Wolverines sign two more for this fall

Michigan has received National Letters of Intent from a pair of players who will join the Maize and Blue for the 2006-07 season in forward Trevor Lewis (Murray, Utah) and goaltender Steve Jakiel (Santa Clarita, Calif.).

The pair will join three other players already committed to U-M in the early signing period to bring Michigan's 2006 recruiting class up to five players.

Lewis, a forward on the United States Hockey League's Des Moines Buccaneers, tallied 35 goals and 40 assists for a team-best 75 points in 56 games. The 19-year-old also led his team in goals and assists in the regular season, while his 75 points put him second in league scoring. The 6-1, 200-pound forward was second on his team with a +25 rating during his 2005-06 campaign. In six playoff contests for the Buccaneers, Lewis has also racked up two goals and nine assists. After sweeping both its divisional semifinal and final opponents, Des Moines is in the USHL Clark Cup Finals. The five-game series against Sioux Falls commences on April 22.

In addition to leading his Buccaneers in scoring, Lewis was named the recipient of both the Let's Play Hockey Player of the Year and the CCM Forward of the Year awards. He was honored as the winner of the Curt Hammer award, a tribute given to the player who distinguishes himself as the most gentlemanly player both on and off the ice while demonstrating outstanding performance skills, pride and determination. Lewis was also named to the RBK All-USHL first team.

Lewis spent the 2004-05 season with Des Moines as well. He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 52 games.

A 6-4, 190-pound goaltender, Jakiel (pictured above) played for the Lincoln Stars before being traded to the Indiana Ice midway through the season. In 21 regular-season games for the Ice, Jakiel had two shutouts en route to an 11-5-2 record with a 2.75 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. His playoff line was 2-3-0 with a 3.49 GAA and a .914 save percentage. In 18 games for Lincoln he posted a 10-6-2 record with 3.38 GAA and a .887 save percentage. Jakiel was named the USHL Defensive Player of the Week twice.

Jakiel played the entire 2004-05 campaign for Lincoln. He was 15-7-2 in the regular season with a 2.55 GAA and a .916 save percentage. In three playoff contests he went 1-2-0 with a 4.75 GAA and a .833 save percentage.

Michigan will graduate three players from its roster at the end of the 2005-06 campaign -- forward Andrew Ebbett, forward Brandon Kaleniecki and goalie Noah Ruden.

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Updates on U-M Fall Signees

Steve Kampfer's season with the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) came to an end four weeks ago as the team missed out on the playoffs. In 56 games, the defenseman tallied six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. He also accumulated 99 penalty minutes. In his first season with Sioux City in 2004-05 he played in 47 games, earning a 6-13-19 line with 91 penalty minutes.

Forward Brian Lebler's season came to an end earlier this week when his Penticton Vees (BCHL) lost to the Burnaby Express in the BCHL finals. The Vees swept the BCHL Interior Division regular-season and postseason titles. Lebler played in 69 games, including 15 playoff contests, recording 26 goals and 17 assists for 43 points. He had 12 power-play goals and 130 penalty minutes. In his first season with the Vees in 2004-05, Lebler produced 23 goals, 12 on the power play, and 13 assists in 66 total games.

Defenseman Chris Summers of the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team is currently overseas in Angelholm, Sweden, competing at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Team USA went 4-0-0 in the preliminary round and defeated the Czech Republic in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal game against Finland on April 22.. Summers does not have a point in five games, but he has earned a +4 plus/minus rating. On the season, Summers has a 5-11-16 line in 57 games played. He has 93 penalty minutes. With the U.S. NTDP Under 17-Team in 2004-05 he played in 51 games, tallying five goals and seven assists with 30 penalty minutes.

Photo by Robert Meyer.

Bulldogs name season award winners

Ferris State University held its annual season-ending awards banquet Friday evening at the Falcon Head Golf Club in Big Rapids. The banquet was sponsored by the FSU Blue Line Club.

Senior center Greg Rallo was selected as the Bulldogs' Most Valuable Player for the 2005-06 season. The assistant captain led Ferris in almost every offensive category this season with a career season-high 39 points, 17 goals, 22 assists, nine power-play goals, and three short-handed tallies in 40 contests. He also posted a pair of game-winning goals.

Rallo compiled at least one point in 24 of Ferris' 40 outings, including a team-best 11 multi-point games and a three-game point scoring streak. He was a two-time (Nov. 14 and Nov. 28) Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Offensive Player of the Week selection and was named the Bulldogs' CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2005-06 campaign. Rallo concluded his career with 108 points on 46 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus five efficiency rating. He also amassed 27 multiple-point games and seven game-winning lamplighters in his four-year career. The 2003-04 CCHA All-Academic Special Mention honoree currently ranks 29th among the program's all-time leaders in points and is tied for 25th in goal scoring. Rallo, who also was the winner of the Lloyd Earl Award as the team's leading points getter and a co-recipient of the Blue Line Competitive Award, made his professional debut last month with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL.

Sharing the Blue Line Competitive Award with Rallo was sophomore defenseman Adam Welch, who registered a season-high 13 points with two goals and 11 assists in 40 games. The team captain produced a plus eight rating and placed second among FSU's top-scoring defensemen.

Freshman goaltender Mitch O'Keefe earned the Rookie of the Year Award. He turned in a 14-12-7 mark with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage (828 total saves) in 33 appearances this season. O'Keefe, who notched at least 30 saves in a contest on 10 occasions and had a pair of shutouts in 1969:54 minutes of action this campaign, garnered both CCHA Rookie of the Week (Oct. 24) and CCHA Goaltender of the Week accolades (Nov. 14). O'Keefe's 14 victories tied for the sixth most single-season wins in school history while his 828 saves total represented the sixth highest output.

The Steve Banonis Most Improved Player Award went to redshirt freshman center-right wing Matt Frank (pictured), who tallied four goals with eight assists for 12 points with a plus nine rating in 34 contests. The Bulldog forward also scored a short-handed marker to go along with a pair of game-winning lamplighters. Frank produced one point (assist) in four 2004-05 games before suffering a season-ending injury and was granted a redshirt season.

Junior left wing Eric Vesely received the Scholar-Athlete Award for the second consecutive year. Vesely, who totaled a career season-high 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists in 40 contests this season, also earned the squad's FSU President's Award for having the squad's highest grade-point average and is a surveying engineering major. Vesely was also presented with the Plus/Minus Award as the forward posted a season-best plus 11 efficiency rating. He was a co-recipient of the award a season ago.

A pair of current FSU Blue Line Club members, Kevin Courtney and Jeff Totten were both bestowed with a FSU Blue Line Club Recognition Award for their numerous contributions to the Bulldog hockey program. Courtney has served as club president for several years while Totten presently serves as the club's ambassador program chairperson.

Ferris State concluded its 2005-06 season at 17-15-8 overall with a sixth-place 10-11-7 CCHA record under 14th-year head coach Bob Daniels. The Bulldogs also recognized their four-member senior class of Rallo, right wing Nick Scheible, defenseman Andrew Winnik and goaltender Tom Mueller.

Warriors ink two defenders for this fall

Wayne State has signed two more players for the women's team in defensemen Tegan Schroeder and Christine Jefferson.

"We are fortunate to have signed two very skilled defensemen," said WSU head coach Jim Fetter. "And we will be looking for them to step in and contribute right away."

Schroeder (below), from Lumsden, Sask., played two years of varsity hockey for the Hounds of Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, where she helped the team win two Saskatchewan Provincial Female Midget AA Championships as well as two Western Canadian Shield Female Midget Championships.

Schroeder was named the team's best defenseman in 2005 and 2006.

She was also a member of the Team Saskatchewan Under-18 squad and competed at nationals in Salmon Arm, B.C., the last two seasons.

Joining her on the blueline next season will be Jefferson, from Nepean, Ont. Jefferson played four years on the varsity hockey squad at Merivale High School and earned such accolades as the coaches' award and team MVP. She served as the team captain the last two seasons.

Jefferson (above) also played on Merivale's touch football team for three years.

"Tegan and Christine have a lot of potential, and we are looking forward to developing them and making them better hockey players," said Fetter.

Schroeder and Jefferson will join fall signees Chelsea Burnett and Brandi Frakie in the freshman class for the 2006-2007 campaign.

"This is a good class coming in, thanks to the great recruiting work by Grant Kimball and Mare MacDougall," said Fetter. "This program will continue to take steps in the right direction."

Ferris State nabs another Bandit

Second-year Texarkana Bandits' forward Aaron Lewicki has received a scholarship to play hockey for the Ferris State Bulldogs.

Lewicki, who is currently a high school senior, had 34 goals and 22 assists for the Bandits this season. His 34 goals were fourth best in the NAHL. The Livonia native is grateful for the chance to play college hockey close to home.

"I grew up in Michigan and have wanted to play in the CCHA my whole life," said Lewicki. "To now get the chance is unbelievable."

Texarkana coach-GM Jon Cooper knew it was not a matter of what school was going to get him, but just a matter of when.

"Aaron has always had the ability to score, it was his defensive play that was in question," Cooper said. "Now, two years later, he gets it done at both ends of the ice. We are truly going to miss him."

Lewicki is the seventh Bandit to commit to a Division I school this season. The others are defenseman Justin Johnston (Michigan State), goaltender Riley Gill (Western Michigan), forward and captain Casey Haines (Ferris State), forward Pat Knowlton (Army), Jason Weeks (Canisius) and forward Pat Maroon, who will head to Ferris State in 2007.

NCHA names FU women as award winners

Four players from the Finlandia University women’s hockey program received honors from the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) back on March 9.

Sara Sleik, Danielle Syrowik, and Ashley Leitch were all named to the All-NCHA Honorable Mention team. Jana Riutta was named to the 2006 All-NCHA Academic Team.

As a forward, Sleik led the Lion offense in all 25 games this season. She scored 14 goals and was credited with six assists (8-0-8 NCHA), leading the Lions in points and 13th in NCHA overall statistics.

“Sara has been an unbelievable workhorse for us game-in-and-game-out for the last two seasons,” says second-year head coach Chris Salani. “She puts everything she has into every part of her game, and it's great to see her being recognized for that as just a sophomore.”

Sophomore forward Syrowik earned nine goals and six assists in her 21 games of play (5-5-10 NCHA). Syrowik ended the season ranked 13th in NCHA conference statistics.

“Danielle has such great instincts with getting the puck to the net and being able to use her abilities to her advantage,” states Salani. “She’s definitely a threat every time she steps on the ice, and the teams of our conference certainly appreciate her abilities.”

The next award went to Leitch for her play as a defenseman. Leitch gave the Lions 14 points in her 25 games (1-4-5 NCHA).

“Ashley is by far the most improved defensemen in the conference and has proved to be as consistent a blue-line performer as there is in the league. I’m really happy for her receiving this recognition, for her best is yet to come,” states Salani.

Riutta, a junior, was named to the 2006 All-NCHA Academic Team. To be named to the team, a player must have a cumulative 3.00 grade point average, have earned at least 50 semester or 75 quarter hours, and be recommended by her head coach. Riutta is currently studying nursing at Finlandia while competing in intercollegiate athletics (women’s ice hockey and women’s softball).

“This is another example of what kind of work ethic Jana has, both on and off the ice. She has wonderful discipline and the maturity to be a positive example for her fellow student-athletes,” says Salani.

Overall, the Lady Lions finished the season with a 7-15-3 overall record (1-12-2 NCHA).

Finlandia men garner MCHA honors

Ten players from the Finlandia University men's hockey program received season-end honors from the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA) back on March 8.

Forwards Josh Paquette and Joe Lewis and defenseman Steve Piccoli were all named to the MCHA All-Conference Team. In addition, eight Finlandia student-athletes were named to the 2005-2006 MCHA All-Academic Team.

Paquette led the Lions offense in all 26 games this season. He scored 15 goals and was credited with 22 assists (13-19-32 MCHA), leading the Lions in points and tying for third in MCHA conference statistics.

"Josh has had a tremendous two years with us," says fifth-year head men's hockey coach Joe Burcar. "Josh is a great person on the ice, in the locker room, and in the classroom. He's an outstanding role model for the entire team."

Lewis, a sophomore, earned 13 goals and 16 assists in his 25 games of play (11-15-26 MCHA) this season. Lewis ended the season ranked 12th in MCHA conference statistics.

"Joe is a very gifted offensive player," states Burcar. "He also finished first in league scoring last year. Making the all-conference team this year is an honor for both Joe and his teammates."

Sophomore defenseman Piccoli gave the Lions 17 points in his 25 games of play (3-10-13 MCHA) this season.

"Steve is another great athlete. He's really come into his own this year," Burcar says. "Steve has tremendous talent. He moved from forward to defensive last year and made great strides as a defenseman this year."

Finally, eight Finlandia men's hockey team players were included on the 2005-2006 MCHA All-Academic Team. To be named to the all-academic team, student-athletes must have completed a minimum of three semesters and maintained a 3.00 cumulative GPA.

The following Finlandia students were honored:

Lukas Alberer, Poertschach, Austria - Sports Management
Travis Hanson, Bark River, MI - Marketing
Joe Junttila, Calumet, MI - Graphic Design
Jamie Leffler, Vancouver, BC, Canada - Criminal Justice
Joe Lewis, Marquette, MI - PTA and Business
Josh Paquette, Marquette, MI - Criminal Justice
Mike Parks, Marquette, MI - Nursing
Phil Schwartz, Minocqua, WI - Criminal Justice

"That eight student-athletes made the all-academic MCHA hockey team says a lot about the character of our team, and the quality of the student-athletes and our school," says Burcar. "All university faculty and staff deserve credit for the academic accomplishments of these students."

Overall, the Lions finished the season with a 10-13-3 overall record (9-8-3 MCHA).

Walton named Broncos' MVP; Mahrle top D

Seven student-athletes were recognized at the Western Michigan University Hockey Awards Banquet held Saturday at the Fetzer Center. Head coach Jim Culhane and assistants Chris Brooks and Brendan Kenny presided over the ceremonies.

Senior right wing Brent Walton received the Rob Hodge Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight year. Walton led the Broncos in scoring (26 goals, 17 assists, 43 points) to capture the Vic Vanderberg Top Scorer Award and ranked in the top 10 in eight Central Collegiate Hockey Association statistical categories. Walton recently made his professional debut with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.

Junior Ryan Mahrle was named the Neil Smith Most Valuable Defensemen for the second time. Mahrle placed ninth among CCHA defensemen in scoring (18 points), finishing third in team assists (16) and points. He also factored in two shutouts.

Freshman left wing Jeff LoVecchio earned the Suzanne Klop Rookie of the Year Award, topping first-year players with 18 points (7-11) in 40 contests. LoVecchio also received the Catherine Lawson Sportsmanship Award in voting conducted by his teammates.

Junior right wing Jason Moul and freshman defenseman Steve Silver were named co-recipients of the Ed Edwards Most Improved Player Award. Moul registered a career-high for points in a season, scoring four goals during a six-game stretch. He provided the game-winning goal versus Bemidji State (Feb. 11) and delivered a body check at Michigan that was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter. For his efforts, Moul was also presented the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association (KOHA) Grinder Award for Perseverance.

Silver became a regular in the lineup the last 17 games and registered a -1 plus/minus rating to share the Bill Saunders Plus/Minus Award with fellow freshman Sean Weaver. Weaver appeared in 28 contests and saw action on WMU's top line.

Junior right wing Brett John (pictured) received the Peter R. Ellis Academic Award for posting the highest grade-point average during the past year. John carries a cumulative 3.98 GPA as an accounting major.

MTU honors its best from '05-06 campaign

Senior forward Chris Conner, who led the team in scoring for the second time in his four-year career, was honored with the prestigious Merv Youngs Award as the most valuable player of the Michigan Tech hockey team Saturday evening at the annual Blueline Club Awards Banquet. The event was held in the Memorial Union Ballroom on the MTU campus.

Conner finished his career as Tech's all-time leader in shorthanded goals (15). The winger ranks 19th among all MTU players in career goals (69) and is 35th all-time in overall point scoring (69-60--129).

In addition to MVP honors, Conner earned the Gary Crosby Memorial Award as the team’s leading scorer with 29 points off 17 goals and 12 assists.

Junior Tyler Skworchinski earned the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award for scholastic achievement for the second straight year. Skworchinski, who tallied two goals on the season, owns a 3.73 cumulative grade point average in business administration. The forward was also tabbed with the Elov Seger Memorial Award as the team’s most improved player. Skworchinski appeared in 30 games this season after playing in 20 contests as a sophomore.

For the second time in as many years, junior Lars Helminen (pictured) gained the team’s Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award as its outstanding defenseman. He led all MTU blueliners in scoring with 19 points and provided a team-best 13 points on the power play.

Senior Nick Anderson earned the Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award. A participant of the NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge held in conjunction with the 2006 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four last Friday (April 7) in Milwaukee, Anderson was second on the team in power-play goals (6) and ranked sixth on the team in point scoring (16) in 2005-06.

The Norbert Matovich Award as the team’s outstanding freshman was presented to Michael-Lee Teslak, who garnered Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Rookie of the Week accolades twice and WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors once in his rookie campaign. The netminder led all WCHA newcomers in saves (812), saves per game (31.2) and save percentage (.902).

Combining scholastic and athletic achievement, senior forward Brandon Schwartz was the recipient of the George McCarthy Performance Award. The owner of three shorthanded goals and 26 points this season, Schwartz closed his career with 34 goals and 48 assists in 143 games.

The Wildcat Slayer Award was presented to sophomore Jake Wilkens as a result of his standout defensive performance in two games against rival Northern Michigan.

Michigan Tech also honored its seven seniors at the event, including Conner, Anderson, Schwartz, Taggart Desmet, student manager David Jukuri, Pekka Saittakari, and John Scott.

LSSU players receive hardware at annual gathering

Junior goaltender Jeff Jakaitis was named Lake Superior State's most valuable player for the third straight year during the Soo BlueLiners' 24th annual banquet held Saturday at the sold-out Cisler Center ballroom.

Eight of LSSU's 12 seniors also had a chance to say their traditional farewells, while the remaining four players (Kory Scoran, Alex Dunn, Steve McJannet and Jon Booras) were still with ECHL teams, enjoying their first stint in professional hockey.

Jakaitis was the only Central Collegiate Hockey Association goalie to start all 28 conference contests and was named a Perani Cup game star in 15 of those 28 games. The Perani Cup points champion was named to the All-CCHA First Team and was one of three finalists for CCHA Player of the Year. He finished second in the league in saves (881), fourth in save percentage (.920) and fifth in goals-against average (.2.23). He is LSSU's career leader in save percentage at .922, is second in career goals-against average (.2.43), third in career saves (2,387) and seventh in career games played (88). He is a two-time CCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree and has a 3.46 GPA while majoring in business.

Sophomore forward Trent Campbell (pictured) was named Outstanding Forward after leading the Lakers in goals with 14 and points with 26. He finished second on the team in plus/minus at +4. He also scored a team-leading eight power-play goals, which tied for eighth in the CCHA this season. He has the most goals by a Laker since Jason Nightingale in 2000-01 and the most points since Terry Marchant in 1997-98.

The blue-line tandem of Scoran and Ren Fauci, who shared the most valuable defenseman award, anchored a Lake State defense that was ranked in the top 10 nationally throughout the season. As a team, the Lakers finished third in the CCHA in goals-allowed, averaging 2.28 per game. Scoran totaled five goals and 13 assists to lead LSSU defensemen in scoring, while Fauci finished with five assists. Scoran scored two short-handed goals this season and earned CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors in January. Scoran and Fauci, who regularly took on the opposing teams' top line, combined for a +5 on the plus/minus chart.

Senior Colin Nicholson received the most-improved player and Soo BlueLiner Player of the Year awards. This season, he tied for second on the team in goals with nine, finished with 15 points and was nearly even in plus/minus rating. He scored two game-winning goals and two short-handed goals in 2005-06. He finished his career with 25 goals and 22 assists in 116 games.

The scholar-athlete award went to junior defenseman Barnabas Birkeland, who more than doubled his point total from last season. Birkeland finished with one goal and 10 assists, and led Laker defensemen in plus-minus with a +4 rating. Birkeland has become a leader on and off the ice, and has excelled in the classroom, accumulating a 3.475 GPA while majoring in economics.

LSSU rookie of the year Troy Schwab was the Lakers' No. 2 scorer with eight goals and 16 assists, and was a two-time CCHA Rookie of the Week. He received CCHA All-Rookie Team honorable mention and was the male recipient of the Terry McDermott Award, which goes to LSSU's outstanding freshman athlete.

Jason Miller, a freshman forward, received the Gay Blade Award, who goes to the player who provides the most comic relief in the lockerroom. Miller appeared in 19 games and contributed three assists for the season.

Berenson extended to '08-09 with Wolverines

University of Michigan ice hockey head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson has accepted a new three-year contract offer from athletic director Bill Martin to remain behind the bench for the Wolverines through the 2008-09 season.

The contract takes effect on July 1, 2006.

Berenson, who played for U-M from 1960-62, has been the head coach at his alma mater for the past 22 seasons.

Financial details of the deal will be released later.

Berenson has led the team to an NCAA-record 16 consecutive national tournament appearances, earning national titles in 1996 and 1998. With a career record of 585-278-63 (.666) he stands as the second winningest active coach in the NCAA. Berenson's 585 victories are good for eighth place on the U.S. college hockey all-time wins list.

During the last 15 seasons of his tenure, U-M has been crowned regular-season champion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association nine times while garnering the CCHA playoff championship seven times.

During his collegiate career at Michigan that lasted 1960-62, Berenson was a captain (1962) and two-time All-American (1961, '62). He holds a bachelor's degree (1962) and a master's degree (1966) in business administration from U-M.

Berenson played 17 seasons (1962-78) in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. After serving as an assistant coach for St. Louis for one and a half seasons, he took over the Blues' head coaching duties for three seasons (1980-82), earning NHL Coach of the Year honors in 1981.

Berenson is a native of Regina, Saskatchewan. He and his wife, Joy, have four children.

Johnston commits to Spartans

Texarkana Bandits' defenseman Justin Johnston has committed to play for Michigan State starting this fall.

Johnston was the NAHL's fourth leading scorer among defenseman with 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points. The Livonia native played the past two seasons in the USHL and was not happy with the way he was developing.

"I believed in coach (Jon) Cooper and what he said he could deliver if I worked hard, so I made the jump to the NAHL," said the 19-year-old Johnston. "Now I will be playing at Michigan State next year and could not be happier."

Johnston is the sixth Bandit to commit to a Division I school this season.