January 2, 2008

2007-08 WCHA Hockey Mid-Season Report (insidecollegehockey.com) Like it has been for a few of us in the college hockey world, it’s been a rough December for the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, who have recently endured a recent 0-2-2 streak to fall to .500 at the break. But that’s actually not a bad mark for a team with not much in the way of go-to offense, and for which expectations were mighty low (INCH had them pegged for eighth in the league). The team has pulled off a few notable wins (at Denver and at North Dakota) and spent more than a month ranked nationally via solid defense and the goaltending everyone expected from Alex Stalock a year ago. The Bulldogs are currently third in the WCHA and aren’t likely to finish that high, but may be building toward something good this year and in the future. SURPRISE INDIVIDUAL When you tell people in St. Cloud that a rookie is from Virginia, they smile, because they know Iron Rangers play great hockey. When you explain that he’s not from Virginia, Minn., but from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., they give you a puzzled look, because they don’t expect anything other than bad traffic and bureaucracy to come out of the Beltway. Then they watch Garrett Roe move the puck, shoot the puck, and light the lamp, and they smile. The rookie forward has recorded points in 14 consecutive games, and leads all D-I rookies with 1.47 points per game. BEST NEW FACE With well-deserved nods to Roe and Denver’s Tyler Bozak, no newcomer has meant more to his team thus far than goalie Richard Bachman has to Colorado College. Goaltending was supposed to be a question mark for the Tigers, but with Bachman between the pipes, it has been an exclamation point. In eight of his collegiate 12 starts, Bachman has allowed one goal or fewer, and he's already been named the league’s rookie of the week three times. We’re always cautious about how young goalies will fare over the course of a full season (after seeing a few youngsters hit a big wall on or around Jan. 15) but for now the sun is shining brightly off the snow-capped peaks outside Bachman’s new home. WHAT HAPPENED TO… Minnesota State's Mike Zacharias has a sterling 1.94 GAA and a .929 save percentage. But we haven't mentioned him yet. How does he figure in to the mid-season report? A more appropriate question would be, “What hasn’t happened to Minnesota since last season ended?” It was expected that the Gophers would take their lumps this year, having suffered a rash of early departures and facing the future with a very young defensive corps. The optimist will note that the Gophers head to the break above .500 (9-8-1) after upsetting North Dakota their last time out. But uncharacteristic home losses that have fans grumbling, and the unexpected losses of Ryan Stoa (to a season-ending knee injury) and Kyle Okposo (to a collegiate career-ending pro contract) leave very, very little margin for error for a team that’s struggled offensively. Opportunities abound for young players to step up and fill those voids. If they don’t, the Gophers may spend Easter weekend watching the WCHA Final Five on TV. BIGGEST UPSET The first half of the regular season has gone surprisingly true to form in the WCHA, with parity abounding and no great or awful teams identifying themselves yet. At one time, Alaska Anchorage’s 4-2 win at Minnesota in November would’ve been a huge upset, but in fact it was the Seawolves' second win in their previous four games in Minneapolis. Instead, we’ll give a nod to the stars of tomorrow and note the USA Under-18 Team’s 2-1 win at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, fueled by 31 saves by Joe Cannata. It marked the first time a WCHA team has ever lost to the U-18s. TOUGHEST ROAD OUT In November, having just survived back-to-back trips to North Dakota and New Hampshire, Colorado College coach Scott Owens breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. His team logged trips to Anchorage, St. Cloud and Denver in the first half, too. The holiday break comes with the Tigers atop the WCHA standings and looking to stay that way, thanks to a favorable second-half schedule. After a trip to Wisconsin (which will be missing key players due to World Juniors) in early January, the Tigers are at home for 11 of their final 16 games. TOUGHEST ROAD IN Folks in the Minnesota program like to say that in the WCHA, they’re everybody’s archrival — and in the case of five of the other nine teams, they’re right. With that in mind, and considering the struggles the Gophers have had already this season, January and February could be particularly cold in Minneapolis. After a home date with St. Cloud State on Jan. 11, Minnesota is on the visitors’ side of the scoreboard for nine of its final 15 games — a slate that includes trips to St. Cloud, Denver, Anchorage, and Duluth. This is looking like one of those rare seasons where the Gophers have a WCHA playoff road trip, too. MUST-SEE WEEKEND A few years ago, the season-ending home-and-home affair between Colorado College and Denver ended with both teams getting a chance to hoist the MacNaughton Cup. With the teams atop the league standings at the break and winning in similar style, there’s no reason to think that the league title won’t be up for grabs between these two when they meet again on March 7 in Denver and the next night in Colorado Springs. BIGGEST QUESTIONS ANSWERED Is Shane Connelly Wisconsin’s next great goaltender? This far into his first season as the Badgers’ top netminder, the answer is no. Or at least, not yet. Connelly has been good in stretches, but not good enough consistently for a team that looked solid in October, struggled in November, and played better in December. The team’s success doesn’t rest entirely on his shoulders, but if the Badgers want to get back to the NCAA tournament, Connelly is going to have to be better than the 4-5-1 conference record he’s put up so far. Is there more to Michigan Tech than defense? The Huskies have been somewhat less than the breakout team we predicted in the preseason — and that their 4-1-0 start led us to believe — but veterans have Tech scoring at a better clip than we expected. The defense and goaltending have been as good as advertised, and the team’s four top-scoring forwards are a junior and three seniors, proving that maybe there’s something to the theory that experience matters in college hockey. Still, Tyler Shelast is the only Husky with double-digits in points, meaning greater output is needed if Tech wants to host playoff games in March. BIGGEST QUESTIONS REMAINING Are backup goaltenders an endangered species? The days of the goalie tandem look numbered league-wide, as one person is getting the lion’s share of the starts nearly everywhere. Alex Kangas has seen a little bit of duty behind Jeff Frazee at Minnesota, and Rob Nolan rotated with Michael-Lee Teslak at Michigan Tech for a little while, but on most WCHA teams goaltending is a one-man show. Add to that the scary eye injury suffered by Alaska Anchorage backup Matthew Gordon (while riding the bench), and North Dakota backup Anthony Grieco’s decision to leave school after just over a year, and the goaltending job opportunities are looking sparse. Will a Colorado-based team be playing “home” games at the Frozen Four? The hot starts by Denver and Colorado College are a marketer’s dream for the folks selling the Frozen Four, which will be held in the Mile High City in April. While we won’t go so far as to predict the Tigers-Pioneers semifinal we saw in Columbus a few years ago, the current WCHA standings (not to mention the good season Air Force is having) give Colorado hockey folks high hopes that there will be plenty of local rooting interest at the Pepsi Center when the nation’s top teams gather there for the season’s final three games. INCH's First Half All-WCHA Team Pos. Player Of Note, team: G Mike Zacharias, Minnesota State: With all due respect to guys wearing green, black and crimson, this Mav's great numbers have meant the most to his team's successes. D Robbie Bina, North Dakota: His recovery from a potential career-ending neck injury and his leadership of the Sioux defense make for a heart-warming holiday story. D Josh Meyers, Minnesota Duluth: He leads the Bulldogs in offense and all WCHA defensemen in goals, and is an impressive plus-11 on a team that doesn't score much. F Ryan Lasch, St. Cloud State: He's been held without a point just three times this season, and has 10 multi-point games while leading the WCHA in scoring. F Chad Rau, Colorado College: Rau heads into the break on a 10-game scoring streak and has a point in 14 of the Tigers' 16 games this season. F Brock Trotter, Denver: How did we know it would be another good year for Trotter? How about the goal he scored six seconds into the Pioneers' game with Maine on Oct. 12? InsideCollegeHockey.com Web

January 1, 2008

Preview the new movie "The Rocket". click here

December 12, 2007

MSU hockey review: Badgers won't miss Alltel Center By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer MANKATO— The Wisconsin Badgers know a thing or two about home-ice advantage. So you can put some stock into their thoughts after mustering one point from Minnesota State Friday and Saturday at Alltel Center. “I think if you went around from team to team, this is one of the harder buildings to play in,” Badgers coach Mike Eaves said after the Mavericks’ 2-1 win and 1-1 tie. This was from a coach whose team regularly plays in front of the largest crowds in college hockey. Alltel Center is the second-smallest arena in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (4,704), but crowds of 4,121 and 4,645 boosted Minnesota State’s average attendance to 4,442 this season. On Thursday, the school distributed student tickets for the games against the nation’s 10th-ranked team and went through the allotment of 1,100 passes per night in a just a couple of hours, according to Minnesota State officials. Even with tickets in hand, students braved the bitter cold waiting in line to get their favorite seats when the doors opened an hour before faceoff. Minnesota State has not lost to Wisconsin in their last four meetings at Alltel Center and has dropped just one of the last six games. That was in December of 2004. Wisconsin is now 4-8-3 in Mankato. Said Badgers senior captain Davis Drewiske: “I’m not going to miss this place, that’s for sure.” Killer instinct Minnesota State killed off 29-straight power plays over six games before Wisconsin’s Jamie McBain scored Saturday’s game-tying goal in the third period. “He just beat me,” Mavericks goalie Mike Zacharias said. “It was a good shot, and he got all of it. It beat me between my elbow and my shoulder.” At 87.7 percent, the Mavericks’ penalty kill ranks 15th in the nation. Zacharias stopped nine of 10 power-play shots Saturday including a pair of tough, back-to-back saves in the second period. “The penalty kill starts with your goaltender and stems out from there,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said. “We’re blocking shots, blocking passes and, when we didn’t, (Zacharias) was there to make the save.” He’s Z man By giving up just two goals on the weekend, Zacharias moved up to second in the WCHA and sixth in the nation in both goals-against average (1.65) and save percentage (.938). “Mike did what he’s done all year,” Jutting said Friday. While it’s still early in the season, here are a couple of statistics to ponder: Minnesota State’s single-season goaltending records for save percentage is .924, set by Dave Gross in 1972-73. The goals-against average mark is 2.65 set by Glen Prodahl in 1990-91. The Mavericks have not had a goaltender as their team MVP since Eric Pateman in 1999-2000. Loose pucks Geoff Irwin’s game-winning goal Friday was the second of the sophomore’s career. ... Defenseman R.J. Linder’s two-assist game Friday was his first two-point night. Linder has just 11 points in 103 career games. FreePress stars of the series 1. Mike Zacharias: Junior goaltender continued his stellar play and is the Mavericks’ MVP so far. 2. Joel Hanson: Scored MSU’s lone goal Saturday but was stellar on the penalty kill. 3. Jon Kalinski: Another player who deserves kudos for penalty killing.

December 12, 2007

Zacharias Earns League Defensive Player of the Week Honors, Again; Junior Netminder Cops Award for Third Time in career and Second Time for 2007-08 After Backstopping Mavericks to Three-Point Weekend With Visiting Badgers Madison, Wis. --- Mike Zacharias, a junior goaltender at Minnesota State University, has been named Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for Dec. 8-9 as a result of his outstanding play in the home Mavericks’ win and tie over WCHA-rival Wisconsin. A 5-10, 175-pound junior from Plymouth, Minn., Zacharias topped 58 of 60 shots (.967) as the Mavericks earned a 3-1 win and a 1-1 tie with the tenth-ranked Badgers last weekend. Had 29 saves in 3-1 win Friday (including holding the Badgers to 0-5 in power play opportunities which included two five-on-three situations during the game) and then had 29 saves in 1-1 tie Saturday (the Badgers were 1-for-9 in power plays and had one five-on-three power play situation during the game). Zacharias owns a .938 save percentage for the season to rank sixth in the country. His 1.65 goals against average is also sixth nationally. This week’s award marks the third time in his three-year career that Zacharias has won the award. He also received WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors last year after backstopping the Mavericks earned a 2-2 tie and a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech Feb. 2-3, 2007. He also copped the award this season after MSU earned a 2-2 tie and a 2-0 win at Alaska Anchorage Oct. 26-27. MSU is 5-6-3 overall and 3-6-3 in WCHA action and is at Bemidji State in nonconference action this weekend.

December 11, 2007

Hobey Watch Here's this week's installment of the Hobey Watch. 1. Kevin Porter, Michigan Ok, this is getting kind of boring. 2. Derek Whitmore, Bowling Green 13 goals in 13 games on a team that wasn't supposed to be as good as they are. 3. Mike Zacharias, Minnesota State Minnesota State is within just four points of third place in the WCHA, despite only averaging 1.67 goals per game in conference, more than half a goal worse than the next lowest team in the league.

December 6, 2007

Mavs goalie Z... Entering this season, the Minnesota State men's hockey team had numerous questions to answer. One of the most important ones was goaltending. But thanks to the play of junior goalie Mike Zacharias, one of the Mavericks' biggest questions has been answered. The Plymouth native has been one of the team's biggest surprises this season, mostly because he was expected to share time with fellow junior netminder Dan Tormey. Tormey's play so far this season, however, has left a lot to be desired. Luckily for the Mavericks, Zacharias' play has been the main headline for the team through 12 games. Junior defenseman Brian Kilburg is in his fifth season playing in front of Zacharias - as the two were also teammates in the United States Hockey League. "I think he's just warming up right now," Kilburg said. "He's a hard worker and just keeps working harder and harder. He's just getting his opportunity now." Zacharias earned the start in the season opener last season at Notre Dame, but never played in the game after injuring his leg during warm-ups. Tormey played a majority of the time until a hand injury forced him out of the line-up for an extended period. During that time, Zacharias was counted on to carry the load. "It helped a lot," Zacharias said. "Getting into those games really boosted my confidence which helps goalies a lot. It was a great learning experience." That trial by fire has paid off this season. Through 12 games, Zacharias ranks in the top-six in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in goals against average (1.82) and save percentage (.930). If he maintains those numbers over the rest of the season, it is almost assured he will rank in the top-10 in the nation. "He's played very well and needs to continue to play well," said Mavericks head coach Troy Jutting. "If you're going to be successful, you need to get his type of performance." Zacharias doesn't point out any changes in off-season regiment or daily routine. Very humble, Zacharias instead talks about his teammates playing well in front of him. "I knew coming we had some good young defense," Zacharias said. "I'm very pleased with how they have come out and played so far." His experience last season seems to have also slowed the pace of the game down. Zacharias has rarely made the spectacular save this season because he's put him in position to make it look routine. "At an earlier day, Zacharias used to be a little flashy," Kilburg said. "But I think now he has realized he needs to keep it simple. He doesn't need to make that play as long as he's just stopping the puck." Zacharias has thrived while playing a lot of games in the USHL, leading the league in ice-time in his final season. "I like to play in every game I can," Zacharias said. "I know back in juniors I was kind of a workhorse, and I've had that reputation all the way back since squirts. That's the condition I'm used to." This weekend's opponents - the Wisconsin Badgers - will provide Zacharias with a new challenge this weekend. The Badgers bring offensive punch with top-line forwards Kyle Turris and Ben Street. Freshman Ryan McDonagh and senior Kyle Klubertanz can score from the blueline. "I haven't watched any film of these guys, but I've heard all the hype," Zacharias said. Minnesota State and Wisconsin will get underway Friday night at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. Both games will be played at the Alltel Center. Dan Myers is the Reporter sports editor

November 1, 2007

Flames take 1st in Lake Placid, NY.

October 31, 2007

Zacharias Earns League Defensive Player of the Week Honors Junior Netminder Cops Award for Second Time in Career After Maverick Tie, Beat UAA Madison, Wis. --- Mike Zacharias , a junior goaltender at Minnesota State University, has been named Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 30-Nov. 5 as a result of his outstanding play in the visiting Mavericks’ tie and win over WCHA-rival Alaska Anchorage. A 5-10, 175-pound junior from Plymouth, Minn., Zacharias had six shutout periods in the two-game series – including a five-minute overtime – stopped 52 of 54 shots on goal for a league-best .963 saves percentage, and blanked the Seawolves on all nine of their weekend power-play chances. Zacharias had 27 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie against UAA last Friday (Oct. 26) evening at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage and then stopped all 25 shots on goal in a 2-0 shutout victory last Saturday (Oct. 27). The shutout was the second of his three-year collegiate career. Over 224:54 of action so far this season, Zacharias sports a 1.87- goals against average, a .933 saves percentage and a 1-1-1 record. This week’s award marks the second time in his three-year career that Zacharias has won the award. He also received WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors last year after backstopping the Mavericks earned a 2-2 tie and a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech Feb. 2-3, 2007. MSU is 1-2-1 overall and in WCHA action and is at Alabama-Huntsville in nonconference action this weekend. See attachment

October 19, 2007

Zacharias saves 30-32 shots in a tough 2-0 loss to Michigan Tech.

October 6, 2007

Mike Zacharias, Goalie, Minnesota State Even with Travis Morin and Steve Wagner in the fold, 2006-07 was a tough season for the Mavericks. Take them out of the picture - Morin to graudation, Wagner to the St. Louis Blues - and 2007-08 could be a very difficult year indeed for Troy Jutting's squad. The good news is that with a young team like Minnesota State had last season, the potential for improvement is great, and that's what Mike Zacharias, Jon Kalinski, Mick Berge and the rest of the Mavericks will be looking for.

April 22, 2007

The following appeared in the Class Notes section of the Oswego Alumni Association newsletter: STU GOULD '86 MADE HIS NAME ON CAMPUS AS A GOALIE for the Lakers. Now he is internationally known as a trainer and outfitter for goalies - from peewee hockey to the pro level. He had a great career with the Lakers, with the high point being the Plattsburgh game at home in his senior year. "The game was sold out; we beat them 6-3," he remembers. "It was a great game; I had 38 saves,one of my best games ever. The place was going crazy." Steve Levy '87 was doing play-by-play on the radio that day and last October, 20 years later, he mentioned Gould in his opening game intro at the Campus Center. After graduating, Gould played for the Fort Wayne Comets in the International Hockey League, and the Carolina Thunderbirds in the Atlantic Coast League. But when a career in the NHL didn't materialize, he took his hockey skills, honed on the Romney Field House ice, and built a business. The Gould Goalie School of Naperville, IL, now in its 18th year, trains young goalies from all over the country. College scouts call Stu when they're looking for talent between the pipes. His graduates number 25 or 30 young net minders who have snagged full-ride Division I hockey scholarships. NHL Buffalo Sabres goalie Ty Conklin is one of his alumni. Along the way,Gould decided to branch out and now sells custom goalie equipment. His company sells and paints the distinctive masks goalies wear. When star goaltender Ed Balfour chose a mask from Gould,nearly a dozen other NHLers followed suit. This summer Gould,who played for the Lakers with current Head Coach Ed Gosel '83, M '01, will conduct his camp at Oswego. It's been a few years since Gould has skated on Laker ice, but he's looking forward to his camp this summer at the new Campus Center. "The facility looks phenomenal," says Gould, who was on hand for the October opening of the new arena. "That's a 0-1 facility."

April 4, 2007

Bensenville, IL (April 3, 2007) Four days after Green Bay goalie Adam Avramenko set a league record saving 70 of the 72 shots he faced, Chicago Steel goalie Rob Madore bettered that feat by saving 74 of 77 shots in the Steel shoot-out victory Tuesday night at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. This breaks the aforementioned league record that was recently set by Avramenko. Chicago came out of the locker room ready to face off against the league leader in points, Cedar Rapids, with a 5-3 powerplay goal by Danny Ryan 7:10 into the game. The Rough Riders evened it, but Sean Dolan gave the Steel the 2-1 lead heading into the locker room for the first intermission. The second period was a battle for both teams, but Rough Rider Jacob Cepis was able to get one by Rob Madore, who faced 29 shots in the second period, and the score was 2-2 going into the 3rd. Ryan Raven gave the Steel their third lead of the game 3:32 into the third, but Pat Cannone evened it back up at 3 with 2:27 left in the game. Regulation and a five minute sudden death overtime was not enough to decide a winner and the teams went into a 5 man shoot out. After missing their first shoot out attempt, the Steel followed up with three consecutive goals by Andy Miele, Dolan and Corey Chakeen. Madore stopped 3 of the 5 Rough Riders shooters, giving the Steel the victory. The Three Stars of the game were 1st: Rob Madore, 2nd: Corey Chakeen, 3rd: Danny Ryan. The Steel return to action on Friday, April 6th at 7:30 pm at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. Free team photos will be given to the first 250 fans, and there is Skate with the Steel immediately following the game. The game may also be seen on the B2 network.

April 3, 2007

Rob Madore of the USHL Chicago Steel sets a record in a phenomenal game. Rob set a record for shots and saves in one USHL game. On Tuesday April 3, the Steel beat Cedar Rapids in a shoot out. The big story was Rob Madore stopping 74 of 77 shots. A save percentage of 96%.

March 29, 2007

Joe Calvi - New England Jr. Huskies Courtesy of EasternJunior.com - To View This Player's Year to Date Statistics, click here Joe earned back-to-back wins in the Huskies' two quarterfinal series games over the Bridgewater Bandits. He allowed only 3 goals on 73 shots for a 95.9 save percentage. His goals against average is 1.5 for the playoffs. Joe was instrumental in the Huskies penalty kill, allowing one goal on fourteen shots. He is from New Lenox, IL, and is a Bentley College recruit for the 2007 season.

March 26, 2007

Glenbrook North won the Blackhawk Cup Saturday at United Center. No. 8 Glenbrook North won its first state title since 1985 with a 4-1 win over No. 2 seed Fenwick Saturday at the Blackhawk Cup state championship which was held at the United Center. Jayson Megna's 2nd period goal was the game-winner. This was a great day for high school hockey and it was made possible by the Chicago Blackhawks Organization and Hinckley Springs. Thanks goes out to the Blackhawks, Hinckley Springs as well as both teams for a hard fought game, and the hundreds of volunteers and fans that participated. `If you missed this great game, the High School Varsity Championship Game will be re-broadcast on Comcast SportsNet on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. and again on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 1:30 p.m.

March 26, 2007

Oswego Lakers Are 2007 Division III Champions Oswego State wins the first NCAA title in school history. Garren Reisweber's overtime game-winning breakaway goal — his second of the game — gave Oswego its first-ever D-III men's hockey championship, 4-3, over Middlebury. Laker goalie Ryan Scott set an NCAA championship record by making 47 saves in the win. Matthew Webb reports with all the details from Wessman Arena. ... The Lakers clinched their spot in the big dance after a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win over St. Norbert in the first semifinal game. Middlebury hung onto a 3-2 lead to down Manhattanville on Saturday en route to the failed title defense.

March 19, 2007

Blackhawk Cup: High School Boys Semis and Girls Finals Coming Up! The Red Varsity Division will play their Semi-Final games Monday night (tonight), March 19, 2007 at the AHAI Hockey Center located at the Edge Ice Arena, 735 East Jefferson Street in Bensenville, Illinois. Game 1: Glenbrook North vs. Glenbrook South at 6:35 p.m. Game 2: Fenwick vs. Loyola Gold at 8:35 p.m. The winner of these two games will play for the Varsity Red Championship on Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the United Center. The Girls High School Varsity Championship will take place at the Edge Ice Arena on Wednesday evening, March 21, 2007 at 6:40 p.m. when Glenbrook squares off against New Trier for the Girls Championship.

February 9, 2007

Minnesota State vs North Dakota 2/9/2007 North Dakota-8 Minnesota State-4 Believe it or not, Michael played great despite the score. This so easily could have been a 15-1 score. Every goal came from within 5 feet of the net. There is no better first line in all of college hockey than North Dakota's. Ralph Engelstad Arena - the Taj Mahal of college hockey. Basically an 11,000 seat Xcel Center, only this has wall to wall marble floors and 1,000 gold plated Fighting Sioux emblams throughout the building.

February 6, 2007

Zacharias Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week Sophomore Netminder Outstanding as Minnesota State Ties and Defeats Michigan Tech Mankato, Minn. --- The offices of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has announced the Minnesota State sophomore goaltender Mike Zacharias has been selected co-Defensive Player of the Week. Zacharias shares the award with Colorado College netminder Matt Zaba. Zacharias, a Plymouth, Minn., native stopped 56 of 59 shots in two games (.949 save percentage and 1.40 goals against average) as Minnesota State earned a 2-2 tie and a 2-1 overtime win over Michigan Tech this past Friday and Saturday. Zacharias registered a career-high 37 saves, including two in overtime, as the Mavericks battled the visiting Huskies to a 2-2 tie Friday. He then had 19 saves the next night, including four power play opportunity shots by MTU, as MSU claimed a 2-1 overtime victory. The Mavericks continue league play with a pair of games at 11th-ranked North Dakota this Friday and Saturday.

January 26, 2007

Minnesota State 3, Wisconsin 1 WCHA Game Friday, January 26, 2007 at Kohl Center (Att: 15,177) SCORING Minnesota State 0 2 1 = 3 Wisconsin 0 0 1 = 1 SHOTS ON GOAL Minnesota State 8 11 7 = 26 Wisconsin 4 8 12 = 24 GOALIES Mike Zacharias (60:00 W) 22 Saves on 23 shots Brian Elliott (59:12 L) 20 Saves on 23 shots

January 21, 2007

2007 Good As Gould Summer School Brochure Good as Gould 2007 Summer School Brochure

January 21, 2007

Stu Gould: A Goalie's Second Best Friend

January 2, 2007

Picture of Michael Zacharias making a save vs Minnesota Duluth on 12/16/2006.

January 2, 2007

USHL Goalie of the week, Rob Madore - Chicago Steel January 2, 2007 Madore went 1-1-0 on the weekend and picked up his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over Ohio. He stopped 63 of 65 shots (.969 sv%) and had a GAA of just over 1.00.

December 11, 2006

Steel Name New General Manager December 11, 2006 The Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League have announced that Jason Koehler has officially been named the team's General Manager. In that capacity, the 28-year-old Pittsburgh native will be responsible for all aspects of the Steel's day-to-day operations. With Koehler aboard, Chris Imes, who previously held the dual role of Head Coach and General Manager, will now concentrate solely on coaching. "Bringing in someone of Jason's caliber is proof that this organization has made a serious commitment toward upgrading the program," Imes said. "His track record of scouting and developing Junior A hockey players is second to none, and with him in place as GM, I will be able to focus all of my efforts on improving our play on the ice." Koehler's impressive resume includes previous Junior A experience with the Pittsburgh Forge and Youngstown Phantoms of the North American Hockey League as well as the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede. He and Imes previously worked together in both Pittsburgh and Sioux Falls. At each of Koehler's Junior A stops, he has been responsible for all player personnel decisions, including scouting, evaluating and recruiting talent as well as drafting, signing and trading players. In five previous years of working in the Junior A ranks, Koehler has acquired a total of 85 players that have gone on to NCAA Division I hockey and also had 15 National Hockey League draft picks on his rosters. "I'm very excited to be here," Koehler said. "Chicago is a great hockey area. There's a great local talent base here. There's also a great regional base, and I feel very confident that we can make the Steel a hockey player factory. We will not accept anything less than high-level college prospects and pro prospects here in Chicago." During his highly successful stint with the Forge, Koehler assembled the talent Pittsburgh used to compile a 99-33-8 record over two seasons, and moved more than 30 players into NCAA Division I hockey. During the 2002-2003 campaign, the team's second year of existence, Pittsburgh set a NAHL record for wins in a single season and went on to capture the league title and the Junior A national championship. Koehler has the same goals for the Steel. "We're building this team to win a championship right now," he said. "We will continue to make improvements and we expect to compete immediately for a championship, regardless of where our record stands right now. We will be a much better hockey club come playoff time."