Locker Talk

During critical match-ups throughout the season and during post season runs, many teams will print out articles from their rival teams newspapers and post them throughout the locker room. Generally the articles range from homer newspaper stories about how one team is better than the other, to "smack talk" quoted from some of the players, to even USCHO message board posts.

But here's a new one:
The NMU Wildcats will have a newspaper article looking them in the face for the whole season. Why? Thanks to a South Bend Tribune article that pre-ranks the CCHA teams for the 2007-2008 season.

Here is the story, reprinted for the NMU fans to read:

RedHawks may soar in CCHA action

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association preseason coaches and media polls will be released at the CCHA Media Day on Sept. 25. Tribune hockey writer Steve Wozniak offers a look at his ballot in the media poll, with a brief preview of each team.

1. Miami: All eight defensemen return from last year's team, while Hobey Baker finalist Nathan Davis returns with his linemate Ryan Jones to pace the offense. The RedHawks will get solid goaltending for the third straight year from the tandem of Jeff Zatkoff and Charlie Effinger.

2. Notre Dame: The offense will be even stronger, and could be one of the most prolific in the nation. The defense will still be solid. The only thing keeping them out of the top spot now is the big question mark in the crease. If Jordan Pearce or Brad Phillips can succeed, the Irish will hang another banner above their hockey rink.

3. Michigan State: Yes, they're defending national champs and they return their entire core. But the Spartans will be the Spartans, which means a lot of inconsistent play. They'll lose games they shouldn't, win games they shouldn't, and when the postseason begins, there's no telling what they'll do. Just like every season in East Lansing under Rick Comley.

4. Michigan: T.J. Hensick, Jack Johnson, Matt Hunwick and Andrew Cogliano are all gone. It's a rebuilding year in Ann Arbor for coach Red Berenson, which means about 20-25 wins and a spot on the NCAA tournament bubble.

5. Ohio State: The Buckeyes are the best of the second tier in the CCHA. In fact, the Buckeyes could be the entire second tier. Joseph Palmer showed hints of stardom in goal last year, and NHL first-round pick C.J. Severyn could develop into Ohio State's biggest star since R.J. Umberger.

6. Nebraska-Omaha: The Mavericks will live or die by the play of sophomore goalie Jeremie Dupont. They'll likely do an equal bit of both.

7. Western Michigan: The Broncos surprised last year, thanks to the play of freshman forward Mark Letestu and frosh goalie Riley Gill. Letestu bolted for the NHL, but Gill returns to anchor what should be a much improved defensive team.

8. Ferris State: The Bulldogs won't score much, but goalies Mitch O'Keefe and Derek MacIntyre won't let their opponents score much either.

9. Lake Superior: Head coach Jim Roque last year said that goalie Jeff Jakaitas was the sole reason for the Lakers' success. Jakaitas is gone, and Lake Superior will have to now depend on an impressive but inexperienced class of incoming freshmen.

10. Northern Michigan: It's a wonder how coach Walt Kyle holds onto his job, after showing almost no success in five seasons with a roster laden with NHL talent. Expect the Wildcats to have an early season exit, and for Kyle to be shopping his résumé around in the spring.

11. Alaska: The Nanooks lost 40 percent of their scoring in forwards Kyle Greentree and Curtis Fraser to graduation. Coach Tavis MacMillan resigned, only to end up coaching high school hockey in Minnesota. What could Alaska possibly have going in its favor? It's not Bowling Green.

12. Bowling Green: First Jonathan Matsumoto, the Falcons' playmaker last year, jumped ship to the NHL. Then highly touted recruit Josh Unice reneged on his commitment, with the goalie instead opting for Canadian juniors. All of which leaves coach Scott Paluch with nothing but 19-goal scorer Derek Whitmore to hang his hat, and his team's chances, on.

Comments Wildcat fans? I'll dive deeper into this article later this week with some stats and commentary.

Trip in the Wayback Machine

Thanks to YouTube and some NMU fans itching for some Wildcat Hockey during these dog days of August, the following footage has been unearthed from the Wayback Machine.


1991 Champions highlight video

ABC Sports Athletes of the Week

And something to get the fans excited for yet another season:
Go 'Cats Go!

Official: New Assistant Coach

Readers of Tech Still Sucks were alerted earlier this week that the hockey department had narrowed their selection to Rob Facca, a current volunteer assistant for the University of Nebraska Omaha hockey team. (See post below)

Readers of the Mining Journal saw that the news was made official by NMU yesterday, and Rob will be joining the staff of the 'Cats this August.

The one "wish list" item that was not fulfilled by this hiring was goaltending experience. This will not detract from the hiring in any way, as it has been a wish list item for many years. Rob was the best candidate available for the position, and his experience with the USHL will be a benefit for recruitment.

Rob is no stranger to NMU hockey; Former winger Ed Ward and Rob are good friends.

Assistant Coach Search Update

The list of candidates for the Assistant Coach position left by John Olver this spring has been narrowed. From the very short list there is one name that has become the leading candidate for this position: Rob Facca.

Who?

While seemingly unknown among the fans of college hockey, Rob has been involved with many college hockey staffs with his work for USHL, North American Jr hockey, and volunteer work for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His strength with the Wildcats will be in his recruiting ability, a trait that the two former assistant coaches have had.


In other news, Phil Axtell has indeed transfered to NMU from Michigan Tech and will be sitting out this season per NCAA rules. No word if "Living in Houghton for a year" is considered a hardship by the NCAA. (See NCAA Rules 14.2.4 (a.k.a. "The Andrew Contois Rule"))

Santorelli Flight Watch is Over

In news that comes as no surprise to anyone, Mike Santorelli has accepted an offer from the Nashville Predators and will forgo his senior season at NMU.

Mike joined his brother Mark in Nashville this past weekend to participate in the Predators prospect camp. Scrimmages between the two teams pitted Mike and Mark against each other, and from the limited coverage, Mark's scrimmage team was the better team.

A list of all attendees (no other NMU alums were invited) to the predators camp is available in PDF or Flash formats from the Predators' website.

And the summer continues...

With a full-time job, dial-up internet and little to no access to local or national college hockey media, I have not had much to say and have not been posting very regularly.

I did happen, however, to have an interesting phone conversation with NMU hockey coach Walt Kyle last week. Two points that Kyle quickly made were A) that NMU has never announced that ex-OSU goaltender Ian Keserich was going to be a Wildcat and B) that the 'Cats should, in fact, play next season with fewer players than the past year.

This disputes the claims that there was an impending 'logjam' of players at Northern (including what was initially thought to be four netminders) and that there would be fewer roster spots than heads.

Walt also warned against putting too much faith in blogs and message boards.

The coach also talked about the departure of Jacques Lamoureux, who will be attending the Air Force Academy next season. Kyle made it clear that he is personally happy for Jacques and that he wishes him the best, calling the departure a career move more than a hockey move.

While Kyle may be slightly miffed at losing one his younger players, Jaqcues was not an explosive talent. He stepped in during injuries and his role was not likely to change over the next two or three years.

To wrap up, Walt talked about the search for a new assistant coach, after previous NMU assistant John Olver went west. Recruiting ability and strong hockey ties are almost as important as coaching ability in the search, which is expected to wrap up soon. Kyle set the timetable for the new hiring as mid-June.

On a side note, I will be in Marquette putting together the summer issue of the NorthWind. Check it out for the full Walt Kyle interview.

Four NMU goaltenders? I don't think so.

With Kyle and I both stuck with dial-up lately, updates are a little tough to do but I'll try and battle with this ancient technology.

The NMU offseason continues to produce some story lines to keep everyone busy. The Cats recently received a verbal commitment from Cloquet High School goaltender Reid Ellingson for 2007. According to Western College Hockey, Ellingson was the top senior high school goalie in Minnesota last year.

This announcement has started a bit of controversy with the Cats, since they presumably have four goaltenders for next season, but in fact the Cats will only have three.

Ian Keserich will not be coming to Northern at all next season, leaving Ellingson to sit behind Derek Janzen and Brian Stewart. It was first announced by NAHL.com that Keserich had committed to Northern, but it was Keserich who made that announcement, not NMU.

Buckeye fans can breath a sigh of relief that they did not let a keeper transfer within the conference and Wildcat fans can not expect multiple goaltenders on the ice at once.

In other news ... Mike Santorelli is still an NMU Wildcat. The chess match between him and the Nashville Predators could come down to the final move. Until now, all the Cats can do is sit and wait ...

... Northern is also not in a rush to hire a new assistant coach to replace the departed John Olver. The Wildcats are taking their time in making this hire ...

.... And now for a look around the CCHA ... The Wolverines are having a similar confusion surrounding their goaltending situation, which needs some work. It baffles me that Michigan can recruit the top fire power in the nation but habitually strikes out on netminders. They are like the New York Yankees of college hockey. The Evil Empire has seemed to work out the confusion however ...

... The Nanooks search for a head coach continues. The team formerly known as Alaska-Fairbanks will be bringing four finalists to Fairbanks for a two day interview. The cool part is on the second day, the candidates will meet the public. Northern did something similar when it hired its new volleyball coach, but the practice backfired when both candidates withdrew from consideration.

... And finally, a personal note. My four year run as the NMU hockey beat writer has come to an end. I graduated from Northern a few weeks ago and am looking to move on to something new. Look for me periodically in the Mining Journal this summer as I plan to remain in Marquette until the end of June, with some trips down to Wisconsin every now and then. I also plan to make one final appearance in The North Wind for the summer issue.

I plan to continue contributing to this blog as much as possible because I love NMU hockey. It has been a memorable four years. Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way.