Expectations for men's hockey still high
10/27/2009
By Joe Stark
Sports editor
After a magical 2008-2009 season, the UWS men’s hockey team faces the harsh reality that it will be tough to have a season like last year’s.
“It is too early to tell how this season will go, and although it is a bit cliché, we just need to get better every weekend, and hope for no serious injuries,” said Stauber.
“As long as we work hard, we should be alright,” added assistant coach Rodney Graham.
Although their expectations are still high, the ‘Jackets lost 11 total players from last year’s team, eight of them seniors who all played a crucial role during their careers.
“It will be hard to replace the leadership of last year’s senior class. They were with us through thick and thin, and you can’t replace that,” said head coach Dan Stauber. “Although they didn’t get rewarded with statistics, they were part of our most solid lines last year.”
The biggest question mark this year will be how the ‘Jackets will replace All-American goaltender Chad Beiswenger.
“We have four goalies competing for the starting spot, and a lot of our season depends on whichever one of these guys steps up and plays well for us,” said Stauber.
A solid goalie will be necessary in order for the ‘Jackets to remain at the top of the always-tough NCHA. The NCHA has four teams in the preseason Top 15, including UW-Stout (3), UWS (4), St. Norbert (11) and St. Scholastica (13).
“[UW-] Stout and Norbert are always tough in our conference and neither team lost a lot from last year. In terms of numbers lost, [UWS] and St. Scholastica lost the most players from last year’s teams, so it will be interesting,” said Stauber.
UWS did, however, bring in ten freshmen this year to try to fill some of the holes. Some of the freshman will have to step up immediately in order for the team to be successful.
“With three of the freshman being defensemen, they will have to get ice time and make an impact for us,” said Stauber.
These freshman will be lead by a strong senior class which leads UWS in most statistics and will play a huge role this season in the maturation process of the freshman.
Among the returning seniors are Captains Tyler Fletcher and Brian Bina; All-American Braden Desmet, who lead the Yellowjackets in points (35) last season and was second in goals (15); and Chris Wilson, who was second on the team in points (34) and first in goals (16). The other seniors returning are defensemen Art Clark and Josh Seifert, and goalie Mike Rosett.
UWS opens its schedule this weekend playing host to UW-River Falls on both Friday and Saturday night at Wessman Arena. This is the first time since the 2005-2006 season that UWS has opened with a conference opponent.
“It is too early to tell how this season will go, and although it is a bit cliché, we just need to get better every weekend, and hope for no serious injuries,” said Stauber.
“As long as we work hard, we should be alright,” added assistant coach Rodney Graham.
Although their expectations are still high, the ‘Jackets lost 11 total players from last year’s team, eight of them seniors who all played a crucial role during their careers.
“It will be hard to replace the leadership of last year’s senior class. They were with us through thick and thin, and you can’t replace that,” said head coach Dan Stauber. “Although they didn’t get rewarded with statistics, they were part of our most solid lines last year.”
The biggest question mark this year will be how the ‘Jackets will replace All-American goaltender Chad Beiswenger.
“We have four goalies competing for the starting spot, and a lot of our season depends on whichever one of these guys steps up and plays well for us,” said Stauber.
A solid goalie will be necessary in order for the ‘Jackets to remain at the top of the always-tough NCHA. The NCHA has four teams in the preseason Top 15, including UW-Stout (3), UWS (4), St. Norbert (11) and St. Scholastica (13).
“[UW-] Stout and Norbert are always tough in our conference and neither team lost a lot from last year. In terms of numbers lost, [UWS] and St. Scholastica lost the most players from last year’s teams, so it will be interesting,” said Stauber.
UWS did, however, bring in ten freshmen this year to try to fill some of the holes. Some of the freshman will have to step up immediately in order for the team to be successful.
“With three of the freshman being defensemen, they will have to get ice time and make an impact for us,” said Stauber.
These freshman will be lead by a strong senior class which leads UWS in most statistics and will play a huge role this season in the maturation process of the freshman.
Among the returning seniors are Captains Tyler Fletcher and Brian Bina; All-American Braden Desmet, who lead the Yellowjackets in points (35) last season and was second in goals (15); and Chris Wilson, who was second on the team in points (34) and first in goals (16). The other seniors returning are defensemen Art Clark and Josh Seifert, and goalie Mike Rosett.
UWS opens its schedule this weekend playing host to UW-River Falls on both Friday and Saturday night at Wessman Arena. This is the first time since the 2005-2006 season that UWS has opened with a conference opponent.