Quartet of Michigan teams optimistic for start of WCHA season
By Matt Mackinder –
During Monday’s media conference call with the WCHA’s head coaches, all 10 seemed to have the same tone in their voice when it came to expectations for the 2015-16 season.
All are optimistic and all believe their squad can be McNaughton Cup champions come springtime.
Alas, not one game has been played yet and the teams haven’t seen how they measure up against one another.
That will change in just a couple weeks.
“I believe the race for the McNaughton Cup will go down to the wire, just like last season,” said WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson. “We have a superb conference, a competitive conference, and I believe we will see several teams be a factor in the NCAA tournament.”
The 2016 WCHA Final Five playoff championship will be decided at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids the weekend of March 18-19.
For the four Michigan-based teams in the WCHA – Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan – each coach said the pieces are in place for successful runs in ’15-16.
“We’re looking to climb the ladder and make our way a little bit,” said LSSU coach Damon Whitten. “A lot of success we have this year will be determined from the back end out and with our goaltender, Gordie Defiel, he’ll have a large part in doing that. He’s come back in great shape, ready to roll, and we’re excited to see where Gordie’s at.”
At Ferris State, coach Bob Daniels knows it will be a chore to replace graduated goaltender C.J. Motte, but senior Charles Williams should step in and not miss a beat.
Getting back a deep junior class that was thrust into tough roles in 2014-15 will also be a key component for the Bulldogs moving forward.
“We return eight of our top nine scorers and I think we’ll have a pretty good influx of freshmen,” Daniels said. “Time will tell, but you look at it on paper, and scoring shouldn’t be as much of a concern as it was in previous years. On defense, we return a great group that has seen an awful amount of ice time the last few years.”
Ferris State’s Corey Mackin was chosen as the media’s choice for WCHA preseason Rookie of the Year to boot.
Up in Marquette, the Wildcats have a long road ahead and the competition should make NMU a better team in the long run, according to coach Walt Kyle.
“I think we’re really excited about the upcoming year,” Kyle said. “We were really disappointed in the year we had last year and were really disappointed in the way it went (156 man-games lost due to injury). We were extremely beat up and we just really couldn’t get any momentum or anything going. This year, we’ve got a lot of guys back that weren’t happy with (last year) and came back to school with an exceptional mindset.”
Michigan Tech was the surprise team last year, maybe in all of the nation, and even took the top ranking in the national polls on Nov. 18.
Huskies’ coach Mel Pearson knows last year was a special season, but cautions that all teams have made improvements, not just MTU.
“Our players are anxious to get started, especially after the way we finished last year (losing to St. Cloud State in overtime in the NCAA tournament West Regional),” said Pearson. “They finally got a taste of the tournament for the first time in a long time. I think one of the things that we’re looking forward to is that we have 25 returners this year and it’s been a long time since I’ve been with a team that’s had that many returning players. The expectations are high for our team, but they also have high expectations for themselves.”
The WCHA’s 64th season kicks off with games Oct. 9-10, while the league schedule starts one week later as Ferris State hosts Michigan Tech.
Moving even further ahead, Robertson alluded to the fact that expansion is on his list of priorities for the future, while for the present, a national TV deal, live streaming and a merchandise deal are all new for the upcoming year.
“I’m scouring the country looking for more teams to enter the WCHA,” admitted Robertson. “It’s a process and one we would like to work through, but we want to have more teams join us and continue to make the WCHA the best college hockey conference in the country.”