Quotes From The Conference Call

The CCHA Head Coaches, along with the Commissioner Anastos met this morning via conference call with the media. Here are some quotes from Coach Ferguson.

On the difference of going into the off-season after having qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time

Going into the summer and now I think it’s important we talked about keeping a level head about last season because that is behind us. Once the dust settled I think we all realized that we wanted to learn from the experience and realized that’s what we want to get back to this season. With that being said, there’s a lot of work that has to go into it and our focus going into the summer was everyone doing what they needed to do to get better so that we could hopefully give ourselves an opportunity to be successful again at the end of next year.

On strengths and areas of concern going into this season

I think that it seems like we have good depth at all positions. I think it’s real competitive and I’m just looking to see where everything is going to shake out here when we play our first game as far as the line-up. I’m real happy with some of the decisions we have to make, being that we have some tough decisions to make on who’s going to be in the line-up every night. I really like our senior class and our guys that are going to be looked upon to lead us. I really like our leadership and our depth going into this season. I think that one of the things we want to focus on is just making sure we’re being consistent on everything that we’re doing in all facets of the program.

On candidates to pick up the offensive slack created by the departure of Dion Knelsen, and Andy Taranto’s line mates to start the season

Dion was obviously a great player for us at a bunch of different levels. He played in a lot of different situations and he was a good leader. I don’t know if we are going to have one guy just step up and be Dion Knelsen and take up his minutes. I guess it’s going to be by committee that we are going to fill up some of those minutes that Dion leaves behind. At the same time I feel good about our team and guys jumping up and taking advantage of that opportunity.

As far as Andy goes, right now we are mixing things up and trying to find some chemistry in there. I know that at the end of the season last year him, Dion and Dustin Sather had a real good run there going the last ten games going into the playoffs. So Dustin and Andy have been playing quite a bit together here in practice. We have been mixing some guys in there, trying to see where the chemistry is at. We are going to have a few opportunities coming up here in the next couple weeks with the tournament in Anchorage and our tournament to be ready to go for Michigan State to open up the CCHA.

On Nanooks being picked 3rd in coaches poll 

It’s nice to be recognized, but at the same time everybody right now is 0-0-0. We are not going to worry about preseason polls or what’s behind us and some accomplishments we’ve had. We have to focus in on moving forwards and getting better every day. I told them two years ago when I came back from the meeting in Grand Rapids and we were picked 12th, our approach is going to be the same way. We are not going to focus in on those things. We are just going to focus in on getting better every day and being a strong group and I think if we do that it will give us the best opportunity to be successful.

On meeting the three ‘Big Ten’ teams four times

To be successful within the league throughout the regular season, you need to be successful in your cluster. We have a strong cluster, but every night you play in the CCHA is strong. You need to play your best every Friday and Saturday to be successful. Our approach needs to be the same. We can’t get up for some teams and not for others because if we do that we are not going to be successful at the end day. From our approach, it’s kind of the same every day for us. We know that it’s a battle. We aren’t a team that takes any team for granted and if we do we are not going to be winning very many hockey games. We are excited about the opportunity and we feel it’s a strong cluster but we tie that into the fact that we are in a great league and we need to be prepared every Friday and Saturday.

You can read quotes from the rest of the coaches here.

CCHA Preseason Polls Released

Miami and Michigan at the top. Sound familiar? Thought so. Nanooks sit in third in this years Coaches Poll, and fourth in the Media poll. The teams are listed by rank below. As Coach Ferguson said this morning, "It's nice to be recognized in the polls, but right now, everyone is 0-0-0".  Which is completely true. All of these rankings that are coming out, just like the USA Today poll from Monday. At this point, its all subjective. Starting tomorrow, the guys have to get out there and start earning it.

Secondly, Andy Taranto was named to the CCHA All-Conference Second Team, and Joe Sova, along with Scott Greenham, earned honorable mentions.

Coaches Poll

Team (first-place votes)   Points
 1. Michigan (8)              108
 2. Miami (3)                 103
 3. Alaska                     81
 4. Michigan State             76
 5. Notre Dame                 75
 6. Northern Michigan          65
 7. Ferris State               64
 8. Ohio State                 56
 9. Lake Superior State        35
10. Western Michigan           29
11. Bowling Green              23

Media Poll

Team (first-place votes)   Points
 1. Miami (57)                877
 2. Michigan (17)             825
 3. Michigan State (1)        651
 4. Alaska                    618
 5. Notre Dame                567
 6. Ferris State              546
 7. Northern Michigan         536
 8. Ohio State                428
 9. Lake Superior State       312
10. Western Michigan          225
11. Bowling Green             190

Nanooks Ranked 12th

So the first poll has hit the press, and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll has Alaska ranked 12th. Here's how the poll looks.

1. Boston College
2.  North Dakota
3. Miami
4. Michigan
5. Yale
6. St. Cloud
7. Maine
8. New Hampshire
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. Cornell
11. Denver
12. Alaska
13. Wisconsin
14. Boston University
15. Minnesota

-The Kendall Classic now looks even more appealing with the Fighting Sioux sitting atop the list.

-Michigan's rank is no more than a salute to their program. Granted, you can never count out Red's team, but they were not strong enough last year to top the likes of Yale or St. Cloud.

Granted, my take is a little different, and debate could go on forever of who should be where on this list. This is simply an estimate of where the chips will fall. None of these teams have really taken the ice yet. Once the season starts, these will change. They always do.

That said, its getting to be that time for the guys to get out and show the world that they don't belong at #12.  They are going to have to win their way up the ladder and earn their rightful spot.

Blue and Gold are Looking Good

The Nanooks are playing high level hockey. While the blue team did pull off a 3-2 win, whats more important is how they played together.

The first thing that stands out across the board is speed. It was quite a fast game. Good cycles in the zones, and good passing. There were a few missed passes, but for the most part there were good tape to tape passes. Cycling the puck went quite well. The guys were able to move the puck around and generate some scoring chances. Obviously, the D did quite well limiting those chances. Some odd-man rushes were negated by strong defensive play. Overall, quite impressive.

One thing that I also like to look for in these games is chemistry. In other words, which players click well on the ice to and develop scoring chances.

I saw some good things between Adam Henderson and Ryan Hohl. Both of them have no problems getting physical, and when they came together, pain was inflicted. Another interesting combo was the match up between Aaron Gens and Jarrett Granberg. The two hooked up on the first goal of the game with Granberg getting the deflection, and were a post away from another. While Granberg would eventually come out of the game due to an apparent injury after a hit into the bench, but not before that intriguing pairing caught my eye.

Another intriguing part of the team is Cody Butcher. The burly junior recorded the hardest shot at 98 mph. 98! The guy has got a cannon of a shot from the point that could definitely be an instrumental part of the team. From the limited time we saw of him last season, he looks much improved. For me, its too close to call. I guess this is why I don't coach! Coach Ferguson said that it was very competitive top to bottom for ice time. Hopefully, I'll get to see Butch on the ice some more this season.

Also, as far as the fastest skater goes, the reigning champ from last year, Ronnie Meyers, lost his title to a freshman in Erik Slemp in a photo finish. I uploaded the video of the final skate to my Twitter feed, but you can see it here as well.

The 'Nooks will play the University of Windsor on Thursday, also at the Patty Ice Arena a 7. But I'm anxious to get into tournament action, starting with the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, October 8th and 9th against Air Force, and North Dakota respectively.