Cobbers Slated Sixth In MIAC Preseason Poll

MIAC men's hockey preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office

Click here for the complete MIAC men's hockey preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In recent seasons, the battle for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) men's hockey championship and five postseason tournament bids has been a fight to the finish, with the final weekend of the regular season typically determining the champ and MIAC Playoff field. As the 2014-15 season prepares for the puck to drop, expectations are high for another stellar season in the MIAC, and the competitiveness should be at an all-time high.

 In fact, the conference had been so closely contested, a year ago the league's coaches voted to move from  to a three-point system, adopting the shootout to break overtime ties and awarding another point for regulation wins to try and create some additional, earned separation in the standings. However, the drama still went right down to the wire in an entertaining season that saw the MIAC make headlines as the first NCAA Division III conference to adopt the shootout.

St. Thomas and Gustavus distanced themselves from a crowded field of contenders, with the Tommies (21-5-2 overall, 13-1-2 MIAC) racking up 42 points in conference play to earn the conference title over the Gusties (16-7-4, 12-3-1 MIAC, 38 points). It was the Tommies third-straight conference championship, and they added the MIAC Playoff title by scoring a one-goal win over Gustavus in a fitting championship showdown.

Only 11 points separated the next five teams in the conference standings in another display of MIAC parity. St. Olaf (12-11-4, 9-4-3 MIAC) and Saint John's (16-10, 10-6-0 MIAC) tied for third with 29 points each, with the Johnnies holding the tiebreaker for Playoff seeding purposes. Concordia (12-9-5, 6-6-4 MIAC) edged Augsburg (13-9-3, 6-7-3 MIAC) by a single point, 23-22, for the fifth and final Playoff spot.

Saint Mary's (10-14-1, 6-10 MIAC) was just another three points behind the Auggies at 18 points and Bethel (3-20-2, 2-13-1 MIAC, 9 points) and Hamline (2-22-1, 1-15 MIAC, 6 points) rounded out the final two spots in the standings in 2013-14.

This year, the MIAC returns a ton of talent. Rosters around the league are stacked with former MIAC MVPs, All-Americans and All-Conference selections. The current crop of conference goalies could be among the best collection of talent in conference history. Plenty of talented scorers and defenders are also back to fuel the optimism of the new season. Basically, the 2014-15 campaign can't start soon enough.

COACHES CALL ST. THOMAS MIAC FAVORITE
The coaches predict another season with St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings, as the Tommies were a unanimous choice to repeat as conference champions to headline the 2014-15 MIAC Men's Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll. UST received eight of the nine first-place votes (coaches can't vote for their own team) and 64 points to earn its spot as the conference favorite. Gustavus - the runner-up a year ago - is again considered the Tommies' top threat, as the Gusties received the other first-place vote and 55 points to finish second, and Saint John's should also be in contention, as the Johnnies rounded out the top three with 51 points.

St. Olaf received 38 points in the poll and just barely edged Augsburg (37) by a single point for fourth place, as the Oles and Auggies round out the coaches' picks for the five-team MIAC Playoffs. Concordia is also expected to be in the postseason picture, as the Cobbers were a close sixth with 33 points. The coaches expect Saint Mary's, Hamline and Bethel to all be neck-and-neck in the final third of the standings, as the Cardinals were seventh with 19 points and the Pipers (14) edged the Royals (13) for the No. 8 spot in the poll.

NATIONAL RANKINGS RECOGNIZE MIAC
The anticipation for the 2014-15 season in "The State of Hockey" has ascended to the national level as well, as the MIAC was well-represented in the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com Top 15 Preseason Polls. St. Thomas opens the season ranked No. 5 in the nation by both entities. Gustavus also appeared in both polls, as No. 12 in the USCHO.com poll and in the "Others receiving votes" category of the D3hockey.com poll. St. Olaf also received votes in the D3hockey.com rankings, while Saint John's received votes in the USCHO's poll.

NEW HOME FOR SEASON-OPENING SHOWCASE
The season will again open with one of the MIAC's most popular events - the MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase - although it will look significantly different in 2014. The three-day, nine-game celebration of MIAC hockey will remain in Blaine, Minn., but it has moved from Fogerty Arena to the Schwan's Super Rink. The new location will allow all three games each day to be played simultaneously (with start times staggered by 30 minutes). The Showcase begins Friday and runs through Sunday, with each MIAC team playing two games (that are counted as nonconference in the standings) against one another. There will be live stats of each game, and some schools will offer video or audio web casts of their games as well. The MIAC Showcase home page has complete schedules and links to follow the action, and will be updated throughout the weekend with scores, stats, recaps, photos and more.

WHAT'S NEW?
In addition to the new MIAC Showcase location and format, the standings and points system received another facelift this season. Last year, the MIAC became the first Division III conference to adopt the shootout and move to a three-point system. This year, those elements remain, but overtime results have been adjusted by the league's coaches and athletic directors. In 2013-14, an overtime win or loss was treated the same as a shootout win or loss. This season, overtime results will receive the same points as regulation results. The new system will feature three points for a regulation or overtime win, two points for a shootout win, one point for a shootout loss and no points for a regulation or overtime loss.

There was also one coaching change in the offseason, as Cory Laylin replaces Doc DelCastillo as the head coach at Hamline. Other than that it was all quiet on the coaching carousel. St. Olaf's Sean Goldsworthy returns for his 18th season leading the Oles to remain the MIAC's longest-tenured coach, while Gustavus' Brett Petersen embarks on his milestone 15th season with the Gusties.

WHO TO WATCH FOR
The Tommies were the unanimous pick to win it all again - and a top-five team nationally - thanks to the plethora of returning talent in St. Paul. UST has an All-American back at each of the three key positions on the ice, and field a deep, experienced, skilled bunch. Alex Altenbernd is back at forward after racking up 24 points a year ago en route to First Team All-American honors. Goalie Drew FIelding was the MIAC's Co-Player-of-the-Year and a Second Team All-American, and he's back between the pipes, and Second Team All-American defenseman Michael Krieg also returns to anchor the blue line as St. Thomas seeks another MIAC title and trip to the NCAA tournament.

Gustavus also has plenty of talent back in St. Peter to make a run at the MIAC title, starting with All-MIAC goalie John McLean in the crease. The Gusties have to replace high-scoring forward Corey Lievermann, but have a pair of senior skaters back in Tyler Lapic and Jack Walsh expected to take a step forward and assume larger roles in 2014-15.

The Johnnies are just a year removed from sharing the MIAC title and winning the MIAC Playoff championship, and many of the key players from that squad are still in Collegeville. Senior forward John Haeg has been an All-Conference pick in each of his first three seasons, and two-time All-MIAC forward Phil Johnson teams with Haeg to give SJU a spectacular 1-2 punch. Goalie Saxton Soley is also back for his junior season and hopes to return to his 2012-13 form, when he was named MIAC Co-MVP and an All-American as a freshman.

St. Olaf finished third a year ago and brings back a lot of its key talent, including All-MIAC junior forward Peter Lindblad and his 15 goals, along with sophomore forward Steven Sherman and senior goalie Steve Papciak. Augsburg just missed out on the MIAC Playoffs last season, and could be poised to join the postseason party in 2013-14. Talented forwards Mack Ohnsted (25 points) and Ben McClellan (15 goals) have both earned All-MIAC honors in their career and will team with senior goalie John Bretzman to give the Auggies plenty of reason for optimism this season.

Concordia will have huge skates to fill on the blue line after the graduation of MIAC Co-MVP Caleb Suderman, but its offense is still in great shape thanks to the return of scoring star Andrew Deters and his 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). Jordan Bancroft and Garrett Hendrickson also return at forward for the Cobbers, and they try to return to the postseason. Saint Mary's enters 2014-15 with high hopes with several of its top players back. Senior defenseman Bob Marx is back after scoring 17 points a year ago, and sophomore forwards Martin Gruse and Nick Albergo are also back after strong rookie campaigns.

Laylin's first season on the Hamline bench will certainly benefit from the return of senior defenseman Joe Rubbelke, a two-time All-MIAC pick. Junior forwards Kevin Novakovich and Brandon Zurn will again be called upon to lead the Piper offense as they hope for marked improvement this season. Bethel also has several of its top scorers back, as junior center Brock Raffaele and junior wing Travis Payne were both All-MIAC Honorable Mention selections last season, and junior Mitch Hughes is also expected to contribute again to the Royals' scoring attack.

CIRCLE THESE DATES
The first big date - or three dates, actually - of the 2014-15 MIAC men's hockey season are right around the corner, as the puck drops on the new season Friday, Saturday and Sunday with all nine teams in action at the MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase. The following two weeks feature a mix of conference games and nonconference play against teams from the WIAC, with the first full weekend of conference play coming Nov. 21-22. The pre-Holidays portion of the MIAC schedule concludes Dec. 5-6.

The league will spend the first half of January playing nonconference games against teams from around the Midwest, with MIAC play resuming the weekend of Jan. 16-17. The final weekend of the regular season will be Feb. 20-21, and if recent seasons are any indication, it will take until that final set of games to determine the champ and the MIAC Playoff field.

The MIAC Playoff format received a slight change this year as well, as the quarterfinal game between the No. 4 and 5 seeds was moved from Friday to Thursday. Now, the 4-5 game will be played Feb. 26, with the winner joining the top three seeds in the semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 28. The MIAC will crown its 2014-15 Playoff champion, and award its automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Playoffs, the following Saturday, March 7.

2014-15 MIAC Men's Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll

Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (eight for first, seven for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses. 

2014 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase

The 2014 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase will have a new look and a new location, as the popular three-day event moves to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. The new location will allow the Showcase to have all three games each day going on simultaneously, with start times staggered by 30 minutes. The Showcase will be held Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, with each of the nine MIAC teams playing two games over the course of the weekend to drop the puck on the 2014-15 season in style. The Showcase games will be counted as nonconference games in the standings, and serve as a season-opening celebration of the only Division III conference in "The State of Hockey." The Showcase home page contains full schedules, live stat links, team information and links, ticket information, directions and more, and it will be updated with results, recaps, photos and more throughout the event.

| 2014 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase Home Page |

2014-15 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs

The 2013-14 MIAC Playoffs will feature the top five teams in the conference standings playing in a high-seed-host, single-elimination postseason tournament. The Playoff schedule received a slight update in 2014-15, with the quarterfinal game moving up a day. The lone quarterfinal game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds will now be played Thursday, Feb. 26, with the two semifinal games to follow on Saturday, Feb. 28. The championship game is set for the following Saturday, March 7. The winner will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Tournament.