(With apologies to the unbelievable Elliotte Friedman, we present a new format on the blog. 8 thoughts on the happenings around the NCHC on a regular basis. Good thing there are only eight teams, as counting is a math thing and math is hard.)
Ah, normalcy.
As 2022-23 gets set to kick off with NCHC Media Day Thursday in St. Paul, we’re back with a look at the upcoming season. Before we get there, let’s look back (gulp) at a tough season for your humble(d) correspondent when it comes to the ol’ prognostications.
PREDICTED
1. St. Cloud State
2. UMD
3. Western Michigan
4. North Dakota
5. Omaha
6. [REDACTED] OK it was Denver
7. Miami
8. Colorado College
ACTUAL
1 (tie). Denver
1 (tie). North Dakota
3. Western Michigan
4. St. Cloud State
5. UMD
6. Omaha
7. Colorado College
8. Miami
On the bright side, I pegged a Western team that people struggled to figure out, and I had St. Cloud State one spot ahead of UMD. The rest of it? We’re going to burn the proverbial tape.
And, like an idiot, I’m back to do it again. The definition of insanity …
Normally, we will count up from 1 to 8 for this column. To stick with the normal tradition for the bad predictions, we will count from 8 to 1 just this once.
8. Omaha Mavericks
First off, it’s worth noting that I’m often wrong. But I can’t shake the idea that we’re about to see a weird thing happen this season. The “bottom” of the league is rising. The competition is only going to increase, and there are a lot of question marks on a lot of teams, even the ones at the tippy top.
So why Omaha? I’m glad you asked. And if you’re one of the very cool Mav fans who’ve found my Twitter account over the years, I hope you’re still reading and haven’t thrown your phone into I-80 rush hour traffic. Or into the tiger den at the Henry Doorly Zoo.
This came down to a few things. I’m concerned about Omaha’s scoring, especially at five on five. It’s something that disappears for long stretches and does so far too often. And then you throw in the Mavericks’ complete lack of experience in goal (Omaha returns Jacob Zab, who has never played in a game there, and brings in two freshmen to replace pro signing Isaiah Saville and transfer Austin Roden) and a blue line with lots of fresh faces, and it feels like this could be a difficult year. Toss in a meh non-conference schedule that leads to a three-week run of North Dakota, UMD, and Denver to start conference play in November, and the Mavericks better have a lot of questions answered quickly.
What’s there to like? They’re still big and heavy up front. Tyler Weiss came back, which was great news for the offense. Notre Dame transfer Jake Pivonka gives them some additional experience up front. Jonny Tychonick returns for a fifth year on the blue line. If the depth develops and some kids make a quick impact, this team has a very good chance to prove me (yet again) wrong.
Key player: Weiss was a late register for fall semester, but his presence on what’s always a good Omaha power play should give the Mavericks a chance to outscore some teams while they figure out the back end.
7. Miami RedHawks
With leading assist man and point producer, not to mention captain, Derek Daschke in Duluth now (more on him in a bit), there are legitimate Miami questions here.
Like, where will the offense come from?
The RedHawks, however, have one of the NCHC’s better returning goalies in junior Ludvig Persson, who was under siege most of last season and still kept his team in a bunch of games (Miami scored zero or one goal in 13 of its 27 losses).
Miami needs to take a step defensively, providing the goaltender with a little more help than he’s accustomed to getting. But some run support would go a long way. If the offense is to improve, it’s likely on the backs of guys like Red Savage and Matthew Barbolini. This team showed an ability to score last season, but it often came in bunches and Miami was prone to some crazy dry spells. Rectify that even a little bit, and this will be a much improved team.
Key player: Captain Jack Clement leads a blue line that has to be more consistent in order to help Persson out a little bit. With the talent Miami has developing up front, the RedHawks can learn how to win if they can stop falling behind so often.
6. Colorado College Tigers
The Tigers opened (allegedly, as we’ve yet to see it in person) beautiful Ed Robson Arena last season to rave reviews, and the on-ice product showed signs of gradual improvement throughout the season. The Tigers played one-goal games at North Dakota in both ends of a first-round NCHC playoff series, losing a pair of 2-1 games.
Now comes the next step for second-year coach Kris Mayotte.
Much like Omaha and Miami, the Tigers need to find some offense. But in this case, there’s talent enough around to make one think it will happen. And as the players continue to buy in to Mayotte’s way of doing things, combined with some strong recruiting to the newest facility in college hockey’s best league, results will come. Just a matter of time.
Colorado College brings back captain Bryan Yoon for a fifth year on the blue line. CC has a lot of experience on defense, and highly-touted recruit Kaidan Mbereko could end up becoming the No. 1 goaltender after leading Team USA at this summer’s World Juniors.
It sounds like a broken record, but the Tigers will win more if Mbereko (or the experienced Matt Vernon) gives them some stability in goal and they can find offense.
Key player: Hunter McKown led the Tigers with 13 goals last season, and with expectations on the rise, his play will need to get even better for Colorado College to begin moving up the NCHC table.
5. Western Michigan Broncos
Western got very, very close to its first Frozen Four in March, but couldn’t solve the Minnesota back end as the Gophers won the Worcester Regional. From there, the professional ranks picked away at the Broncos roster like I carefully pick away at a pregame meal so as to not spill on my tie.
45-point man Drew Worrad? Gone. 26-goal scorer Ethen Frank? Gone. Minutes-munching, uber-talented defenseman Ronnie Attard? Gone. Power play quarterback Michael Joyaux? Gone. Brandon Bussi, who started all 39 games in goal last season? Gone.
You get the point.
Pat Ferschweiler’s second season at the helm at his alma mater is not going to look at all like his first did. But the cupboard is not bare. Fifth year forwards Jason Polin and Cole Gallant are back and will lead the way for WMU this season, joined by veteran defensemen Aidan Fulp and Cedric Fiedler. Gophers transfer Jack Perbix will help the forward depth, while ex-Wisconsin netminder Cameron Rowe gives Western some experience at a position where it had — literally — no one on the roster for a small portion of the offseason.
Key player: Max Sasson’s role grew as his game did during his freshman season. He will likely be tasked with top six minutes and more special teams responsibility as a sophomore. If his trajectory from last season is any indication, he’ll do just fine, thankyouverymuch.
4. St. Cloud State Huskies
A tremendous group of older players brought St. Cloud State back to the NCAA Tournament, but a stroke of awful luck for fifth-year goaltender David Hrenak played a role in the Huskies’ first-round demise. Hrenak contracted pneumonia, missing SCSU’s first round NCHC playoff loss to UMD, and wasn’t able to return in time for the NCAA opener against Quinnipiac. With Hrenak now moved on, Brett Larson brought in Colorado College transfer Dominic Basse to compete with returning backup Jaxon Castor and freshman James Gray for the job of backstopping a not-really younger Huskies team.
SCSU returns fifth year players in Brendan Bushy, Micah Miller, and three-year captain Spencer Meier, and the Huskies welcome grad transfers Aidan Spellacy (Robert Morris) and Grant Cruikshank (Colorado College/Minnesota) up front. A group of seven seniors includes mainstays like forwards Jami Krannila and Zach Okabe, defenseman Ondrej Trejbal, and Castor in net. So while Larson said goodbye to some big-time contributors, it’s not like he’s coaching a fresh-faced team full of youngsters this season.
St. Cloud needs to find a No. 1 goaltender, presumably hoping that it’s Basse, who struggled with consistency in Colorado. If that position is solved, the ceiling for this team moves up. Considerably.
Key player: As a sophomore, forward Veeti Miettinen actually put more pucks on net per game than he did in his breakout freshman season (3.0 shots per game in 2021-22 compared to 2.6 the prior year). His production was down a hair despite that. This guy is too good of a shooter, he’s going to adjust, and he’ll be in positions to score goals. Expect that to happen, and don’t be surprised if he matches his career total as a junior.
3. North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Brad Berry shepherded a group with 14 newcomers — a strong mix of freshmen and transfers — back to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Fighting Hawks were goal away from the round of eight, but Notre Dame got the money that day in Albany.
That UND team loses some stalwarts. Forwards Ashton Calder and Connor Ford are among those who moved on, as is goalie Zach Driscoll. Standout defenseman Jake Sanderson also departs after a season that could only have happened because he broke a mirror or something.
(Somehow, Sanderson played two years at UND and I did not once see him play in person. That might only be interesting to me, but I find it insane.)
There’s skill, with forwards Riese Gaber, Jake Schmaltz, Matteo Costantini, and Gavin Hain (who missed half of last season). UND also adds freshmen like Jackson Blake and Dylan James to the mix.
The Hawks return defensemen Tyler Kleven, Ethan Frisch, Chris Jandric, and Cooper Moore, among others. And Michigan State transfer Drew DeRidder has arrived to compete with sophomore Jakob Hellsten for time between the pipes.
Key player: Kleven was second on the team in power play goals (6), but also led UND with 93 penalty minutes. His ability to stay on the ice is going to be a continued key for North Dakota.
2. UMD Bulldogs
Scott Sandelin needs to only look across Highway 2 and see what his college teammate and roommate was able to do with 14 newcomers last season. Of course, Sandelin also could just take a stroll down memory lane.
UMD welcomed 10 freshmen in 2017-18, and after some early season speed-bumps, the Bulldogs squeaked into the NCAA Tournament (something something .0001) and won the whole thing.
For 2022-23, it’s 12 total newcomers, 10 freshmen. Among them, look the heck out for freshman forwards Isaac Howard (Tampa Bay first round pick) and Ben Steeves (counting the playoffs, 45 goals for Clark Cup champion Sioux City). There might be an adjustment period, but both are going to make an impact. And that’s no disrespect to Kyle Bettens, who fills a bit of a program void (power forward). Again, it might take some time, but he’s going to be someone to watch.
Miami transfer Derek Daschke highlights the new faces on the blue line. Expect him to play a lot of minutes and run one of UMD’s power play units.
In goal, Zach Stejskal is back healthy after battling testicular cancer last season. Freshman Zach Sandy joins the program, along with Maine transfer Matthew Thiessen.
Key player: Dominic James had a nice freshman season, and parlayed it into a spot on the U.S. World Junior Team. He has speed to burn, but look for a real uptick in production as he moves up the proverbial line chart and gets more five-on-five minutes.
1. Denver Pioneers
They aren’t just here because they’re the defending national champions, but it sure doesn’t hurt. Denver won a share of the Penrose Cup with UND, and after losing to UMD in the league semifinals, the Pioneers ran the table in the NCAAs to bring home a ninth national championship.
David Carle doesn’t bring everyone back. The Pioneers will be without — among others — forwards Bobby Brink, Cole Guttman, Carter Savoie, and Brett Stapley. But Denver does have a very talented blue line, led by power play star Mike Benning, along with Sean Behrens, Shai Buium, captain Justin Lee, and ninth-year senior (or so it feels) Kyle Mayhew.
Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo combined for 26 goals and 74 points in their freshman seasons, and now they’ll be asked to do more up front. And after playing very well down the stretch, Magnus Chrona returns to anchor the Pioneers defense in goal.
Make no mistake. Denver is loaded again, and this is their title for the taking.
Key player: Jack Devine had a nice freshman season. With the departures up front, expect him to have a chance to move up the line chart and increase his overall production as a result.
BONUS THOUGHT
The NCHC released its Preseason All-NCHC team Tuesday, voted on by the same media who vote in the preseason poll, which will be out Wednesday.
(There were 23 votes cast, for reference.)
F: Riese Gaber, Jr., North Dakota – 22 votes
F: Carter Mazur, So., Denver – 22 votes
F: Jami Krannila, Sr., St. Cloud State – 8 votes
D: Mike Benning, Jr., Denver – 18 votes
D: Sean Behrens, So., Denver – 8 votes
G: Magnus Chrona, Sr., Denver – 21 votes
Here’s how I voted:
Forwards
Blake Biondi, UMD
Jami Krannila, St. Cloud State
Carter Mazur, Denver
Defensemen
Mike Benning, Denver
Wyatt Kaiser, UMD
Goalie
Magnus Chrona, Denver
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