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St. Cloud State University
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Sports
Husky struggles still building blocks
By Bobby Hart
Published:
Thursday, March 25, 2004
It's that time of the year again for college hockey fans.
With the NCAA tournament regionals sparking up this weekend, traditions will be running high. The seas of blue (Michigan fans) and red (Wisconsin fans) will flood their local bars to quench their thirst for hockey, and of course beer. Then there's the traditional Gopher fans, who could very well be awaiting their opportunity to celebrate their third straight NCAA title with a touch of unique Minnesota flavor: raising chaos in the streets of Minneapolis.
However, for the first time in a long time, SCSU hockey fans won't know what to do with themselves. This, of course, being because the Huskies' bid for their fifth consecutive tournament invitation was hexed after enduring two straight sweeps to their I-94 rival Gophers, while hitting a couple low points on their long fall down.
They hit their worst seven-game season-ending losing streak since they turned Division I in 1987. The Huskies also finished with only 14 goals in their last eight games to cap off their weakest offensive season in Division I history that included only 113 goals, an average of three goals a game, and a .095 shooting percentage.
The negatives are hard to miss. In fact they're a Husky bashers dream, which is evident in numerous local chat rooms. Fingers are pointing every which way and the scapegoats couldn't be more plentiful. But before Husky fans begin to think the apocalypse is just around the corner, stop and take a breath for a second. I know the Huskies' cinderella 8-0-1 apparently gave a lot of people amnesia. The bottom line is: in a rebuilding season where they were picked to finish eighth in the WCHA, the Huskies actually overachieved by finishing sixth. That may not buy a cup of coffee for the same Minnesota fans that were raised watching underachieving Vikings and Timberwolves teams, but that's not exactly a bad thing. This means people have begun to expect a lot out of a program that has developed a history of being successful - a fact that's argued, but shouldn't be.
The arguments are raised with the history of Husky teams starting strongly and finishing slowly, but the positive undertone is that people expect a relatively young program (considering the history of annual powerhouses such as Minnesota, Michigan and Boston) to make it to the postseason tournament, as well as they should. The Huskies are the only team aside from Maine and Michigan to have made it to the NCAA's the previous four strait years.
Don't worry, they should be there again next season.
I say this after noticing many overlooked positives to this season that have been overshadowed by their late season struggles. Although the squad's heart (namely captains Matt Hendricks and Ryan LaMere) wouldn't let them think for a minute that it was a rebuilding season, they did a lot of building indeed.
First off, Hendricks and LaMere helped substitute a much needed work ethic, on an off the ice, for many hidden chemistry complications the team faced last season. Head coach Craig Dahl said it was his most enjoyable team to coach for a reason. Although it may not show on their final record, you can bet a team that only retires four seniors next season, won't lose a ton chemistry-wise.
Talent-wise, next year's Huskies have bright spots as well. On the offensive end, the Huskies will lose Hendricks (25 points) and Andy Lundbohm (13 points), but will be returning the vast majority of offensive players, many of which made some pretty big leaps this season. The biggest of all leaps were taken by Junior Dave Iannazzo, who went from scoring five points last season to leading the Huskies with 27 this year, and sophomore Billy Hengen who jumped from only two to 24. Sophomore forward Brock Hooton went from seven to 16 points in a year. Junior Garrett Larson led the team with a .225 goal percentage and jumped from two to 13 points on the Huskies' fourth line this season. Mike Doyle also had a solid year, (19 points) although it was skewed by a shoulder injury that cost him 10 games.
The Huskies have help on the way with their projected incoming freshman class. Former Minnesota Mr. Hockey and USHL All-Star Nate Dey (33 points), his high school and junior teammate Sean Garrity (24 points), Sioux City's (USHL) top gunner Matt Hartman (45 points) and Des Moines' (USHL) second top scorer Marty Mjelleli (52 points) should all help the Huskies add an offensive punch next season.
The Huskies' defense will lose seniors Colin Peters and LaMere, who were their two most solid defenders. Although SCSU will lose LaMere's defense leading 14 points, freshman Justin Fletcher (13 points) and Tim Conboy (10 points) should continue to help the Husky blueliners find the back of the net. Incoming freshman Aaron Brocklehurst from the BCHL (40 points) and redshirt Michigan Tech transfer Josh Singer should be the Huskies' key additions.
In goal, the Huskies may or may not return all of their goaltenders depending on starting netminder, and recent graduate Adam Coole's decision to stay for his final year of eligibility. Coole jumpstarted the Huskies to their three biggest wins of the year over No. 1 University of North Dakota and a sweep over his former University of Duluth squad in late November. Coole and the Huskies' fates appeared to be tied when SCSU dropped the next three games when their starting goalie sustained a groin injury. However, the Huskies' hopes don't end at the return of their starting goalie next season, but also a return to a familiar postseason form.
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