Archive for the ‘NCHA News’ Category

St. Norbert Jousts Adrian In Play-In Game

March 11th, 2010 Matt.Kaskavitch

GREEN BAY – St. Norbert College advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament for the eighth time in nine years with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Adrian College in a first-round game at the Cornerstone Community Center.

The Green Knights improved to 22-3-3 with the win, and will face Gustavus Adolphus College (20-6-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday in a national quarterfinal game at the Cornerstone. Adrian, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, finished 24-4.

St. Norbert built a 4-1 lead but had to withstand a late Adrian flurry to advance. Adrian cut the deficit to 4-2 when Mike Dahlinger put home a rebound on a power play with 10 minutes 47 seconds gone by in the second period. That score held up until there was 3:41 remaining in the game when the Bulldogs’ Mike Towns had the puck bounce off his shoulder in front of the net for a goal.

Adrian pulled goaltender Brad Fogal with 55 seconds remaining, but did not get a quality look with the extra attacker. There was a face-off in the St. Norbert defensive zone with 5 seconds left, but the Green Knights won the draw and ran out the clock.

After Adrian’s Chris Stansik opened the scoring with a low far post shot from the right circle at 10:14 of the first period, St. Norbert’s offense got rolling. Cody Keefer’s wrister from the right slot squared the game at 1-1 at the 17:52 mark of the first.

Dustin Walz’s blast from the blue line for his first goal of the season put St. Norbert ahead 2-1 at 2:07 of the second. Matt Boyd answered 1:14 later when he finished off a pretty passing combination with assists from Tyler Allen and Shane Wheeler. Brandon Longley then found himself in the right place at the 8:56 mark, when a centering pass from Mike Bernardy found Longley’s chest-level stick and was redirected in for a 4-1 lead.

The Green Knights dodged a major bullet midway through the third period when they had to kill off a 5-on-3 Adrian power play. St. Norbert’s Dylan Exton was called for elbowing at 8:52, and Dustin Walz followed with a crosscheck at 9:49. The Green Knights killed the first penalty and then Adrian’s Dahlinger was slapped with an interference penalty at 11:12 to send the action to 4-on-4.

St. Norbert, which had two assists from Alain Joanette, outshot Adrian 31-19, and held a 4-3 shots edge in the third period. B.J. O’Brien made 16 save for St. Norbert, which was 0-for-3 on the power play.

Adrian was 1-for-3 on the power play. Fogal made 27 stops for the Bulldogs, including 14 in the first period.

Story courtesy of St. Norbert Sports Information Department

St. Norbert will now face Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday at the CCC for the right to represent the west in Lake Placid, NY at the NCAA Div. III Ice Hockey Championships

St.Norbert vs. Gustavus Stat Sheet Preview (Last 7 games)

St. Norbert (5-0-2)

GF: 30
GA: 8
PP: 8/44 18.18%
PK: 1/28 3.5%
PIM: 36-79

Gustavus (5-2-0)

GF: 27
GA: 16
PP: 6/32 18.75%
PK: 3/17 17.64%
PIM: 23-46

Learn more about Saturday’s Quarterfinal match-up in DePere (ticket info, game preview etc.) by going here.

Posted in NCHA News No Comments »

Gaulrapp Named NCHA Player Of The Year

February 19th, 2010 Matt.Kaskavitch

Joel Gaulrapp (F)

UW-Stout senior forward Joel Gaulrapp (Owatonna, Minn.) has been named Men’s Player of the Year in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association after gaining the majority of the league coaches’ votes. Gaulrapp posted 25 points during the regular season and was a dominant player for the Blue Devils both offensively and defensively. Some of Gaulrapp’s accomplishments this season included two separate four-game scoring streaks, game-winning goals against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Superior and eight multi-point performances. Opponents’ game plans revolved around covering the Blue Devils’ skilled forward.

“Joel has been our best player in both ends of the rink all year,” said UW-Stout head coach Terry Watkins. “He’s very good on the power play and penalty kill, and he never takes a shift off.”

Gaulrapp is from Owatonna, Minnesota, which is roughly an hour south of the twin cities. He played high school and junior hockey in Owatonna, in the Minnesota State High School League and the North American Hockey League. Gaulrapp is majoring in construction.

Gaulrapp is the second UW-Stout player selected as NCHA player of the year. Goalie Jeff Dotson received the honor after the 2003-04 season.

The Blue Devils also had three players named to the honorable mention squad. Forwards – and Gaulrapp’s linemates - Derek Hanson (Sr, Bemidji, Minn) and Scott Motz (Sr, Lake Elmo, Minn/Tartan), along with defenseman David Larson(Jr, Warroad, Minn) were selected as honorable mention.

Motz leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) and Hanson is third (9-14-23). Larson has scored one goal and six assists from his defensive spot.

The coaches also voted for Coach of the Year and St. Norbert’s Tim Coghlin emerged the winner. Coghlin’s Green Knights won the regular season NCHA championship with a 14-2-2 conference record. This is the fifth Coach of the Year award for Coghlin. St. Norbert had the most players voted All-NCHA with five. Included was junior defenseman Nick Tabisz, who earned his third straight selection to the team.

Conference runner-up St. Scholastica had the second most players voted All-NCHA. The Saints’ Jordan Chong was the 2010 NCHA scoring leader as well as the leader in game-winning goals.

Courtesy of NCHAhockey.org and UW-Stout SID

Posted in NCHA News, Team News No Comments »

Xcel Showdown Vs. St. Olaf Examined

January 20th, 2010 Matt.Kaskavitch

UW-Stout and St. Olaf will showdown at the Xcel Energy Center this Saturday in the first DIII game ever played at the NHL facility on January 23rd, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.  UW-Stout is looking for some revenge after being swept on the road two weekends ago versus two solid MIAC teams in Gustavus and Augsburg.  How does the game stack-up on paper?

Special Teams – Power Play

UW-Stout

Conversion Percentage:  28%

Goals: 23

St. Olaf

Conversion Percentage: 13.3%

Goals: 6

Special Teams – Penalty Kill

UW-Stout

Kill Percentage – 81%

St.Olaf

Kill Percentage – 85%

Shorthanded Goals

UW-Stout

SHG: 3

St. Olaf

SHG: 3   (2/3 scored by leading scorer Isak Tranvik)

Goaltenders

UW-Stout

Tom Lescovich (Fr) – ( 3.12 GAA -  .909 SV% -  883 minutes played )

Nick Hopper (Fr) – ( 3.03 GAA – .911 SV% – 158 minutes played )

St. Olaf

Ben Leis (So) – ( 2.05 GAA – .932 SV% – 554 minutes played )

Nick Krauss (Jr) – ( 3.23 GAA – .887 SV% – 427 minutes plated )

Offensive Weapons

UW-Stout

18 Scott Motz               7G  15A  22pts         +4
9  Joel Gaulrapp           10G  11A  21pts         +7
25 Derek Hanson             8G  13A  21pts         +7
16 Andy Sternberg           6G   9A  15pts         +2
14 Branden Gay              2G  11A  13pts         +6

St.Olaf

9 Isak Tranvik                 10G   9A  19pts
25 Britton Smith               11G   4A  15pts
23 Caleb Harrison              7G   8A   15pts
22 Charlie Raskob              5G   6A   11pts
20 Ben Umhoefer                1G   7A   8pts
Posted in NCHA News, Team News No Comments »

Blue Devils Picked To Win NCHA

October 23rd, 2009 Matt.Kaskavitch

Saint Paul, Minn. (October 23, 2009) -  After grinding through the NCHA playoffs and reaching the NCAA Frozen Four last season, the UW-Stout Blue Devils have been pegged the favorite in 2009-10 by the coaches in their annual preseason poll. UW-Stout received five of the six first-place votes, with one going to St. Norbert.nchahockeylogo

The Blue Devils lose several players off last year’s roster, most notably goaltender Matt Koenig. But the core of their scoring punch is back, including the reigning conference point champion Derek Hanson (Bemidji, MN / Danville). Hanson racked up 45 points in 08-09 on 17 goals and 28 assists. He’s joined by fellow snipers Joel Gaulrapp (Owatonna, MN / Owatonna), who bagged 21 goals, and Scott Motz (Lake Elmo, MN / Tartan), who added 14 among 37 points.

Second in the poll was St. Norbert, followed closely by last year’s regular season champ UW-Superior. The Green Knights bring back All-American defenseman Nick Tabisz (Kettering, OH) to lead a team that nearly made the NCAA tournament last year. UW-Superior has a big hole to fill in the graduation of goalie Chad Beiswenger – last year’s NCHA player of the year – but it brings back two of its top three scorers.

Read the full release from the NCHA.

Posted in NCHA News, Team News Tags: , No Comments »

Pointers Reload; Hungry For Success

August 30th, 2009 Matt.Kaskavitch
Wil Nichol

Wil Nichol

UW-Stevens Point is a NCHA program with solid tradition and a hardcore following.  With four national championships and two runner-up finishes in nine appearances, there is no need to wonder why their following is so strong.

One of the greatest changes in the UW-Stevens Point program came in 2007 when former head coach Joe Baldarotta decided to resign after a 16 season career with the Pointers.  Baldarotta was a staple of UWSP hockey and well recognized on-campus and in the K.B. Willett Arena.  They needed a new coach to take the reins, and they found their man just a few blocks away.

Will Nichol, a UWSP hockey alum, was named the new head coach of the Pointers after coaching SPASH (Stevens Point Area High School) to a record of 46-3 in just two seasons.

With two seasons under his belt now at UWSP, the Pointers are heading in the right direction. UWSP displayed a respectable 15-10-2 record last season, finishing 5th in the NCHA.

UWSP lost 12 seniors last season and they were in desperate need of some recruits.  Nichol stepped to the challenge and recruited what many believe is the best recruiting class in Div. III hockey this off-season.  It looks like Wil wants to break out of the middle of the NCHA and return the program to its 1990′s glory.

UWSP Recruits

Those in bold produced 30 overall pts or more last season in juniors

  • (F) Justin Johson – OPJHL
  • (D) Jon Bockman – OPJHL
  • (F) Nick Kenney - NAHL
  • (F) Alex Handy – USHL
  • (D) Brandon Busse – BCHL
  • (F) Sam Graham – SJHLUWSP-mascot
  • (D) Sean McNeely – NAHL
  • (F) Donnie Hallmark – USHL
  • (F) Chris Annunziato – NAHL
  • (F) Taylor Kuypers – USHL
  • (G) Nick Graves – NAHL
  • (F) Johnny Meo – NAHL
  • (F) Kyle Greco – NAHL
  • (G) Alan Armour – MJHL
  • (D) Tyler Kruger – NAHL

The two obvious front runners in the NCHA this season are UW-Stout and UW-Superior, a likely Peter’s Cup rematch from last season. Point will be a team to keep your eye on in 2009-2010, they could be this years surprise team.

With this kind of recruiting class adding to UWSP’s high scoring sophomores like Madden and Nesper, the Pointers look to be building a high powered dynasty once again. UWSP will look to build that dynasty on the shoulders of Thomas Speer.  The  6’0 goaltender and Janesville Wisconsin native will likely claim the job between the pipes where he will remain for two more seasons.

Since UWSP has not fought near the top of the NCHA in many years, they have the asset of being able to sneak up on teams.  Teams like UW-Stout, St. Norbert College and UW-Superior have targets on their back each and every game.

Does UWSP have a surprise for the NCHA this season?  I think so.

F, Justin Johnson Wellington Dukes (OPJHL) 5’11″, 180 Eau Claire, Wis. 40gp, (11-20-31), 16pim http://www.wellingtondukes.com/profile_player.php?search=19

.

 D, Jon Bockman Wellington Dukes (OPJHL) 6’3″, 190 Wind Lake, Wis. 52gp, (7-46-53), 64pim http://www.wellingtondukes.com/profile_player.php?search=9

.

 F, Nick Kenney Mahoning Valley Phantoms (NAHL) 6’0″, 187 Wixom, Mich. 46gp, (19-16-35), 47pim

.

 F, Alex Handy Indiana Ice (USHL) 5’9″, 165 Carmel, Ind. 16gp, (0-1-1), 20pim

.

 D, Brandon Busse Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL) 6’2″, 205 Stevens Point, Wis. 50gp, (2-8-10), 46pim

.

 F, Sam Graham Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL) 6’2″, 205 Lawndale, Cali. 49gp, (19-31-50), 57pim http://www.weyburnredwings.ca/news_item.aspx?news_id=2734

.

 D, Sean McNeely Alaska Avalanche (NAHL) 6’1″, 185 Brooklyn Park, Minn. 54gp, (7-24-31), 53pim http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=1027

.

 F, Donnie Hallmark Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) 6’0″, 205 Ontario, Cali. 54gp, (18-14-32), 91pim 38 career USHL fights are most in league history

.

 F, Chris Annunziato Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL) ??, 185 Alta Loma, Cali. 56gp, (14-15-29), 72pim

.

 D, Taylor Kuypers Lincoln Stars (USHL) 5’11″, 170 Madison, Wis. 43gp, (0-1-1), 32pim

.

 G, Nick Graves Alpena Ice Diggers (NAHL) 5’11″, 180 Hewitt, Wis. 47gp, (23-19-5, 2.78, .906)

.

 F, Johnny Meo Mahoning Valley Phantoms (NAHL) 5’5″, 150 Vernon Hills, Ill. 56gp, (11-23-34), 52pim

.

 F, Kyle Greco St. Louis Bandits (NAHL) 6’2″, 195 Hillside, Ill. 52gp, (19-26-45), 36pim

.

 G, Alan Armour Selkirk Steelers (MJHL) 5’11″, 185 Northfield, Minn. 40gp, (18-7-0, 2.66, .916) MJHL Goalie of the Year

.

 D, Tyler Kruger
Posted in NCHA News No Comments »

Weekend Series Return To NCHA

August 3rd, 2009 Matt.Kaskavitch

Starting in 2009-2010, the Lake Forest Foresters will join the MCHA conference leaving one-less team in the NCHA.  This has brought on a new scheduling system for the NCHA conference now that it has an odd number of teams.  Each team in the conference will now play each other three times, with two of those three coming in a back-to-back weekend series. 

This use to be how the scheduling system was set before the adoption of the travel partner system.  Matthew Webb of USCHO.com explains…

When the NCHA adopted the travel partner system ten years ago, many long-time NCHA fans lamented the fact it meant the elimination of the two-game weekend sets against the same opponent.

Though the travel partner setup made sense in terms of both geography and finances, gone was the potential for storyline development that could only exist when the same teams met on back-to-back nights.

I suspect the NCHA may be looking at the ECACW as a model for this. The ECACW, a six team league, currently plays 15 conference games. The ECACW has also been able to land three teams in the NCAA tournament (a clear goal of the NCHA) the past two seasons. The ECACW’s ability to to this has largely been fueled by very high strength-of-schedule ratings league-wide, thanks in part to a relatively insular league schedule and some fairly significant non-conference success.

The nuts and bolts: If the NCHA can continue to dominate the MCHA and MIAC the way it has the past four seasons, it’s conceivable that more games against itself will only bolster the selection criteria (particularly SOS) for the top NCHA teams come selection time.
Read the full blog from Matthew Webb

So why should fans be rejoicing?  The two-game series scheduling can make for some real great Saturday games!  Words are exchanged, faces are washed and jabs are thrown all of which typically boils over into game two of the series on Saturday night, not to downplay any Friday night game of course!

“We have the best league in the country and the kids get to play great games every single weekend.  It’s not like you have a weekend off and then a tough weekend, every weekend is a battle.” said UW-Stout head coach Terry Watkins via telephone.

This series schedule will bring back old rivalries and maybe even spark some new ones. 

“I think there are so many rivalries in our league that I don’t know that one is any bigger than another one.  All the teams in the conference are just so good.  I think it’s awesome.” Watkins added.

You can check out UW-Stout’s series-formatted schedule for 2009-2010 here. 

Posted in NCHA News Tags: , , No Comments »


  • Featured Video

FireStats icon Powered by FireStats