Ferris State Bulldogs Season Preview

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS

Head coach: Bob Daniels (18th season)

Home arena: Ewigleben Ice Arena (2,493)

Last season: 12-19-7 overall, 9-14-5 CCHA (9th), lost to Nebraska-Omaha in first round of CCHA playoffs

Back for more: Goaltenders Jordan Barber, Pat Nagle and Taylor Nelson, defensemen Chad Billins, Matt Case, Tommy Hill, Zach Redmond, Aaron Schmit, Michael Trebish and Scott Wietecha, and forwards Cody Chupp (captain), Mike Embach, Mike Fillinger, Derek Graham, Casey Haines, Nate Hennig, Jordie Johnston, Aaron Lewicki and Todd Pococke

So long, farewell: Defenseman Evan Case, forwards Brendan Connolly, Corey Couturier, J.T. Dahlinger and Justin Lewandowski

Welcome to campus: Defenseman Brett Wysopal (transfer from Colorado College), forwards Eric Alexander, Kyle Bonis, Matthew Kirzinger and Travis Ouellette

NHL draft picks: 1 (Redmond)

Notable Quotable: "We have two veteran goaltenders returning in Taylor Nelson and Pat Nagle. If both play great, that’s terrific and we will split them, but we are committed to playing with one goaltender that gives us the best chance to win." – Head coach Bob Daniels

Michigan State Spartans Preview

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan State Beat Writer

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Head coach: Rick Comley (8th season)

Home arena: Munn Ice Arena (6,470)

Last season: 10-23-5 overall, 7-17-4 CCHA (T-10th), lost in CCHA quarterfinals to Northern Michigan

Returning for the Spartans:
Goaltenders: SO Drew Palmisano, SR Bobby Jarosz
Forwards: JR Dustin Gazley, SO Daultan Leveille, SO Mike Merrifield (back after going back to juniors at semester break), SO Trevor Nill, SO Brett Perlini, JR Andrew Rowe (assistant captain), RS SR Nick Sucharski (co-captain), JR Joey Shean, SR Jay Sprague, JR Corey Tropp (assistant captain, reinstated in offseason)
Defensemen: SO Tim Buttery, SO Matt Crandell, SR Justin Johnston, JR Jeff Petry (co-captain), SO Brock Shelgren, JR A.J. Sturges

No longer sporting Sparty:
Goaltenders: Jeff Lerg (signed with New Jersey organization), Steve Mnich
Forwards: Tim Crowder, Adam Henderson, Kurt Kivisto, Matt Schepke, Jacob Schering, Dan Sturges, Ben Warda
Defensemen: Shaun Fulton, Brandon Gentile

New to the Spartans:
Goaltender: Kyle McMahon (sophomore, last played for Wichita Falls, NAHL, in ’07-08)
Forwards: Dean Chelios (Chicago, USHL), Chris Forfar (Lincoln, USHL), Zach Golembiewski (Indiana, USHL), Derek Grant (Langley, BCHL), Anthony Hayes (Green Bay, USHL), Kevin Walrod (Cowichan Valley, BCHL)
Defensemen: Matt Grassi (Salmon Arm, BCHL), Zach Josepher (Penticton, BCHL), Torey Krug (Indiana, USHL)

NHL draft picks: 6 (Leveille, Grant, Tropp, Nill, Petry, Sucharski)

Outlook: After having their worst season in recent memory last year, the Spartans hope it’s all uphill from here.

However, any success MSU has this year will be without goaltender Jeff Lerg, who graduated last spring.

“There will be life after Jeff Lerg,” Michigan State head coach Rick Comley said. “I think Drew Palmisano is probably the goalie people are going to refer to now and I think he is an outstanding goalie. We brought him in a year early to work with Jeff Lerg and I think he really benefited from that.”

Offense might come and go for the Spartans and Comley said he’s not sold on leaning on any one player or group to lead the forward units.

“Goal scoring was a major problem last year and I think it still will be a problem, but our talent is better,” noted Comley. “It is difficult to say who will lead us offensively, but the young guys will benefit from the ice time that they had last year.”

Co-captain Jeff Petry is a rock on defense and will be again this year.

MSU opens at home this weekend against Clarkson.

Michigan Wolverines Season Preview

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Head coach: Red Berenson (26th season)

Home arena: Yost Ice Arena (6,637)

Last season: 29-12-0 overall, 20-8-0 CCHA (T-2nd), lost in CCHA finals to Notre Dame, lost in NCAA regionals to Air Force

Returning for the Wolverines:
Goaltenders: JR Bryan Hogan, JR Shawn Hunwick
Forwards: JR Louie Caporusso, SR Anthony Ciraulo, SO Robbie Czarnik, SO Luke Glendening, JR Carl Hagelin, SR Brian Lebler, JR Matt Rust, JR Scooter Vaughan (played defense last year), JR Ben Winnett, SO David Wohlberg
Defensemen: SO Brandon Burlon, SR Eric Elmblad, SR Steve Kampfer, JR Chad Langlais, JR Tristin Llewellyn, SO Greg Pateryn, SR Chris Summers (captain)

No longer sporting the Maize & Blue:
Goaltender: Billy Sauer
Forwards: Danny Fardig, Tim Miller, Brandon Naurato, Aaron Palushaj (signed with St. Louis), Travis Turnbull (signed with Buffalo organization)
Defenseman: Mark Mitera (signed with Anaheim)

New to the Wolverines:
Goaltender: Patrick Summers (Lincoln-Milan HS)
Forwards: Chris Brown (U.S. NTDP), Kevin Lynch (U.S. NTDP), Jeff Rohrkemper (Sioux Falls, USHL), Lindsay Sparks (Oakville, OJHL), A.J. Treais (U.S. NTDP)
Defenseman: Lee Moffie (Waterloo, USHL)

NHL draft picks: 12 (Pateryn, Summers, Kampfer, Burlon, Brown, Lynch, Hagelin, Winnett, Rust, Wohlberg, Czarnik, Caporusso)

Outlook: Michigan cruised through the regular season in 2008-09, but lost their last two games of the season – the CCHA finals and their first game of the NCAA tournament.

The good thing is the Wolverines didn’t graduate a ton of firepower and lost just one underclassman in Aaron Palushaj, who signed with St. Louis.

Michigan head coach Red Berenson is banking on junior goalie Bryan Hogan and junior forward Louie Caporusso to give the Wolverines a chance to win each and every night.

“We brought Bryan Hogan here to be a No. 1 goalie,” Berenson said. “I think he had a lot of growth last year and gained a lot of confidence and experience. He got a feel for college hockey when he played in the CCHA playoffs and in the NCAA tournament.

“I think (Caporusso) has a knack for scoring. He just needs to focus on being a solid two-way player and take advantage of his offensive chances. He will do what it takes to have a great year this year.”

Michigan will also be in the national spotlight when it will play Wisconsin outdoors at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 6, 2010 in a game that is already sold-out and being hyped heavily.

“I think any time D-I can play an outdoor hockey game in a big stadium it is great for the game and certainly great for the participants,” Berenson said. “We were fortunate enough to play in the game at Spartan Stadium in 2001 and that was a tremendous experience and a tremendous success. I am looking forward to it, being an outdoor ice person. It’s what I grew up playing on.”

The Wolverines open the regular season this Friday in Anchorage, Ak., at the Kendall Hockey Classic, and then start their home schedule on Thurs. Oct. 22 against Niagara University from the last-year CHA.

Spartans top UWO in East Lansing

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Michigan State received goals from five different players in the team's 5-2 victory over Western Ontario Monday night.

Corey Tropp began the Spartan scoring with a shorthanded goal in the first period. Freshman forwards Derek Grant and Zach Golembiewski, and sophomore forwards Daultan Leveille and Trevor Nill also found the back of the net for the Spartans.

Leveille added an assist to finish as the only MSU skater with more than one point.

Drew Palmisano and Bobby Jarosz split time in net with Palmisano making 13 saves and Jarosz with seven.

The Spartans host Clarkson this weekend.

Western Michigan Broncos Preview

By Karl Henkel/Western Michigan Beat Writer

WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS

Head coach: Jim Culhane (11th season)

Home arena: Lawson Ice Arena (4,000)

Last season: 14-20-7 overall, 9-13-6-2 CCHA (7th), lost to Michigan in CCHA quarterfinals

Back for more: J.J. Crew, P.J. Kavaya, Kyle O’Kane, Derek Roehl, Ian Slater, Greg Squires, Max Campbell, Matthew Federico, Adam Flink, Jerry Kuhn, Mike Levendusky, Patrick Nagorsen, Travis Paeth, Ryan Watson, Chris Clackson, Jordan Collins, Riley Gill, Jared Katz, Tyler Ludwig, Cam Watson

So long, farewell: Chris Frank (signed with AHL’s San Antonio Rampage), Patrick Galivan (signed with Chicago Wolves of AHL, assigned to ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators), Dave Krisky, Steve Silver, Sean Weaver, Kevin Connauton (drafted by Vancouver Canucks, left for WHL)

Welcome to campus: Ross Henry (D), Ben Miller (RW), Matt Tennyson (D), Brett Beebe (RW), Luke Witkowski (D) and Trevor Elias (LW)

NHL draft picks: 3 (Witkowski, Campbell, R. Watson)

Notable Quotable: “They (the sophomores) had the baptism last season about the competitiveness of our league and I was really pleased the way in which Greg Squires, J.J. Crew and Kyle O’Kane finished the season. They also spent the summer here and worked extremely hard with our strength and conditioning coach so we look for the numbers of each of those three to be improved upon from last season.” – Head coach Jim Culhane

Michigan tops Windsor in exhibition

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan finished up its exhibition season with a 6-2 win over the University of Windsor Sunday night at Yost Ice Arena.

Carl Hagelin (pictured) scored two power-play goals to help the Wolverines pull away after being down, 2-1, 7:25 into the second period.

"Carl has shown that he is able to play," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "We're definitely seeing some really good things from him. Carl felt that he played really well last year, but he wasn't capitalizing on his chances. Now you can see that the puck is going in for him. It's good that he is gaining some confidence and he had a great weekend."

Louie Caporusso also tallied a pair to go along with singles from A.J. Treais and Chad Langlais.

Bryan Hogan started in net and made five saves before being replaced by Shawn Hunwick, who played the final 40 minutes and stopped nine shots for the win.

David Wohlberg tacked on two assists for the Wolverines.

Michigan will open its regular season with the Kendall Auto Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska, next weekend. The Wolverines will face off against the Alaska Nanooks on Friday at 5:07 p.m. ADT before playing Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday (Oct. 10) at 7:07 p.m. ADT.

Photo courtesy UM Photo Services

Wayne State opens with loss, tie

by Tom Balog / WSU Beat Writer

The Wayne State Warriors opened the season on the road in Troy, NY and were rewarded with a point against the Rensselaer Engineers.

Friday night the Warriors mounted a furious comeback, but fell just short by a final score of 3-2.

After a scoreless first period, the Engineers scored a pair of power-play goals and a shorthanded marker to skate out to a 3-0 lead.

Julie Hebert finally put WSU on the board with her first collegiate marker at 3:17 of the third. Fellow freshman Gina Buquet made it a one-goal game, scoring her first goal, shorthanded at 17:19.

The Warriors pulled the goalie for the final 39-seconds, but couldn’t manage to net the equalizer.

Lindsey Park started in the net for the Green and Gold and stopped 32 shots in the loss.

Sonja van der Bliek turned aside 23 for RPI.

Neither team managed to turn on the light on Saturday afternoon as WSU and RPI skated to a 0-0 draw.

Rensselaer outgunned Wayne State again, this time by a 37-21 shot margin.

Delayne Brian (pictured) was perfect in the WSU net and earned her second career shutout.

Sonja van der Bliek stopped every shot for RPI for her tenth career shutout.

Wayne State is off next weekend and then will kick off their home schedule on Oct. 16-17 at the City Sports Center against Boston University.

Photo courtesy of Wayne State Athletics.

Lakers roll in exhibition rout

by Tom Balog / LSSU Beat Writer

It was a text book start for the Lake Superior State Lakers as they crushed Nipissing, 7-1, in exhibition play on Friday night in the Sault.

Lake Superior never trailed, led at one point 5-0, and outshot Nipissing by a wide 52-22 margin.

Simon Gysbers led LSSU with a pair of goals and an assist. Dillin Stonehouse, Steven Kaunisto, Rick Schofield, Nick McParland, and Zac MacVoy also scored for the Lakers.

Brian Mahoney-Wilson started and stopped all 15 shots he faced in two periods for LSSU. Pat Inglis played the final twenty minutes and turned away 6 of 7 shots.

LSSU finished the evening 2-4 on the power-play and were perfect in seven shorthanded situations.

The Lakers' hit the ice for the first time on Oct. 9 at Minnesota-Duluth and then on Oct. 11, they will skate into Houghton to battle Michigan Tech during their third appearance in the Superior Cup.

Bulldogs lack bite in scrimmage

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

As the old adage goes, expect the unexpected.

That’s what Ferris State failed to recognize in their exhibition, as they came out on the losing end of a 3-1 margin against Wilfrid Laurer.

Having lost the previous night to Bowling Green, the Golden Hawks went after the Bulldogs with a vengeance. Less than four minutes into the game, Wilfrid Laurer’s Chad Kennedy blasted the puck from just inside the blue-line to beat senior goaltender Jordan Barber. The Golden Hawks struck again later in the period, when Jean-Michel Rizk scored from the right faceoff circle.

Junior Pat Nagle relieved Barber of his duties in the following stanza, but was still unable to halt the Wilfrid Laurer offense. With 8:38 elapsed, Ryan Bellows beat Nagle’s glove thanks to a nifty set-up by Jeff Burrows and ex-Wayne State skater Jordan Bonneville.

Three minutes later, Ferris State broke their scoring drought when defenseman Zach Redmond set-up a one-timer to fellow blue-liner Chad Billins.

Barber had a team-high nine saves, followed by Nagle’s eight. Sophomore Taylor Nelson saw playing time in the third period, where he made six stops.

The Bulldogs begin their season this Friday when they travel to Canisius for a two-game series, with puck-drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Michigan Tech wins season warm-up

by Andy Bourdeau/Michigan Tech Beat Writer

Michigan Tech opened the season with an exhibition win over Ryerson, 3-1, Saturday night.

The Huskies came out strong, scoring one goal on the first two shifts, getting the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena excited for the home team. Ryerson settled down and played even with MTU the rest of the way.

It was senior captain Malcolm Gwilliam getting the first goal for the Huskies, 19 seconds into the game. The freshman line of Evan Witt, Aaron Pietila and Milos Gordic scored the second goal 28 seconds later when Pietila scored.

Ryerson made a game of it when they scored in the second. MTU goalie Josh Robinson made the initial save, but could not save the rebound. It stayed 2-1 until the third, when Witt was able to knock home a rebound off the stick of Pietila.

The contest was one where special teams were tested. MTU was unable to score, but had good puck movement throughout the chances. Tech was also able to kill all the power-play chances from Ryerson.

Robinson ended the game making 27 of 28 saves.

Michigan Tech head coach Jamie Russell had high praise for Robinson after the game.

" I thought Robinson was terrific," Russell said. "He had a great game for us. I think that bodes well for us in our future."

The Huskies open season play this Friday when they host Northern Michigan as part of the Superior Showcase.

Wolverines double U.S. Under-18 Team

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

In a battle of crosstown teams, Michigan defeated the United States National Under-18 Team tonight, 4-2, at Yost Ice Arena in an exhibition game.

Wolverines defenseman Brandon Burlon scored 13 seconds into the game and Michigan never trailed.

Carl Hagelin added two goals for UM and AJ Treais, an NTDP alum, tallied the other to back Bryan Hogan's 26-save performance. Ben Winnett added two assists.

"I got a good look at our freshman," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "For the most part, I thought for the first game for Michigan against the development team, it was a good experience. They got some good ice time. I liked A.J. Treais , I liked [Kevin] Lynch, and I thought [Chris] Brown came on strong as the game went on. [Lindsay] Sparks didn't get as much power-play or special-teams time, but he can skate and play at this level. [Lee] Moffie fit right in on defense."

Jack Campbell made 35 saves in goal, while Jon Merrill and Adam Clendening each scored for Team USA.

"Well, it was what we expected," added Berenson. "They're a good team. They're all going to be Division I players next year. Their defense is as good as any Division I defense right now, so I thought they played a good game. They were in the game all night. We had to kill too many penalties. We put our chances in, but it was a closer game than the score might have shown."

The Under-18 Team's roster includes five players that have verbally committed to Michigan including Campbell, defensemen Kevin Clare and Merrill, and forwards Luke Moffatt and Jacob Fallon. Michigan's roster includes eight NTDP alumni including senior captain Chris Summers (2004-06), junior Matt Rust (2005-07), sophomores Robbie Czarnik (2006-08) and David Wohlberg (2006-08), and freshmen Brown (2007-09), Lynch (2007-09), Treais (2007-09) and Patrick Summers (2009).

Michigan will conclude its exhibition play tomorrow evening against the University of Windsor at 5:05 p.m.

Wayne State Warriors Preview

By Tom Balog/Wayne State Beat Writer

WAYNE STATE WARRIORS

Head coach: Jim Fetter (sixth season, 100-84-18)

Home arena: City Sports Center (500)

Last season: 21-9-2 overall, 11-5-0 CHA (2nd), lost in CHA final to Mercyhurst

Returning for the Warriors:
Goaltenders: Delayne Brian, Lindsey Park, Brittany Zeches
Forwards: Micheline Frappier, Katrina Protopapas, Veronique Laramee-Paquette, Alyssa Baldin, Adrianna Pfeffer
Defensemen: Chelsea Burnett, Christine Jefferson, Marlee Fisher, Jill Szandzik, Ciara Lee

No longer wearing the Green and Gold:
Forwards: Melissa Boal, Lindsay DiPietro, Sam Poyton, Emily Berzins, Brandi Frakie, Amanda Hungle, Becky Sonn , Janet Babchishin
Defensemen: Natalie Payne, Tina Vanderhoeven, Bailey Lane

New to the Warriors:
Forwards: Gina Buquet, Lauren Ragan, Julie Hebert, Julie Ingratta, Jaclyn Stapleton, Lauren Coxon
Defensemen: Lauren Lovold, Jenaya Townsend

Outlook: Wayne State will use more balanced scoring and rely on their blueline experience as their skate into their tenth season of play.

The offensive fireworks that Warrior fans have come to expect will be absent this season with the graduation of Melissa Boal, Lindsay DiPietro, and Sam Poyton. The powerhouse line contributed 600 points over the last four seasons.

"I think offensively our numbers might go down compared to the past, but I'm hoping with our defense and goaltenders returning that we'll do a better job in our zone and not need to score as many goals to win games and be competitive," said Fetter. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 scores this year. Hopefully, we'll be on the winning side of those games."

Veronique Laramee-Paquette will wear the 'A' this season and leads 13 returning players after totaling 10 goals and 20 points in her freshman season.

The Warriors will be solid on defense with senior captain Christine Jefferson and fellow fourth-year player and all-time leading defensive scorer Chelsea Burnett.

Delayne Brian led the Warriors between the pipes last season 15 wins. Lindsey Park played in 12 games and paced the CHA with a .921 save percentage and placed second with a school-record 2.10 goals-against average.

Wayne State will begin the '09-10 season with a pair of non-conference games at Rensselaer beginning on Fri, Oct. 2. The first home series at the City Sports Center will face off on Fri, Oct 16 against Boston University.

The Warriors will begin the battle for the CHA crown with a pair of home tilts starting on Fri, Nov. 6 in Detroit against archrival and reigning conference champ Mercyhurst.

Michigan Tech Huskies Preview

By Andy Bourdeau/Michigan Tech Beat Writer

MICHIGAN TECH HUSKIES

Head coach: Jamie Russell (seventh season)

Home arena: MacInnes Student Ice Arena (4,200)

Last season: 6-25-7 overall, 2-19-7 WCHA (10th), lost in WCHA first round to North Dakota

Returning for the Huskies:
Goaltenders: Josh Robinson, Corson Cramer
Forwards: Malcolm Gwilliam (C), Jordan Baker (A), Brett Olson (A), Drew Dobson, Eric Kattelus, Bennett Royer, Ryan Bunger, Seth Soley, Alex MacLeod, Bryce Reddick, Mikael Lickteig and Peter Rohn
Defensemen: Deron Cousens, Ricky Doriott, John Kivisto, Eli Vlaisavljevich, Mike VanWagner

No longer sporting the Husky sweater:
Goaltender: Rob Nolan
Forwards: Alex Gagne, Derek Kitti, Ryan Angelow, Alex Lord and Justin St. Louis
Defensemen: Geoff Kinrade and John Schwarz

New to the Huskies:
Goaltender: Kevin Genoe
Forwards: Aaron Pietila, Anthony Schooley, Milos Gordic, Evan Witt
Defensemen: Steven Seigo, Tommy Brown and Carl Nielsen

NHL draft picks: 0

Outlook: Michigan Tech comes off a season plagued with injuries and looks to get back to climbing the WCHA ladder. They return their leading four scorers and are counting on them to continue this season and bring this team out of the WCHA basement.

When asked what fans can expect this year, Russell said, "More offense with more creativity and shots. We need players to bring excitement, energy and responsibility to combine with a real physical edge. We must improve our special teams play."

The real question mark for this year's Huskies is if they improve their scoring and special teams. If they can, look for a good year out of this year's squad.