Tuesday, November 24, 2009

St. Scholastica Thanksgiving Hockey Classic Preview

Voice of: Joe Hansen
As promised, it’s time for a quick preview of this weekend’s St. Scholastica Thanksgiving Hockey Classic, featuring the Saints, two sets of Vikings, and Green Knights. If those names don’t get your inner nerd excited, then perhaps some hype will get the sports fan in you ready for action:

St. Norbert College Green Knights (8-0-1, 6-0-0 NCHA)
The fact that St. Norbert has dominated the series between the Knights and Saints (37-7-2 all-time vs. CSS) is rather inconsequential, at least for one week, as they will not be facing each other in Duluth. Rather, the Knights will be hosting CSS next weekend in DePere, Wis. for a conference showdown, and it will be up to the Saints to knock the Green Knights from the ranks of the unbeaten – that is, if the Vikings don’t do so this weekend. The point is, I think the Saints tended to scare themselves against the Green Knights in the past, because last season, they proved they are very beatable, snapping a five-game winless streak against St. Norbert with a 3-0 victory in DePere.
Players to Watch:
F Shane Wheeler (Sr.) – 9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points
F Cody Keefer (Fr.) – 7 G, 7 A, 14 pts.
D Nick Tabisz (Jr.) – 4 G, 7 A, 11 pts.
G B.J. O’Brien (Jr.) – 1.37 GAA, .933 Sv.%, 2 shutouts

Salem State College Vikings (3-0-0, 0-0-0 MASCAC)
There’s not much history between the Saints and Vikings. In fact, there isn’t any history at all. This will be the first meeting between the two teams. Salem State has opened their season up with three straight victories, including a 4-3 overtime win over Fitchburg (Mass.) State their last time out. The Salem State Vikings are on a hot streak, but the Saints are undefeated their past three games as well, so it will be an interesting match-up when the two teams face-off on Friday night.
Players to Watch:
F Matt Johnson (Jr). – 2 G, 1 A, 3 pts.
F Justin Roy (So.) – 1 G, 2 A, 3 pts.
F Chris MacInnis (Sr.) – 2 G, 0 A, 2 pts.
G Jamie Lacour (Sr.) – 2.30 GAA, .921 Sv.%, 89 saves

Lawrence University Vikings (6-1-0, 5-0-0 MCHA)
The Saints and Vikings are making it a Thanksgiving tradition, playing each other Saturday, exactly one year to the day of their last meeting on Nov. 28, 2008. Last season, the Saints edged out the Vikings with a 4-3 overtime victory in a similar Thanksgiving tournament hosted by St. Norbert. St. Scholastica is 5-1-1 against the Vikings over the history of the two programs, but make no mistake about it: the Vikings are a good team. Their only loss on the season came from our perennial pain-in-the-neck, Wis.-Superior. They’ve won two games by seven goals this year and scored eight goals three times. This is a team that is capable of putting up big numbers, and they should not be taken lightly.
Players to Watch:
F Marc Howe (Sr.) – 9 G, 5 A, 14 pts.
F Ben DiMarco (So.) – 8 G, 6 A, 14 pts.
D Jameson Raymond (So.) – 1 G, 6 A, 7 pts.
G Evan Johnson (Jr.) – 3.03 GAA, .899 Sv.%, 170 saves

I figure there’s no reason to preview the Saints – if you’re here, you know who they are. Forwards Riley Riddell (Jr.) and Jeremy Dawes (So.) have looked great on offense, while a young defensive corps has helped out goaltenders Zach Kleiman (Sr.) and Brennan Poderzay (So.). I know it’s a holiday weekend and you’ll be fat and happy from your Thanksgiving dinner, but try and make it out for the games this weekend – you won’t be disappointed.


For more information on the tournament, as always, stay current with www.csssaints.com/.

For all of us in the St. Scholastica athletics department and at the Voice of the Saints, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll see you next week.

Enjoy the turducken,
-jh


Friday, November 20, 2009

Points and Prattle, Vol. 9 - Nov. 20, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen



Good morning, St. Scholastica!

On one of the biggest college hockey weekends in the city of Duluth, Minn. in the 2009-10 season, the Saints are on a bye week, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty to get excited about here at St. Scholastica with men’s and women’s basketball well underway and the fall sports teams still racking up the accolades for an impressive season!

  • The fall season came to a close for at least one team last week as the Saints women fell by a 3-0 score to the Macalester Scots in the NCAA tournament. There’s nothing to hang their heads about, they had a great season and battled back from some injuries. Congrats on a great season!
  • With their season over, the CSS men’s team received a pair of prestigious awards this week as Toby Peter (Jr.) was named a Second Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA (College Sports Info. Directors of America) and ESPN (I think you know what this is), and Geofrey Kalanzi (Fr.) was announced as the recipient of the prestigious National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Lea Plarski Award. Read more about Kalanzi and the award here.
  • Katelyn Meger (Sr.) will not let the fall sports season end. She’s off to Nationals for cross country, her second straight appearance, after finishing ninth in the NCAA Central Regional last week. Congrats, Katelyn! I know you’ll do CSS proud.
  • Men’s basketball saw the nation’s longest winning streak come to an end in their season opener Sunday against Wis.-Eau Claire, but rebounded with an impressive victory over North Central Tuesday. The Saints will tip-off against Concordia-Moorhead tomorrow night, which can be seen live here.
  • As discussed in this week’s “5 Questions,” Coach Stacy Deadrick has inched one step closer to 200 career victories with win #199 Tuesday against North Central. The Saints are at Wis.-Stevens Point for a tournament this weekend and will take on Concordia-Moorhead and Stevens Point or Rockford College. The tournament web site can be found here.
  • Read some quick previews on this weekend’s basketball games here (men’s) and here (women’s), courtesy of my fellow sports information intern Chris Doran.
  • As I stated earlier, the Saints men’s hockey team is off this weekend after a pair of ties that was as frustrating as it was exciting in last weekend’s series against Wis.-Stout. Despite the ties, the Saints jumped Stout in the rankings and are now No. 8 in the nation, according to the USCHO.com/NCAA Division-III poll.
  • Next weekend, the puck drops on our Thanksgiving Classic as the Saints play host to Salem (Mass.) State on Friday night and Lawrence (Wis.) Univ. on Saturday night with a 7:05 p.m. start time each night. The No. 1 team in the nation, St. Norbert, will play the opposite team each day at 3:30 p.m. With the short week next week, we won’t have a 5 Questions, but Tuesday or Wednesday, I’ll be posting a preview of the tournament action, so stay tuned for that.
  • Finally, the Saints Nordic Ski team starts this season this week in West Yellowstone, Mont. Good luck to them this season, and I hope they enjoy their trip!

That’s all I have for you on a relatively slow week in CSS athletics. Stay tuned for the aforementioned Saints Thanksgiving Classic preview next week.

Enjoy your weekends,
-jh
Go Saints!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

5 QUESTIONS ...with Women's Basketball Coach Stacy Deadrick

Voice of: Joe Hansen
Good morning, St. Scholastica!

An unnamed source has told me that it's time for another edition of 5 Questions on the Voice of the Saints. Yesterday, I sat down with women's basketball coach Stacy Deadrick for an interesting interview. We talked about her upcoming milestone (200 victories), how her newest young athletes, and what it will take to succeed this season. Check it out:



That's all for today.

Enjoy your week,
-jh

Friday, November 13, 2009

Points and Prattle, Vol. 8 - Nov. 13, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen



Good morning, St. Scholastica!

A Happy Friday the 13th to you all! Sportscenter asked this morning who my favorite player who wore/wears #13 is – and I emphatically said NOT Alex Rodriguez, but that’s neither here nor there – which made me think of Saints athletes who wore number 13 in recent years. Here’s the list, as I can tell:

  • Baseball: Adian Kummet (’09)
  • Basketball: Kyle Allen (’09)
  • Football: Drew Holm (So.)
  • Hockey: Shawn Barlette (’08)
  • Soccer: Abby Arrowsmith (Sr.), Geofrey Kalanzi (Fr.)
  • Volleyball: Emily Lindquist (Fr.), Erin Niles (’09)

So, as you can see: a pretty star-studded group of current and former athletes, but still rather sparse in terms of numbers. It would seem that in the sports where players have the most leeway to choose their numbers, they aren’t taking 13. Superstitious? Maybe. With that out of the way, let’s review a busy week of Saints athletics with the latest edition of Points & Prattle:

  • The week began with the crowning of three UMAC tournament champions, adding to our collection of five on the fall season, as men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball joined men’s and women’s cross country atop the conference.
  • If you weren’t at any of these games, you missed some great action. You can catch the women’s soccer championship game (with commentary from yours truly) on demand by clicking here.
  • Speaking of commentary from yours truly… Did you miss Saints hockey taking on Saint John’s last Friday? Check that here.
  • …but back to the Fall sports, we saw an impressive second season come to an end for Saints football on Saturday as they fell to Martin Luther. But there is plenty of reason for optimism coming off a 4-6 season which saw the Saints finishing third in the UMAC. All-Conference football awards should be announced soon, and I suspect we will see more than a few Saints honored this year.
  • Already this week, the Saints have had 11 athletes selected to the First Team All-UMAC in their respective sports, and six more chosen as Honorable Mentions. Check out the names, headed by two-time UMAC Player of the Year Toby Peter (Jr.), by clicking your favorite sport: Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Soccer.
  • Saints soccer isn’t done as of yet, because the Saints women’s team was selected for the third straight season to compete in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on Macalester tomorrow evening, and you can catch live video of it here, starting at 7:30 p.m.
  • They are joined in NCAA competition this weekend by the cross country teams who will compete at the NCAA Regional in Grinell, Iowa. Coach Pfingsten previews the meet here.
  • The 10th ranked Saints men’s hockey team returns to their home ice tonight against No. 9 Wis-Stout. A sweep could put the Saints alone atop the NCHA standings as fellow conference leaders No. 1 St. Norbert and No.8 Wis.-River Falls do battle with Wis.-Stevens Point and Wis.-Eau Claire, respectively. Coach Wick previewed the match-up in his first ShoutOut! Of the year.
  • Saints men’s basketball goes to work on defending their own UMAC Tournament championship starting Sunday when they take on Wis.-Eau Claire. Coach Staniger sat down for 5 Questions with VOTS earlier this week, talking about his young team, who was picked to finish third in the UMAC this year, despite touting the nation’s longest winning streak at 11 straight games.
  • The Saints women don’t start this season until next Tuesday when they take on North Central, but it was announced earlier this week that UMAC coaches tabbed them to finish fourth in the conference.

That’s about all that’s going on for Saints athletics this week. Stay current with CSSsaints.com, and click to proper links on the side to follow the Saints on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll be back next week with more.

Enjoy your weekend,
-jh
Go Saints!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

5 QUESTIONS ...with Men's Basketball Coach David Staniger!

Voice of: Joe Hansen
Good morning, St. Scholastica!

We're a day late, but that's never stopped me before. It's time for the newest edition of 5 Questions on VOTS, and today's guest is head men's basketball coach David Staniger! We had a good chat about championship games, leadership, and new players. He seems excited about the time, set to make their home debut this Sunday against Wis.-Eau Claire -- so be there! Without further adu...



Enjoy, and I'll see you Friday for Points & Prattle!

Go Saints!
-jh

Friday, November 6, 2009

5 QUESTIONS ...with Men's Hockey Coach Mark Wick!

Voice of: Joe Hansen

Good morning, St. Scholastica!

Happy Friday to everyone! It's time for another exciting edition of 5 Questions on VOTS. Today, we begin the series of interviews with winter sport coaches, starting with men's hockey's Mark Wick. Coach Wick and I talk about youth, blackouts, and bosses. Very interesting stuff.



A quick programming note, directly involving hockey: Starting this weekend, Saints home games will not only be heard, locally and online, on ESPN Radio 560AM-WEBC, but will also be broadcast on the iFan Sports Network, so you can WATCH the game online here. And even more exciting, the local crowd will get to enjoy Saturday night's game on the local MyNetworkTV, channel 9 in Duluth, thanks to iFan and the Northland's Newscenter. You have plenty of venues to follow the Saints, so tune in and root them on this weekend!

Win Saints!
-jh

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Points and Prattle Playoff Preview (Vol. 7) – Nov. 3, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen



Good morning St. Scholastica,

It’s time for a special Tuesday edition of Points and Prattle, and not just because we missed it last week. We’ll have 5 Questions this Friday, and then return to our normal programming schedule next week. Today is an important day for the Saints because it’s the semifinals of the UMAC Tournament for three of our Fall sports. So, this is a Playoff Preview edition of Points & Prattle (gotta love that alliteration!)

Men’s Soccer

  • Finishing second in the UMAC, the Saints men’s soccer team will play host to Northwestern College this morning at 11:30 a.m. In their two regular season meetings, the Saints swept the Eagles by scores of 5-1 on the road at 2-0 at home.
  • The Saints come in on a four-game undefeated streak while the Eagles come off a loss to Crown College last Friday night.
  • The Saints men have not lost a UMAC first round match since the 1998 season.

Women’s Soccer

  • The women’s team, who won their sixth straight UMAC regular season title this season, will play host to the University of Minnesota, Morris at 2 p.m. on Saints Field. CSS shut out the Cougars in each of their two meetings this season by scores of 1-0 and 4-0.
  • Sophomore goalkeepers Bailey Mahlum and Erin Olejnicak each have two shutouts of the Cougars during their careers at CSS.
  • The Saints women won the UMAC tournament in each of the past two seasons

Volleyball

  • After getting the chance to watch the women’s volleyball team for the first time this past weekend, I can assure you that they can win any game against any opponent. They are extremely talented, but more importantly, they have a lot of fight in them.
  • The Saints finished second to three-time defending champion Northwestern in this year’s regular season and will host Northland College on Tuesday evening (7 p.m. – Reif Gym in the BWC on campus). CSS swept the season series against the LumberJills, beating Northland in straight sets when they hosted them last week, but took five games in Ashland on Oct. 14 to earn the win.
  • The Saints have not faced Northland in the postseason since the 2002 season, when the Saints swept the ’Jills 3-0.

Best of luck to each of our three teams playing today, and we hope that you will be able to get out to the games (despite the inconvenient timing of the soccer matches) to cheer on the Saints!

Enjoy your week,
-jh
Go Saints!