Western Collegiate Hockey Association
About this time last year, a glance at the 2004-05 University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey roster would've revealed upperclassmen as far as the eye could see. Indeed, a school-record 11 seniors suited up for the Bulldogs one year ago enroute to the team's somewhat disappointing sixth-place finish in the nation's toughest conference, and a 15-17-6 overall record.
A great deal can change in a year. Or, in the words of Duluth-born crooner Bob Dylan, "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
That is to say that of the 26 players who comprise the 2005-06 Bulldogs, only 11 have ever seen ice time in a UMD sweater. As the Bulldogs get set to enage in their 62nd year of intercollegiate hockey one thing is for certain: youth will be served.
Up front: Graduation has stripped UMD of two of its top three guns from a year ago - two-time All-WCHA center Evan Schwabe and gritty left winger Marco Peluso. That senior tandem combined for a whopping 32% of the team's goals last season and nearly half of its scoring production on the power-play. The third member of that trio, Tim Stapleton, returns for his final collegiate go around. During his three years in a Bulldog uniform, the 5-8, 165-pound sparkplug has been a model of consistency. Last winter, he came within an eyelash of becoming just the second Bulldog ever (NCAA Div. 1 era) to launch his career with three successive 40-point seasons. Stapleton, who will serve as an alternate team captain this winter, wound up with a career-high 19 goals (which tied him with Peluso and Schwabe for the team lead) and 19 assists to finish second on the 2004-05 Bulldog scoring charts.
UMD retains the services of one other senior forward in right wing Justin Williams, who certainly has the tools to be a much more regular and generous contributor to the Bulldog scoring coffers than he showed in 2004-05 (when he managed five goals and 10 assists after a 27-point season the previous winter). Junior wing Bryan McGregor, another player with plenty of big-time hockey promise, is ripe for a breakout season following a frustrating and injury-riddled sophomore year in which he
collected just 10 points (three goals and seven assists) in 24 outings.
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Rounding out the list of holdovers from a year ago is sophomore center Matt McKnight, sophomore left wing Mike Curry and junior center Tim McFarland. McKnight appeared to beheaded on a collision course with rookie-year stardom until going down with a shoulder injury in late November. Despite being shelved for nearly a fifth of the season, the reigning UMD Freshman of the Year topped all Bulldog newcomers in scoring with six goals and 13 assists in 30 outings for the fifth-best overall points per game average (0.63) of any WCHA rookie. Like McKnight, Curry, a 2003 National Hockey League draft pick (Los Angeles Kings), also battled the injury bug last season yet showed, at times (particularly early on), that he could be a force to be reckoned with. He wound up appearing in 22 games and had three goals - all of which were registered in the opening two weekends of the year - and six assists for nine points. McFarland, a proven NCAA Div. 1 commodity, will be looking to take on additional playing responsibilities this season after being limited to 23 games in 2004-05. Used at all three forward positions last season, he had a hand in three goals (all assists).
On defense: Some major restocking will obviously be in order here as just two regulars from UMD's 2004-05 defensemen ensemble, senior Steve Czech and sophomore Travis Gawryletz, are back. Czech, who will sport the captain's `C' on his familiar No. 4 jersey this winter, has been a full-time fixture on the Bulldog blueline for the past three seasons. One year ago, he matched personal highs for goals (three), assists (seven) and points (10) while finishing second among Bulldog defensemen in scoring. For his career, the 2003-04 WCHA All-Academic Team pick is an impressive +45 in the plus/minus department. Gawryletz appeared in more games (35 of a possible 38) than any other UMD freshman in 2004-05 and that extensive seasoning will be a major asset. He became more of a physical presence as the year wore on and was subsequently named the co-recipient of UMD's Most Improved Player Award after collecting four goals and one assist and registering the fourth-highest shooting percentage (.138) on the club. Senior Ryan Swanson, who was relegated to a reserve role last season (four outings), is expected to make a spirited bid to secure one of the four re maining everyday spots.
In the goal: With such an inexperienced blueline corps, quality goaltending will be a must in 2005-06. The Bulldogs believe their puckstopping duties are in good hands thanks to the return of the 1-2 punch of senior Isaac Reichmuth and junior Josh Johnson along with the addition of sophomore transfer Nate Ziegelmann. Reichmuth's arrival on the UMD campus back in 2002 and the Bulldogs' subsequent rise to college hockey prominence is no mere coincidence.
The two-time All-WCHA honoree comes into his farewell season possessing the best career goals-against average (2.76) and saves percentage figure (.904) in team history. The owner of a 50-32-11 lifetime record, Reichmuth has proven himself as a netminder who can come up with the goods when it matters the most (he wasn't chosen the MVP at the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional for nothing). Johnson, his trusty relief man, has also put up some fairly commendable numbers during his two years of patrolling the Bulldog goal mouth. Last winter in his 17 appearances he went 6-5-2 with a 2.98 GAA and a .900 SV%. Ziegelmann, who practiced with the Bulldogs during the entire 2004-05 season after transferring last fall from the University of North Dakota, could also figure prominently in the goaltending plans as could fellow sophomore Dan Carlson, UMD's No. 3 netminder last year.
Special Teams: With most of the cast members gone from a year ago, UMD specialty teams should have a completely new look in 2005-06. Center Tim Stapleton is projected to once again be a major minutes muncher on the power-play and penalty-kill units, but other than that, the competition for playing assignments is wide open.
New Faces: Quantity AND quality. Who says you can't have both? UMD's 2005-06 hockey recruiting class - some 12 individuals strong - holds the distinction of being the largest in the program's 62-year history. And, at least according to one national publication, it may also rank as the school's best. Homegrown products Matt Niskanen (Virginia-Mountain Iron-Buhl HS) and Michael Gergen (Shattuck-St. Mary's), plus Mason Raymond (Camrose of the AJHL), possibly the best Tier II player in Canada this past season, arrive at UMD plus winger Nick Kemp (Sioux City/USHL).
Niskanen was taken in the 1st round by Dallas, Gergen went in the 2nd round to Pittsburgh, Raymond was a 2nd round choice of Vancouver and defenseman Josh Meyers went in the 7th round to Los Angeles. Another UMD recruit, forward Matt Greer, of the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers, was drafted by Columbus (8th round) one year earlier.
The group of incoming rookies for 2005-06 also includes forwards Andrew Carroll, who paced the USHL in regular season goals last season while skating with Sioux Falls, and MacGregor Sharp (Camrose) as well as defensemen Jay Cascalenda (Indiana/USHL), Adam Davis (Sioux City and Green Bay/USHL), Jason Garrison (Nanaimo of the BCHL) and Jim Jensen, a sophomore who played one year at Ferris State University before returning to the USHL and the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2004-05.
- by Bob Nygaard
