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Men's College Hockey: 2017-18 Preview

09/30/2017, 8:45am CDT
By Peter Odney
Credit: Courtesy Gophersports.com.

Credit: Courtesy Gophersports.com.

The 2017-2018 season promises to be another strong one for NCAA Division I Men’s hockey programs in Minnesota if preseason rumblings and polls are to be believed.

The State of Hockey features three teams in the top-10 of the initial United States College Hockey Online Preseason Poll, with Minnesota (No. 3), Minnesota Duluth (No. 6) and St. Cloud State (No. 9) all cracking the upper tier of the poll.

Rounding out the preseason top-25 for Minnesota programs are Minnesota State at No. 18 and Bemidji State at No. 23.

The Golden Gophers were chosen by Big 10 coaches as the favorites to win the conference and placed four players on the conference’s Preseason Watch List in Tyler Sheehy, Ryan Lindgren, Casey Mittelstadt and Rem Pitlick.

Joining the Golden Gopher four on their conference’s preseason all-conference team are St. Cloud State’s Jimmy Schuldt and Chaska native Shane Gerisch of North Dakota.

The men's 2017-18 schedule kicks off, in earnest, the weekend of October 6-8.

Following are team-by-team previews of Minnesota’s Division I men’s hockey programs:

University of Minnesota

2016-2017 Record: 23-12-3

The return of 2017 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year Tyler Sheehy certainly boosts an already-strong crop of Golden Gopher forwards after Sheehy paced the group with 20 goals and 53 points last season.

Joining Sheehy on the front lines are senior forward Leon Bristedt (12-21-33) and sophomore Rem Pitlick (14-18-32), in addition to incoming freshman Casey Mittelstadt, a darkhorse Hobey Baker Award candidate and first-round draft pick of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

Junior and two-time Big Ten Conference Goaltender of the Year Eric Schierhorn is back for the Golden Gophers after posting five shutouts while playing in every game last season.

Credit: Courtesy University of Minnesota Duluth Athletics.

Credit: Courtesy University of Minnesota Duluth Athletics.

University of Minnesota Duluth

2016-2017 Record: 28-7-7

The race is on to replace Hunter Miska in Duluth, after the departure of the starting goaltender, who played in 36 games last season and posted a save percentage of .920, while backstopping the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament last spring.

Sophomores Nick Deery and Hunter Shepard, along with freshman Ben Pratt are all in the running to take over for Miska.

The Bulldogs are also replacing a leader up front with the graduation of 2016-2017 leading scorer Alex Iafallo, a void which will likely be filled by sophomore Joey Anderson (12-24-36) and senior Karson Kuhlman (6-16-22). Anderson upped his play in the postseason, recording two goals and seven points in the NCAA Tournament.

Amsoil Arena in Duluth will host the season-opening Icebreaker tournament, where the Bulldogs will start the 2017-2018 campaign against Minnesota on Oct. 6.

St. Cloud State University

2016-2017 Record: 16-19-1

With the bulk of last season’s roster returning, the Huskies will look to take the next step after being bounced in the first round of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament by North Dakota.

Junior forward Mikey Eyssimont (14-16-30) is back as the team’s incumbent leading scorer, joined by effective contemporaries in senior Blake Winiecki (12-13-25) and junior Patrick Newell (4-20-24).

Junior goaltender Jeff Smith takes his place in the crease after winning 10 games last season, and he’ll have a staunch group of defenders in front of him in juniors Will Borgen and Jimmy Schuldt and sophomore Jack Ahcan.

Borgen finished last season with the team’s best plus/minus mark, while Schuldt totaled eight goals and 19 points from the blue line. Ahcan was named to the 2017 NCHC All-Rookie team after leading all SCSU freshmen with five goals and 21 points.

Credit: Courtesy SCSU Athletic Media Relations.

Credit: Courtesy SCSU Athletic Media Relations.

Minnesota State University

2016-2017 Record: 22-13-4

The Mavericks must improve on their road record this season, after posting a 9-10-1 mark in away games while recording a sparkling 13-3-3 record at home.

Fortunately, five players who totaled 25 points or more are back in the Mavericks’ lineup, paced by Mannheim (Germany) native Marc Michaelis (14-22-36) and senior forward C.J. Suess, a Winnipeg Jets draft pick who racked up 12 goals and 31 points last season.

Junior defenseman Daniel Brickley is back after leading all defensemen with 23 assists and 31 points, anchoring a group that features five defenders who stand 6-foot-2 or taller.

Junior goaltender Jason Pawloski should take over in the nets after splitting time with Cole Huggins last year, with Pawloski posting a .901 save percentage and goals against average of 1.85.

The Mavericks will kick off their season on Oct. 7 against the Huskies of St. Cloud State.

Bemidji State University

2016-2017 Record: 22-16-3

As it has for the past few seasons, the Beavers’ strongest point starts between the pipes with senior goaltender and 2017 Hobey Baker finalist Michael Bitzer.

Bitzer went 22-14-3 last season with an impressive six shutouts, .932 save percentage, and 1.71 goals against average. Bitzer posted those career-bests in save percentage and goals-against average even while playing the most games in a season (39) in his collegiate career.

Senior forwards Gerry Fitzgerald and Kyle Bauman should lead the team in scoring again after post 26 and 23 points respectively. Both Fitzgerald and Bauman notched 13 goals last season.

Credit: Courtesy Minnesota State University Athletics.

Credit: Courtesy Minnesota State University Athletics.

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