4th round of the NHL Draft this past summer. As is usual, BC’s forwards will score. They will be led by sophomores Ben Eaves (13-26-39) and Tony Voce (12-14-26). Also up front will be senior Jeff Giuliano (14-21-35) and Alex Dolinar (7-16-23). Adding depth up front will be incoming freshmen Ryan Shannon (Taft Prep & 2000 US U-18) and Ryan Murphy and David Spina, both from the US U-18 team. On defense, the Eagles will be led by more underclassmen as sophomores J.D. Forrest (6-16-22) and Brett Peterson return to the blue line. Junior Bill Cass is the only other returning blue liner that played in a majority of BC’s games. Freshmen John Adams (Breck HS, Minnesota) and Andrew Alberts (Waterloo, USHL) should see plenty of ice time as well for BC.
4. University of New Hampshire (21-12-6, 11-8-5)
What a difference one player can make. If Ty Conklin had just one more year left, UNH would be competing for #1. Instead, with the net in the hands of senior Matt Carney and sophomore Michael Ayers, no one knows what to expect. Carney (4-0-1, 2.41, 89.8%) was a highly recruited keeper out of Phillips Exeter, but has had to sit behind Ty Conklin and Sean Matile waiting his turn. Now Carney has to make the most of his time or Ayers, who only played in parts of 4 games last year, will get a shot. Between the two of them, they only gained slightly less than 325 minutes of playing experience last year, which could be an issue. This team has a lot to prove after getting unceremoniously dumped out of the Hockey East Tournament in the first round last year by UMass Lowell. In front of the duo will be a talented blue line corp led by juniors Garrett Stafford (5-21-26) and Kevin Truelson (3-10-13). Expect Mick Mounsey to make some noise on defense for the Wildcats this year as well as incoming freshman Tyson Teplitsky (Nanaimo, BCHL), who scored 21 goals in 59 games last year for his team. The forwards are definitely the strength of the team, returning the top four scorers. Leading the pack is senior Darren Haydar (18-23-41), but close behind are juniors Lanny Gare (11-20-31) and Colin Hemingway (9-18-27) and another senior Matt Swain (14-9-23). UNH can expect production from juniors Jim Abbott and Joshua Prudden as well as sophomore Nathan Martz. Incoming freshmen will see a significant amount of playing time as all four youngsters bring a lot to the table. Sean Collins (Reading, MA), Justin Aikins (Langley, BCHL), Preston Callandar (Lincoln, USHL) and Ed Caron (Phillips Exeter) all have a chance to have in impact for the Wildcats.
5. Boston University (14-20-3, 9-12-3)
The Terriers are yet another team with a goaltending question mark. Senior Jason Tapp saw most of the time for the Terriers last year putting up a 8-12-2 record (3.37, 89.2%) but his main competition will come from Sean Fields, a sophomore who’s numbers were better (6-8-1, 2.53, 90.3%). The question became bigger when top recruit Sebastian LaPlante left the team not wanting to wait a year to be eligible to play. The Terriers also have some problems at the forward position, having lost one of their top returning scorers (Dan Cavanaugh) to an early departure. Returning up front are junior Brian Collins (14-16-30) and seniors Mike Pandolfo (16-13-29) and Jack Baker (9-9-18). While the remainders of last year’s forwards haven’t done much to impress, this year’s incoming class just might. It’s highlighted by four (count ‘em four!) members of the US U-18 team, two of whom are forwards. Brian McConnell and Justin Maiser will get their shots to play right off the bat for the Terriers, who need to improve on their 6th place finish in goals for last year (2.75 per game). On defense, the best of the bunch is junior Freddy Meyer (6-13-29), also from the US National Development Team. He will get lots of help from seniors Pat Aufiero and Chris Dyment as well as junior John Cronin. The other two U-18 members should also get a shot here as Ryan Whitney and Brian Miller have plenty of talent, especially Whitney, one of the nation’s biggest recruits last year.
6. University of Massachusetts-Lowell (19-16-3, 10-11-3)
Click here for UMass Lowell Season Preview
7. Merrimack College (14-20-4, 7-14-3)
Merrimack might be the surprise team of the league. They should probably be ranked a bit higher, but with the talent on the teams in front of them, it’s tough to place them anywhere but here. The strength of the Warriors is in the front and back, but their blue line is a slight question mark. Up front, potential league Player of the Year candidate junior Anthony Aquino (17-25-42) returns. Aquino in just two years in arguably the best league in the country has already put up 71 points. He will have help up front from senior Nick Parillo (16-13-29) and sophomore Marco Rosa (6-18-24). If those three can get any help from senior Ryan Kiley or juniors Alex Sikatchev and Luke Smith, the Warriors will be an interesting team to watch. A threesome of newcomers could also be helpful for the Warriors. The first is transfer Ryan Cordeiro, who left UNH a year ago. Cordeiro only played in 12 games in 1999 for UNH, and has two years of eligibility left. Incoming freshman Matt Foy (Wexford, OPJHL) and Taras Foremsky (Ft. Saskatchewan, AJHL) will also contribute. Foy has the potential to be a Rookie of the Year candidate, having posted 43 goals in 47 games for Wexford, and just turned 18. Minding the net is a member of last year All-Rookie Team, Joe Exter. The sophomore will see most of the playing time now as his backups have barely registered a blip in NCAA play. Exter played in 25 games for the Warriors, posting an 11-12-1 record and a 3.08 GAA with a 91.0% save rate. His play in Hockey East games wasn’t quite as successful, as be posted a 3.56 GAA. His backups will be senior Jason Wolfe and freshman Casey Guenther. On the blue line, the Warriors are tremendously young. Out of the returning 7 defenseman that played in a majority of the games, 5 are now sophomores. A sixth sophomore, Darren Clarke, was hurt last year and missed most of the season, but has the potential to be the best of the bunch. Fellow sophomores Tony Johnson, Jeff State and Eric Pedersen will have to make more of an offensive contribution as well, as the nine returning defenseman only accounted for 8 goals last year, 5 in league play.
8. Northeastern University (13-19-4, 7-13-4)
The Huskies begin play this year hoping to improve on their lack of offensive prowess. Northeastern finished last year with an average of 2.83 goals per game, 8th best in the 9 team league. As if that isn’t bad enough, they lost leading scorer Graig Mischler to graduation. The Huskies do return junior Mike Ryan (17-12-29) and senior Willie Levesque (13-16-29), neither of whom has yet lived up to their full potential. Sophomore Scott Selig played well year, and senior Chris Lynch will be expected to step up as well. Lynch was the second highest goal scorer in league play on the Huskies squad (Levesque had 10, Lynch 9). The incoming freshmen will not be expected to come in and provide depth, they’ll be expected to come in and contribute right away. The Huskies have high hopes for Jared Mudryk (Olds, AJHL), Jason Guerriero (Texas, NAHL), and Jaron Herriman (Cambridge, MWJHL), the latter two having won MVP awards in their respective leagues. Seniors Jim Fahey and Arik Engbrecht lead the defense for the Huskies. The remaining blue liners won’t (or haven’t yet) made anyone stop and notice, but some of the incoming freshmen might, including Brian Nathe (US U-18) and Tim Judy (Sioux City, USHL). The Huskies are yet another team with goaltending as a question mark. Junior Mike Gilhooly (8-14-4, 3.15, 89.0%) and senior Jason Braun (5-5-0, 3.57, 89.5%) are the incumbents. Gilhooly and Braun both have had games where they are fabulous, but also have had games that have left Northeastern fans scratching their heads. The answer in the long run might be freshman Keni Gibson (Ottawa, COJHL), but it’s doubtful if he’ll see much ice time this year.
9. University of Massachusetts-Amherst (8-22-4, 7-15-2)
One of the more intriguing teams this year will be last years last place team, the UMass Amherst Minutemen. When you finish in last place, and change the team rather severely, fans become rather curious as to what they will see. With a new coach in Don “Toot” Cahoon, this arguably could be the most talented team that has represented the Maroon and White. Easily the youngest team in the league with 16 of the 26 roster spots taken by underclassmen, including 11 freshmen. Those freshmen will be expected to chip in right away, helping a team that was last in the league in both goals for and goals against last year. Returning in net is senior Mike Johnson, who last year went 2-6-3, 3.86, 88.9%. His main and only competition is incoming freshman Tim Warner, a highly regarded recruit who played for Avon Old Farms and Waltham, MA. Up front, UMass’ leading scorer junior Tim Turner (16-11-27) returns, as does senior Martin Miljko (12-10-22). Juniors Jimmy Callahan (3-14-17), Brad Nizwantowski (6-10-16), and Anthony Scaparotti (3-6-9 in 9 games) will also have a chance to make some noise this year. Two sophomores will also carry high expectations including Thomas Pock and Scott Horvath. Of seven rookie forwards, Greg Mauldin (Jr. Bruins, EJHL) and Matt Walsh (Northfield Mount Hermon) carry the highest expectations, but Tim Vitek (Chatham, WOJHL) and Craig MacDonald (Nobles) also should contribute. On the blue line, the changes aren’t as severe, as junior Samuli Jalkanen (1-13-14) will lead a group that also includes senior Toni Soderholm, juniors Luke Duplessis and Kelly Sickavish and sophomore Nick Kuiper. The three-rookie defensemen most likely won’t see too much playing time, but if anyone of them does, it will probably be Jeff Lang (Tabor Academy). This team, especially if Cahoon can continue stealing these recruits from his in-state rivals, will be worth watching over the next couple of years.
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