Faceoff

Ice Hawks cruise to scrimmage win

PHERSY: Well, I was stuck in the office working this morning, so I didn't have a chance to get out and watch the Ice Hawks' second scrimmage against the Mass Maple Leafs this morning.

But I just got off the phone with coach Fatis and he gave me the run-down.

The Ice Hawks topped the Maple Leafs 14-4. That final score included an explosion of nine goals in the final period. The Ice Hawks struggled a bit early, but Fatis said he couldn't be disappointed because they played so well late.

So, what/who did Fatis like?

Well, first off he mentioned Jake Bruhn, a new kid from Chippewa Falls, Wis. I don't think Bruhn stuck out, it was just that Fatis was watching him to see where he fits in with this team. And Fatis liked what he saw. But he said Bruhn will need that kind of effort every single day to even see the ice with this talented team.

"It was good to see him kick it in the tail in the second game," Fatis said. "I hadn't seen too much of him, but I liked what I saw. He definitely has some upside."

Fatis said the goalies played "OK." He's anxious to get Corey Simons and Lawrence Dvorak back. Simons is a little dinged up right now, and Dvorak was back in North Dakota getting everything straightened out before he makes his final move to Rochester. Both guys looked good in the final tryout camp, and I think the Ice Hawks are in good hands between the pipes.

So, other people who impressed Fatis ... he said he really liked what the Alex Whitney, Brent Duwe and Charles Gallagher line brought to the table. It's a hard-hitting grinder line that will throw bodies around and do all the dirty work.

"I was really impressed by their work ethic, their energy, the puck movement and the heart," Fatis said. "That's a line that can set the tone for us."

Duwe, if you remember, was with the team to start last season but didn't finish the season with the Hawks. I asked Fatis how much Duwe has improved. And he said it's a great deal, especially mentally.

"He's certainly improved," Fatis said. "I think his attitude toward what he needs to accomplish is better. He's always been a hard worker. I just think he's better adjusted to the mindset it takes to be successful in junior hockey. Heart is a big thing. He's doing well. He's doing exactly what you want out of a junior hockey player, and that's improve every day."

Fatis also was impressed by the Cory Kautz, Alex Dewitz and Nick Szalacinski line. Dewitz and Szalacinski have been impressive since Day 1, and Kautz was a nice addition to that line.

Fatis said for now a lot of the other lines ... and he has a lot of lines right now ... are still looking for continuity.

"It's tough with so many kids," Fatis said.

Right now, Fatis has more than 35 players. That's obviously far too many. Too many kids won't see the ice. So Fatis and the coaching staff will be meeting with players individually tomorrow and mapping things out. Basically, he will tell everyone where they stand on the team. And that means some guys won't be happy because they won't get ice time, so Fatis will do everything he can to find them a place to play. And trust me, with this crew, that won't be difficult.

There are so many talented kids here right now. Fatis was pretty much freaking out because he didn't know who to cut. He said there are kids here now that he's going to have to send to other teams in the league that he would have held on to any other year.

I suppose that's a great place to be ...

"We're meeting the players tomorrow, and we're going to do more identifying and showing people where they are on the depth chart," Fatis said. "At the end of the day what it comes down to is there are kids here who would rather stay even though they're never going to see the ice. But that might not be the best thing for them. They have to be within reach. So I'll give everyone my recommendations, and I'm sure that will thin the herd, so to speak. The hard part is there is just so little difference between our first-line guys and our sixth-line guys right now, that it's going to be really tough."

Coach Fatis was happy to announce that Shaun Walters and George Jackson will be returning to the team this week. There was some doubt as to whether they would be back or if Fatis would have room for them on the roster. But, they're coming back, and I can't imagine they're anything less than first-line guys, especially if they come to Rochester ready to work.

Some other kids who Fatis liked at the scrimmages included Trevor Wight, Trevor Lloyd, and the Swede, Michael Ohllson.

"The hardest part is going to be that we're going to have good players in the stands every single game, and we're going to send away good kids, kids who would have made this team any other year," Fatis said. "It's rough, but it's a good spot to be in. I feel like we're definitely ahead of where we were at this time last year."

So that's it for now. Fatis said he'd give me a heads up if anything major happens, and we'll have the season preview in the print edition of the Post-Bulletin next week!

Ice Hawks scrimmage notes

PHERSY: What's up Ice Hawks fans? Well, I made it over to Graham Arena today to check out the Ice Hawks' scrimmage against the Mass Maple Leafs of the Continental Hockey League (Junior B).

The Ice Hawks walked away with a 9-3 victory (in Phersy's book anyway since an official score wasn't recorded). There was some good and some bad.

In my opinion, the team didn't play physical enough early and then got a little chippy late.

So, there was plenty of good, too. I actually thought Bromberg played very well in net for the first half of the game. He let in one goal on a breakaway, but that was it.

Nick LaRue looked great again on defense. Alex Dewitz and Nick Szalacinski again were fantastic up front.

Just briefly speaking with coach Fatis after the game, we shared about the same thoughts. He said you could tell this team has plenty of talent, but they are a long, long way from where he needs them to be. It's just going to take time for them to get there. He said he feels this team looks kind of similar to last year's team in that respect.

I do have to say I was very impressed with the new Swede on the team ... I'm not going to attempt to spell his name because I don't have the official roster yet (some long form of Olson). He's huge, and he skates pretty well for a kid that big. And he's physical. He was finishing checks, and he scored a sick goal in the third period.

Anyway, so that's it for now. I will check in with coach after tomorrow morning's game (10 a.m., Graham).

Lawsuit filed against Dodge Co. girls hockey coach

Jeremy Gunderson, an investigator with the Dodge County Sheriff's office and the head coach of the Dodge County girls high school hockey team, has had a civil rights lawsuit filed against him in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

Gunderson is accused of using his authority to coerce a female informant to have sex with him. The accuser is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

An investigator from Washington County (which includes Twin Cities suburbs Hastings, White Bear Lake and Stillwater, among other cities), conducted an independent investigation last week and determined that "no discipline is warranted" against Gunderson, 35.

In other words, it appears that the county will take no action against Gunderson at this time, but the lawsuit will go forward. And, as of now, Gunderson is still the head coach at Dodge County. And just to clear this up, because I'm sure it will be brought up, there are ABSOLUTELY NO INDICATIONS that Gunderson has ever acted inappropriately toward any of his players.

Notes from Ice Hawks tryout camp

PHERSY: OK folks, so I spent much of my day Saturday over at the Rochester Recreation Center watching the new crop of Ice Hawks go through scrimmages.

Nick Fatis and his coaching staff just trimmed the roster here a bit today and they're busy putting together the group that will battle it out this week at the team's official training camp (see dryland stinks!!!)

I will say that I walked away from the Rec Center yesterday completely impressed. Knowing how much talent the team lost from last year's roster, I was a bit worried heading into camp. But I feel very confident that coach Fatis and his staff can mold this new group into a great team, a team capable of doing amazing things in the league and the national level. In fact, coach Fatis had so many great players in camp, I know he was forced to make some very tough decisions regarding a few of his veteran players.

Anyway, I'm not going to give away too many names here until all the contracts are signed and coach has his final roster set (we don't need any players poached because of something I wrote here).

But I will give you the names of a few players who really impressed me this weekend.

Let's start by talking about the blue line. Whoa, the team is set there. I think looking at the potential roster, Fatis could put any combination of about eight guys out there and feel totally comfortable with what he's got.

Two guys really jumped out at me on defense this weekend. First was Shaun Foster. He's pretty much a dream defenseman. When I saw him yesterday, I mentioned I thought he could take Tyler Roberg's place as Roberg has moved on to the NAHL. I think the consensus in the press box was that Foster has the potential to be even better than Roberg. Foster is big, physical, smart, skates well, handles the puck well ... there's not much you can say in the negative column about this kid. If Foster buys into the system, he can step in and be the team's No. 1 defenseman right away.

The second defenseman I liked this weekend was Nick LaRue. He's my type of defenseman ... smart with the puck, doesn't make many mistakes. He's very small, a Bryce Stevens type. But LaRue has great instincts, and he looks like the kind of kid Fatis can put back there and never have to worry.

Throw LaRue in there with returning vets like Rick Weber and Adam Truex, not the mention the other solid defensemen in camp this weekend, and I think the Ice Hawks will be just dandy on the blue line.

At forward, I'll mention three players who really impressed me ... Alex Dewitz, Nick Szalacinski and Cody Block.

I really liked Block's game. He's not very thick and he's not the fastest kid, but his puck skills were phenomenal, and he always seemed to be in the right spot. I can see Block putting up a lot of points in the MJ this season. He works hard, and he's even physical when it's required of him (which will be a lot in Fatis' system).

Szalacinski and and Dewitz skated together all day Saturday, and after watching that, I'm not sure how Fatis is going to be able to split them up! I'm not sure what their final goal count was, but it probably approached double-digits for their line by the end of the day. The offensive skills for these two were amazing, and if they play like they did Saturday, Dewitz and Szalacinski also will be point-per-game kind of kids in the MJ.

OK, that's it for now. I'm talking to Fatis in a bit, and you can read his comments in tomorrow's print version of the Post-Bulletin.

Lakeville's Skjei, Apple Valley's Michaelson making tour of WCHA schools

FELDY: Two of the top high school juniors from Minnesota who have yet to commit to colleges are apparently both looking at a lot of the top WCHA programs (well, if we still consider the Gophers one of the top WCHA programs).

Star Tribune Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz notes that Apple Valley's A.J. Michaelson and former Lakeville North standout Brady Skjei are both considering the Gophers, among several other WCHA programs.

Michaelson has visited Minnesota and North Dakota, according to the report, with visits remaining to Bemidji State and MSU, Mankato.

Skjei is leaving North this fall to join the U.S. National Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. He has visited Minnesota, North Dakota, Minn.-Duluth and Wisconsin, but has not yet made a decision.

3 from Century move on; 2 former Mayo players to juniors

FELDY: Lots of news concerning local (now former) high school hockey players, so let's jump right into it.

The bad news for Rochester Century is that its top player at each position is leaving high school hockey for the opportunity to play more games and possibly be seen by more college scouts.

Defenseman Connor Faupel and forward Drew Anderson are leaving this weekend to head to Kansas City and play for the Russell Stover AAA midget team this winter. They'll live with the same host family and complete their senior year of high school in Overland Park, a southern suburb of K.C.

I talked with Faupel last night and he seems excited to get a chance to play more games (Russell Stover will play about 60 games, compared to 25-30 for a high school team) and to play good competition from around the country. Russell Stover travels extensively to play the best AAA teams in the U.S. and that allows their players to be seen by more scouts more often.

Faupel did make sure to mention that he will miss playing with the friends he grew up with in Rochester and will miss the Century fans and playing at the Rec Center. He was by far the Panthers' top-scoring defenseman last season, putting up 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points (he was the team's fourth-leading scorer).

Anderson was Century's leading scorer in 2009-10, with a 20-33—53 total. He played wing on the team's top line with then-seniors Jordan Martini and Cory Kautz. That trio combined for 147 points.

Speaking of Kautz's, that brings us to the third Panther who is heading out. Brock Kautz, the goalie who is about to be a junior in high school. He is headed to Owatonna of the NAHL, a Junior A, Tier II league, which also this season includes a team in Austin. Kautz was very good for Century last season as a freshman, splitting time with then-junior Cam Sellnow. Kautz played in a majority of the games, posting a 14-6-0 overall record with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

The good news for Century is that the cupboard is not bare. Sellnow will be back for his senior year in goal. He was 4-2-0 with a 2.97 GAA and a .858 save pct. last season, after backstopping Century to the state tournament as a sophomore. The Panthers also have talented defenseman Nick Raehsler back for his senior year. Raehsler was fifth on the team with 12-14—26 last season.

Five other players are back who reached double digits in scoring a year ago.

• • •

A pair of former Rochester Mayo players will also get the chance to continue their hockey careers this fall. Jonathan Smolders and Justin McLaughlin — both of whom were seniors on last year's Spartans team that tied for sixth place in the Big Nine — will play with the Edina Lakers of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League this season.

Smolders and McLaughlin were among Mayo's top six scorers last season, each with 13 points.

The Lakers held their final tryout camp this past weekend and they're scheduled to begin practice on Aug. 30.

McLaughlin and Smolders will play under a new head coach at Edina. Duluth native and former Duluth Marshall and Hamline University player Kasey Yoder takes over as head coach this season.

Remember me? And Ice Hawks camp!

PHERSY: Yeah, you're reading that correctly ... it's really Phersy typing this. Honestly, I took about five minutes to even remember the password and username for this blog ... I was pretty much in hibernation mode for the summer. But I'm back, rested and now have no excuse to be on this blog a lot more. I'm sure Feldy is glad to see me back because I know he loves reading everything I write.

Anyway, there's a reason I decided to get my rear-end in gear today, and that's because the Ice Hawks final camp is this weekend at the Rochester Recreation Center. As always, it's free and open to the public. So if you want to see this year's crop of Ice Hawks talent, get out to the Rec at some point this weekend.

I caught up with coach Nick Fatis today to find out what's going on and the camp schedule. Coach has been super busy lately trying to put this team together. Needless to say, with the North American Hockey League adding its usual 57 teams each year, that has made finding talent a little tougher for the Ice Hawks. But coach Fatis sounded very confident that he'll be able to assemble the right mix of players and there are still plenty of skilled guys out there.

Stick with me ... this post is going to be all over the place because coach gave me loads of good info.

First off the schedule. Players check in at 11:45 a.m. on Friday and they'll be doing off-ice practices and conditioning all day. The real fun begins Saturday. The players will be broken into two teams, and they will have their first practices beginning at 7:45 a.m. One team will practice for 45 minutes and then the second team will be on the ice for 45 minutes. After practice, the teams will meet with staff and have other team meetings and more off-ice testing. The team will have lunch together and then they will have their first game from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. After a break, Fatis said the teams will be back on the ice from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. for what he called "mini-games." Finally, the teams will be back on the ice again from 8:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. Then they're up bright and early on Sunday for a game from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and then the final game from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

After that, the coaching staff will make a few cuts. The Ice Hawks will come into camp with about 40 kids, and they'll likely cut down to about 35. That said, coach believes the number could quickly jump back to 40 after Sunday, when the full week-long training camp begins. Fatis said he has a couple of players from North Dakota who still could sign with the team but can't be at this weekend's camp because of previous obligations.

"We've got exactly what we wanted for this camp; we didn't want this to be an open camp with 60 kids basically skating for four or five spots," Fatis said. "This has that final-camp feel where everybody is skating for spots. Everybody needs to compete and earn their place. There are a couple of kids every year who come in and think they have a spot and don't put in the effort, and they don't get that spot."

Immediately after the week-long training camp, the Ice Hawks will have two scrimmages against the Mass. Maple Leafs on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. Fatis is still working out times and details for those two scrimmages.

Fatis was able to give me an update on a few of the team's veterans.

First off, Shaun Walters and George Jackson will not be in camp this weekend. Fatis said they both have tryouts in Canada. If they don't make a higher-level team or don't like their situations with those teams, Fatis said he can definitely see those two back in Rochester because they've both expressed interest in returning.

Fatis is confident goalie Simon Eriksson will not return to the Ice Hawks. Eriksson has been skating with a Division II professional team in Sweden, and he's doing very well.

"Division II pro in Sweden is basically like the ECHL over here. And the team Simon is on is very good," Fatis said. "They were like two points away from moving up a level last year, which would be the level right below the Swedish Elite League. From all the contacts I have over there, it sounds like Simon is doing phenomenally well, which is to be expected. It's exciting to see him doing well."

Goalie Sam Hingtgen will not return to the Ice Hawks in 2010-11. Hingtgen instead will play for Alpena, Mich., and former Ice Hawks assistant coach Todd McIlrath.

Morgan Sanchez will be back with the team and will be in camp this weekend. "Morgan has looked great this summer, which he always does," Fatis said. "It will be interesting to see if he takes that next step. I know he's excited to fill a leadership role for this team."

Zack King will not return to the team this season and instead has decided to go to school. "He's a really talented player, and we wish we could have had him back, but we wish him well in everything he does. He's an outstanding young man," Fatis said.

Cory Volk will be back with the team and will be in camp this weekend. Fatis said Volk, too, is looking forward to taking over a leadership role with this version of the Ice Hawks.

Andrew Bromberg will be back and will be in camp.

Trevor Lloyd will be back and will be in camp.

Adam Truex is back and will be in camp. "We're really hoping for a big season out of Adam. The kid has a tremendous future. He's a big, strong kid, and he's going to do very well at this level," Fatis said.

Rick Weber is back and will be in camp. "If Rick plays the way he did at the end of last season, this could be a huge year for him," Fatis said. "He was pretty darn good at the end of the year. He was one of our most improved players."

Tyler Roberg has made the Chicago Hitmen of the NAHL and won't be back with the Ice Hawks. "We're so proud of him," Fatis said. "Like Weber, he was one of our most improved players last year. I have no doubt he can play at that level and do well."

Alex Whitney is back and will be in camp this weekend. "Alex became a big fan favorite last season because he was basically a bigger version of Justin Phelps," Fatis said. "He went out there and played that physical, leave-it-all-on-the-ice mentality that fans love. He was hitting people and blocking shots. For a kid who was considered a skill player coming out of high school, it was amazing to see him be that physical. Now, I think he's more comfortable, and I think we'll see more of that skill set come out this season. I think he'll really come out of his shell, and the sky is the limit when that happens."

Trevor Wight is back and will be in camp this weekend. "Trevor is a very gifted offensive player, and if he's in shape, he could really turn some heads this season," Fatis said.

Jordan Yaggy is back and will be in camp this weekend. "Yaggy didn't skate in the last camp, because his groin is still bothering him," Fatis said. "But we're hoping to get him healthy and see what he can do."

Nik Tamanko will not be back and will instead play for the CSHL team back home in Cincinnati.

Chad Mundy will not be back and has decided to return to high school and play for Dodge County and former Ice Hawks assistant coach Eric Hofmann.

Tyler Groth will not back back with the team and has decided to go to school, Fatis said.

Myles Flott has retired due to injuries.

So, that's it for now on the who's back and who's not back ... more updates on that stuff later in the week and after camp. I'm planning to be out there Saturday and Sunday to check out the new crop, so I'm excited!

Fatis seemed excited, too, though I know he wishes he had more time to prepare.

"It's nice, looking at who we have coming into camp, knowing we have a lot of kids coming back and even more kids with junior hockey experience," Fatis said. "We have tons of kids on the roster with junior hockey experience, and we haven't always had that in the past. I just look at the list, and we've got a few kids from the East Coast, who've played juniors out there, and it's nice to see us finally getting into that East Coast market. We have a kid from Egg Harbor, N.J., and he's a 1992 (birth year), and we've got another kid from New Jersey, who's also a '92. They've both already played a couple of years of juniors, so they could have four or five years of junior hockey under their belts by the time they're done. We're chipping away at that East Coast mentality, doing our best to show them our program is a good place to be, and it seems like we're making a dent in that.

"This team will once again be very hard working, on and off the ice. It will take a while for them to adjust to my style, but once they do, we're hoping to have another great season. I can't say that we'll have another season with less than 10 losses, but of course you put together a string of those and people expect it. We're hoping for the best and we're going to work very hard for anything we achieve. The national tournament is here in Rochester this year, and we'd love to compete in that. But we have to get there first. It's seven months away. It would be a great opportunity for our fans to fill that building with 3,000 people and cheer us on. We're really hoping to make it. But it's a long way to go to get there."

I asked coach to give me one player to watch this weekend, so you guys had a name to spot on the roster and keep an eye on ... he couldn't give me just one, but he gave me a goalie and a skater, so you get two for the price of one.

The first is a goalie from Bismarck, N.D., Lawrence Dvorak. "He led his team to the North Dakota state title game his sophomore and junior seasons, and he's going to be a senior. We're very, very excited to see what he can do in this setting. People just rave about him," Fatis said.

And the second player is Michael Owen, from Gaithersburg, Maryland. " We had a blast watching him at our last camp. He's a 6-foot-2, 200-pound behemoth of a man. He made the team as a defenseman, but then one of our scouts told us to move him to forward to see what happens. We didn't like the idea, but we tried it. And oh man, he scored a goal on his first shift. He hammered through a defenseman, planted himself in front, made a great screen and put the puck in. He's so strong and so physical, he's just fun to watch out there. I can definitely see him being a fan favorite this season. He's got a long ways to go, but he's going to be fun to watch develop."

Finally, I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to one of the best, most loyal Ice Hawks fans and Hawks Nest members, Jesse Bos. Jesse is recovering from back surgery, so let's all wish him a very happy bday!

OK, so that's it! Was that good enough for my return? I figure I owe you all a little extra, so I'll be back often.

It's probably time for Feldy and I to start talking a little Vikings smack, too! Purple Pride, Purple Pride!!!!

H.S. Hockey | Lofty goals at Dodge County

FELDY: New Dodge County boys hockey coach Eric Hofmann will bring a lot of enthusiasm and perhaps some unique dryland training drills to the Wildcats program. He's also bringing big expectations.

MnHockeyHub.com editor Loren Nelson wrote this piece about Hoffman last week.

As the article mentions, Hofmann is a realist and he knows the Wildcats program won't turn around overnight. I'd think a good goal for Dodge County this season would be finishing above .500 and staying out of the Section 1AA play-in game. That's definitely an attainable goal with the talent D.C. has returning.

It's unfortunate that so many people assume the Wildcats are always the No. 9 team in a nine-team section. That hasn't been the case the past three years. JM coach Scott Lecy agreed to regular season games with D.C. beginning two years ago; those teams will meet in a regular season game this year for a third consecutive season. Maybe Hoffman can convince some of the other Section 1AA teams that the Wildcats are worthy of playing during the regular season.

Roch. native, UMD equipment manager, recovering after bone marrow transplant

FELDY: Chris Garner, a 1997 Rochester Mayo graduate, underwent a bone marrow transplant at the Mayo Clinic last Wednesday, in his battle to beat MDS (Myelodysplatic Syndrome, formerly known as pre-leukemia).

A support and benefit page has been set up for Garner, 32, who has spent the past two seasons as the head equipment manager for the Minnesota-Duluth men's hockey team. Please click the link to check it out and join the page to offer your support.

Garner has been an equipment manager at the pro or college levels for the past 13 seasons. I talked to him in March of 2009, just before the Bulldogs traveled to Minneapolis for the NCAA West Regional (they came up a win shy of a spot in the Frozen Four that year) and he was thrilled to be part of such a talented team. He told me at the time that he was living his dream job.

Here's hoping he gets well soon and can return to that dream job!

Garner played high school hockey at Mayo and was on the 1997 Spartans' state tournament team that included eventual Division I players Jason Notermann, Matt Leimbek, Brian Buskiowiak, Mike Colgan and Marc Ranfranz.

After graduating, Garner went to St. Cloud State, where he became the hockey team's student equipment manager. He then became the head equipment manager for the University of North Dakota women's team in its first season (2002-03). From there, he spent time with the Minnesota Wild's top farm team, the Houston Aeros, and a stretch with the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings of the UHL.

Here's a couple of quotes from the story I did on Garner in March, 2009:

"I love doing this and hope to do it for a long, long time. In a way, it’s a dream job for me," he said.

“This has been one of the funnest experiences I’ve had," Garner said. “The players are all great, classy guys here. To see them pull together and work hard, it’s been fun to watch and be a part of."

Pro Hockey | Roch natives playing in Europe

FELDY: Joe Paisley from the Colorado Springs Gazette had a good update on his blog a couple of weeks back about former Colorado College players who are now playing in Europe. Among them are Rochester's Andy Canzanello and Scott Thauwald.

Here's a link to Paisley's blog post.

Canzanello, a defenseman, had another strong season with the Straubing Tigers in Germany (31 points).

Thauwald, a forward, split time with Arizona and Texas of the CHL this past season, combining for 11 goals and eight assists in 56 games. He has signed with the Njimege Devils in Holland.

Canzanello and Thauwald played their high school hockey at Mayo.