DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The 13^th-ranked St. Scholastica men's hockey team opens its season at home Friday night as it welcomes the Milwaukee School of Engineering to Mars Lakeview Arena for a two-game Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) series.
 
Where:
Mars Lakeview Arena
 
When:
Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
Watch: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
 
Live Stats: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
 
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/csssaints
Instagram: http://instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/css.saints
 
St. Scholastica Saints
Roster | 2013-14 Stats
2013-14 Record: 16-9-4, 10-5-3 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
 
The Saints made their second-ever NCHA Tournament championship game last season before falling to eventual national champion St. Norbert College 5-1 … On their way to the championship game, the Saints defeated second-ranked Adrian College (Mich.) on the road in the semifinals of the Harris Cup Tournament
 
Who's Back: The Saints return 16 players from last year's squad … Leading the way will be junior forward Dylan Nowakowski (Calgary, Alberta/Centennial HS (Brooks-AJHL) ), who led the team with 16 assists and finished second to his older brother Brandon Nowakowski (Calgary, Alberta/Central Memorial HS (Calgary Royals-AJHL)) with 25 points … Senior captain Dave Williams (Okotoks, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) was third in the squad last season with 23 points and was second on the team with 10 goals … Forward Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev./Odyssey Charter School (Langley Rivermen-BCHL) ) recorded six goals and added nine assists in his freshman campaign for the Saints … Junior forward Keegan Bruce (Bellingham, Wash./Bellingham HS (Weyburn-SJHL) ) has scored five goals in each of his first two seasons … Derek Hills (Campbell River, British Columbia/Timberline Secondary (Bowling Green State) ) registered five goals from the blue line in 2013-14 … Senior defenseman Matt Malenstyn (Surrey, British Columbia/Tamanawis Secondary (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) was second on the team with 15 assists and was named to the Harris Cup All-Tournament team … Junior goaltender Tyler Bruggeman (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS (Austin-NAHL) ) was named All-NCHA last season after finishing second in the conference with a 1.82 goals-against-average and third with a .932 save percentage.
 
Who's Gone: The Saints lost eight seniors from last year's squad … Brandon Nowakowski (Calgary, Alberta/Central Memorial HS (Calgary Royals-AJHL)) led the team in goals (16) and points (19) last season on his way to being named All-NCHA … Alex Valenti (Blaine, Wash./Bellingham HS (Merritt-BCHL) ) and Paul Marcoux (Brandon, Manitoba /Vincent Massey Collegiate (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) each tied Dylan Nowakowski (Calgary, Alberta/Centennial HS (Brooks-AJHL) ) for third in the team in goals (9) … Chad Golanowski (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll HS (Calgary Canucks-AJHL) ) eight goals and 10 assists in 2013-14 … Goaltender Colin Rundell (Tees, Alberta/Lacombe Composite (Alaska-Fairbanks) ) started last season for the Saints, but missed a majority of the year due to injury.
 
Newcomers: Head Coach Mark Wick brought in six freshmen and three transfers this season … The transfers were junior defenseman Rich Coyne (Cave Creek, Ariz./Pinnacle HS (Alaska-Fairbanks) ), who played his first two years at Alaska-Fairbanks, sophomore goaltender Corey Koop (Squamish, British Columbia/Howe Sound Secondary (UW-Stout)), who started 22 games for the University of Wisconsin-Stout last season and sophomore defenseman Kyle Beaulieu (White Rock, British Columbia/Earl Marriott (St. Norbert)), who played 22 games for St. Norbert in his first season … Coach Wick also brought in forward Shaun Tobin (Perth, Australia/Duncraig HS (Perth Thunder)), who hails from Australia … A total of four defenseman, four forwards and a goalie make up the new class.
 
Fast Start: CSS was undefeated through its first seven games of the 2013-14 season for the first time in program history.
 
Playing Well When it Counts: The Saints have advanced to the NCHA Postseason Semifinals seven times in the last eight seasons.
 
What's the Score After 2: The Saints were 12-0-2 last season when leading at the second intermission, but were 0-7-2 when trailing.
 
It's a Toss Up: The Saints were 5-5 in one-goal games last season.
 
A Look at the Rankings: The Saints are ranked 13^th in the preseason USCHO.com Division III poll … It is the first time CSS has been ranked in the preseason in that poll since the 2010-11 season
 
Series History: The Saints are 4-0-0 all-time against the Raiders … The last time MSOE made the trip to Duluth was 2001 where the Saints won by scores of 7-6 and 5-1.
 
Top 5 Series to Watch
11/7-8 vs. Concordia (Wis.)
The Saints swept the Falcons out of the NCHA playoffs last season.
12/7 – at Aurora
The Saints will play their first-ever game at Aurora University (Ill.) … This will be the Spartans' first year at the NCAA level in hockey and will join the NCHA next season.
1/2-3 at Oswego Classic
The Saints make a trip out to New York and to Oswego State's Tournament … CSS opens with Nazareth College (N.Y.) and then will face the winner of Tufts/Oswego the next day.
1/16-17 vs. Adrian
This will be the Bulldogs first-ever trip to Duluth … Adrian was defeated by CSS in the semifinals of the NCHA Harris Cup last year.
2/6-7 – at St. Norbert
The Saints make a trip back to the spot where their 2013-14 season ended at the defending national champion Green Knights.
 
NCHA Preseason Poll
1. St. Norbert: 81 points, (9 first-place votes)
2. Adrian: 69, (1)
3. St. Scholastica: 68
4. Lake Forest: 51
5. Marian: 50
6. Concordia: 37
7. MSOE: 36
8. Lawrence: 31
9. Northland: 14
10. Finlandia: 13
 
Opponent this Weekend
Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders
The Raiders saw their 2013-14 season end in the NCHA Harris Cup Quarterfinals … MSOE finished 7-19-1 overall and 6-12-0 in the NCHA … That was the first sub-.500 record for the Raiders since the 2003-04 season … The Raiders were out-scored 79-45 in 2013-14 … Austin Campbell played well in net as a freshman for the Raiders, recording a .923 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against-average … Campbell was named to the NCHA All-Freshman Team for his efforts … Nick Kohn, who was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2012-13, also saw time in net, but allowed 20 more goals than Campbell … Gage Christianson tied for the team-lead in goals with six and led the team with 14 assists as a freshman … Head Coach Mark Ostapina added 14 freshmen to the roster this season.