WCHA preview - weekend four (October 30-November 1) - National WCHA

Note: After major computer issues Friday, I apologize for this column being a day late and a dollar short.

After last weekend saw all ten WCHA schools face off against one another, the non-conference/conference split appears again this weekend. The young season has featured its fair share of surprises, including:

Colorado College answering the critics early on with a 3-0-1 start in conference play. The performances of freshman goaltender Joe Howe and senior forward Bill Sweatt (WCHA Offensive Player of the Week) have been major reasons why CC sits atop the league standings.
Minnesota cannot buy a goal. With an early season record of 0-3-1, the Gophers have been shut out three times, including back-to-back starts last weekend by Denver's Marc Cheverie (WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and Inside College Hockey National Player of the Week). Prior to last weekend, Minny hadn't been shut out in consecutive games since 1930.
Speaking of Cheverie, the DU goaltender is on quite a streak, posting three consecutive shutouts and has not been scored-upon for 203:19. In four starts this season, Cheverie is 4-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a save percentage of .966.
UMD has featured a prolific scoring trio of Justin Fontaine, Mike Connolly, and Jack Connolly. The three players have combined for 13 goals, 12 assists, and 25 points in just six games this season.

The Halloween weekend action will feature three conference series. Two WCHA member schools, UMD and Wisconsin, will be locked in non-conference home battles. North Dakota and Colorado College take the weekend off.

Let's take a look at the coming weekend:

Clarkson at Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs are off to a 3-2-1 start this young season and are coming off a tie and a loss last weekend at St. Cloud State. The goaltending of sophomore Brady Hjelle has been very solid thus far, as he has posted a 3-1-1 mark in his five starts this season, with a 2.95 GAA and .913 save percentage. The Fontaine-Connolly-Connolly trio has also been very solid with 13-12-25 in six games. In addition, the performances of junior center Rob Bordson and senior center Drew Akins have also been solid. In six games each, Bordson has posted 2-4-6 and Akins 1-4-5 to pace the Bulldogs.
Clarkson comes into the DECC this weekend riding a three-game winning streak. After dropping its season-opening series at Michigan State, the Golden Knights have followed up with non-conference victories over Niagara, RIT, and St. Lawrence. Clarkson suffered through a disappointing 10-19-7 season in 2008-09 on the heels of a strong 2007-08 campaign which saw them finish 22-13-4 and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
UMD Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
Clarkson Schedule, Team Stats, Rosterr
WCHA Examiner Prediction: UMD Sweep

New Hampshire at Wisconsin

Fresh off a road split at Minnesota State, the Wisconsin Badgers return home to the Kohl Center this weekend to take on Hockey East traditional power New Hampshire. The Badgers are 1-2-1 on the young season with all games played within the WCHA to date. The lone victory came courtesy of a Brett Bennett shutout victory last Friday evening 6-0, in which six different Badgers lit the lamp. Wisconsin has scored 11 goals in four games this season, and eight different players have notched tallies with Blake Geoffrion (3) and Brendan Smith (2) the only ones scoring multiple goals.
New Hampshire comes to Madison on a two-game winning streak, fresh off wins against Northeastern and Maine in conference play last weekend. The Wildcats' season started with consecutive losses to RPI and Miami, before they played the RedHawks to a tie in the series finale. The perennial national power finished the 2008-09 season with a 20-13-5 record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats scored a memorable win in the Northeast Regional semi-final over North Dakota, scoring the tying goal with under one second remaining and later winning in overtime, before losing an OT heart-breaker to eventual champion Boston University.
The two teams met once last season, with New Hampshire winning handily 5-1 in Durham, NH.
Wisconsin will play this weekend without the services of forward Craig Smith, who was handed a two-game suspension after his game disqualification penalty last Saturday night against Minnesota State.
UW Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
UNH Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
WCHA Examiner Prediction: Wisconsin Win, Tie

Alaska-Anchorage at Minnesota

It's very early in the season, but this may be a crucial series for the 0-3-1 Gophers. Minnesota was shut out at home on consecutive nights last weekend by Denver, and the Gophers have lost all three games this season via shutout. In the other game, Minny notched three goals in a 3-3 tie in Grand Forks against the Fighting Sioux. In the young season, the players yet to notch a point in four games for the Gophers include Jordan Schroeder, Mike Carman, Tony Lucia, Aaron Ness, Cade Fairchild, Nico Sacchetti, Nick Leddy, and Zach Budish, players Minnesota will count on to be prominent scorers in 2009-10.
One area which has been solid for the Gophers has been goaltending. Although Alex Kangas and Kent Patterson have yet to notch a victory, each has played well. Kangas is 0-2-0, but has a .921 save percentage. Patterson is 0-1-1, and has notched a .900 save percentage in his two starts.
Alaska-Anchorage is fresh off an impressive 2-1 upset victory over North Dakota last Saturday evening at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. Goaltender Bryce Christianson was outstanding, turning aside 22 North Dakota shots. UAA lost the previous evening, and is 3-3-0 on the young season heading into Minneapolis.
UAA has received solid production from three upper-classmen this young season. Senior forward Kevin Clark (4-2-6), junior forward Tommy Grant (2-4-6), and senior forward Josh Lunden (2-2-4) have paced the Seawolves. In the nets, the Seawolves are also experienced, with junior Christianson and senior Jon Olthuis each seeing significant action.
The teams met for just one series last season and it took place in Minneapolis. The teams tied the first game before Minnesota won the finale. All-time, the Gophers hold a distinct advantage in the series, 46-15-7, and 24-7-3 at Minnesota. The teams will meet again at the end of January in Anchorage.
This weekend's series features a unique format. The teams will play a traditional Friday evening game but will take Saturday off. University of Minnesota officials wanted to showcase the Gopher football team's Saturday evening home game at nearby TCF Bank Stadium, meaning the Gophers and Seawolves will meet on Mariucci Arena ice Sunday afternoon for the series finale.
UM Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
UAA Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
WCHA Examiner Prediction: Minnesota Sweep

Minnesota State at Denver

The Pioneers return home for their first conference action of the season. DU swept Minnesota on the road last season behind consecutive shutouts from junior goaltender Marc Cheverie. Currently on a scoreless streak of 203:19, Cheverie is only five minutes behind Peter Mannino's school record, which could be surpassed this weekend. The Pioneers simply out-skated and thoroughly dominated Minnesota last weekend and look to extend their perfect conference mark.
Much has been made of Cheverie's start to the season, but DU's senior leadership has paced the scoring attack. Seniors Rhett Rakhshani (4-4-8) and Tyler Ruegsegger (3-4-7) lead the Pioneers in scoring through six games this season. Two freshmen (Matt Donovan and Drew Shore) and a sophomore (Patrick Wiercioch) follow closely behind with four points apiece. Donovan and Wiercioch have scored their points from the dominant DU blueline.
Minnesota State split a weekend set at home against Wisconsin. After starting the season with a non-conference home sweep against Bowling Green, the Mavericks rode out a three-game losing streak at UMD and the opener in the Wisconsin series. MSU rebounded with a fine 3-2 victory on Saturday night and come into the Denver series with a 3-3-0 record.
The Mavericks have used three goaltenders this season, but sophomore Austin Lee has been the most impressive. In three starts, Lee has posted a .911 save percentage and a GAA of 3.00. Lee's record in that span is 2-1-0.
The two squads met for just one series a year ago, and both match-ups were won by Denver in Mankato. All-time, DU holds a 15-13-3 series lead over the Mavericks, including a 7-0-1 mark in the last eight games at Denver's Magness Arena.
DU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
MSU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
WCHA Examiner Prediction: Denver Sweep

St. Cloud State at Michigan Tech

St. Cloud hits the road after an impressive three-point series at home against high-scoring UMD. After being swept in a season-opening series against Miami, the Huskies are on a four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) against Union College and UMD.
Though St. Cloud star forward Ryan Lasch is off to a somewhat slow start (6 GP, 2-1-3), the Huskies have picked up goal-scoring powress from junior forward Garrett Roe (1-4-5), sophomore forward Jared Festler (2-2-4), and senior defenseman Craig Gaudet (1-3-4). However, it has been the goaltending tandem of freshman Mike Lee (4 GP, 2.18 GAA, .926 Sv%) and junior Dan Dunn (2 GP, 2.46 GAA, .918 Sv%) which has led to the Huskies' fine play of late.
Michigan Tech is on a three-game losing streak and is coming off a road sweep at Colorado College.
Despite the losing streak, MTU has received solid production from two forwards. Sophomore Brett Olson has notched 3-4-7 in his first four games. Senior captain Malcolm Gwilliam is also off to a strong start after missing all of last season due to injury, with 4-2-6. Also off to a good start is freshman defenseman Steven Seigo, who has picked up four assists in four games.
The teams met for one series last season, and it was played at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The St. Cloud Huskies swept the Michigan Tech Huskies in the mid-February battle.
MTU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
SCSU Schedule, Team Stats, Roster
WCHA Examiner Prediction: SCSU Win and a Tie