Jordan Baird (40) is one of eight Saints seniors that will look to lead their team on a deep playoff run in 2009-10.
It's an all-too familiar scenario for the No. 5-ranked Saints: facing the Yellowjackets of Wis.-Superior in the first round of the NCHA Peters Cup Tournament. They've done it in three of the past five seasons.
The two teams have met four times overall in the first round of the NCHA playoffs, and CSS is just 1-6-1 in those meetings. The difference between then and now is that this time, the Saints are at home.
CSS is the No. 2 seed in this year's NCHA tournament, a step-up from last year's No. 3 finish and light years ahead of their 7th place finish in the 2007-08 season.
The two teams last met as a Four vs. Five match-up in the 2006-07 campaign, a series which Saints hockey fans may remember for the game that snapped a 45-game winless streak against UWS and the epic mini-game victory which propelled the Saints to their first NCHA Finals appearance.
Since that night, the fates of the two teams have changed: while the Saints were ever-the-doormat of the NCHA prior to Coach
Mark Wick's arrival, they have quickly surged to the top of the league, while this year, it is the Jackets who finished last in the conference.
The Saints are 4-2-1 against the Yellowjackets in the past three seasons including a three-game season sweep this year, but needless to say, it's difficult to keep a team out of the win column five times in a season – and that's what the Saints need to do this weekend if they hope to advance to the next round of the Peters Cup tournament and possibly, a berth in the NCAA National tournament.
On the Saints:
The Saints are led by a group of eight seniors, consisting of the five remaining players from Coach Wick's second-ever recruiting class and three transfers who immediately stepped in to fill important roles in the Saints' 2007-08 campaign.
While #Jordan Chong# (Sr.-North Vancouver, B.C.) may be the standout of the group as a human-highlight-reel with 84 career points, his fellow forwards #Aaron Spotts# (Sr.-Spokane, Wash.) and #Jeff Gagnon# (Sr.-Quesnel, B.C.) are no slouches.
Gagnon has career highs in all major offensive categories this season while being a force on the Saints powerplay. Spotts has a career-high 12 assists on the season, which along with his six goals puts him at the seventh-most points on the team.
Former All-USCHO D-III West Rookie Team defenseman #Jordan Baird# (Sr.-Port McNeill, B.C.) rounds out the forwards of the group, while also playing some point for the Saints powerplay. Baird has 22 points this season, also a career-high.
The strength of the class's offense only begins to describe them as three of the team's top defenders – #Dustin DeGagne# (Sr.-Winnipeg, Man.), #Rob Rodgers# (Sr.-Salmon Arm, B.C.), and #Chris Meagher# (Sr.-Victoria, B.C.)—are a forced to be reckoned with as they block shots in front of fellow senior #Zach Kleiman# (Sr.-Ottawa, Ont.). Kleiman is a two-time conference player of the week this year and has set new career-bests in all major categories after taking over the job as the Saints primary backstop the past few weeks. He has a 1.71 GAA and 269 saves, with an 11-1-3 record and two shutouts.
Depth has been key for the Saints this season as freshmen and young players have stepped into key roles as well. Forwards #Jeremy Dawes# (So.-Winnipeg, Man.) and #Carter Davis# (So.-Moose Jaw, Sask.) continued the momentum of their strong offensive freshman campaigns, scoring a combined 48 points this season including 21 goals. The Saints lone third-year man, #Riley Riddell# (Jr.-Moose Jaw, Sask.) transferred to CSS last season and has stepped up as a leader for the Saints with 20 points in the regular season.
#Tyler Miller# (Fr.-Fort Frances, Ont.) has been, without a doubt, the Saints offensive rookie of the year, tied for third in points on the team. Defensively, #Colin Trachsel# (Fr.-St. Louis, Mo.) has performedly exceptionally well in his first season, while #Austin Brown# (So.-Lathrup Village, Mich.) and assistant captain #Daman Milsom# (So.-Kelowna, B.C.) round out the Saints defensive squad.
Being the favorite may be new to the program, but outside of the seniors, the young Saints team doesn't know any better, and there is no reason to think they won't embrace the role and make a lengthy postseason run.
On the 'Jackets:
How does Dan Stauber prepare his team to play the underdog role? In his 10 seasons as the head coach at UWS, he's never had to do it, and very likely, he does not do it this weekend either. In his mind, he knows his team can beat the Saints, and he will be sure his players do not feel any different.
The puck did not often fall the way of the Yellowjackets this season as they struggled to a 9-11-5 record, including a 3-11-4 conference record, but that does not mean they are lacking skill.
For the second season, Chris Wilson (Sr.-Prince Albert, Sask.) has been an offensive juggernaut for the 'Jackets, scoring 30 points. Last season's top scorer, Braden Desmet (Sr.-Strathmore, Alta.) is third on the team this year with 19 points. The last of the senior forwards, Tyler Fletcher (Sr.-Calgary, Alta.) has 14 points this season.
They are joined by a strong group of defensemen: Brian Bina (Sr.-Grand Forks, N.D.), Josh Seifert (Sr.-Superior, Wis.), and Art Clark (Sr.-Bloomington, Minn.), as well as goalkeeper Mike Rosatt (Sr.-Anchorage, Alaska) to make a strong senior class which leads a very young Yellowjacket team that includes nine freshmen.
Another upperclassman, Talon Berlando (Jr.-Drumheller, Alta.), is second on the team with 21 points and is also tied for the team-lead in goals with 12.
The netminder position has been a virtual revolving door for the Yellowjackets with the graduation of longtime backstop Chad Beiswinger after last season. Bryan Dalbec (So.-Superior, Wis.) has started more games than anyone on the team, with a 3.06 GAA but only one victory on the season at 1-5-4 individually.
Freshman Derek Stauber (Fr.-Duluth, Minn.) has 14 points on the season, highest among underclassmen and defensemen, while Casey Dion (Fr.-Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Chad Blainleil (Fr.-Kelowna, B.C.) have also seen considerable playing time on defense.
On paper, the game may seem like a mismatch, but one needs not look far back into the history books to find when that mismatch went the other way.
And that is why they play the game.
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The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. both nights at Mars Lakeview Arena. The action can be heard live on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC. It can also be seen live on the web, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.
