Western Collegiate Hockey Association

St. Cloud State Hockey: 2007-08 Season Preview

In his first two seasons as head coach at St. Cloud State University, Bob Motzko has positioned the Huskies among the elite college hockey teams in the nation. A two-time WCHA Coach of the Year award winner, Motzko helped lead SCSU to a second place finish in the conference (22-11-7, 14-7-7 WCHA), an NCAA tournament bid last winter and a seventh place ranking in the final USCHO.com national poll.

The Huskies were able to reach those levels of success thanks to the play of some familiar names over the past two seasons. In their final years with the program, players such as Brock Hooton, Joe Jensen, Konrad Reeder, Billy Hengen, Casey Borer, Dan Kronick, Bobby Goepfert, Justin Fletcher, Nate Raduns, Andrew Gordon, Grant Clafton and Gary Houseman were the backbone of teams that won 44 games over two seasons.

As SCSU looks at the 2007-08 season, Motzko is faced with the task of replacing those veteran leaders, but the Huskies will meet the challenge with a solid blend of talented returning players and promising newcomers.

"In some ways, this will be a transition year as we look to replace several seniors who really helped elevate this team last year," Motzko said. "We are unknown and unproven in a few areas on our roster this year, but I think we do have quality returning players and newcomers who will help with the transition process.

"A major key to our success, will be the ability for this team to improve throughout the season. I think we should continue to be strong on offense, and our biggest question mark is how we will be on the defensive side."

A huge gap that SCSU will look to fill this winter is between the pipes. Goepfert was a two-time All-America award winner and a Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist. He was a mainstay in the net for SCSU during the past two seasons and departed campus with his name firmly etched in the team records.

"As always, it all starts in goal and I really like all three of our goalies," Motzko said. "You are not going to replace an All-American goalie like Bobby Goepfert but I think we do have a few solutions to our goalie situation starting with the return of Jase (Weslosky)."

Fans will be familiar with sophomore netminder Jase Weslosky, one of two NHL draft picks playing between the pipes this season for the Huskies. A 2006 draft pick of the New York Islanders, Weslosky enjoyed a strong rookie season in the Granite City as he notched a 5-1-0 record in 2006-07. Weslosky's stats included a shutout against nationally-ranked Clarkson and a 2.68 GAA as a freshman.

His experience will be a prime factor for the Huskies, as they look to replace Goepfert. The Huskies will also gain veteran experience from sophomore B.J. O'Brien, who served played an important role as the team's third goalie in 2006-07. The SCSU goalie corps in 2007-08 will be rounded out by newcomer Dan Dunn.

A sixth round NHL draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2007, Dunn (6-5, 210-pounds) played for the Wellington Dukes (OPJHL) in 2006-07 and charted an impressive 1.94 GAA and .934 save percentage. A top college prospect, Dunn was an OPJHL All-Star in 2007.

Goepfert's success gained a large share of the spotlight in 2006-07, but one area that shouldn't be overlooked was the contributions made by the SCSU blueliners last winter. Seniors such as Borer, Fletcher and Clafton were a stable backbone for a defense that allowed only 99 goals in 40 games last year.

"Those three players (Borer, Fletcher and Clafton) provided us with a lot of quality play last winter," Motzko said. "It will be imperative that we find players on defense to replace those guys."

A top defensive producer back for his senior season in 2007-08 will be Matt Stephenson, who will serve as a team captain this winter. Stephenson was the team's top scoring blueliner last year with 24 points (two goals and 22 assists).

Senior Aaron Brocklehurst will make the move back to the blueline this year, after skating as a forward in 2006-07. An offensive-minded defender, Brocklehurst has a big shot that resulted in 23 points during his sophomore year when he played on defense. Senior Chris Anderson is another player making the return to defense in 2007-08, after playing most of his junior season at forward.

"All of our seniors have been instrumental with the transition over the past two seasons," Motzko said. "We really need them to continue to be leaders and have outstanding senior seasons for us in 2007-08."

In addition to SCSU's senior defense group, the Huskies will benefit from the return of junior David Carlisle, sophomore Jon Ammerman, sophomore Craig Gaudet and sophomore Garrett Raboin. In 2006-07, Raboin was an impact freshman with seven assists and a plus-three ranking on defense. Huskies fans should expect more of the same from Raboin in 2007-08.

"Garrett (Raboin) had a fabulous freshman season," Motzko said. "He is a true leader and a fierce competitor. He's an outstanding defense player, and I think you'll see more offense coming out of him this season."

Rookie Brett Barta will also boost SCSU's defense corps this winter. Barta was a standout prep player at Moorhead (Minn.) High School and he played last winter with Waterloo in the USHL.

On offense, the Huskies do bring back a substantial portion of its firepower from 2006-07. In fact, SCSU returns three of its top four point producers and six of its top 10 scorers from last winter.

Tops in that group of returnees is sophomore forward Andreas Nodl, who led the club in scoring with 18 goals and 28 assists. The HCA Division I Rookie of the Year and WCHA Rookie of the Year, Nodl charted five game-winning goals last year along with a plus 16 rating.

SCSU's other fab freshman last year was forward Ryan Lasch, who ranked third on the team with 16 goals and 23 points. He was selected to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2007, along with Nodl.

"Lasch and Nodl made a major impact on our team and in college hockey last year," Motzko said. "Both have a record of being offensive producers wherever they go, and that is what they did for us last year. They find a way to produce points, and the big challenge will be for them to continue that rate of production as sophomores."

Lasch and Nodl will be joined up front by senior leader Nate Dey. A four-year standout for the Huskies, Dey will serve as an assistant captain this year after hitting a career-high 10 goals and 22 assists as a junior.

"We expect Nate to be one of the leaders in our forward group this season, and his experience will be of benefit to many of our younger players," Motzko said.

SCSU's offense will also see the return of senior Matt Hartman (4g/5a), senior Marty Mjelleli (3g/2a), junior John Swanson (9g/14a), junior Michael Olson (2g/3a), sophomore Ryan Peckskamp (2a) and sophomore A.J. Gale (1a).

"Our goal scoring potential should continue to be solid in 2007-08, and it will be very important for some of our returning juniors and seniors to step up and be offensive leaders for us on the ice," Motzko said.

New faces may play a role in the SCSU offensive success story this winter. The Huskies will welcome in five incoming forwards, and Motzko believes they have the ability to compete at the Division I level.

Junior Brent Borgen will join the Huskies this season, after transferring from the University of Minnesota. Other newcomers on offensive include freshmen Garrett Roe, Nick Oslund, Calgary draft pick Aaron Marvin, Brian Volpei and Tony Mosey.

"I like the talent that these first year players bring to the table for us," Motzko said. "They have great skills and we will need them to contribute to our offense in 2007-08."

Once again, the WCHA will be a battle from start to finish for all teams involved. The WCHA has established itself as the nation's elite NCAA Division I college hockey league, and the 2007-08 campaign will be no different.

"The lessons this league teaches you is how hard you can fall, and that is a compliment to 10 very good hockey programs," Motzko said. "There are some very turbulent swings in the WCHA, and you can go from top to bottom pretty quickly. We were able to climb to the top over the past two years and, once again, it will be a major battle to get to that level this winter."

"The strength and competitiveness of the WCHA is the reason we have to be a team that prides itself in how fast it can improve. How we fill holes (left by the departed players from last year) and how quickly we improve will determine how the ride will go in 2007-08."