Skipping School: Early Contracts Injur Small-Market Teams

Every college hockey coach wants professional-level players. The flip-side to that desire, however, is that those NHL-caliber players tend to make the jump from college to professional before their senior season plays out.

Nowhere is this more noticeable than the smaller-market colleges/universities. In a market where it is a challenge every year to recruit, the players that have what it takes to make it to the top is hard to come by. And when those players do finally don the jersey of a smaller hockey school, it is hard to convince many of them to play out all four years.

It's an impact felt much more at schools such as Northeastern, Vermont, or Lake Superior State than it is at schools such as Minnesota, Michigan, or Wisconsin. While the classic line for the major schools has been "they don't re-build--they re-load," every player lost from minor schools leaves a hole to be filled...especially when the player is a step-above their teammates.

Lake State scores! Screenshot taken from YouTube link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gUnw8tPRQI 

Northeastern will have a hole to fill this fall with the leaving of senior forward Steve Quailer. According to USCHO.com, Quailer acquired 63 points over three seasons with Northeastern. He has signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Vermont Catamounts have lost Zemgus Girgensons before he ever put on the Catamount jersey. Girgensons will sign a contract with the Buffalo Sabers as a first-round draft pick. Vermont will try to build without their stellar recruit.

Lake Superior State University lost two key players this summer. Senior Zach Trotman has signed a contract with the Boston Bruins, and will forgo his final year for the Lakers. Trotman was a solid anchor on defense for  the Lakers. In addition, LSSU lost junior forward Kyle Jean, who has signed with the New York Rangers. Jean was a force to be reckoned with at 6'4" and 212 lbs. According to lssulakers.com, Jean acquired 38 points in his two seasons at Lake State, including 24 points this past season.

These, and similar schools, do not have the option to simply re-load. They re-build. As legendary USA coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) said in the movie "Miracle":

"It's not about finding the best players. It's about finding the right ones."

--JoshE

Making the "Naughty List": CCHA and ECAC Give Suspensions

It looks like Santa will be making some notations in his little booklet.
And they aren't on the good side of his list.

I can see him writing now.

 "Alaska...tsk tsk...Notre Dame...my, oh my...Lake State...shameful...Yale...sigh."


All four of these teams received player game-suspensions within the past week, with the exception of Yale, who received a reprimand from the ECAC to their head coach.

The University of Alaska saw junior forward Adam Henderson penalized for "contact to the head roughing" against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Saturday night.  He received a five minute major and a game misconduct, and will not be allowed to participate in the Nanooks Friday night game against Bowling Green State.
Alaska lost the game 4-3.

The Fighting Irish have lost center Riley Sheahan for their upcoming game vs. Michigan. Sheahan, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, delivered what uscho.com called an "illegal hit" in Notre Dame's 3-2 loss to the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday night. That loss gave Western Michigan a weekend sweep of the Irish.

Lake Superior State felt the absence of forward Andrew Perrault last Friday night, in their 2-1 loss to the Miami Redhawks. Perrault, the 6' 2" sophomore from Saskatchewan, was suspended by the CCHA for the delivery of a hit against the University of Michigan on January 7th (LSSU and Michigan tied 2-2, with the Lakers winning the shootout 2-1). Perrault returned to the lineup last Saturday in the Lakers' 4-3 win over Miami.

The Yale Bulldogs received a reprimand this past week directed at their head coach Keith Allain. The East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) handed down the reprimand after Allain's heated post-game comments after a 5-4 overtime loss against the Clarkson Golden Knights. Allain threw harsh comments towards the officiating crew, landing himself on the conference's radar.

Suspensions are not anomalies, yet neither are they an everyday occurrence. But when suspensions or reprimands are given with bulk shipping, it makes both players and coaches stop and think a bit more before saying what's on their mind or delivering a questionable hit. Neither of which should be part of this game.

Out of Luck: Notre Dame's Irish Shocked with Winless Streak

The Leprechaun was enjoying himself.

Notre Dame took an eleven-game undefeated streak from October 21 thru November 25th, the longest active streak in the nation. During that period, the Irish outscored their opponents 34-21, with goaltender Mike Johnson allowing more than two goals/game only once (Johnson had a .5 GAA during that span). Despite some close games, Notre Dame seemed destined to win, even rising to the #2 team in the country.

But finally, Lake Superior State found the magic they needed, ending Notre Dame's streak with a 5-2 victory in Sault, Michigan. And while LSSU celebrated their victory, the Irish boarded the bus back to South Bend to await their weekend against a no-name Northeastern University squad, in preparation for the "real" test against #11 Ferris State.

Perhaps that's only speculation. But it helps explain the next four games.

Because ever since then, the Irish have struggled. They showed up at Compton Ice Arena with a chip on their shoulder from the loss at Lake Superior. But as fans across the country looked up at the jumbo-trons in their respective arenas on Friday night, they blinked twice and rubbed their eyes as the final score from South Bend flashed up on the screen. 9-2 Northeastern.

Same story the next night. Just a little closer. Not that it mattered.
Northeastern wins, 2-1.

It wasn't exactly the prep weekend the Irish were hoping for. The practice weekend for Notre Dame turned into them surrendering their first sweep of the season. Just in time for a Ferris State team the came out blitzing the Irish, shutting down an offense led by Anders Lee and TJ Tynan. The Bulldogs took the first game 4-1.

The winless streak was something quite unforeseen just two weeks ago for Coach Jackson's Irish. Notre Dame is not supposed to lose four straight games, at least in the eyes of Irish Nation.
But that Saturday, Notre Dame rebounded. The Irish came out Saturday night and split the series with Ferris State with a reflection of Friday's game: 4-1, this time for Notre Dame.

With that win, the Irish hope to be propelled into their three games over Christmas break with as much momentum as they can. It won't be an easy break either; games for Notre Dame include Boston University, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and an exhibition against the Russian Red Stars.

The losing streak may be over, but Notre Dame's work to regain momentum is not. Fortunately, they are still listed near the top of the nation (currently #6), and are coming off a solid road win against Ferris State. A tough Christmas break will tell the country a lot about the future of this team's season.

The Leprechaun is on his knees now. But he's getting back up.