What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

WCHA Thread IV

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: WCHA Thread IV

Looks like the Russian team will also be playing Bemidji

brookyone said:
Some discussion of scoring potential for the 2013-2014 Minnesota Gophers recently.The Whioux lost major production upon the departure of Mo & Jo obviously. Losses to graduation, the Olympics among WCHA conference traditional top half contenders considered...seems like the Whioux should still have potential for comparatively potent offense among those conference top half contenders, I believe.
Click to expand...

It doesn’t look to me like this year will be any different than last year as far as the standings go
Maybe Ohio State & UMD will trade places, maybe Bemidji & St. Cloud
And UND ahead of UW

But otherwise I don’t see anychange unless injury rears its ugly head
I know some people think UM has lost a lot to graduation and the Olympics
But so has UND & UW
Here is the returning goal production by the top 3 teams:
MN=119
ND=74
W=53
MN returns more goals than W scored last year, in fact more than anybody except ND
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

pokechecker said:
Looks like the Russian team will also be playing Bemidji



It doesn’t look to me like this year will be any different than last year as far as the standings go
Maybe Ohio State & UMD will trade places, maybe Bemidji & St. Cloud
And UND ahead of UW

But otherwise I don’t see anychange unless injury rears its ugly head
I know some people think UM has lost a lot to graduation and the Olympics
But so has UND & UW
Here is the returning goal production by the top 3 teams:
MN=119
ND=74
W=53
MN returns more goals than W scored last year, in fact more than anybody except ND
Click to expand...


Goal production will be lower in the WCHA next year.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

pokechecker said:
Looks like the Russian team will also be playing Bemidji



It doesn’t look to me like this year will be any different than last year as far as the standings go
Maybe Ohio State & UMD will trade places, maybe Bemidji & St. Cloud
And UND ahead of UW

But otherwise I don’t see anychange unless injury rears its ugly head
I know some people think UM has lost a lot to graduation and the Olympics
But so has UND & UW
Here is the returning goal production by the top 3 teams:
MN=119
ND=74
W=53
MN returns more goals than W scored last year, in fact more than anybody except ND
Click to expand...

I think there will be enough questions to be answered for all teams. Minnesota is the favorite until proven not. I think the Gopher goal production is skewed a little with the loss of Bozek (created a lot of goal opportunities that dont show up on score sheet) that and the drop off with Brandt late in the year. Not foolish enough to count her out however. Other than Camerenesi not to high on recruites then in past years. UND no doubt will need to find scoring but will much better defensivly..much better. Wisconsin will be better. Johnson is still the class of the field and continues to develop players. Rigsby has alot to prove...not that she has to.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

frozenfeet said:
I think there will be enough questions to be answered for all teams. Minnesota is the favorite until proven not. I think the Gopher goal production is skewed a little with the loss of Bozek (created a lot of goal opportunities that dont show up on score sheet) that and the drop off with Brandt late in the year. Not foolish enough to count her out however. Other than Camerenesi not to high on recruites then in past years. UND no doubt will need to find scoring but will much better defensivly..much better. Wisconsin will be better. Johnson is still the class of the field and continues to develop players. Rigsby has alot to prove...not that she has to.
Click to expand...

when you start off the year with 2 hat tricks, it is going to be tough to do the same at the last 2, especially when they are the NCAA semi, and championship games
Brandt scored a goal in each of the last 3 games of the season against the 3 best teams
plus, along with Menefee, was named to the WCHA all tournament team with an ailing/missing Kessel which should answer what they will do without Kessel this year

sure Cameranesi is the obvious freshman, but the others are also talented
Schipper, for example, really lit it up at the 2013 IHF U-18 worlds
this is an excellent freshmen class, could be as good as the Kessel-Terry-Davis-Gillanders-Brausen class (talking about the actual freshmen year) who, IMO, probably the best they've had

if you look at returning assists, MN would look even better

ND also has a nice freshmen class, I doubt they will have problems scoring , certainly not like UW will
and ND really improved a lot on D over the last 1/2, their goalie Amsley-Benzie has to be, IMO, second only to Rigsby

speaking of which, if UW makes it to the NCAA, could break the career win record, I think she needs 27 or so wins, certainly doable, but they need to score goals
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

pokechecker said:
Here is the returning goal production by the top 3 teams:
MN=119
ND=74
W=53
MN returns more goals than W scored last year, in fact more than anybody except ND
Click to expand...

Are you including Brittany Ammerman who redshirted last year due to injury? She scored 13 and a fr and 13 as so.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

pokechecker said:
ND also has a nice freshmen class...their goalie Amsley-Benzie has to be, IMO, second only to Rigsby.
Click to expand...

Possibly, but I wouldn't be so quick to discount Minnesota's Amanda Leveille. She had a terrific start to her college career as a freshman last year, recording a 0.00 goals against average on 84 shots, in the equivalent of 4.65 games played. And incoming freshman and former Chicago Mission and USA U18's netminder Sidney Peters comes in with high credentials also, so I wouldn't rule her out of the conversation either. Although it would probably be asking too much for either of these young women to fill the void left by the graduated Noora Raty, at least right away, both clearly have the potential to develop into league-leading goaltenders, maybe sooner than most people expect.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

D2D said:
Possibly, but I wouldn't be so quick to discount Minnesota's Amanda Leveille. She had a terrific start to her college career as a freshman last year, recording a 0.00 goals against average on 84 shots, in the equivalent of 4.65 games played. And incoming freshman and former Chicago Mission and USA U18's netminder Sidney Peters comes in with high credentials also, so I wouldn't rule her out of the conversation either. Although it would probably be asking too much for either of these young women to fill the void left by the graduated Noora Raty, at least right away, both clearly have the potential to develop into league-leading goaltenders, maybe sooner than most people expect.
Click to expand...
I'm more worried as a Gopher fan about the losses on the blue line. Bozek, Jalosuo, and Frischmann graduated and Stecklein is with the national team. Gillanders, Ramsey, and McMillen played very well at times last season, but all had moments of inconsistency that they can't afford this year. It will be very interesting to see how that plays out.

I'll admit to knowing next to nothing about the defensive corps of the other WCHA squads, so I'm not sure what to expect in that respect.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

CrazyDave said:
I'm more worried as a Gopher fan about the losses on the blue line.
Click to expand...

For sure. The three returnees will have to step up and fill the void to the greatest extent possible. It would appear Burns will need to contribute also. We'll see if Frost chooses to adopt a more defensive style of play, especially when the top unit is not out there.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

1) Minnesota
2) North Dakota
3) Wisconsin
4) Minnesota-Duluth
5) Ohio State
6) Bemidji State
7) Minnesota State
8) St. Cloud State

That's my shot. Alternative selection for me would be a swap of #1 and #2.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

Timothy A said:
Are you including Brittany Ammerman who redshirted last year due to injury? She scored 13 and a fr and 13 as so.
Click to expand...

no
OK, then make WI total 65 or so
but it really doesn't change the fact that for WI to win the WCHA or the NCAA, they need to score more goals than last year. They have the defense to do it, and the goaltending. Certainly everyone starts out 0-0 with no goals, but what you did last year is the best indicator of what will happen this year until the games are actually played.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

pokechecker said:
... Rigsby

speaking of which, if UW makes it to the NCAA, could break the career win record, I think she needs 27 or so wins, certainly doable, but they need to score goals
Click to expand...
Rigsby needs 31 wins to tie the record. Still possible, given she'll start just about every game, but I don't know that UW looks like a 30-win team at this point.
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

ARM said:
Rigsby needs 31 wins to tie the record. Still possible, given she'll start just about every game, but I don't know that UW looks like a 30-win team at this point.
Click to expand...

I was only mentioning it because it is possible and a point of interest
WI has a pretty impressive freshmen class, it is an Olympic year so you never know
 
Re: WCHA Thread IV

Huskies win the shootout, 3-2, to make it a 4-3 final. Team Japan had a slight edge in shots, 37-33.

Next up for Team Japan - tomorrow evening - is the U of M. They will then travel to Duluth on Saturday to play their 4th exhibition vs. WCHA opponents.
 
Last edited:
Re: WCHA Thread IV

Good crowd for the Huskies (400), most likely because of the renovations.

There were many Japanese students at the game. Most had SCSU gear on, but would cheer loudly for BOTH teams! Team Japan was appreciative of the support.

Redford and Pena seemed like good freshman additions for the Huskies.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top