When looking back at the season that was for the hockey Huskies, it’s easy to place immediate blame for a season in which the team finished 5-30-1 overall and 4-24-0 in WCHA play on head coach Jamie Russell and his staff. Most of the community has already done so.

The fact is that Russell and his staff deserves some of the blame, but not all of it. The Huskies shot an abysmal 7.9 percent for the season while averaging 26 shots per game. They were seven in the country in penalty minutes with 17.8 minutes per game. They only killed 71.8 percent of their short-handed opportunities.

Sophomore goaltender Josh Robinson only won one game. His goals against average was 4.68, which was worst among goalies who played at least 33 percent of their team’s games.

The Huskies only scored 2.1 goals per game while surrendering 4.1. That’s not going to get you anywhere in the WCHA, let alone nationally.

Offense Improves

All that being said, the Huskies offense improved from 2008-09. The shooting percentage was up 1.4%. The power play was up 4% from last season. The shots per game were up nearly a full shot per game. Even the goals per game went up by a half a goal per game.

All of these offensive improvements happened while assistant captain Jordan Baker struggled to just 18 points after producing 27 last year.

Assistant captain Brett Olson had a tremendous season with 18 goals and 30 points in 32 games. The Huskies sorely missed his offense late in the season when he was lost to injury. Olson also picked up three short-handed goals. He was the first to score more than two since Chris Conner and Brandon Schwartz scored three in the same year.

Captain Malcolm Gwilliam posted 14 goals and 30 points. His previous career high for points was 17.

Freshman defenseman Steven Seigo notched four goals and 19 points, despite hitting a wall offensively late in the season.

Senior defenseman John Kivisto picked up four goals and 12 points, which meant he more than doubled his previous career high of five.

Intangibles

Every season it seems the Huskies field a young roster and this season was no exception as they dressed 17 underclassmen at different points. Some had immediate impacts: Olson, Seigo, freshman defenseman Carl Nielsen and freshman goaltender Kevin Genoe. Others needed time to grow into roles: freshmen wingers Mikael Lickteig and Anthony Schooley along with sophomore winger Bryce Reddick.

Some faced injuries: Reddick and freshman forward Milos Gordic.

Before the season was over, however, Olson, Schooley, sophomore winger Alex MacLeod, sophomore defenseman Ricky Doriott, freshman winger Aaron Pietila, freshman center Evan Witt, Nielsen, Reddick, and Lickteig were all regulars in front of the Huskies’ goaltenders.

Looking Ahead

Next season’s senior class will be small, with Baker, winger Bennett Royer, center Eric Kattelus, and defenseman Deron Cousens making up the group. Baker and Cousens both had seasons they will need to battle back from. Royer missed significant time in November and December due to injury, but scored nearly a point a game once back.
Kattelus was suspended early in the season, but he made up for lost time the rest of the season, notching 10 points of the final 23 games of the season.

The Huskies will boast seven juniors. The most visible of the bunch is Olson, who is averaging .757 points per game over his two seasons in Black and Gold. He may not be the focal point of the class as Robinson may have that mantle as he looks to build off a strong playoff showing against No. 1 Denver last weekend.

Final Assessment

For the second straight season, the Huskies brought up the bottom of the pack in the WCHA. Next season, that ranking would look worse, as two new squads join the WCHA, making the bottom spot 12th rather than 10th.

The Huskies will struggle with the additions of Bemidji State (23-9-4 overall) and Nebraska-Omaha (20-16-6 overall). Neither are unbeatable. The Beavers lost to Minnesota and Minnesota State. The Mavericks lost twice to Northern Michigan and once to Denver.

Next season will be Russell’s eighth behind the bench of the Huskies. Players, fans and alumni will be looking for continued improvement as this team moves forward.

“I was proud of our guys,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “I thought everybody really laid it on the line and played with desperation.”

The Huskies (5-30-1 overall) jumped all over the Pioneers early, but netminder Marc Cheverie kept the hosts even with the visitors until his mates could get their offense started. The hard work was rewarded. Jesse Martin gave the Pioneers the lead at 6:22 of the opening frame. The lone assist when to Kyle Ostrow.

Rebounding from the goal, the Huskies again controlled play, forcing the Pioneers (27-7-4 overall) to begin taking penalties, leading a five-on-three advantage after Matt Donovan and John Lee both took penalties. The Huskies couldn’t strike on the two-man advantage, but they did on the ensuing one-man advantage during one of their 16 shots for the period. Junior defenseman Deron Cousens fired a shot from the point that senior winger Ryan Bunger got a stick on at 11:48 to beat Cheverie and tie the game. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam also assisted on the tally, Bunger’s first of the season.

The Pioneers got their legs back underneath themselves in the second period, forcing the Huskies back on their heels more than once. Huskies’ goaltender Josh Robinson saw plenty of pucks, making 22 saves in the frame.

“Josh rebound very nicely,” said Russell. “Both [Kevin Genoe and Josh] gained some valuable experience this year.” After all those shots, Lee finally got the Pioneers back on top during a sustained attack in the Huskies’ zone at 18:24. Donovan and Tyler Ruegsegger assisted.

The Pioneers snuck another past Robinson 1:30 later as Joe Colbourne found the twine off a pass from Rhett Rakhshani.

Needing to get the ship righted, the Huskies came out hard in the third period, and were rewarded for their efforts 8:24 in as sophomore winger Peter Rohn picked up his first goal of the season off a great effort from Gwilliam to get him the puck.

Ostrow regained the two-goal lead for the Pioneers two and a half minutes later as he beat Robinson cleanly. Martin and Anthony Maiani assisted.

The Huskies couldn’t quite recover from that last Pioneers’ goal. Russell pulled Robinson with 51 seconds remaining, but the Huskies couldn’t find the back of the net.

Cheverie made 28 saves in the win while Robinson made 34 in the loss. The Huskies finished the game one-for-five on the power play while holding the Pioneers to zero-for-two.

The Huskies skated without assistant captain Brett Olson and junior winger Bennett Royer, both of whom were injured in Friday night’s game.

“A bounce here, a bounce there, we would have been in it,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “We were close at the end.”

Jesse Martin took a pass from Anthony Maiani and beat Huskies’ netminder Josh Robinson for the early goal.
After that early goal, Robinson seemed to his feet underneath him, stopping the next 16 shots and kept the Huskies in striking distance until they found a way to get on the board.

The Huskies evened the game off a late first period faceoff when freshman defenseman Carl Nielsen fired a shot through traffic that somehow eluded Pioneers’ goaltender Marc Cheverie at 15:31. Sophomore winger Alex MacLeod and freshman center Aaron Pietila picked up assists on Nielsen’s first career goal.

In the second period, the Huskies lost yet another forward when junior winger Bennett Royer went down with an injured leg.

Robinson made another 13 stops in the first 15 minutes of the period. Unfortunately, the 14th found a way past him.
Brian Gifford found the back of the net off a one-timer pass from Drew Shore at 15:45 of the period.

Things didn’t get much better for the Huskies as just about a minute later, sophomore defenseman Ricky Doriott was assessed a five-minute major for contact to the head. Fortunately, the Huskies were able to kill off the advantage.
With Royer already out, the Huskies then lost assistant captain Brett Olson shortly after their first power play of the game.

Junior center Eric Kattelus had a chance to even the game as he got loose near Cheverie, but the Pioneers’ goalie was equal to the task.

The Huskies fired eight other shots at Cheverie, but none found their way into the back of the net, as the Pioneers’ netminder made several key stops.

Robinson made 38 saves in the loss while Cheverie made 19 in the win. Five of Cheverie’s came off the stick of captain Malcolm Gwilliam.

The Huskies held the Pioneers to zero-for-four on the power play, but couldn’t find the back of the net on either of their chances.

The teams will meet again tomorrow night as the Huskies will look to force an extra game on Sunday.

“This is a tough building to play in,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “Things were so disjointed with [injuries].”

The Huskies (5-27-1 overall, 4-23-0 WCHA) jumped all over the hosts right off the opening faceoff as sophomore Bryce Reddick just missed the net on the first rush down the ice.

After the teams settled in, the Huskies fought hard to stay with the Sioux (19-11-5 overall, 14-10-3 WCHA), nearly matching the hosts shot-for-shot. It would take a mistake for someone to score, and fortunately, that’s exactly what happened for the Huskies.

The Huskies had a bit of bad news during the opening frame as senior defenseman Mike VanWagner was knocked out of the game after taking a hard check.

Sioux defender Joe Gleason attempted to clear a puck out of his defensive zone with a backhand pass in front of his own net. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam intercepted the pass and buried the puck behind Sioux netminder Brad Eidsness at 17:02.

Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol and his staff made some changes for the second period and the Sioux responded, outshooting the Huskies in the second period, 21-2. Huskies’ goaltender Kevin Genoe was able to stop 18 of them.
Kristo notched the first Sioux goal at 10:22.

Darcy Zajac, brother of New Jersey Devils forward Travis Zajac, made it 2-1 at 10:49. David Toews, brother of Chicago Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews, assisted on the goal.

The three-goal outburst was capped off by Ben Blood at 11:41.

To make matters worse for the Huskies, freshman forward Anthony Schooley was knocked out of the game after he took a wicked check. He earned a concussion for his troubles.

The Sioux came out strong again in the third period, taking advantage of the Huskies’ shortened bench as Zajac notched his second of the night 7:34 in.

Neither team could get much going on the power play until the Sioux earned their sixth of the night. Jason Gregoire extended the Sioux lead to four at 18:59.

Despite surrendering the two goals, Genoe made another 15 stops, making his total 43 for the game. Eidsness made 13 for the Sioux.

The Sioux went one-for-seven on the man advantage. The Huskies finished the night zero-for-six.
The teams will meet again tomorrow night for the final WCHA Regular Season game for both teams. Olson will again miss the game for the Huskies.

After dropping back-to-back 5-2 losses to the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers to end the home portion of their schedule, the Huskies head back out on the road for their final WCHA series of the season against the No. 7 North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
The Sioux (18-11-5 overall, 13-10-3 WCHA) are fresh off a sweep of the Colorado College Tigers, and currently hold the final home playoff spot with 29 points.

Senior Chris VandeVelde (13-18=31) leads head coach Dave Hakstol’s squad in points. Sophomore Jason Gregoire (15-12=27) leads the team in goals and game-winning goals (5). Freshman Danny Kristo (12-15=27) is tops on the team in power play tallies with eight.

Juniors Derrick LaPoint (2-12=14) and Jake Marto (5-8=13) lead a blue line corps that became awfully young with the loss of captain Chay Genoway to injury back in late November.

Sophomore Brad Eidsness (17-8-4 overall, 2.20 goals against average, .910 save percentage) continues to provide the Sioux with tremendous play in the crease, giving his team a chance to win every night.

One other positive for the Sioux has been the return of junior forward Matt Frattin, who had been suspended during the offseason. Frattin has five goals and 11 points in 16 games since being reinstated.

The Huskies

The Huskies (5-26-1 overall, 4-22-0 WCHA) are marred in a five-game losing streak dating back to a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Feb. 6.

They travel to Grand Forks, ND, this weekend with assistant captain Brett Olson’s (18-12=30) health in question, along with that of several other players. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam (12-14=26) will need to continue his strong finish to his senior campaign for the Huskies to remain competitive.

Junior Bennett Royer (4-6=10) notched another goal last weekend against the Badgers and now has notched all 10 of his points in the last 13 games.

Freshman defenseman Steven Seigo (4-14=18) had his streak of scoring at least a point a weekend snapped on Saturday night.  He still ranks among the leaders nationally for points-per-game by a rookie defenseman, sitting in a tie for fourth with .56 points per game.

Head coach Jamie Russell will likely start both freshman Kevin Genoe (4-17-1 overall, 3.48 goals against average, .904 saves percentage) and sophomore Josh Robinson (1-9-0 overall, 5.16 goals against average, .885 saves percentage) again this weekend. Both saw considerable action against the Badgers.

Future Huskies Watch

Hancock, Mich., native Tanner Kero, the 5’11” forward from the Marquette Rangers, continues to lead the North American Hockey League in goals with 29. Of those 29 goals, 12 have come on the man advantage and four have been game-winners. His 44 points put him in a tie for 19th in the overall scoring race.

Upcoming

In other Huskies’ news, while the team isn’t looking beyond this weekend, they will face the top-ranked Denver Pioneers in the opening round of the playoffs. The Pioneers are currently in the midst of a 10-game winning streak and facing their in-state rivals, the Tigers this weekend.

Jake Gardiner put the visitors on the board with a great move to get around Huskies’ goaltender Josh Robinson at 5:39.

Huskies’ (5-26-1 overall, 4-22-0 WCHA) sophomore winger Alex MacLeod had a golden opportunity to even the game shortly after the goal, taking a pass from freshman winger Anthony Schooley and firing it on Badgers’ netminder Scott Gudmandson. MacLeod’s shot rebounded back to him, but he couldn’t quite pull the trigger.

“We had a couple of opportunities to tie it, if not go ahead,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “I just think we ran out of gas playing with such a short bench.”

The Badgers (21-8-4 overall, 16-7-3 WCHA) extended their lead to two when Bohmbach crashed the net and had a shot from Craig Smith bounce off of him and past Robinson. The goal came at 12:36.

Things settled down after the goal and the Huskies finished the last eight minutes with a couple of power play chances back-to-back, but just couldn’t find the net.

The Badgers opened the second period with 37 seconds left of a two-man advantage but Robinson and the Huskies’ defense kept the puck out of the net.

Huskies’ captain Malcolm Gwilliam and junior center Eric Kattelus had a couple of good chances to get pucks past Gudmandson, but neither could find the twine. Shortly after their only power play of the second, the Huskies did strike.

Sophomore winger Bryce Reddick notched his first collegiate goal at 9:02 on a rebound in close to the net. Senior winger Ryan Bunger picked up the first rebound on a shot from freshman center Evan Witt in the high slot, and fired the shot that bounced to Reddick.

The Badgers earned a power play three minutes later and fired a few shots in on Robinson, who finished with 15 of his 45 stops for the game in that period.

From that point forward, the Huskies began to believe that they were still in the game, and they started to take pucks to Gudmandson. The best chance came from junior winger Bennett Royer who carried the puck in close, fired a shot, and nearly managed to get the rebound to Gwilliam.

Bendickson notched the first of his two goals 4:20 into the final frame.

The Huskies had a chance to pull within one again as senior winger Drew Dobson got in close to the Badgers’ goal on the power play, but his shot was stopped by Gudmandson, who finished the night with 30 saves.

Bendickson’s second goal came shortly after that Huskies’ power play at 10:36.

It didn’t take the Huskies long to answer that as Reddick notched his second of the night at 11:58. Freshman winger Mikael Lickteig picked up the puck in the corner to Gudmandson’s left and fed Reddick alone in front for the goal.

“It’s good to get the goals of my career,” said Reddick, “Going into the playoffs, we need to bear down and win those games.”

Badgers’ forward Craig Smith took a penalty for slashing with 1:37 remaining, allowing Russell to pull Robinson for the two-man advantage. Unfortunately the Huskies couldn’t get anything to Gudmandson during the advantage and instead took a penalty of their own when Kattelus was whistled for tripping.

Bohmbach blocked a shot and carried the puck the length of the rink before icing the game with an empty net goal at 19:42.

Neither team could get anything going on the power play, as the Huskies finished zero-for-six while the Badgers were zero-for-five.

The Huskies held Hobey Baker Candidate Brendan Smith, Michael Davies, and Derek Stepan off the scoresheet despite the loss.

“It was definitely a lot of work,” said Genoe. “It was a hard-fought battle between two teams and unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted.”

The Huskies (5-25-1 overall, 4-21-0 WCHA) struck first as junior winger Bennett Royer fired a long shot that somehow eluded Badgers’ goaltender Scott Gudmandson and found the twine at 3:52. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam set up the goal, Royer’s fourth of the season and fourth in his last 12 games. Assistant captain Jordan Baker also assisted on the goal.

Podge Turnbull evened the game just under five minutes later with a tip past Genoe at 8:45 for his second goal of the season.

The Badgers (20-8-4 overall, 15-7-3 WCHA) had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Huskies’ center Eric Kattelus was whistled for hooking and the Huskies’ bench took a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct at 12:13. The Huskies’ penalty killers kept the Badgers from getting more than two shots through to Genoe. Genoe made 20 stops in the period.

“That’s on me, it was really poor timing on my part,” said Russell. “The guys stepped up and bailed me out with just a huge penalty kill.”

Assistant captain Brett Olson powered a rebound past Gudmandson at 16:54 to regain the lead for the Huskies. His team-leading 18th goal of the season came about because Gudmandson struggled with the initial shot from Gwilliam, which hit Gudmandson up on his left shoulder. Sophomore defenseman Ricky Doriott also assisted on the goal.

Genoe remembered his hard hat again for the second period, making 25 stops on 28 Badgers’ shots. Davies fired three of his six shots during the second period. Badgers’ co-captain Ben Street fired four of his eight shots at Genoe in the period as well.

“Kevin (Genoe) was outstanding,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “We’ve got a chance, tied. We win a period, we win the game. We used so much energy killing off [penalties] and it was tough sledding with that challenge we had.”

Street evened the game at 7:27 with a shot along the ice that eluded Genoe.

Jordy Murray scored what would stand as the game-winning goal 1:30 into the third period.

Baker took a bad penalty for boarding just 2:14 into the third, setting up a five-minute power play for the Badgers. It didn’t take long for them to cash in.

Brendan Smith, the Badgers’ Hobey Baker Candidate, extended the visitors’ lead to two with a slap shot at 2:55.

Genoe made another 13 saves in the final period, but gave the puck away late, costing the Huskies again.

Andy Bohmbach took a pass from Craig Smith and beat Genoe, who’d turned the puck over behind his net, for the final goal at 17:38.

The Badgers finished two-for-six on the man advantage while holding the Huskies to zero-for-three.

Gudmandson made just 20 stops for the Badgers in the win.

The Badgers clinched home ice in the WCHA Playoffs with the win.

“We got the start you look for right off the bat,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “Down 4-1, I think our kids showed a lot of composure coming back.”

The Pioneers (22-6-4 overall, 16-4-4 WCHA) were looking to get off to a better start than they had on Friday night. Fortunately for the visitors, that effort culminated in a Huskies’ power play as Matt Donovan took a holding penalty.

The Huskies (5-24-1 overall, 4-20-0 WCHA) took the early lead on a power play goal just 2:22 in as captain Malcolm Gwilliam found the net behind Pioneers’ netminder Marc Cheverie on a rebound chance for his 12th goal of the season. Senior Drew Dobson fired the initial shot after taking a pass from senior defenseman John Kivisto.

Patrick Wiercioch evened the game for the Pioneers on the second Huskies’ power play of the opening frame at 8:44.

The Pioneers earned their first lead of the night when Joe Colborne tipped a shot from John Lee past Huskies’ netminder Kevin Genoe at the 13:45 mark of the first.

Donovan extended the Pioneers’ lead to two with a beautiful rush in which he not only beat Huskies’ freshman defenseman Carl Nielson, but he beat Genoe on a wraparound shot at 15:33, ending Genoe’s night.

Sophomore Josh Robinson’s luck wasn’t much better as Drew Shore found himself wide open in front of him, and Shore beat him cleanly at 16:55.

After a long first intermission, the Huskies were dealt a huge blow just 12 seconds into the second period as assistant captain Brett Olson was ejected from the game for checking Wiercioch from behind.

The Pioneers were held off the board on that power play, but were able to extend the lead some 11 minutes later as Kyle Ostrow got in alone on Robinson and beat him at 11:09.

Just under a minute later, freshman center Evan Witt cut the lead to three with his first goal of the season at 12:08. After taking a pass from junior Bennett Royer, Witt spun and fired a shot that beat Cheverie.

The Pioneers were rude hosts, striking first just 1:22 into the game. Cody Brookwell put the Pioneers on the board.

The Huskies (5-23-1 overall, 4-19-0 WCHA) got their feet underneath themselves by mid-period and began to take control of the game, forcing Pioneers’ goaltender Marc Cheverie to make some big stops. Cheverie made 14 of his 30 saves in the opening frame.

Captain Malcolm Gwilliam evened the game for the Huskies at 11:56 of the first period. The senior’s 11th goal of the season was assisted by assistant captain Brett Olson and junior winger Bennett Royer.

The game would remain tied well into the second period. At the halfway point, the Huskies held a 20-19 advantage in shots, but that all changed shortly after.

Momentum began swinging in the Pioneers’ (21-6-4 overall, 15-4-4 WCHA) direction as they began firing more shots at Huskies’ netminder Kevin Genoe. Genoe turned away 37 pucks, but couldn’t keep the game tied.

Tyler Ruegsegger regained the one-goal lead for the Pioneers at the 17:00 mark of the second period.

Kyle Ostrow extended the lead to two just 6:14 into the third period.

The Huskies cut the lead to one when freshman winger Mikael Lickteig made a huge play to open up space for Olson short-handed. Lickteig pulled the Pioneers’ defender away from Olson, who beat Cheverie for his third short-handed goal of the season. Lickteig also assisted on the goal.

That was as close as the Huskies could get, however. After an Anthony Maiani goal at 9:24, the Huskies had a golden opportunity with a power play, but couldn’t really get anything to Cheverie.

Lickteig nearly cut the lead to one again by firing a rebound through Cheverie. The puck never crossed the line, however, as a Pioneers’ defender kept it from crossing the line.

Brandon Vossberg iced the game for the Pioneers at 17:29.

Neither team got much going during power play chances. The Pioneers went zero-for-four and the Huskies finished zero-for-three.

“It’s a lot easier when you pop in a few wins every once in awhile,” said Huskies’ assist captain Brett Olson. “Any time we can get a win now, it’s good. We have nothing to lose and we just want to finish strong and have fun doing it.”

The Friday night Winter Carnival win marked the second win for the Huskies over the Bulldogs this season, becoming the first WCHA opponent to do so. The Huskies pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of a possible sweep on Saturday, but couldn’t hold onto the lead for the 43 minutes necessary to finish the win.

“I think we took a good step [this weekend],” said junior center Eric Kattelus. “We can’t dwell on it for too long.”

Over the recent stretch, the numbers show that the Huskies have indeed turned the necessary corner to make some noise heading into the WCHA Playoffs. They have scored a power play goal in each of their last six games. They are averaging 2.57 goals per game over the last seven, up from the 1.90 they were averaging over the previous 21 games.

The increase in scoring is directly tied into the play of assistant captains Olson (seven goals, two assists) and Jordan Baker (three goals, six assists). Kattelus, the Winter Carnival Most Valuable Player, has notched one goal and six assists over the stretch. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam and junior winger Bennett Royer have both picked up two goals and three assists. Freshman defenseman Steven Seigo has four points on two goals and senior Drew Dobson also has four points on the strength of three assists.

Between the pipes, freshman Kevin Genoe has earned six of the last seven starts in goal for the Huskies. He is averaging 34.2 saves a game over that stretch. He is 2-3-1 over those starts.

“All it takes is a couple of bounces to get the momentum swinging our way,” said Genoe. “We’re starting to come along and everyone is starting to click. All we want to do is build it up to the playoffs.”