2001-2002 Men’s Hockey Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
%^$The 2001-02 edition of the Ohio State men’s hockey team, led by seventh-year head coach John Markell and 20 returning letterwinners, is prepared to make a run for the top of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings.%^$
%^$From the Inside
%^$Ohio State returns 20-of-22 letterwinners from the squad last year, half of whom are now sophomores. With just four freshmen on the roster, the Buckeyes plan to build on the base they started last season.%^$”We’re looking to build from within,” Markell said. “We want to watch the younger players grow. We’re looking for older players to have breakout years. With four newcomers, we will be depending on the upperclassmen to lead our team to the upper echelon of the CCHA.%^$”I expect us to compete for one of the top four spots in the CCHA.”%^$
%^$The Maturation Process
%^$Last season, the Buckeyes had as many as 10 freshmen in the lineup on any given night. The majority of the 2001-02 edition of the team now knows what to expect, as well as what is expected of them, as collegiate hockey players.%^$
%^$The experience gained last year, especially during the playoffs, should help the Buckeyes get out of the gate this season. The team (17-18-2, 13-13-2 CCHA) ended the 2000-01 season with a double-overtime loss in the decisive third game of the first round of the CCHA Tournament at Nebraska-Omaha.%^$
%^$”We had so many young hockey players last season,” Markell said. “Half our team is now sophomores. They have a year of experience under their belts. I’m looking forward to seeing that experience used on the ice this year.%^$
%^$”Our expectations for this season will be based on the expectations of the young guys returning,” Markell said. “The playoff series at Nebraska-Omaha showed the team they could compete with the upper echelon of the league. We did a real good job in the series. I expect that strong play to carry over into this season.”%^$
%^$Up Front
%^$Offensively, the Buckeyes return three of their top four scorers, all of whom posted 30+ points last season. Sophomores R.J. Umberger and Dave Steckel, first-round draft picks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, are expected to lead the squad. The tandem was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, with Umberger receiving league rookie of the year honors. Umberger ranked first on the team last year with 37 points, including a team-best 23 assists, while Steckel led the Buckeyes with 17 goals and ranked third with 35 points. Paul Caponigri was fourth on the team with 13 goals, 18 assists and 31 points. The only loss up front for the Buckeyes is Jean-Francois Dufour, a member of the Ohio State Century Club (100+ points), who was second on the team with 15-21-36 totals.%^$
%^$Senior forwards include Yan Des Gagne and Mike McCormick. Des Gagne played in 29 games last season, tallying five points. McCormick had career highs for assists (14) and points (18) as a junior last year. The junior class is comprised of Miguel Lafleche, T.J. Latorre, Luke Pavlas and Ryan Smith. Last year Lafleche played in all 37 games, posting 8-4-12 totals, with most of his goals coming in the second half of the season. Latorre (1-4-5), Pavlas (3-9-12) and Smith (1-2-3) all saw action in 20+ games.%^$
%^$Sophomores Scott May, Daymen Bencharski and Chris Olsgard also return for the Buckeyes at forward. May posted 18 points (9-9-18) last season and was the only freshman to see action in every game. Bencharski tallied 3-4-7 totals and Olsgard recorded six points, on two goals and four assists.%^$
%^$Added to the offensive mix for this season will be freshmen JB Bittner and John Toffey. Bittner (Pittsburgh, Pa.), a USHL all-star, comes to Ohio State after a standout career with the Sioux Falls Stampede where he posted 22-28-50 totals in his last season with the team. Toffey (Barnstable, Mass.) played scholastically at St. Sebastian’s, tallying 111 (60-51) points in four years.%^$
%^$Newcomer Lee Spector (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) has the ability to be a strong up-and-down winger and also played more than half the season on defense for the Chicago Freeze. This will give him the ability to play either forward or defense for the Buckeyes.%^$
%^$On the Blueline
%^$Ohio State will be strong on defense this season, as five letterwinners return. In addition, Scott Titus, who redshirted as a junior last year while recovering from arm surgery, is back in the lineup.%^$
%^$Leading the defensive corps will be senior Jason Crain, a third-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Juniors Pete Broccoli and Eric Skaug shared team best defenseman of the year honors last season. Sophomores Doug Andress, an honorable mention CCHA All-Rookie team selection, and Reed Whiting also are back for the Buckeyes. Andress led the defensemen in scoring with 21 points (5-16) in his rookie season. Skaug tied departed senior Jaisen Freeman for the plus/minus lead among defensemen last season (+5).%^$
%^$Offensive defenseman Thomas Welsh (Regina, Saskatchewan), joins the Buckeyes as a freshman. He led all Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League defensemen in scoring with 77 points as a member of the Nipawin Hawks last season.%^$
%^$In Net
%^$The Buckeyes enter the year with experience in net. Last season, sophomore Mike Betz started 36-of-37 games in goal. He ended the year in the Top 10 in the Ohio State record book for goals-against average (3.00, sixth), wins (16, ninth) and saves (927, ninth).%^$
%^$Junior Peter Wishloff, who battled injuries throughout the year, and sophomore Kelly Holowaty saw action in two games each last season. The duo combined to shut out Findlay (Nov. 28), with Wishloff recording his first collegiate win.%^$
%^$The goaltending trio should push each other this season. Betz now has a year of collegiate experience under his belt and Wishloff enters this season healthy.%^$
%^$”Any time you have good goaltending, it’s the backbone of your team,” Markell said. “We need them to be solid day in and day out for us, all challenging for playing time, to be successful.”%^$
%^$A Tough Road
%^$In addition to their always-tough CCHA schedule, the Buckeyes will face solid non-conference opponents this season, including two holiday tournaments. At Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-25), the squad will travel to New Hampshire to take on Vermont as well as the host Wildcats. For the second-consecutive season, Ohio State will participate in the Everblades College Classic in Estero, Fla. The Buckeyes take on Maine in the opening game (Dec. 29) and will face either Cornell or Northern Michigan in the championship or consolation tilt Dec. 30.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes will host two non-conference opponents during the season. Wayne State travels to Columbus Nov. 9-10 and Ohio State will face off against Yale later in the season (Jan. 18-20).%^$
%^$The CCHA again used clusters for scheduling conference games, with each team playing the schools in its cluster four times (twice at home and twice on the road) and the other league teams twice. This season, the Buckeyes’ cluster includes Miami (Ohio), Ferris State and Michigan State. Ohio State plays host to two-game series with Notre Dame, Nebraska-Omaha, Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State and travels to Bowling Green, Western Michigan, Alaska Fairbanks and Michigan.%^$
%^$”There isn’t an easy cluster in this league and ours is very competitive this season,” Markell said. “You can’t take any cluster for granted. Certainly not the one we’re in. Miami is going to come back with a good team, Michigan State is always good and I expect Ferris State to be very competitive this year.”%^$
%^$”From top to bottom the CCHA is one of the most competitive leagues. Year in and year out we prove that.”%^$
%^$The Postseason
%^$The CCHA has changed the format of its postseason tournament beginning with this season. All 12 teams in the league will qualify for the playoffs, with the top six teams hosting the lower six in first-round, best-of-three series. The competition at Joe Louis Arena has been expanded from two to three days and the play-in game has been eliminated. The quarterfinals will be held Friday (March 15). The teams will be reseeded following the first round and the top two seeds will receive byes into the semifinals. The semifinal round will be held Saturday (March 16) and the championship game will be played Sunday (March 17). The winner of the tournament still receives the conference’s bid to the NCAA Tournament.%^$
