Things to Know About Miami

The Broncos play host to the Miami Redhawks in CCHA action this weekend in a Friday-Saturday series. This will be the first two of four meetings this season as cluster-mates with WMU making the return trip at the end of January. So, what do we know about Miami?

~ They are the #1 team in the nation in all the major polls and rankings, and with good reason. They are 8-1-3 overall, 3-0-1 against solid non-conference competition, they've already swept Michigan, and they split with a Michigan State team that has revealed themselves to be legitimate contenders.

~ That said, Miami tied Ferris State twice last weekend at home in what by Miami standards could be considered their only bad weekend all season so far.

~ The Redhawks are once again going with a goaltending tandem. Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp, both sophomores, have all of the ice time between the pipes. Reichard has shown himself to be the better of the two with 9 games played, a 7-0-2 record, a 1.61gaa, and a .931sv%.

~ Leading scoring comes from Andy Miele and Jarod Palmer, who have 13 and 12 points respectively. Palmer is the leading goal scorer and Miele is the leading play maker on the team. Secondary scoring comes from Carter Camper, Tommy Wingels, and Curtis McKenzie who all have 9 points on the season.

~ Miami is coached by Miami alum Enrico Blasi who has a 218-152-36 record in 11 seasons. Assistant Brent Brekke is a Western Michigan alum.

~ In the all-time series WMU holds a 50-48-8 edge over Miami. However Miami has won the last 4 meetings.

Dwyer Called Up

Pat Dwyer was called up by the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday and was in the lineup for last night's game with Toronto. This was his 14th career NHL game.

The Ankle Biter Top 15

It's that time of year again. Time to roll out the WAY TOO EARLY top 15 rankings. As a reminder, my rankings are computer generated, use the same algorithm as KRACH, adjust win/loss records to remove home ice advantage, and adjust records to compensate for how insular scheduling practices are.

Without any fanfare I bring you this week's Ankle Biter Top 15.

1 - Miami
2 - Quinnipiac
3 - Michigan State
4 - Bemidji State
5 - North Dakota
6 - Colorado College
7 - UMass-Lowell
8 - UMass
9 - Denver
10 - Alaska-Fairbanks
11 - Wisconsin
12 - Providence
13 - Boston College
14 - Vermont
15 - Minnesota-Dulith
...
25 - WMU

Dropped Out: n/a
New This Week: n/a

Things to Note:

~ As I said at the top, it's way too early. In other words, these ranking are very volatile and just a single game could change numerous teams' rankings drastically. Some teams may be ranked higher or lower then you might subjectively expect, but how they've played against their schedule speaks for itself.

~ Quinnipiac and Bemidji State have the two best records in all of D1 college hockey right now. Unranked Cornell has the third best record. The highest ranked team with a .500 or worse record is Vermont.

~ Had I rolled this out a week ago WMU would have been in the top 10.

~ The math for these rankings doesn't work out very well until every team has at least 1 win and 1 loss. Noting that these rankings require ties to be split into half wins and half losses, Dartmouth has no wins and Brown only has a half win.

~ Big games this week, in terms of these rankings: North Dakota at Denver for two games, and Quinnipiac at Cornell for a single game.

More Updates

Here are some more of the happenings while I was away.

NHL Central Scouting:

The NHL Central Scouting Service released their preliminary rankings lists. In the NCAA list you'll find Bronco Matt Tennyson listed as a 'C' player. This is significant because most quality NHL prospects are drafted or forgotten about before they even get to college (unless of course they too young for the draft before college starts). However, this can also be viewed as insignificant because very few 'C' players, defined as players to watch for the late rounds of the draft, actually end up drafted.

Still, a nice recognition for Tennyson. Best of luck to him this season and in the 2010 NHL draft.

Recruit Updates:

I won't repeat what I posted yesterday about the new recruits, but here is how the rest of the recruiting class is doing.

2010 returnee Lucas Isley currently has a 13-8-21 line in 17 games this season. He is out of the line-up with an undisclosed injury right now and no timetable has been offered for his return.

Jordan Gidaro, after posting a 1-1-2 line in 10 games with Alexandria of the NAHL, has returned closer to home to play with Orangeville in the west division of the CCHL. In 5 games there he has a 2-1-3 line.

Defenseman Dennis Brown has a 2-7-9 line in 15 games with Omaha (USHL) and a +15 rating.

Goaltender Nick Pisellini continues to be the go-to goalie for Chicago (USHL) with a 7-4-0 record, a 3.28gaa, and a .889sv% for the season. While Chicago is one of the better teams in the league right now they are also among the worst in terms of goals against.

One thing I forgot to mention about new recruit Dan Dekeyser yesterday is that he is currently on the 45-day injured reserve list.

Back to Business

I'm back after a long week off. Time to get back to writing about hockey and catching up on all that I missed in the past week.

LSSU:

This was a mostly good weekend and I am satisfied with a win and a tie between the two games. I say mostly because there was one significantly bad portion of the weekend, and that was the way the Broncos allowed the Lakers back into game one after a big first period lead. When you play on a team with the recent history of the Broncos I would think coasting through the last two periods of a game, no matter the size of the lead, is a bad idea.

The best thing I saw on the weekend was that Culhane made some changes to the top scoring lines. It was successful in getting off of the one-line-team kick WMU had been on lately. All 5 goals on the weekend were scored in different ways with different combinations of players.

tOSU:

This weekend was a bit of a mixed bag. Yes they did lose 4-2 both nights, but they were also both hard fought and close games most of the way. I guess the question here is, is this the start of typical Culhane hockey for this season or is this an improved team on the cusp of putting it all together? Time will tell, but we'll need to be patient with #1 Miami coming to town this weekend.

CCHA's Next Member:

Alabama-Huntsville was denied entrance to the CCHA this summer, albeit for shady reasoning, and now the CCHA is stuck with 11 members after this season. That is, unless something changes. And we're dealing with more then just rumors here.

First off, this summer Wisconsin flirted with the idea of jumping to the CCHA. That idea now seems to be dead. Second, Mercyhurst is investigating to possibility of applying. Hmmmmmmm... And third, UAH is sure to reapply for the CCHA this spring after having ample time to address the imaginary concerns to the league membership.

So what happens next? My personal take is that the CCHA eventually accepts Alabama-Huntsville. Why? First, they are the only school currently without a conference and that makes adding them a simple fix. Second, they make as much geographical sense as Nebraska-Omaha did. Third, because whoever doesn't get admitted will likely end up with Atlantic Hockey we have to take into account the fact that Mercyhurst is already there and a good fit while UAH would be a terrible fit and be forced to reduce their number of scholarships to join AHA. And fourth, Mercyhurst would need to make major facility upgrades while UAH already has a facility that would be among the best in the CCHA.

PK:

Would you believe that WMU currently has the 9th best penalty kill in the nation? It's hard to believe isn't it? Even more amazing is that this ranking is actually down from the last few weeks when they were as high as 3rd. Of 53 time shorthanded the Broncos have only given up 6 goals all season. Not too bad for a club that had one of the nation's worst penalty kills last season.

The Show:

In the week I was gone two former Broncos got called up to the NHL... Mark Letestu and Paul Szczechura.

For Letestu this is his second call up this season but his first playing time. Unlike last time when he was just a healthy scratch, this time Letestu has played in a pair of games with just over 10 minutes of ice time average. Unfortunately Letestu will have be patient again as he was sent back to the minors today.

Szczechura is a seasoned veteran compared to Letestu with 31 games on the Lightning roster last season and a call up last Wednesday that has seen him get 3 games in so far this season.

Recruiting News:

The Broncos added a pair of recruits in the last week. Dan Dekeyser is a defenseman from Algonac, Michigan currently playing with Sioux City (USHL) and Ben Warda, a forward, will be transferring from Michigan State and will be a sophomore next fall.

Dekeyser stands 6'2" and weighs in at 170 pounds. He has played in 7 games so far netting a 1-3-4 line and a -4 rating. He spent last season in the BCHL with Trail and scored a 8-17-25 line in 59 games.



Warda is a native of Lake Orion, MI and stands 5'8" and 160 pounds. In his freshman season at MSU he scored a 1-4-5 line in 33 games. Previous he played a couple seasons with St. Louis (NAHL) posting a 31-43-74 line in 54 games his second year. He decided to transfer at the start of this season after finding himself on the fifth line, i.e. a line of healthy scratches, despite playing almost all of last season.

Going Away Again

I'll be gone for another week, just as long as my last absence. When I get back I'll take a look at this weekend's games (I'll be at tonight's game) as well as next weekend's tilts at struggling Ohio State. I'll also debut this season's Ankle Biter Top 15, my computer ranking system. And of course I'll also try to catch up with all the comings and goings of both WMU's recruits and hockey alums.

Things To Know About LSSU

~ The Lakers are a .500 team in several respects. They are 4-4-0 overall, 3-3-0 at home, and 1-1-0 on the road. Kind of makes it tempting to pick a split this weekend. The only area they aren't at .500 is CCHA record where they are just 1-3-0.

~ LSSU is playing decent offensively with a 3 gpp average, and have been very consistent at it too. In 8 games LSSU has scored exactly 3 goals all but twice.

~ Defense, however, isn't so good with a 3.25 gaa average and giving up 11 goals last weekend at home to Michigan.

~ They don't take a whole lot of penalties. The Lakers average just 9.8 penalty minutes per game so far this season.

~ Scoring is by committee on this squad with 5 players tied for fourth on the team in scoring and 10 players at a half point per game clip or better. Of those 10, only 2 are from classes other then junior or senior. And keep you eye on Chad Nehring as 4 of his 5 goals this season are on the power play.

~ Head coach Jim Roque is in his 5th season as head coach at LSSU with a 61-77-25 record.

Witkowski Feature

I normally don't highlight stories from the Kalamazoo Gazette on here. That's mostly because I figure anyone who cares enough about Bronco hockey to read my blog is already reading the Gazette sports section either in print or online. This time I'll make an exception.

Luke Witkowski Not Just Biding His Time With WMU Hockey

The reason is to reiterate a quality I was made aware of when Luke Witkowski was first recruited to WMU a couple years ago. He WANTED to come to WMU, even before the recruitment process officially began. See this excerpt from Pam Shebest's article...

When he was 9 years old, defenseman Luke Witkowski visited Western Michigan University, watched a hockey game, went into the locker room and decided then he wanted to play hockey for the Broncos.

This a tremendous gift to have for a program that has struggled so much over the years. Of course, some "big time" programs are full of players that dreamed of playing there since age 9, but that isn't very common among schools that aren't perennial title contenders. Frankly, this is the #1 reason I think Witkowski will be a tremendous success at WMU.

Rumor Didn't Come True

The rumor that Mark Letestu may be called back up to the Penguins for their west coast road trip didn't come true. This is because Tyler Kennedy, with an undisclosed injury, returned to the line-up last night for their 4-3 win over the Ducks. That said, it appears that Letestu is only one injured player away from his first NHL game, and not just a seat in the press box like last weekend.

A Big Catch-Up

I'm back from my week away. Unfortunately I have another long week away coming up next week too so there will be another big gap in blog posts around here.

UAH:

~ I don't care what anyone thinks of the level of competition. The Broncos getting a weekend sweep on the road, against anyone, is a real accomplishment. That the Broncos did it with a pair of defensive games is something to talk about.

And Then Reality Hits:

~ After starting the season 4-0-0, and getting votes in the national polls (I'll have some of that Kool-Aid too please), WMU comes back to earth with a pair of losses at the hands of the surprisingly good MSU Spartans.

~ First up the Broncos play another solid defensive game, shutting down Corey Tropp in the process, and come within a split second (and video review) of tying things up at the end of regulation. With time winding down, and Riley Gill pulled for a sixth skater, Max Campbell put the puck in the net as time expired and the ref ruled it a goal. However, after video review, the goal was overturned and MSU skated away with a 2-1 win. Those who watched the game from home, including a majority of MSU fans on the message boards, have since claimed that the video review was blown and the goal should have in fact counted. I was out of town, I didn't see it, that's just what I've been told.

~ The next night at home, in front of a horridly small crowd (2,613) as compared to a typical crowd for a MSU game, the Broncos don't fair much better. In fact the defense falls to pieces and the offense is too little too late all night long. Just like the night before the Broncos pull Gill for the extra skater, but instead of a goal (or no-goal) WMU gives up the empty-netter with just 6 seconds left.

A One-Line Team:

I was critical after the Mercyhurst wins of WMU being a one-line team, and apparently opposing coaches figured that out too. Since those wins the first line of Max Campbell, Greg Squires, and J.J. Crew has been completely shut down and unheard from. That has limited WMU to just 2 goals per game since... mostly from one line. While Trevor Elias and Jared Katz have played very well, you are not going to win a lot of games with just one scoring line. Jim Culhane is going to have to find a way to get more then one scoring line per game because 2 goals per game just won't cut it in the CCHA.

Letestu Gets a Cup of Coffee:

~ It happened sooner then I thought it would, but former Bronco Mark Letestu is getting his first cup of coffee in the NHL. Unfortunately he isn't getting much more then that as two games in he has been a healthy scratch both nights. In fact he has already been sent back to the AHL.

~ Rumor is that Letestu could be the 13th forward for the Pens during their California road trip which begins Tuesday. We'll see if that rumor becomes reality or not.

Recruits:

~ Defenseman Dennis Brown (Omaha, USHL) has started to put up some points for the Lancers. He now has 2 goals, 5 assists, for 7 points in 9 games and leads the team in scoring among defensemen. Those totals include a 2 goal, 2 assist effort against Waterloo recently.

~ Goalie Nick Pisellini continues to get the majority of time between the pipes for Chicago. He now holds a 6-2-0 record.

~ Jordan Gidaro has only played a 2 games while I was away. And he still is not scoring for Alexandria.

~ Lucas Isley, not technically a recruit, continues to score at a solid pace for Bonnyville in the AJHL. He now holds a 13-8-21 line in 17 games this season.

Gone For a Week

I'll be out of town for the next week and unable to post during that time. I'll be back on October 30.

Interesting Stats

Don't expect this to last, but with just two games played J.J. Crew leads the nation in points per game (3) and is second in the nation in goals per game (2). Greg Squires leads the nation in assists per game (2.5). I wouldn't put any stock into these stats so early in the season as Jim Culhane is also tied for the national lead in winning percentage this season, but I did at least think it was interesting to note.

Things to know about Alabama-Huntsville

They were scorned by the CCHA this summer in their attempt to gain admission to the conference. Now they play their second CCHA opponent of the season in just this third week.

~ UAH is 3-1-0 on the season having split with Notre Dame and sweeping Air Force. All four games were on the road.

~ The Chargers have been out-shot in every game this season, including a 51-14 margin in a 3-1 loss to Notre Dame.

~ UAH is 1-7-0 against the Broncos all-time, but this will be WMU's first ever trip to face the Chargers in their own barn.

~ Statistically this team looks very balanced. They have 5 players with multiple goals, 6 players with multiple assists, and 15 players have points in just 4 games played. In net they are led by full-time starter Cameron Talbot with a 2.25gaa and .947sv%.

~ The Chargers are coached by 1989 alum of Michigan State Danton Cole. Cole was an offensive star at MSU before a 10 year professional career that saw him float between the minors and the NHL. Cole's coaching resume includes head coaching stops in minor league hockey as well as a season as an assistant at Bowling Green.

~ Last season the Chargers went 5-20-5 on the season with only a pair of non-conference wins.

Luke Witkowski Dummies Sebastion Geoffrion

This video is from the Clark Cup finals last spring in the USHL. This is apparently Witkowski's response to some taunting from Geoffrion. Pay special attention to the very first 5 seconds of the video.



This is of significance because Geoffrion now plays for Alabama-Huntsville... the Broncos' next opponent.

[Props]

Crew Honored

I doubt my vote had anything to do with it, but J.J. Crew has been named CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.

The WMU press release with some quotes from Crew.