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SCSU looks to beat MTU's Winter Carnival hype
Like any other weekend in the WCHA, this one's not going to be easy for the SCSU men's hockey team.
Yes, they are facing Michigan Tech, a last place team that has only won three league contests. But this isn't your average weekend in the upper-peninsula.
It's Winter Carnival week in Houghton, Mich. Every year this small town takes the fourth week of their winter quarter and turns it into a circus, highlighted by a two-game hockey series at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
The weekend usually brings the largest crowds of the season to the MacInnes and it is usually evident by the way MTU performs over the historic weekend. Since 1950, MTU has a record of 65-31-7 on Winter Carnival weekend.
However, they have only one win in their past six games during the event � reason enough to take a little sweat off of SCSU head coach Craig Dahl's forehead, but not too much.
"We have a lot of concerns going into this weekend," he said. "It's Winter Carnival weekend so the fans will be into it no matter what, and they are a very physical team and we are playing on the small rink (200 x 85). It's going to be a tough series. There is no question about that."
The last time the two teams met, SCSU won the battle of Huskies 7-2 and 7-3, but that was back in October. Much has changed on both benches in that time. For example, when the two teams met last, SCSU captain Jon Cullen was out of the lineup with a knee injury. He returned eight games later, but reinjured the knee Jan. 12 against Minnesota-Duluth. He hasn't played since but is returning to the lineup this weekend.
"(His return) is huge," said SCSU defensemen Jeff Finger, who has points in each of the teams last eight games. "He's our captain and our leader. His work ethic is an example for our whole team and it doesn't hurt that he's a great player either."
"I'm excited," said Cullen, who will return to his spot centering Joe Motzko and Ryan Malone on the Huskies second line. "You miss playing. It's going to be kind of tough. You lose a little bit of wind and your leg strength, but it will come back quick."
The return of the hardworking Cullen should bolster the Huskies' power play unit. They were stuck in an 0-20 rut with the extra man before exploding for four power play goals in last Saturday's win over Alabama-Huntsville, lifting the unit back atop the nation at 30.7 percent.
"The biggest thing on the power play is that for us to be successful we have to work hard," said Finger. "You've got one extra man so obviously you want to work hard and make tape-to-tape passes to get it done."
Last weekend marked the last non-conference series of the season for the Huskies. They finish up the year with four straight WCHA series. Colorado College's sweep of Denver last weekend kept the Pioneers within striking distance of SCSU. DU has a slim two-point lead on the Huskies in race for the McNaughton Cup and the two teams still have to face each other in two weeks in Denver. But, the players know they can't look ahead too much.
"This is the stretch run and whoever wants this thing the most is going to get it," said Cullen. "Everybody has a tough eight-game stretch and from here on out, games are going to have that playoff-type intensity to them. We can't look ahead too far though, every game is big now, this is what it's all about."
Nick Clark can be reached at: [email protected]
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