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Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

K-Wings' Matczak learns from experienced defensemen
Published: Monday, April 09, 2012, 4:45 PM Updated: Monday, April 09, 2012, 5:20 PM
By Pam Shebest | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette


Mike Matczak
KALAMAZOO — Rookie Mike Matczak has already played in more hockey games this ECHL season than ever before, but the defenseman said that’s fine with him.
The Yale University graduate and his Kalamazoo Wings teammates are preparing for the Eastern Conference semifinals against the South Carolina Stingrays beginning Friday and Saturday at Wings Stadium.
The most games Matczak played in a season before turning pro was 36 last year at Yale.
So far, he’s logged ice time in 70 games.
“I think it’s important to make sure you take care of your body,” Matczak said. “It’s a habit I’ve picked up over the years from watching other people do it. You’ve just gotta learn from the older guys and be sure you’re taking care of your body, making sure you’re eating right, sleeping right, stretching, things like that.”
The biggest adjustment from college hockey to the pros was “Some of these guys are very talented, they’re stronger, they’re bigger, they’re quicker,” Matczak said. “It’s a step up all around.
Eastern Conference semifinals
Kalamazoo Wings vs. South Carolina Stingrays
Best of seven
Friday, April 13: Stingrays at K-Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 14: Stingrays at K-Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18: K-Wings at Stingrays, 7:05 p.m.
Friday, April 20: K-Wings at Stingrays, 7:05 p.m.
*Saturday, April 21: K-Wings at Stingrays, 7:05 p.m.
*Tuesday, April 24: Stingrays at K-Wings, 7 p.m.
*Wednesday, April 25: Stingrays at K-Wings 7 p.m.
*If necessary
“With the longer season, you have to be sure you’re ready to play every game. Those 3-in-3s (three games in three days), 4-in-5s can be pretty tough, so you have to be prepared for those.”
The fans voted Matczak as the team’s most improved player at the end of the regular season although he got a late start after being a healthy scratch in October.
“The beginning of the year, this league is really good,” K-Wings coach Nick Bootland said. “You obviously have more bodies around. He wasn’t able to start in the lineup.

Nick Bootland
“Once we put him in the lineup, he took advantage of that ice time and that opportunity and has proved he’s certainly capable of playing here and I even feel at the next level.”
Bootland said he likes the rookie’s work ethic.
“We almost have to slow him down when it comes to conditioning off the ice because he works so hard at trying to be prepared and does so much extra on his own that everybody could learn from a young player like him,” Bootland said.
Matczak said he’s learned a lot from the more experienced defensemen on the team.
“The whole d-corps as a group has been great,” he said. “You have Sammy (Ftorek) who’s been doing it forever, Wes (O’Neill) with NHL experience, and (Joe) Charlebois’ been great. He’s as steady as they come.
“Reider (Elgin Reid), I sit next to him in the locker room, so I get a lot of feedback and tips from him. I’m just trying to learn as I go.”

Joe Charlebois
Charlebois said Matzcak came right in knowing what to do and didn’t need much guidance.
“He helps our power play out a lot,” said Charlebois, who missed the playoffs last year after breaking his leg at the end of the regular season. “He’s the go-to guy on the power play. He showed that this year with all the goals he’s scored. He can really control the blue line back there and he really knows exactly what he’s doing. We have plenty of confidence in him.”
Eight of Matczak’s 11 goals are on the power play, tying him with forward Trent Daavettila for the most man-up tallies on the team.
The K-Wings eliminated the Wheeling Nailers, three games to one, in the first round while the Stingrays defeated the Gwinnett Gladiators, also 3-1.
With a week off until the next round, “It’s like back in college now,” said Charlebois, who played hockey at the University of New Hampshire. “Play on the weekend and not again until the next weekend.
“Monday we had a good sweat skate and the next couple days we’ll do some systems and just get things tuned up. If you don’t know it by now, you’ll never know it. Now it’s just keeping our legs, keeping our wind and sticking to our system.”
Said Matczak: “Once you’re at this stage of the year, every team’s a good team. (The Stingrays) are talented and they work hard. It’s important for us to focus on our game.”
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

Work ethic makes Backman vital part of Sound Tigers
Michael Fornabaio
Updated 09:59 p.m., Wednesday, April 18, 2012

BRIDGEPORT -- Family and friends from Greenwich have been around Webster Bank Arena all year, and now they'll get to watch Sean Backman play in the Calder Cup playoffs for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

"This is what you play for all year," Backman said. "The guys are really excited right now. It's an exciting time of year."

He and the Sound Tigers, division champions for the first time in a decade, face the Connecticut Whale on Thursday and Saturday in Bridgeport in the first two games of a best-of-5 series.

"We're just trying to focus on playing our game right now," Backman said, "keep playing how we've played all year. We're a hard-working team. We have to have our lunchpail, have our work boots on."

That work ethic has made Backman an integral part of the Sound Tigers, coach Brent Thompson said.

"To his credit, he embraced the role we gave him," Thompson said.

Backman scored over a point a game in four years at Yale, but he has made his mark as a defensive, energy forward in Bridgeport.

"I think of the details in his game that have taken him to the next level," Thompson said. "Early in the year, he was a little (on the) perimeter. Not that he was cutting corners; he's always one of the hardest-working guys. Now he's focusing on the details ... winning wall battles, willingness to block shots."

Backman has become a regular on Bridgeport's penalty kill, where those attributes come into play every shift.

"Now, being a big part of that, I'm taking a lot of pride in that," Backman said. "A lot of people take that for granted."

His family -- including his father, Mike, who played for the New York Rangers and New Haven Nighthawks -- will be in attendance Thursday when he plays his first playoff game here; he played in six last year for the Texas Stars.

"It's exciting to play in front of them," Backman said. "I'm looking forward to it."



Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/sports/articl...vital-part-of-Sound-3492582.php#ixzz1smCkrgqO
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

MILER TO LEAD BULLDOGS


NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Andrew Miller (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was announced tonight at the team banquet as the captain for the 2012-13 Yale men’s hockey team. He earned this role through three years of productivity and respect on the ice.

Miller, one of college hockey's premier offensive catalysts, has 115 points (14th at Yale) in 104 games. He was voted the best passer on the team the last two years and has been ranked among the nation’s leaders in assists each season since coming to New Haven.

“I am grateful that I have been selected to lead such a respected program with such a rich and passionate history,” said Miller, voted to the captaincy by his teammates. “To play for such accomplished coaches and to be voted captain by my teammates means the world to me.”
In 2011-12, he ranked seventh in Division I with .85 assists per game and was 31st in points (1.06). He led the team with 29 assists.

“I have ambitions of our class leading the team as a collective entity. We need to be a cohesive group of leaders in order for our team to achieve the greatest success,“ said Miller, who was as poised delivering his state of the team’s address as he is creating space, setting up teammates and winning draws.

Miller, a 2010-11 first-team All-ECAC pick, had 12 goals and 45 points that sophomore year. More impressive was that 22 of his 33 assists were primary. His team-high 33 helpers (2nd best at Yale) were a sophomore school record while the 45 points were second on the team.

“I plan on taking what I have learned from Brian [O’Neill], and the other two captains, to establish a leading role both on and off the ice,” said the new Eli hockey leader, who mixed in some comedic material with his serious acceptance of the captaincy.

His best offensive weekend as a collegian came that second season when he hit the net three times during the Colgate/Cornell weekend. Miller was 12th in the nation with 1.29 points per contest.

His first collegiate season was a great success. He registered the most (34) points by a Yale rookie since Tom Walsh set the bar with 41 in 1984-85. That 2009-10 campaign he was second among conference rookies with one point per game, which also put him fourth overall in the country for newcomers. He ranked eighth in Division I that year with .85 assists per outing.

Miller, a political science major, was the 2008-09 USA Junior Player of the Year and 2007 Michigan High School Mr. Hockey, who led the USHL in scoring and was the league's "player" and "forward" of the year skating for Chicago Steel as assistant captain.

He is a two-time first-team all-state pick and league MVP (senior year) at Cranbrook Kingswood. Miller led the state in scoring his senior year with 83 points.

“The Yale hockey community is extremely passionate about our team and is another reason why playing at Yale is such an honor.”
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

Yales incoming class

8 Frosh To Join Men's Hockey Program

New Bulldogs Introduced

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The eight freshmen who join the 2012-13 Yale men's hockey team this fall were announced today and include five forwards and three defensemen.
The new Bulldogs come from five different states and one province, and bring experience from the USHL (3), EJHL (2), BCHL, AJHL and a New England prep school.
They range in size from 5-foot-9 to a pair of 6-foot-4 skaters, while the average weight of the class of 2016 is just over 190 pounds.
"We are very excited to announce our class of 2016. [Yale assistant coaches] Dan Muse and Red Gendron have done an excellent job putting together a group that can make an immediate contribution to our hockey team," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Hockey. "This group possesses the character, work ethic, and competitiveness that have become trademarks of Yale Hockey. They will be expected to come in and push us all to a higher level."

YALE HOCKEY CLASS OF 2016

Matthew Beattie
F
6-3, 190
Whitehouse Station, N.J.
Phillips Exeter Academy

Before Yale: Played one year at Phillips Exeter and had 39 goals and 73 points in 26 games… First-team All-New England… Team MVP… Skated four seasons for The Pingry School in New Jersey… Scored 100 goals and had 230 points in 100 career games… Two-time team MVP… Courier News Player of Year… Star Ledger Central Jersey Player of Year… Led team to Skylander Conference Championship in 2011… Skylander Conference Scholar-Athlete… Advanced math student… Personal: Matthew John Beattie is the son of Olga and John Beattie… Sister, Hanna (Pingry '13). is a highly recruited hockey player… Interested in engineering and business.

Carson Cooper
F
5-11, 182
Bow Island, AB
Ft. Murray Oil Barons

Before Yale: Played two years for Fort Murray in AJHL… Captain of 2011-12 team that won North Division title… Had 16 goals and 59 points… AJHL "Most Dedicated" Player Award… Team "most dedicated" and "hardest working" awards… Had 18 goals and 48 points for 2010-11 team… … Team's Coach's Choice Award… Skated for Spruce Grove Saints in 2009-10… Six goals and 21 points for AJHL Championship team… Won gold medal and scored winning goal for 2011 Team Canada West at World Junior Challenge… Alexander Rutherford Scholarship for three years… Personal: Carson Randahl Cooper is the son of Shelley and Randy Cooper… Interested in economics.

Cody Learned
F
5-9, 175
Amherst, N.H.
Boston Junior Bruins

Before Yale: Played 151 games with the Boston Junior Bruins in the "B" league and had 68 goals and 139 points over four years… Had 34 goals and 66 points in 2009-10… Played 75 games with Bruins "A" league team… Had 24 goals and 84 points over two seasons… Three-time Empire League All-Star… 2009-10 team captain… Led league in 2011-12 with 2.27 points per game… Played on three league tournament championship teams and one regular-season champion… 2010 Souhegan High School Senior Class Wellness Award (academic excellence)… Personal: Cody David Learned (lear-nid) is the son of Leslie and Jake Learned… Interested in political science.

Ryan Obuchowski
D
6-1, 185
West Bloomfield, Mich.
Indiana Ice

Before Yale: Played two years for Indiana Ice… 12-44-56 … Four season at Catholic Central High School… 14-32-46… Two-time all-league… First-team all-state… Two-time All-Catholic… All-academic team… Two-time league, division, regional and state champions… Gabriel Richard Award (4 years)… English Department Award… Math and Science Awards… National Honor Society… Personal: Ryan Obuchowski (o-boo-COW-skee) is the son of Sue and Tom Obuchowski… Interned as a kennel assistant at Stone Veterinary Clinic in Watertown, Conn… Brother, Brad, was a cheerleader at Ohio State University.

Rob O'Gara
D
6-4, 205
Nesconset, N.Y.
Boston Junior Bruins

Before Yale: Drafted by Boston Bruins in fifth round of 2011 NHL Draft… Played defense for the Junior Bruins U18 squad for two seasons while at Milton Academy… Helped Bruins win 2011 state title… USHR Defenseman of Year in 2011-12 at Milton… All-ISL and All-New England pick… Milton won New England Championship in 2010-11… Captained team and earned two varsity letters… Played for the Long Island Royals between ages of 13 and 16… Royals were 2010 state champions… Also played lacrosse at Milton and earned two varsity letters… Personal: Robert Dominick O'Gara is the son of Christine and Brian O'Gara… Served as counselor at two different hockey camps.

Charles Orzetti
F
6-4, 215
Wyckoff, N.J.
Surrey Eagles

Before Yale: Scored 10 goals and 19 points for Surrey in 2011-12… Team played in conference finals… Skated for EJHL Jersey Hitmen in 2010-11 and had 11 goals, 23 points… Added to USNDTP U18 team for two months during 2010-11 season… Played three varsity seasons at Delbarton School… Earned two state championships and played on the No. 2 team in the country in 2008-09… Played two years of lacrosse… AP Scholar… National Merit Commended Student… Personal: Charles Matthew Orzetti is the son of Charlene and Edward Orzetti… Brother played hockey at Navy… Sister attends Providence College… Interested in economics and financial services and has interned with Merrill Lynch and others… Studying for Level 1 CFA exam… Lived in Prague for two years during elementary school.

Stu Wilson
F
5-10, 170
Pittsford, N.Y.
Cedar Rapids Roughriders

Before Yale: Played three years for Cedar Rapids… Scored 19 goals and had 58 points as C and LW… Captain 2011-12 team and earned team community service award (2nd time) and Phillip Weber Memorial Scholarship… Assistant captain in 2010-11… Roughrider of the Year Award… 2011 Anderson Cup Champions… Skated with Yale defenseman Tommy Fallen '15… First-team all-league in Rochester for EJHL Maksymum Jr. B in 2008-09… Scored 30 goals and had 71 points… Personal: John Stuart Wilson is the son of Lynn and Wayne Wilson… Father played hockey at Bowling Green (1984) and is head coach of the men's hockey team at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Mitch Witek
D
6-1, 205
Downers Grove, Ill.
Waterloo Black Hawks

Before Yale: Skated for Waterloo in 2011-12 and had six goals and 40 points in 74 games… Clark Cup Championship runner-up… Led all USHL defensemen in post-season scoring… Played 35 games for USHL Green Bay in 2010-11… Made it to Clark Cup Championship… Two-time USHL Defensive Player of the Week… Assistant captain for 2009-10 Team Illinois… Had eight goals and 28 points in 35 games for state title team… Played two years for Chicago Mission with one state title and one runner-up season… Hurdler with four track varsity letters at Downers Grove North… Holds three high school records… No. 12 in state with 39.2 in 300m… Two-time conference champion… Three-time sectional medalist… School all-academic team… AP Scholar… Illinois State Scholar… National Honor Society… Spanish National Honor Society… Conference academic Achievement Award… Scholastic Achievement Award in track… Personal: Mitchell J. Witek (witt-eck) is the son of Linda and Jim Witek… Worked in Habitat for Humanity Camps
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

2012-13 Yale Men's Ice Hockey Roster

8 Freshmen 8 Sophomores 5 Juniors and 6 Seniors

No. Name Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Highschool
18 Kenny Agostino F Jr. 5-11 195 Flanders, NJ/Delbarton School
8 Josh Balch F Sr. 5-9 180 Wilmette, IL/Desmoines, Chicago (USHL)
Matthew Beattie F Fr, 6-3 190 Whitehouse Station, NJ/Phillips Exeter Academy
15 Clinton Bourbonais F Jr. 5-11 191 Dexter, Mich./St. Mary's Prep - Orchard Lakes
4 Bennett Carroccio D So. 6-0 195 Armonk, NY/Phillips Academy Andover
Carson Cooper F Fr. 5-11 182 Bow Island, AB/Ft. Murray Oil Barons (AJHL)
19 Anthony Day F So. 5-9 175 Buffalo, NY/Waterloo (USHL)
21 Colin Dueck D Sr. 6-2 220 Calgary, Alberta/Nanaimo (BCHL)
22 Tommy Fallen D So. 5-9 175 Plymouth, MN/Cedar Rapids (USHL)
7 Matt Killian D So. 6-1 200 Basking Ridge, NJ/Delbarton
28 Antoine Laganiere F Sr. 6-4 197 Ile Cadieux, Quebec/Deerfield Academy
Cody Learned F Fr. 5-9 175 Amherst, NH/Boston Junior Bruins (EJHL)
33 Jeff Malcolm G Sr. 6-2 185 Lethbridge, AB/Quesnel (BCHL)
31 Nick Maricic G Sr. 6-2 212 Alta Loma, CA/Tri-City (USHL)
17 Andrew Miller F Sr. 5-9 175 Bloomfield Hills, MI/Chicago (USHL)
Rob O'Gara D Fr. 6-4 205 Nesconset, NY/Boston Junior Bruins (EJHL)
Ryan Obuchowski D Fr. 6-1 185 West Bloomfield, MI/Idiana Ice (USHL)
Charles Orzetti F Fr. 6-4 215 Wyckoff, NJ/Surrey (BCHL)
13 Brad Peltz F Jr. 6-0 171 Mount Kisco, NY/Avon Old Farms
20 Jesse Root F Jr. 6-0 185 Pittsburgh, PA/Taft School
12 Trent Ruffolo F So. 5-11 170 Coral Springs, FL/New Hampshire (EJHL)
16 Alex Ward F So. 6-0 180 Burlington, VT/Deerfield Academy
26 Nicholas Weberg F So. 5-8 160 Oslo, Norway/Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.)
29 Connor Wilson G So. 5-10 170 Cary, NC/Chicago (USHL)
Stu Wilson F Fr, 5-10 170 Pittsford, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders (USHL)
Mitch Witek D Fr. 6-1 205 Downers Grove, IL/Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
2 Gus Young D Jr. 6-2 207 Dedham, MA/Noble and Greenough School
 
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Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

Interesting read

Maricic Top Goalie For Inline Team USA

Bulldog Senior Named Game MVP Today

INGOLSTADT, Germany – A Yale student spending a few weeks in Europe during the summer is nothing unusual, unless they are competing for a world championship in a relatively unknown sport. It gets more interesting when the Eli overseas, Nick Maricic '13 (Alta Loma, Calif.), is better known for being a student-athlete playing for a high-profile winter team on campus.

The Bulldog ice hockey goalie was between the pipes for the U.S. inline national team at the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation InLine Hockey World Championship in Ingolstadt, Germany. Maricic, named USA's player of the game (12 saves) after today's 18-1 win over Great Britain, helped the Americans finish fifth overall.

He finished the five-game tournament with a 1.75 goals against average and a .902 save percentage in 144 minutes while stopping 65 of 72 shots on target.

While inline (also known as rollerblading) hockey is common for West Coast kids like Maricic, there are not many current college hockey players trading their metal blades for rubber wheels after the ice is melted. Quinnipiac's Loren Barron is the only other Team USA member who is an active collegian. There are good reasons why, including the regional aspect of the sport and the very different style of play.

That said, it seems like a great way for an ice hockey goalie to train during the off-season, and there are unique challenges.

"Inline is a much more wide open and offensive game than ice. It's four-on-four on an Olympic-sized rink with no hitting, so the extra space tends to lead to more odd-man rushes and high-quality scoring chances," said Maricic, who has a 2.91 goals against average in 30 career games at Yale. "The puck is also a little lighter so guys can shoot it that much harder. As a goalie, you have to do a better job reading and anticipating the play because you don't have the mobility that you have on ice. If you get caught out of position, it is much more difficult to recover."
More and more warm weather states are showing up on college hockey rosters, and inline skating (in addition to ice rinks popping up all over the country) has something to do with that.

"I first started playing hockey on wheels. When I was seven I started playing at a local inline rink and played only inline until I was 13. Inline is very popular in Southern California and the vast majority of ice hockey players from the region still play inline," said Maricic, who is the second (Billy Blase '10) Yale goalie from the Golden State.

The world championships are just the beginning of Maricic's jet-setting summer. The philosophy major goes home for a few weeks and then heads to Morocco for a five-week, Yale study program. He returns to California in late July where he will train for the ice season over last month of the summer.

The U.S., which had a two-day tryout camp in Lakewood, Colo., at the Rocky Mountain Roller Hockey Rink, won its first three games in Germany before being upset by Finland (Maricic was not in net). The win today kept the Americans in the top division for next year's championships. The U.S. won the world title in 2010.
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

LTsatch said:
2012-13 Yale Men's Ice Hockey Roster

8 Freshmen 8 Sophomores 5 Juniors and 6 Seniors
Click to expand...

Impressed with the size (height/weight) of the incoming freshman class, especially the D-men. That should help solidify the back line. Wouldn't be surprised to see the team play a tighter, lower-scoring style next year.
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

24 Bulldogs Make ECAC Academic Squad

Smart team!

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Yale men's hockey team won 89 games over the last four seasons. The Bulldogs have also had great success in the classroom with a league-high 24 student-athletes earning ECAC All-Academic honors for 2011-12.

The league had 208 players earn all-academic status. Brown also had 24 honorees while Rensselaer had 22 and Harvard recognized 18.

Players are eligible for the All-Academic team if they earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale or have a GPA over 3.00 over the past three semesters.
 
Re: Yale Hockey2012 Off Season Thread

With a roster of 27 or so, this is really impressive... or else a sign of ridiculous grade inflation. If anything, it suggests that the Academic Index requirements for hockey are being set too high. Back when I was in grad school, I taught a hockey player (who shall remain nameless). He was one of two sub-C grades I gave. I said to him after the semester: I hope to God you were taking this course pass-fail, because you seemed to put in no effort. He smiled and gave me a somewhat sheepish thumbs up.
 
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