MiCHO Power Poll 11.25.09

This week's MiCHO Power Poll has a new No. 1 school as the Ferris State Bulldogs take over the top spot for the first time in the two-year history of this poll.

FSU swept Ohio State last weekend to vault the Michigan State Spartans, who tied and beat Notre Dame.

Michigan stays at No. 3 after splitting with Bowling Green, while the rest of the poll looks the same as last week's edition

1) Ferris State (swept Ohio State)
2) Michigan State (tied, lost to Notre Dame)
3) Michigan (split with Bowling Green)
4) Northern Michigan (swept Nebraska-Omaha)
5) Western Michigan (tied, lost to Miami)
6) Lake Superior State (split with Alaska
7) Michigan Tech (idle)

Each week, MichiganCollegeHockey.com staffers will compile the MiCHO Power Poll. The poll will comprise the seven Division I teams in the state of Michigan.

Algonac native gives nod to Broncos

USHL Press Release

The Sioux City Musketeers have announced that defenseman Dan Dekeyser has committed to Western Michigan University and will attend the school beginning in the fall of 2010.

The 19-year-old native of Algonac has appeared in seven games this season and recorded four points (1g, 3a). He posted a three-game point streak from October 9-16, which included the game-winning goal in the 4-2 win vs. Team USA on October 16th, the Musketeers first win of the season.

"Our organization is extremely happy for Dan and very pleased about the opportunity that Western Michigan has offered him," said Luke Strand, Musketeers head coach. "He has a good upside with unique offensive and defensive skill sets that he brings to the game."

Two other current USHL players are also committed to attend Western Michigan University - Chicago Steel goaltender Nick Pisellini and Omaha Lancers defenseman Dennis Brown.

Photo - USHL Images

Michigan signs five for '10-11 season

Michigan Press Release

The University of Michigan announced Monday that the team has received National Letters of Intent from two forwards and three defensemen for the 2010-11 campaign.

Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas) and Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) are forwards for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Two of the three defensemen also hail from the U.S. NTDP -- Kevin Clare (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.). Defenseman Mac Bennett (Narragansett, R.I.) plays for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Roughriders of the United States Hockey League.

Bennett (5-11, 168) has a goal and three assists in 10 games for the Roughriders. The rearguard missed a handful of Cedar Rapids games in early November while skating for Team USA at the 2009 World Junior 'A' Challenge. Bennett helped the Americans win the gold medal and was named to the tournament all-star team, posting one assist in five games. Bennett was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (79th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the 2008-09 season as an alternate captain at the Hotchkiss School (Conn.), where he had a 2-11-13 line in 15 games due to an injury-shortened season.

Clare (6-1, 202) is in his second season with the U.S. NTDP. A member of the Under-18 Team this year, he has two goals, one assist and 37 penalty minutes in 22 games. Clare accumulated six goals and 12 assists in 66 games with the U.S. Under-17 Team in 2008-09. He served as the team captain during the first half of the year.

Fallon (5-10, 184) has yet to play during the 2009-10 season, though he is a member of the U.S. NTDP. Last year with the U.S. Under-17 Team, he racked up 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points. Five of his goals and three of his assists came at the 2009 World Under-17 Challenge.

Merrill (6-3, 200) has four goals -- all on the power play -- and 10 assists with eight penalty minutes through 22 games with the U.S. NTDP Under-18 team. Merrill split time between the U.S. Under-17 and Under-18 Teams in 2008-09, contributing three goals and five assists over 43 games between the two squads. Ultimately, he helped Team USA win the gold medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Merrill was rated the No. 7 prospect among his USHL/U.S. NTDP peers by the NHL Central Scouting Service's preliminary rankings on Nov. 17.

Moffatt (6-0, 179) has scored three goals and added seven assists for 10 points in 22 games with the U.S. NTDP Under-18 Team this fall. He notched 21 goals and 20 assists over 67 games as a member of the U.S. Under-17 Team in 2008-09. Moffatt was rated No. 13 in the USHL/U.S. NTDP category by the NHL CSS preliminary rankings last week.

Additionally, Clare, Merrill and Moffatt contributed to Team USA's first-place showing at the 2009 Four Nations Cup in Finland in October.

Goaltender Jack Campbell, who had verbally committed to Michigan, instead withdrew his commitment, did not sign his NLI and will play in the Ontario Hockey League next season with Windsor.

The Wolverines will graduate five players from their 2009-10 roster: forwards Anthony Ciraulo, Brian Lebler and defensemen Eric Elmblad, Steve Kampfer and Chris Summers.

Photos courtesy USA Hockey

Czarnik bolts Wolverines for OHL

The Plymouth Whalers announced today the acquisition of 19-year-old center Robbie Czarnik from the Oshawa Generals in exchange for a 10th round pick and a conditional second round pick from Windsor in 2011.

Czarnik – from Washington – was originally selected by Oshawa in the sixth round of the 2006 Ontario Hockey League draft. Czarnik never played in Oshawa, opting instead to play for the National Team Developmental Program in Ann Arbor. In two seasons with the NTDP from 2006-08, Czarnik scored 32 goals with 27 assists for 59 points in 114 games.

Czarnik moved to the University of Michigan program in 2008 and played there through the start of this season. In all, Czarnik scored eight goals with 14 assists for 22 points in 51 games with the Wolverines. (Michigan statement HERE)

Czarnik was selected in the third round (63rd overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

“We are excited to add Robbie to our lineup,” said Whalers coach-GM Mike Vellucci. “His greatest asset is his speed and we look forward to developing him for the next level. What a great opportunity this is for Robbie to continue his education and play in the number one developmental league for the National Hockey League.”

Czarnik – who will wear number 27 - will join the Whalers for practice on Tuesday and is expected to make his Plymouth debut on Wednesday when the Whalers host the Windsor Spitfires at 7:05 p.m. at Compuware Arena.

Photo courtesy UM Photo Services

Lakers split with No. 10 Alaska

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Lake Superior State won its second straight game against a nationally-ranked team by beating 10th-ranked Alaska, 4-3, Friday night before losing in overtime Saturday night, 3-2.

In game one, Rick Schofield scored twice to go along with singles from Brad Cooper and Simon Gysbers.

Brian Mahoney-Wilson made 26 saves in the win.

The next night, Ben Power and Chad Nehring tallied and Mahoney-Wilson finished with 30 stops.

The Lakers (6-7-1 overall, 3-6-1-0 CCHA) travel to the RPI Tournament Thanksgiving weekend to play Union Friday night and RPI or Bentley Saturday night.

Broncos take No. 1 Miami to shootout

By Karl Henkel/Western Michigan Beat Writer

Hosting No. 1 Miami proved to be a daunting task for Western Michigan, which was defeated by the RedHawks before losing in a shootout over the weekend.

In the opener, Miami used a strong defensive performance to shut out the Broncos, 3-0.

The RedHawks scored two shorthanded goals and added a power-play tally.

WMU’s Jerry Kuhn had 21 stops in net, while Miami’s Cody Reichard made 15 for the shutout.

In the second game, Miami and Western Michigan played to a 1-1 tie before the RedHawks won the shootout, 2-1.

Derek Roehl scored his first goal of the season for the Broncos.

Riley Gill started in net for Western Michigan and stopped 42 shots. Connor Knapp turned aside 29 for the win.

Western Michigan (5-5-2, 1-5-2-1 CCHA) gets set to play at Nebraska-Omaha. Friday night’s game begins at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday’s contest starts at 7:05 p.m.

Wolverines rally for split with BGSU

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

The troubles continued for Michigan on Friday night, but the Wolverines rebounded for a weekend home-and-home split with Bowling Green Saturday night.

At home for the first game of the series, Michigan was ahead 2-1 in the third period, but allowed three goals in a span of 2:22 to Bowling Green in a 4-2 loss - UM's fifth straight.

Robbie Czarnik and Louie Caporusso scored in the loss and Bryan Hogan made 17 saves.

"We've got to stick together," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "We have to play smarter. There is no margin for error. You saw two mistakes by our defense in East Lansing cost us the game. We make a bad decision on the penalty kill and our penalty killers can't kill it. There is no margin for error right now."

The Wolverines headed down to Toledo Saturday night and came away with three goals in the first period on their way to a 4-1 win.

Carl Hagelin, Brian Lebler, A.J. Treais and Chris Brown scored to back Hogan's 11-save outing.

"You could hear the guys in the locker room after the game - we were all excited," Hagelin said. "But we know there's another week coming up against two great teams. We can't think too much about this game, but this is obviously great for our confidence to get going and have a good week of practice. We know that we can score four goals in a game and that's important."

Michigan (5-7-0, 3-5-0-0 CCHA) hosts Minnesota and Wisconsin this weekend at the annual College Hockey Showcase.

No. 6 MSU ties, falls to No. 14 Irish

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan State Beat Writer

Michigan State saw their eight-game unbeaten streak end Sunday in Fort Wayne as No. 14 Notre Dame topped the Spartans, 4-1.

The two teams had tied, 1-1, Thursday night in East Lansing before the Irish won the shootout in four rounds.

Yesterday, Daultan Leveille tallied the lone goal and Drew Palmisano stopped 12 shots.

Thursday night back home, Derek Grant tied the game at 1-all 6:26 into the third period and Palmisano finished with 25 saves.

Next up for the sixth-ranked Spartans (9-3-2, 6-2-2-0 CCHA) is the College Hockey Showcase this weekend. MSU hosts Wisconsin Friday night and Minnesota on Saturday night.

Wildcats sweep away Nebraska-Omaha

By Susannah Nichols/ Northern Michigan Beat Writer

Northern Michigan returned to Marquette with a bang last weekend. The team won two decisive games over University of Nebraska-Omaha for its first sweep of the season, winning 5-1 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday.

UNO notched a power-play goal early in Friday's game, and Northern controlled the game for the rest of the night. Justin Florek scored the first goal (with assists from Mark Olver and Phil Fox) to tie the game going into the first intermission.

The Wildcats started the second period on the power play, and Gregor Hanson and Erik Gustafsson set up Florek for his second goal of the night. Late in the period, Olver widened the lead to 3-1 with some help from TJ Miller.

Northern outshot UNO, 19-12, over the first two periods, but the Mavericks fought hard in the third period and outshot the Wildcats 12-11. But only the 'Cats could find the back of the net. Hanson scored at 10:20 of the third off a pass from Ray Kaunisto, and Kaunisto then helped set up Chad Pietila for his first collegiate goal to set the final score at 5-1.

Brian Stewart had 23 saves in Friday's game.

The Mavericks drew first blood again in Saturday's contest. They were up 2-0 at the end of the first period. Tyler Gron got the 'Cats on the board early in the second (Hanson and Andrew Cherniwchan assisted), and then Hanson knotted up the game at 14:03.

Olver put the 'Cats ahead on an unassisted shorthanded goal - the 'Cats' first of the season - late in the second.

The Mavericks tied the game in the third period, but Northern responded with two unanswered goals courtesy of Fox and Kaunisto. Olver banged in an empty-netter for the final score of 6-3.

The Wildcats were outshot 31-37 by the Mavericks, and Stewart finished with 34 saves.

The Wildcats improve to 5-5-2 and 4-3-1-0 in CCHA play. Northern heads back on the road this weekend as they'll play the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday and Saturday.

Bulldogs deliver TKO to Buckeyes

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

Scoring goals were the least of Ferris State’s worries over the weekend, as they notched two convincing victories over Ohio State.

Friday’s game looked like it was just out of a video game, with the Bulldogs jumping out to a 3-0 lead right out of the gates.

Senior Blair Riley (pictured) initiated the scoring surge with a short-handed marker at the 5:11 mark of the period. Along with defenseman Scott Wietecha, Riley helped up the lead shortly thereafter by assisting on a Cody Chupp power-play goal. Ferris State’s final score of the first came off a backhanded shot from the left faceoff circle by junior Mike Embach that snuck past Buckeyes’ goaltender Cal Heeter.

Ohio State would break their scoring drought just 54 seconds into the ensuing period on a marker from Zac Dalpe.

The Bulldogs however would remain unfazed, rattling off four more goals through the remainder of the period. Freshman Travis Ouellette queued-up the next scoring wave with a marker on the man-advantage that was set-up by juniors Zach Redmond and Wietecha.

After surrendering four goals on 13 shots, Heeter was sent to the bench in favor of back-up Dustin Carlson.

Riley scored the next two goals for Ferris State to notch his second career hat trick, followed by a lamp-lighter from freshman Matthew Kirzinger to close out the middle stanza.

Ahead by a 7-1 margin, Bulldogs’ head coach Bob Daniels saw no reason to keep netminder Taylor Nelson in the game, so he was replaced by senior Jordan Barber to begin the third.

With less than four minutes remaining, Ferris State sophomores Jordie Johnston and Brett Wysopal garnered assists on a goal by freshman Eric Alexander.

The combination of Nelson and Barber totaled 26 saves, the same amount as their counterparts.

Of the Bulldogs' eight goals, four came off the power-play.

Ferris State’s chances for a repeat performance looked bleak on Saturday, but they capitalized on some key opportunities late in the game to pull out a 6-5 win in overtime.

The Buckeyes came out with a vengeance, holding a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period, followed by a 4-2 affair after 40 minutes of play.

With Dalpe upping the score to 5-2 just minutes into the third, Ferris State rallied to score three goals over a 13 minute span to force overtime.

Chupp initiated the Bulldogs comeback with a power-play goal at 5:42, and tied the game while on the man-advantage with 51 seconds remaining.

Sandwiched between the two scores was a marker by Riley, his 12th of the campaign.

The contest looked to be headed to a shootout until senior winger Casey Haines notched the game-winning goal with 22 seconds left in overtime.

Once again, Ferris State’s power-play was in full swing, converting on four of six opportunities.

Junior Pat Nagle and Nelson combined for 21 stops, compared to Heeter’s 37.

The Bulldogs (9-3-2 overall, 4-2-2-2 CCHA) have the week off before returning on December 4-5, when they host Nebraska-Omaha.

Photo courtesy of Joe Gorby