Thursday, October 15, 2015 // FACEOFF 2015
7C
Breaking down Big Ten hockey
Minnesota remains
toughest competition
as league rebuilds
after down year
By MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
On Sept. 28, the No. 11 Michigan
hockey team was picked to take
the Big Ten title in a preseason
coaches’ poll. With many pundits
having a similar opinion, it seems
that the Big Ten crown will be the
Wolverines’ to lose.
But
the
real
question
is
whether the Big Ten can make the
jump to an elite college hockey
conference after losing nine of its
top 12 scorers from last season.
With the league slate kicking
off on Dec. 4, when all six teams
begin
conference
play,
the
Daily breaks down Michigan’s
competition in the Big Ten.
1. Minnesota (No. 9)
A first-round exit in the 2015
NCAA Tournament to in-state
foe Minnesota-Duluth started a
tough offseason for Don Lucia’s
squad. Gone from the team are
its top three point-scorers from
a year ago in Mike Reilly, Kyle
Rau and Travis Boyd, who have
all moved on to the National
Hockey League. In their absence,
two Big Ten Preseason Players
to Watch, forwards Justin Kloos
and Hudson Fasching, will need
to ramp up their production.
But
perhaps
the
most
important offseason loss was
goaltender Adam Wilcox, a Mike
Richter
Award
nominee
last
season. Wilcox also bolted for
the NHL a year early and leaves
behind a huge hole between the
pipes. The Golden Gophers will
look to freshman netminder Eric
Schierhorn, the reigning USHL
and USA Hockey Goaltender of
the Year, to fill the void.
After a season-opening loss
to Vermont — Minnesota’s first
season-opening loss in six seasons
— things will not get easier, as the
Golden Gophers will face a tough
nonconference slate that includes
No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth, No. 12 St.
Cloud State and No. 14 Minnesota
State before the Big Ten opener
against Ohio State.
2. Michigan State
With
goaltender
Jake
Hildebrand in net for his senior
season, the Spartans will be
competitive in just about every
single game. The reigning Big
Ten Player and Goaltender of the
Year will look to continue from an
impressive 2014-2015 campaign
that saw him post six shutouts,
good for second in the NCAA.
But the big question for the
Spartans will center on the
players in front of Hildebrand.
After losing its top scorer, Matt
Berry, to graduation, Michigan
State
will
rely
on
forward
Mackenzie
MacEachern
to
improve on his career-high 26
points from a season ago.
On the other side of the ice,
defenseman Travis Lynch will
lead a defense that will try to
improve on an impressive season
in which the unit gave up just 80
goals.
After opening their season
with a draw against Maine and
a 4-1 victory over Lake Superior
State, the Spartans will have
three tough games on the road —
two at No. 5 Denver and another
at No. 4 Boston College. They will
also open their Big Ten slate on
the road at Penn State.
3. Penn State
In just its third season as a
Division I team, Guy Gadowsky’s
squad is on the rise and gunning
for a top-three finish in the Big
Ten.
That jump in prestige, though,
is going to have to come without
forwards Casey Bailey and Taylor
Holmstrom — the Nittany Lions’
top two scorers in their short
history — as well as defenseman
and
former
captain
Patrick
Koudys.
But there is not a lack of talent
in the offense, and it starts with
David Goodwin and Eric Schneid.
The duo combined for 63 points
last season and will need to pick
up the pace if Penn State is to
make any noise this season.
Between
the
pipes,
Matt
Skoff and Eamon McAdam will
likely continue to split time as
the Nittany Lions search for
consistency.
Freshman
Chris
Funkey, who led the United States
Premier Hockey League in goals-
against average for two straight
years, may push for playing time,
but it looks like the duo of Skoff
and McAdam will have to carry
Penn State.
4. Ohio State
Of all the teams in the Big
Ten, the Buckeyes probably lost
the least amount of talent this
offseason. But after a fifth-place
finish in the Big Ten last season,
Ohio State will still need to
improve is to climb further up the
conference standings.
Most of the offense will run
through
forwards
Anthony
Greco and Nick Schilkey, while
forward Matthew Weis will look
to improve upon a strong second
half of the season that saw him
score 14 of his 22 points.
In goal, the Buckeyes will stick
with the tandem of Christian Frey
and Matt Tomkins while Craig
Dalrymple, the only senior on the
blue line, will be relied upon to
lead the young defensive unit that
has just three upperclassmen.
5. Wisconsin
After
finishing
the
2014-
15 campaign with just four
wins, Wisconsin coach Mike
Eaves cleaned house, firing two
assistant coaches and bringing in
two new ones, as he looks to lift
his team out of the Big Ten cellar.
But that won’t be easy, as the
Badgers
lost
goaltender
Joel
Rumpel, who ranked third in
career save percentage in program
history. Senior goaltender Adam
Miller will be trusted to fill the
huge gap between the pipes.
And to add to Wisconsin’s
misery, four seniors who all
played significant minutes are
gone, as well as the third-leading
scorer from last season, Morgan
Zulinick, and defenseman Jack
Dougherty, who left for the NHL.
On the bright side, Grant Besse,
the Badgers’ leading scorer from
last season, will return. But he
will need help, and a lot of it.
The Badgers’ schedule doesn’t
do them any favors either, as they
will have matchups against No.
1 North Dakota, No. 4 Boston
College, No. 5 Denver and No. 6
Boston University before opening
up a grueling Big Ten schedule at
Yost Ice Arena against Michigan.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Minnesota won the Big Ten Hockey Tournament last year and will be Michigan’s toughest competition in the conference again this season.