Thursday, November 17, 2016

Notes: Rediscovered Scoring Touch

WMU’s Iacopelli scored once last year, but ranks tied for second nationally in goals now, plus much more.

Notes: Rediscovered Scoring Touch
Western Michigan sophomores, including Colt Conrad (pictured), have combined for 20 goals this season, tied for second nationally by a sophomore class.

By Nate Ewell

Western Michigan is authoring perhaps the nation’s biggest turnaround, and it’s fueled by a sophomore who scored just one goal last season. Matheson Iacopelli (Brownstown, Mich./Muskegon-USHL/CHI) has already tallied 10 times this year, tied for second nationally, on 49 shots, which is tied for fifth. The former USHL goal-scoring champion may have taken some time to adjust to college hockey, but he – and his team, which hosts Air Force this weekend – are thriving now. | Friday’s game is on American Sports Network

News this week: 100+ in Draft Rankings | Graduation Rate Continues to Shine


Must Read/See/Hear Material

The Hockey News: Inside college hockey’s fierce recruiting war
Hockey Now: Shaw subject of successful children’s book series
Yahoo!: Parker Gahagen, the best darn goalie around
New York Times: Brooks’s miracle in Minnesota: spreading Division I hockey
Watertown Daily Times: Saints’ senior line clicking at the right time
Colorado Springs Gazette: Consistency next step for CC’s Bergh

Listen to “Nobody’s Perfect” on Spreaker.

Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

OSU’s leader – Tied with Iacopelli (featured above) with 10 goals is Ohio State senior Nick Schilkey (Marysville, Mich./Green Bay-USHL). The two-year captain is one of nine active players with 100-plus points (104) and has his team at 6-1-4 entering its final series before conference play begins at Rensselaer this weekend. The speedy Schilkey excels off the ice as well – the finance major was named a B1G Distinguished Scholar.

Most Goals Per Game
1.08 – Mike Vecchione, Union
1.00 – John Hayden, Yale (CHI)
1.00 – Matheson Iacopelli, WMU (CHI)
1.00 – Mitch Vanderlaan, Cornell
0.91 – Nick Schilkey, OSU

Familiar duo leads Clarkson – The ECAC Hockey Goaltender and Rookie of the Week aren’t just Clarkson classmates – Jake Kielly (Eden Prairie, Minn./Tri-City-USHL) and Nico Sturm (Augsburg, Germany/Tri-City-USHL) knew each other well before they arrived on campus. The two were teammates on the NAHL’s Austin Bruins in 2014-15 and won the USHL’s Clark Cup with the Tri-City Storm last season. Not only that – they lived in the same billet house last season in Kearney, Neb. Last weekend they boosted the Golden Knights’ record to 6-5-1 with two wins from Kielly and the first two goals of Sturm’s college career.

UMass feels a draft – Massachusetts visits New Hampshire Friday before venturing to Belfast, Northern Ireland, next week for the Friendship Four with Vermont, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence. First-year head coach Greg Carvel and the Minutemen have two NHL draft picks in the lineup, both on defense. Ivan Chukarov (Des Plaines, Ill./Minnesota-NAHL/BUF) and William Lagesson (Goteborg, Sweden/Dubuque-USHL/EDM) are two sophomores who bring size and talent to the UMass blueline. Carvel and his staff have a strong pipeline of potential NHL picks on the way as well – six future Minutemen were highlighted in NHL Central Scouting’s latest watch list for the 2017 NHL Draft.

Most Players/Recruits on Central Scouting’s Watch List
7 – Boston College, Boston University
6 – Denver, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth
5 – Michigan State, Providence, Wisconsin

Where’s the Beef – Michigan Tech is 5-1-0 after a 1-5-2 start, fueled in part by the emergence of freshman goaltender Angus Redmond (Langley, B.C./Salmon Arm-BCHL). Nicknamed “Beef”, Redmond has made his first six career starts in this stretch and made the most of his opportunity, posting a .938 save percentage in that time. The Huskies – who travel to Alaska Anchorage this weekend and Alaska next weekend – have also been bolstered by a power play that has clicked at 34.5% in those six games.

All-new AIC – It’s unusual to see a team post three straight ties, but after a 6-19-3 conference record last year, American International’s 2-2-3 Atlantic Hockey mark shows signs of progress. With a new coach in alumnus Eric Lang and a new home at the Mass Mutual Center, the Yellow Jackets also enjoy three freshmen among their top four scorers and another rookie between the pipes. Among the most impressive signs in Springfield is a 31.0% power play, which ranks second nationally.

Best Power Play
32.7% – Omaha
31.0% – American International
26.9% – Robert Morris
26.6% – UMass Lowell
25.7% – Minnesota


Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

The two youngest Division I programs meet this weekend, with Arizona State visiting Penn State for two games. Penn State has the nation’s best winning percentage (.864, 9-1-1) and second-longest active unbeaten streak (8-0-1) … Denver took over the No. 1 spot in the national polls this week … Another impressive mannequin challenge in college hockey, this one from St. Cloud State.