Minnesota State started with an inauspicious 0-6 mark at the beginning of the 2005-06 campaign, but including five consecutive wins over ranked teams to close out the regular season, went 17-12-4 the rest of the way enroute to a 17-18-4 mark.
The Mavericks posted back-to-back sweeps over #14 St. Cloud State and eventual national champion Wisconsin and downed 10th-ranked North Dakota in the first game of the WCHA playoffs, before falling twice to UND to end the year. Combine the strong finish and 17 wins (three more than the previous season's total and the 12 wins in conference play - four more than the Mavericks had the previous year) and MSU enters the upcoming year optimistically.
Looking towards 2006-07, and taking into account that the roster includes eight freshman and seven sophomores, there's no question that youth will be served when this season's edition of the Minnesota State men's hockey program hits the ice. Undoubtedly the line-up would look significantly different if a trio of players with eligibility remaining had spurned offers to turn professional, but with the departures of forwards David Backes (St. Louis Blues) and Ryan Carter (Anaheim Ducks) and defenseman Kyle Peto (KalPa/Finland), the Mavericks will be younger than expected this season.
"We will be an extremely young team this year," said head coach Troy Jutting, who is entering his seventh season at the MSU coaching reigns. "But at the same time, I'm excited about the freshman class. It's a unique situation in which we'll have a class of significant size grow together and that's something we haven't in a while. I believe their chance for success during the course of their four years for us is very good."
Amongst the program's returnees, Jutting will look to one of the top offensive players in the WCHA in senior forward Travis Morin to provide leadership and scoring. Morin, who tied Backes for MSU's 2005-06 points lead with 20-22-42, led the Mavericks with 20 goals, eight power-play goals and three game-winning goals. He totalled 13-12-25 in conference action to rank 16th in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in scoring last year.
The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native, who posted career-highs for goals, assists and points, tallied 6-9-15 in the last 13 games of the season. After accounting for 19-26-45 during the first 67 games of his career (0.67 points per game), the Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has amassed 22-27-49 in the last 46 games (1.07 ppg).
"Obviously in Travis we have one of the better offensive player in the league," said Jutting. "He's a proven scorer. He's increased every year and we can look for that to continue this season."
Besides Morin, six other forwards return. Junior Joel Hanson, who claimed career highs for assists and points last year, tallied 4-16-20. Senior Kurtis Kisio was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week once during 2005-06 and with 8-8-16 on the year claimed a career high in goals and tied his high for points in a season.
Sophomores Jon Kalinski (4-7-11), Mick Berge (2-7-9) and Kevin Huck (2-7-9) will be expected to carry more of a load in their second season with the program.
Newcomers up front include James Gaulrapp (Southern Minnesota/NAHL), Ryan Gunderson (Tri-City/USHL), Zach Harrison (Shattuck/Prep), Geoff Irwin (Burnaby/BCHL), Kael Mouillierat (Drayton Valley/AJHL), Jerad Stewart (Hastings/USHS), Matt Tyree (Bentley/Atlantic Hockey) and Jason Wiley (Southern Minnesota/NAHL).
"I think we'll be a faster team than we've had in the past, with our youthfulness a contributing factor," said Jutting. "I like the aggressiveness and speed of this group. How long it takes for the younger members to mature into WCHA-type of players ultimately will play a role in the kind of success we'll have."
One area in which the Mavericks can boast experience is along the blueline. Even with veteran Kyle Peto unexpectedly leaving, six letterwinners return. Totalling 335 career games amongst the group, the play of seniors Chad Brownlee (101 career games) and Lucas Fransen (65 career games), juniors R.J. Linder (58 career games) and Steve Wagner (75 career games) and sophomores Blake Friesen (6 career games) and Brian Kilburg (30 career games) could determine much of MSU's success in 2006-07.
Wagner had 5-11-16 on the year and established career single-season highs for goals, assists and points. Kilburg, who led the Mavericks in plus-minus with a +10, contributed 1-9-10 and was MSU's second-highest scoring newcomer.
The sextet will be joined by freshman Nick Canzanello (Rochester, MN), who garnered All-State status as a senior at Mayo High School.
"As inexperienced as we are up front, we've very experienced with our defensive crew," said Jutting. "It's a group that we'll need to find and offensive component in, but I like the group with the experience that they bring to the table."
While MSU absorbs losses to its forward and defensive corps, all three goaltenders return. Sophomore Dan Tormey enjoyed an outstanding maiden season, going 14-13-4 with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. His 14 wins are the most by a Minnesota State freshman goaltender since Brian Langlot went 15-7-2 in 1991-92. The Syracuse, N.Y., native was named to the 2005-06 WCHA All-Rookie Team and was a three-time WCHA Rookie of the Week during the course of the season. Sophomore Mike Zacharias, a one-time WCHA Rookie of the Week recipient in 2005-06, debuted by going 3-3-0 with a 3.63 GAA and a .893 save percentage.
Senior Chris Clark was 0-2-0 last year with a 3.99 GAA and a .864 GAA.
"I feel very confident and strong about our goaltending situation," said Jutting. "It's been while I've felt as comfortable as I do with this area. It's nice to have the returning freshman goalie of the league back in Dan Tormey. He's a motivated individual to begin with, but he's got a couple of good partners to work with in Mike and Chris.
"I can only see this as a positive and an area in which can continue to see improve."
2006-07 Women's Team Outlook
Taking a page out of the popular wedding sayings book, the 2006-07 Minnesota State women's hockey program could very well be "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue."
The Mavericks, who finished 2005-06 with an 11-21-4 mark and ranked seventh in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with an 8-17-3 record, recorded double-digit wins for the fourth time in the eight-year history of the program last year. This year's team features a line-up consisting of 10 freshmen (three of which redshirted last year), while striking a nice balance between the classes with 12 of the 24 players listed on the roster entering their junior and senior seasons - and that's where the "something old, something new" quote comes in.
Jeff Vizenor, who is entering his sixth year at the MSU women's hockey helm, likes what he sees with this year's squad. "I feel very good about where we are at," said the Rogers, Minn., native. "When I look back at where we have been and where we are going I am very pleased with the progress. In the WCHA it is always good to have veteran leadership and players. The league schedule is a grind and the upperclassmen know what it takes to compete for 14 weeks in league play."
While a two-win change from 2004-05 to 2005-06 won't necessarily rank as an extremely significant jump in improvement (nine wins in 2004-05, 11 in 2005-06), a quick check of the statistics shows that MSU scored 16 more goals last year compared to the previous year (70 last year, 54 the year before), while keeping its goals-against almost the same (102 last year, 101 the year before). Given the fact that the Mavericks return six of their top seven scorers, return four solid defensemen and a goaltender that logged more than 1200 minutes in conference played and ranked fourth in the league in save percentage.
Forwards
Led by sophomore Maggie Fisher, who led MSU in scoring with 16-7-23 and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team, a total of eight forwards return from last year's team.
Juniors Kristina Bunker (8-8-16), Amanda Stohr (6-9-15) and Noelle Needham (6-8-14), who ranked second, third and fifth in team scoring in 2005-06, are joined by senior Shera Vis (5-8-13) and sophomore Jodi Helminen (3-10-13). Sophomore Andrea Herold (3-3-6), junior Brittany Mackley (3-3-6) round out the frontline returnees.
Newcomers to this group include junior Lindsay Macy and redshirt freshmen Jenna Hewitt and Ashley Young. With 37 goals and 37 assists for 74 points in 66 games in her two years at Wisconsin, it's expected that Macy, a native of nearby Ellendale, Minn., will be able to pay immediate offensive dividends.
True freshmen making their collegiate debuts will be Kala Buganski (Anoka, Minn.), Jessica Knight (Alfred, Maine) and Christina Lee (Maple Plain, Minn.).
"We will be deeper than we have ever been at forward," opined Vizenor. "I feel like we have some very talented offensive players who can bury the puck. We also have a great group of gritty forwards that can play well in both ends. I am very excited about our forward group."
Defensemen
The Minnesota State blue line brigade boasts a group of four veterans who bring 356 career games to the table. Seniors Sammy Jo Miller (98 gp, 2-6-8), Megan Jedinak (93 gp, 2-6-8) and Richelle St. Croix (97 gp, 3-7-10), along with junior Andreanne Thibault (68 gp, 3-2-5).
Incoming freshmen include Ida Clark (Vallentuna, Sweden), Kathleen Rosso (Buffalo, Minn.) and Holly Snyder (Kenosha, Wis.).
"We have a good mix of older and younger players," said Vizenor. "We will look for some freshman to contribute right away and for our veterans to give us the steady hand that we need back at the point. It is a talented group who is very important to our success."
Goaltenders
Goaltending-wise, junior Brit Kehler, who played nearly 70 percent of MSU's total minutes last year, will enter the year as one of the most-seasoned netminders in the league. Having posted a .923 save percentage and 2.50 goals-against average as the Mavericks' number-one puck stopper last year, she'll also enter the season with the expectation that the Mavericks have one of the top goalies in the league, if not the nation.
Vizenor would concur and adds that she'll play a key role in the development of two rookies in this area in freshmen Jen Gorney (Mankato, Minn.) and Katerina Geertsen (Rock Rapids, Alta.).
"In the game of hockey goaltending is extremely important," said Vizenor. "Brit seems to be focused and ready to compete to be one of the best goalies in the country. When she is on her game it is very tough to get the puck by her. Brit will be looked upon to log significant minutes early as our younger goalies get their feet wet in the college game. Brit's maturity and wisdom will be passed on to our new comers. We look for this position to continue to be a strong point of Maverick Hockey.
