BLAINE, Minn. — The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's hockey season gets underway this weekend, as all nine teams take part in the three-day MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink.
MIAC Showcase Schedule (All Games Played At Schwan's Super Rink)
Friday, October 30, 2014
Game 1: Gustavus vs. Saint Mary's, 6:30 p.m. (Coon Rapids Rink) | Live Stats
Game 2: St. Thomas vs. Augsburg, 7 p.m. (Blaine Arena) | Live Stats
Game 3: St. Olaf vs. Bethel, 7:30 p.m. (Ramsey County Arena) | Live Stats
Saturday, October 31
Game 1: Saint John's vs. St. Thomas, 6:30 p.m. (Coon Rapids Arena) | Live Stats
Game 2: Bethel vs. Concordia, 7 p.m. (Blaine Arena) | Live Stats
Game 3: Hamline vs. Gustavus, 7:30 p.m. (Ramsey County Arena) | Live Stats
Sunday, November 1
Game 1: Concordia vs. St. Olaf, 2:30 p.m. (Coon Rapids Arena) | Live Stats
Game 2: Saint Mary's vs. Hamline, 3 p.m. (Blaine Arena) | Live Stats
Game 3: Augsburg vs. Saint John's, 3:30 p.m. (Ramsey County Arena) | Live Stats
MIAC Showcase On The Web:
Showcase Scoreboard | Game Program | MIAC's Showcase Homepage
2015-16 MIAC Hockey Preview/Poll | MIAC Hockey Homepage
MIAC Hockey Showcase — Looking Back:
2014 Results | 2014 Preview | 2013 Results | 2013 Preview | 2012 Results | 2012 Preview | 2011 Results | 2011 Preview | 2010 Results | 2010 Preview | 2009 Results | 2009 Preview |
Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
The Auggies head into the season on the heels of a fourth-place regular-season finish and berth in the MIAC Playoffs, where they fell to Hamline in the opening round. … Augsburg returns a pair of First-Team All-MIAC performers in Corbin Chapman and Mack Ohnsted. … Ohnsted shared the team lead in points with 25—including a team-leading 13 goals. It was the second straight season Ohnsted led the Auggies in points. … Chapman also finished with 25 points a year ago, including a team-best 15 assists. … Ohnsted and Chapman were two of four Auggies to compile 20 or more points a year ago—Ben McClellan (20) and Dylan Meier (20) were the other two—while nine Augsburg players finished the year with at least 10 points. … Four of Ohnsted's 13 goals were game-winners. He also had four special-team goals—two power play and two shorthanded. … Fredrik Melander and John Bretzman shared the goaltending duties a year ago, with Melander compiling a 3.19 GAA and .886 save percentage in 16 starts, while Bretzman owned a 2.97 GAA and .876 save percentage in 10 starts. … The Auggies played four overtime games a year ago—with none ending in a tie. Augsburg beat Saint John's (6-5) and St. Olaf (4-3), while falling to UW-River Falls (4-3) and Hamline (6-5). … Augsburg scored five or more goals seven times last season—including a season-high seven in a 7-3 win over UW-Stout.
Bethel Royals News and Notes:
The Royals head into the 2015-16 season looking to imporove on last year's 4-19-2 overall mark. … Bethel returns its lone First-Team All-MIAC selection, Mitch Hughes. Hughes led the Royals with 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists during his junior campaign. Hughes, who was named to the
MIAC All-Rookie team in 2012-13 when he tied for the league lead in points with 26, has recorded 60 points in his three seasons with the Royals. … Brock Raffaele closed out last season as the team-leader in assists with 13, while finishing second to Hughes with 20 points. … Travis Payne (6 G, 10 A, 16 Pts) and Jackson Purvis (7 G, 6 A, 13 Pts) also eclipsed the 10-point barrier a year ago. … Purvis netted two of the team's four game-winning goals a year ago. … BU used four different goalies last season, led by Matt Rowe, who started 14 of the team's 24 games, compiling a 4.01 goals-against-average and an .886 save percentage. … The Royals scored five or more goals three times in 2014-15, including a season-best six in a 6-2 win over Gustavus on Feb. 20. … Bethel scored first in three of its four wins last season, going 3-3-2 when netting the game's opening goal.
Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
The Cobbers head into 2015-16 looking to improve on last year's third-place regular-season finish and double-overtime loss to Saint Mary's in the conference playoff semifinals. … Concordia had a school-record nine players earn MIAC postseason honors last season. The Cobbers placed a pair of players—Jordie Bancroft and Andrew Deters—on the MIAC All-Conference Team, while three others earned honorable-mention All-MIAC honors and three more were placed on the MIAC All-Rookie Team. … Deters closed out last season as the Cobbers' offensive leader in both assists (18) and points (28). … Deters was one of four Cobbers to post 20 or more points—Bancroft (26), Jeremy Johnson (22), and Jon Grebosky (20) were the others. … Bancroft netted a team-best 15 goals last season, two more than Grebowsky. … Jordyn Kaufer and Alex Reichle shared the goaltending duties last season, with Kaufer owning a 2.21 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 15 starts, while Reichle chipped in a 2.59 GAA and .915 save percentage in 11 starts. … CC played seven overtime games a year ago, going 1-2-4. … The Cobbers boasted a 12-2-1 record when scoring first, while going just 1-7-3 when their opponent netted the game's first goal.
Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
The Gusties are looking to improve on last year's sixth-place conference finish. … Gustavus returns a pair of players named to the MIAC All-Rookie Team last season—Jake Bushey and Conor Deal—but will be without the services of honorable-mention all-conference goalie John McLean. … McLean, who missed the first half of the season due to injury, started Gustavus' final 13 games, compiling a 5-5-3 record, while posting a 2.03 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage. He posted two shutouts and allowed just one goal on four other occasions. … Deal closed out his freshman campaign leading the Gusties in all three offensive categories—goals (10), assists (10) and points (20). … Bushey finished second to deal in both assists (9) and points (14), with Blake Schammel also adding 14 points (8 G, 6 A). … The Gusties scored 15 power-play goals last season, led by Schammel with four and Bushey with three. … Deal owned a team-best three game-winning goals a year ago. … Gustavus played a whopping 10 overtime games in 2014-15—going 2-0-8. … GAC went through an eight-game span in which the Gusties played six OT games, including four straight contests that ended in ties. … The Gusties scored first in six of their eight wins, going 6-1-3 when netting the game's opening goal, while finishing 2-8-4 when their opponent scores first.
Hamline Pipers News and Notes:
The Pipers are looking for a repeat of last season's magical national tournament run. … The Pipers finished fifth in the regular season standings, but posted wins over Augsburg, St. Thomas and Saint Mary's to earn the MIAC Playoff title and automatic berth into the NCAA tournament—where HU fell to UW-Stevens Point 4-2. … Hamline's final record of 14-11-4 last season was a 12-game improvement over their 2013-14 mark—the biggest jump of any D-III team over the year before. … HU returns Second-Team All-American Bryan Adams, as well as Brandon Zurn, who joined Adams on the All-MIAC First-Team, and MIAC All-Rooke Team selection Mitch Hall. … Adams closed out 2014-15 as the Pipers' leader with 19 goals. He also shared the team lead in points (33) with Zurn. … Adams and Zurn were two of five HU players with 20 or more points last season. … Joe Rubbelke ended his collegiate career with a team-best 20 assists during his senior season in 2014-15. … John Selle-Hanson appeared in 28 of the team's 29 games in goal, posting a 2.93 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage. … Selle-Hanson recorded 785 saves last season, while boasting a 12-9-2 record. … Hamline went 9-4-3 when scoring first and 5-7-1 when its opponent netted the game's first goal.
Saint John's Johnnies News and Notes:
The Johnnies are coming off a sixth-place finish in 2014-15, missing out on the post-season by a single point. … The Johnnies enter 2015-16 returning honorable-mention All-MIAC goalie Sexton Soley and MIAC All-Rookie Team selection Huba Sekesi, but will be without the services of graduated senior John Haeg—who closed out an illustrious SJU career with his fourth straight All-MIAC First-Team selection a year ago. … Haeg closed out his collegiate career leading the Joihnnies in all three offensive categories—goals (8), assists (12), and points (20). … SJU boasted 10 players who recorded at least 10 points a year ago. … Wally Cossette and Joe Freemark finished second to Haeg with 11 assists each, with Neal Smith and Sekesi finishing second to Haeg with seven goals apiece. … Soley started 21 of the team's 25 games in goal, posting a 2.11 goals-against-average and .930 save percentage. … SJU suffered four one-goal conference losses last season—including two in overtime. … Saint John's scored a season-high six goals three times last season—beating Bethel (6-3), Lawrence (6-2) and Hamline (6-2). … Saint John's scored first in all 11 of its wins last season. The Johnnies were 0-7-3 when their opponent scored first.
Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals are coming off a second-place regular-season finish and berth in the MIAC Playoff title game. … Saint Mary's appearance in the MIAC Playoff championship game was its first since the league went to its current tournament format in 2001-02. … Saint Mary's second-place finish in the regular-season standings was its highest since placing second during the 1994-95 season, when the Cardinals went 11-4-1 and finished one game behind St. Thomas. … Saint Mary's closed out the 2014-15 season with 15 wins (going 15-10-2)—the Cardinals' most wins since going 15-11-1 during the 1996-97 campaign. … Saint Mary's closed out the season having won 12 of its last 16 games. … All-American Martin Gruse—one of four returning First-Team All-MIAC selections—closed out his sophomore year as the team-leader in goals (19), assists (19) and points (38). … Gruse's 19 goals—including four-game winners—were the most by a Cardinal since the 2002-03 season, while his 38 points are the most since the 1996-97 season. … Gruse's 19 goals and 38 points ranked No. 1 in the MIAC and were among the top 10 in NCAA Division III. … Bob Kinne recorded at least one point in the Cardinals' last nine games—owning 17 points (8 G, 9 A) during that stretch. … The Cardinals notched five hat tricks last season, the most in program history over the past two decades. … Phil Heinle—who started 24 of the team's 27 games—owned a 2.61 GAA and a .919 save percentage. … Heinle posted his first three collegiate shutouts last season.
St. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
The Oles are looking to improve on last year's 6-6-16 overall mark and eighth-place finish in the conference standings. … St. Olaf will begin the 2015-16 season trying to replace honorable-mention all-conference selection Matt Guerts, who graduated after a six-goal, nine-assist, 15-point senior year. … Steven Sherman led the Oles in assists (10) and points (16), while sharing the team lead in goals (6) with Guerts and Peter Lindblad. … Sherman and Guerts were two of four Oles with 10 or more points a year ago—Nick Marsh (12) and Lindblad (11) were the other two. … Four of Lindblad's six goals were power-play tallies, with Sherman and Guerts each chipping in three power-play goals. … St. Olaf's 49 goals last season came from 16 different players, while 20 different Oles recorded at least one point. … The Oles will hit the ice this season needing to find a replacement graduated goalie Steve Papciak, who appearaed in 23 of the team's 25 games—including every minute of the Oles' 16 MIAC contests, compiling a 2.68 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. … St. Olaf played in four overtime games last season, going 0-2-2—winning the shootout in both MIAC ties. … St. Olaf scored the game's first goal in four of its season wins. The Oles were 2-11-0 when their opponent scored first.
St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
The Tommies are coming off their fourth straight regular-season MIAC title. UST fell to Hamline in the opening round of the 2014-15 MIAC Playoffs. … With their 16-6-4 overall record, UST locked up its 33rd consecutive winning season a year ago. … The Tommies will take the ice this season without the services of graduated senior Drew Fielding—the MIAC, AHCA and USCHO.com National Player of the Year a year ago. … Fielding shared the NCAA Division III lead in shutouts (six) and ranked in the top 10 in goals-against average (1.66) and save percentage (.934) in 23 appearances. … Alex Altenbernd—who also graduated after last season—closed out last year as the team's goal-scoring leader with 12, while sharing the team lead in points (26) with Jordan Lovick. … Lovick also owned a team-high 20 assists. … Lovick was one of five UST players with 10 or more assists a year ago, while nine Tommies recorded at least 10 points. … UST's 77 goals last season came from 20 different players. … UST outscored its opponents in every period—including 30-17 in the third stanza. … St. Thomas played five overtime games last season, going 1-0-4. … UST scored first in 16 of the team's 25 games, going 12-3-1 in those 16 contests. |
