On the wordmark for St. Cloud State University is the phrase "a tradition of excellence and opportunity." These words are intended to highlight the outstanding academic offerings provided by St. Cloud State, but the words tradition, excellence and opportunity have also been hallmarks of the Husky men's hockey program during 13 seasons as a Div. I affiliate.

On the subject of tradition, SCSU has gained a reputation for success in recent years. The Huskies have advanced to the WCHA Final Five seven times, including five straight appearances. In the last four seasons, SCSU has won 20-or-more games three times and has averaged almost 18 wins per season under head coach Craig Dahl.

In 1999-2000, the Huskies continued the tradition with a 23-14-3 overall record and a 16-9-3 third place record in the WCHA. They advanced to the Final Five last season, which included a 6-4 third place win over Minnesota. The icing on the cake was a trip to the NCAA East Regional and a number 12 ranking in the final national poll.

The excellence of the Husky program was evident in many areas last season. At the NCAA level, the Huskies ranked seventh in scoring offense at 3.90 goals per game and ninth in scoring defense with 2.58 goals allowed per game. In the WCHA, they were first in penalty-kill at 87.1%, third in scoring offense (3.75 gpg), second in scoring defense (2.35 gpg) and fourth on the power-play at 18.2%.

To complete the package, the Huskies' opportunity for success in 2000-01 is abundant. SCSU will return nine of its top 10 scorers from last year, all three of its goalkeepers and several key defensive players. These pluses coupled with a stellar group of first-year players will position the Huskies as one of the teams to watch in the WCHA this season.

Senior Leaders

The Huskies return a strong group of six seniors that Dahl believes will be the heart of the team. Those players include forwards Brandon Sampair (captain), Peter Torsson, and Keith Anderson (AC), defensemen Ritchie Larson (AC) and Brian Gaffaney, and goalkeeper Scott Meyer.

"They are a good group of seniors," Dahl said. "They all have great character and know what it will take to be successful. We will need their leadership because the WCHA really is a junior-senior league. In most cases, when your seniors have great seasons that usually means your team will have a good season."

Dahl's seniors have been key players throughout their careers at SCSU. Sampair ranked fourth on the team last year with 42 points (18g, 24a) and also hit an NCAA game-high with five assists vs Minnesota on March 18. In his career, Sampair has 79 points (37g, 42a). Torsson missed much of last year with an injury, but this Swedish player still produced 1-6=7 in 20 games played. Anderson is another key player, who had 12-7=19 as a junior.

On defense, Gaffaney's size and veteran skill will make him a leader at the blue line. Larson will be another defensive leader and last year scored four goals and eight assists.

An All-WCHA selection, Meyer is fresh from a record-setting junior campaign. He posted a league-record six shutouts (seven overall) last year and was tops in the WCHA with a .933 SV% (eighth in the nation). His 2.03 GAA was second best in the WCHA and he was also selected to play on the WCHA All-Star Team for Norway Tour 2000 this past summer.

Offensive Power

To help his seniors chalk up an impressive final season, Dahl will be able to draw power from a strong offensive charge. The Huskies return nine of their top 10 scorers from last year, including three of the WCHA's top scoring freshmen in Ryan Malone, Joe Motzko and Jon Cullen.

Junior Tyler Arnason could be in for a banner campaign. In 1999-00, Arnason was named to the All-WCHA squad and also joined Scott Meyer on the WCHA All-Star Team in Norway last August. He hit a team-high 49 points (19g, 30a) as a sophomore and already has 80 career points. He ranked eighth in the WCHA in scoring.

SCSU's strong junior class will be fortified by the return of Nate DiCasmirro (19-24=43), who ranked 11th in WCHA scoring, and Mark Hartigan (22-20=42), who was ninth. Another top junior up front is Lee Brooks, who had 8-7=15 last year.

Sophomore Ryan Malone (9-21=30) ranked fifth in the league among freshman scorers while fellow sophs Joe Motzko (9-15=24) was seventh and Jon Cullen (5-11=16) 10th.

Second-year players who will add depth on offense include Chris Purslow (7-4=11) and Mike Walsh.

Newcomers Matt Hendricks, Brian Schuster and Andy Lundbohm are all expected to make an impact on the SCSU offense during their college careers.

"This winter, we will have four players returning with 40 or more points," Dahl said. "So we should be in pretty good shape up front. We will also add Matt Hendricks, who has the potential to be one of the top freshman forwards in the WCHA."

Defensive Concerns

Concerns would certainly be centered around the defense. The loss of leaders Geno Parrish, Bryce Macken and Tom Lund to graduation last spring will take a toll. In addition, All-American sophomore Mike Pudlick signed last spring with the Los Angeles Kings (fourth player in four years to sign with an NHL team).

The Huskies will center their defense around Gaffaney and junior Duvie Westcott, who had 19 points last year. New faces will make up the remainder of the defensive unit.

First-year skaters Jeff Finger, Colin Peters, Jim McNamara, redshirt Ryan LaMere and Joel Peterson are expected to play critical roles.

Goaltending

In the nets, Meyer will be a third of what could be the WCHA's premiere goaltending unit. Junior Dean Weasler (37 games played last two years) and sophomore Jake Moreland will battle for playing time and should provide depth, talent and experience.

Conference titles and national championships are the goal of any team, but Dahl points to three objectives for the upcoming season.

"First, we want to be consistent every night. Second, the goaltending has to be excellent. Third, the players have to accept and do their roles. We need our scorers to score, checkers to check and defensive players to protect the net."

By Tom Nelson, SCSU Hockey SID

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