DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team begins its season this weekend with a home-and-home series with conference rival Northland College.
Where:
Friday
Bay Area Civic Center – Ashland, Wis.
Saturday
Mars Lakeview Arena – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Friday at Northland – 7 p.m.
Saturday vs. Northland – 7 p.m.
Live Video Friday: http://www.northlandcollegesports.com/watch
Live Audio Friday: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=78
Live Video Saturday: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=57
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/mhockey/
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSMHockey
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
2016-17 Stats
2016-17 Record: 13-13-1, 10-9-1 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
Season Outlook: The Saints lost three of their top four goal scorers from a season ago, but there is a lot of optimism surrounding the program as they head into the season … The Saints will have to replace leading scorer
Brandon Millin (Port Moody, British Columbia/Heritage Woods HS (Notre Dame Hounds-SJHL)), who had 14 goals and 15 assists in 2016-17 … Also gone is
Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev./Odyssey Charter School (Langley Rivermen-BCHL)), who had 11 goals and 10 assists … Sophomore forward
Brett Radford (Campbell River, British Columbia/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL)) returns for the Saints after scoring 10 goals and adding 11 assists in his freshman season … Radford was named to the NCHA All-Freshmen Team for his efforts … Also back is All-NCHA defenseman senior
Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)) … Whiteley tied for second among NCHA defensemen with 16 points in conference play last season … CSS will be hoping for a big year from junior forward
Cole Golka (Ardrossan, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Dryden Ice Dogs-SIJHL)) … Golka had five goals last season, four of which were game winners and tied for third on the team with 11 assists … Senior captain
Kale Derkson (Regina, Saskatchewan/Sheldon Williams Collegiate/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Notre Dame-SJHL)) is back after registering six goals and adding five assists last season … In goal, sophomore
Zane Steeves (Red Deer, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (100 Mile Wranglers-KIJHL)) started 10 games as a freshman and recorded a season-high 36 saves in the NCHA Harris Cup Quarterfinal against the LumberJacks … Steeves will be pushed by a pair of incoming freshmen.
Nearing 500: The St. Scholastica men's hockey program was the first established varsity sport at the college in 1972 … Entering the year, the Saints are four wins shy of 500 in program history.
Coach Wick: Head Coach
Mark Wick enters his 14
th season behind the bench for the Saints … Wick is the winningest coach in program history with 175 victories … The Saints have won at least 12 games each of the last six seasons.
New Local Faces: Coach Wick brought in eight freshman, including four from Minnesota … Forward
Nate Pionk (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS (Minot-NAHL)) and defenseman
Jordan Fralich (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Marshall School (Bismarck-NAHL)) have played plenty of hockey in the Twin Ports area … Former Edina High School standout
Parker Mismash (Edina, Minn./Edina HS (Minnesota Magicians-NAHL)) won two Minnesota State titles and
Chase Springman (Elk River, Minn./Elk River HS (Minot-NAHL)) played high school hockey for Elk River … Defenseman
Shane Tetzlaff (Superior, Wis./Superior HS (Ironwood-USPHL)) grew up across the bridge in Superior.
Friendly Confines: The Saints were 9-3-0 at Mars Lakeview Arena last year, but just 4-10-1 away from Duluth … In conference play, CSS was 8-1-0 at home and 2-8-1 on the road.
Season Openers: The Saints are 4-0-2 in their last six season openers.
Did You Know: The Saints have advanced to the NCHA Postseason Semifinals 10 times in the last 11 seasons.
Top 5 Games to Watch
11/25 – at UW-Superior
The Bridge Rivals will face each other for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
12/1 – at Adrian
The Saints travel to the preseason conference favorite and 2016-17 national semifinalist.
12/16 – at Augsburg
The Auggies captured the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tournament title last season.
1/20 – vs. St. Norbert
The Green Knights won the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs last year and was a national semifinalist
2/9 vs. Marian
The Sabres move to the North Division of the NCHA this season and postseason seeding could be on the line.
NCHA Preseason Poll
1. Adrian 118 (8 first-place votes)
2. St. Norbert 114 (4 first-place votes)
3. St. Scholastica 95
4. Marian 78
5. MSOE 77
6. Concordia Wisconsin 73
7. Lake Forest 69
8. Northland 48
9. Aurora 45
10. Lawrence 43
11. Finlandia 16
12. Trine 16
What You Need to Know about Northland:
-The LumberJacks went 11-13-2 overall last season and 9-10-1 in league play.
-Northland finish third in the North Division to qualify for the Harris Cup playoffs where it was eliminated by CSS.
-Northland features only three seniors on this year's roster.
-The LumberJacks will be led by junior forward Lucas DeBenedet, who had 10 goals and 16 assists last season.
-DeBenedet was an All-NCHA selection in 2016-17.
-Kalib Ford had 21 points during his freshman season, which tied for second-most among league rookies.
-Ford was named to the NCHA All-Freshmen Team last season.
-Ty Kraus recorded 19 points during his freshman campaign.
-Junior AJ Smith returns in goal after winning 11 games last season.
-The LumberJacks do need to replace leading goal-scorer Michael Berens, who had 12 goals last season.
-Northland ranked fourth on the power-play and ninth in the penalty-kill last year in the NCHA.
-The 'Jacks were 5-2 in one-goal games in 2016-17.
-Northland was 8-4-1 when it scored first, but only 3-9-1 when the opponent tallied the first goal.
-Head Coach Seamus Gregory is the reigning NCHA Coach of the Year.
Series Record: CSS leads 19-2-1
(Last Meeting: 3-1 CSS – 2/22/2017)
Series History: The Saints ended Northland's season with a 3-1 victory in the Harris Cup quarterfinals last season … The LumberJacks defeated the Saints 2-1 in the last meeting at the Bay Area Civic Center … The Saints are 1-1-1 in their last three trips to Ashland.
Looking Ahead: The Saints remain in conference play when they host Aurora University (Ill.) on Friday, November 3 and Lake Forest College (Ill.) on Saturday, November 4 at Mars Lakeview Arena.
