Faceoff

High School Hockey | 2012-13 All-Area Team

Here we go with the fourth annual Faceoff Blog All-Area Team. I'll lay out the selection process once again: We have seven teams in our coverage area (Century, JM, Lourdes, Mayo, Austin, Dodge County and Red Wing). We pick a Player of the Year, a First Team, Second Team and PUC (players under consideration -- our honorable mention). We don't try to make sure a player from every team is on one of the teams, we just put the guys who we feel have been the best players this season on the team.

The story on the Co-Players of the Year will be posted soon and will appear directly above this post in the blog.

So, that said, here we go with this year's All-Area Teams:

FIRST TEAM

F — Alex Funk, Sr., Lourdes (Co-Player of the Year; 46-36—82): The most complete forward in Rochester and arguably the most complete forward to come through Lourdes in the past five years, during its run of five straight state tournament appearances. Funk had eight hat tricks, 13 multi-point games. He had point streaks of 16 games and 11 games during his senior season. He'll play for sure in the NAHL next season, though he'll also get some looks at USHL camps this summer.

F — Jason Samuelson, Sr., Lourdes (Co-Player of the Year; 28-53—81): Samuelson, somewhat surprisingly, surpassed 50 assists this season. I say somewhat surprisingly because he has one of the heaviest and best shots in Section 1. He was one of the top scorers in the Upper Midwest Elite League last fall and carried over his strong play into the high school season. Samuelson will play baseball at the University of Iowa next season.

F — Nick Paulson, Sr., John Marshall (16-23—39): Paulson tied for fourth in scoring in the Big Nine Conference and led all of Rochester's Big Nine players in scoring. He did so on a team that missed three key players for nearly half of the season, making Paulson one of the only options for the Rockets offensively. He had at least one point in 21 of 25 regular-season games and had 12 multi-point games. Paulson had one hat trick, in a five-point game against Faribault on Jan. 15.

D — Will Holtan, Sr., Mayo (10-15—25): Holtan, who had seven multi-point games from the blue line for the Big Nine champs, was one of the best two-way defensemen in the conference. Holtan was a key to Mayo's power play, too, and he was skilled at getting shots from the blue line, through traffic to the net. He went scoreless in five of the first six games, but then put up 24 points in Mayo's final 21 games.

D — Karl Krecke, Sr., Lourdes (8-20—28): The four-year varsity regular and two-year captain was the leading scorer among all defensemen in Rochester this season. Krecke was a rare two-year captain for the Eagles and played in four state tournaments. He was at his best late in the season, too, when he posted nine points in six postseason games.

G — Case Hansen, Sr., Mayo (21-6-0, 2.06 goals-against average, .908 save pct.): Hansen played all but seven minutes in goal for the Big Nine Conference champion Spartans, leading them to a 21-win season. It's the first time Mayo reached 20 victories since the 1999-2000 season. Hansen recorded three shutouts and allowed just 56 goals in 27 games. He stopped 555 of 611 shots, an average of 20.5 saves per game.


SECOND TEAM

F — Ryan Martin, Sr., Mayo (19-18—37): Martin, an equally good scorer and passer, led the Big Nine champs in scoring.

F — Adam Alcott, Sr., Mayo (15-21—36): Alcott, playing on a line with Martin all season, had at least one point in 21 of Mayo's 27 games.

F — Dalton Travis, Sr., Century (10-10—20): Travis was the leading scorer for a Panthers team that relied upon its top line quite heavily for offense.

D — Griff Slightam, So., Lourdes (9-13—22): Slightam can not only produce on offense, he was the most physical defenseman on the ice in most of Lourdes' games.

D — Tommy Fjelsted, Jr., Mayo (9-18—27): Like Slightam, Fjelsted has a great mix of offensive ability and physical play.

G — Jacob Garvey, Sr., John Marshall (12-11-0, 2.72, .904): Garvey did what the Rockets needed him to do — he got increasingly better as the season progressed.


PUC (Players Under Consideration)
FORWARDS
Sam Broman, Jr., John Marshall (11-20—31)
Tanner Dufault, So., Dodge County (15-24—39)
Ethan Larson, Sr., Austin (15-20—35)
Alex Rezansoff, Sr., Red Wing (14-14—28)
Sam Robinson, Jr., Dodge County (19-12—31)
Marcus Stoulil, Sr., Austin (23-16—39)

DEFENSEMEN
Jared Bromberg, Jr., John Marshall (2-18—20)
Alec McGinn, Sr., John Marshall (3-13—16)
Riese Zmolek, So., D, Century (8-3—11)

GOALIES
Rainer Londino-Green, Sr., G, Austin (6-16-0, 3.63, .898)
Eric Rohleder, Sr., G, Century (7-19-0, 4.22, .881)

This Week in High School Hockey | Jan. 15

Posted by: Feldman

First, if you weren't at the Mayo-Century game on Saturday night, and you haven't seen the video of Mayo sophomore Logan Haskins' second goal of the game (it's pinged around Twitter for two days), here it is. I highly recommend watching if you haven't yet.

DODGE COUNTY WILDCATS
Last week: 1-0-1; beat New Ulm, 5-3; tied Richfield, 3-3.
Season: 5-10-2 overall.
What happened: The Wildcats lost to New Ulm by four goals on Dec. 27. Last Tuesday, the Wildcats turned it around and beat the Eagles by two. While this New Ulm team isn't as strong as some of its state-tournament teams of recent seasons, this was still a nice 'W' for Dodge County. If nothing else, it should provide some confidence for the young players on the team. In the 3-3 tie against Richfield on Saturday, the 'Cats discovered they have a little depth at goalie, as Joe Biwer made his first varsity start and stopped 36 shots.
This week: Thursday, vs. St. Paul Highland Park (7:30 p.m.).

RED WING WINGERS
Last week: 0-2-0; Lost at Chanhassen, 4-2; lost at Holy Angels, 7-1.
Season: 0-12-1 overall, 0-3-1 Missota Conference.
What happened: The Wingers struggles on both ends of the ice continued as conference play got into full swing. Red Wing has allowed 19 goals, while scoring just five, in its past three games. The Wingers' best shot at a win might come next Tuesday, when it plays host to Shakopee.
This week: Tonight, at New Prague (7:15 p.m.); Thursday, vs. Chaska (7 p.m.).

ROCHESTER CENTURY PANTHERS
Last week: 0-2-0; lost at Albert Lea, 2-1; lost to Rochester Mayo, 7-1.
Season: 2-12-0 overall; 1-6-0 Big Nine Conference.
What happened: While Century was outshot, 34-20, at Albert Lea, it was in the game until the final buzzer. Eric Rohleder made 32 saves to keep the Panthers in the game, as he has done a number of times this season. Century played a solid first 16 minutes against Mayo, but the Spartans scored twice in the final 45 seconds of the first period for a 3-0 lead, then Mayo's depth took over as it controlled the remainder of the game. ... The good news last week for Century was the return of sophomore defenseman Riese Zmolek, who was back in game action nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. Zmolek had missed the entire season to that point after suffering a broken ankle last fall.
This week: Tonight, vs. Owatonna (7:30 p.m., Rec Center); Thursday, at Benilde-St. Margaret's (7 p.m., St. Louis Park Rec Center).

ROCHESTER JM ROCKETS
Last week: 0-3-0; lost at Owatonna, 6-2; lost to Eastview, 3-1; lost to Austin, 3-2.
Season: 3-11-0 overall; 2-5-0 Big Nine.
What happened: JM led Owatonna after one period, 2-1, and trailed 3-2 after two, but the Huskies scored three in the third period to pull away. The Huskies scored all three of their third-period goals in a span of 69 seconds, in the final five minutes of the game. ... JM responded with one of its best games of the season, falling to Eastview in a close game. Eastview won the Kiwanis Festival in Rochester two weeks ago, putting up seven goals on Mayo in the title game. JM goalies Jacob Garvey and Patric Sadecki combined to limit the Lightning to three goals on 41 shots.
This week: Tonight, at Faribault (7:30 p.m.); Thursday, at Albert Lea (7:30 p.m.); Saturday, at Rochester Mayo (7:30 p.m., at Graham Arena I).

No. 7 ROCHESTER LOURDES EAGLES
Last week: 3-0-0; beat Mankato West, 3-2; won at New Ulm, 7-3; beat Delano/Rockford, 6-5, OT.
Season: 10-4-0 overall.
What happened: Lourdes scored a big win -- in terms of seeding for the Section 1A tournament -- when it beat West last Tuesday. The win likely locked up the No. 1 seed in the section playoffs for the Eagles, barring a disastrous stretch to close the regular season. The victory against Delano/Rockford was a big one, mentally. Lourdes hadn't fared so well in its past couple outings against ranked teams, so to beat one -- on a goal in the final 30 seconds of OT -- is a big boost. The Eagles still need to improve in the defensive zone; they've played six games in January and have allowed a total of 24 goals in those games.
This week: Saturday, at Duluth Marshall (3 p.m.).

ROCHESTER MAYO SPARTANS
Last week: 2-0-0; won at South St. Paul, 3-2, OT; won at Rochester Century, 7-1.
Season: 11-4-0 overall; 6-0-0 Big Nine Conference.
What happened: The win at SSP was a big one for the Spartans, who had lost a pair of one-goal games against hot goalies the weekend before (against Hibbing and Virginia). The victory against Century showed off Mayo's depth. They received at least one goal from their top three lines, scored two power-play goals and a short-handed goal. The Spartans have nothing but conference games remaining on their schedule. They control their own destiny in the chase for the Big Nine title, but there are still 10 games remaining.
This week: Tonight, vs. Winona (7:30 p.m., Graham I); Saturday, vs. John Marshall (7:30 p.m., Graham I).

High School Hockey Rewind | Week 1

Posted by: Feldman

The first week-plus of the boys high school hockey season is in the books and it was a mixed bag for Rochester and area teams. Rochester teams Mayo and John Marshall went 1-1, Century went 0-2 and Lourdes went 0-1. As for the area teams, Dodge County is 1-3, Red Wing is 0-3.

That's a combined 3-11 among the six teams in our circulation area, but those records aren't all as bad as they may seem.

ROCHESTER CENTURY
Last week: 0-2-0. Lost to Farmington, 6-0; lost to Tartan, 4-0.
Season: 0-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 Big Nine Conference.
What happened: Yes, Century was outscored 10-0 in two games. Yes, Century was outshot 44-13 and 52-15 in those two losses. Reason to panic? Definitely not. The Panthers have 23 games left in the regular season. This is a team that will get better as the season goes on. They're running a lot of young guys and first-year varsity players out there and they've played two pretty good teams. The loss to Farmington was not nearly as lopsided as the score indicates. Farmington led just 1-0 entering the third, then scored five times in the third, including four times in the last 6:35 (the last three of those on a five-minute major penalty against Century). And one really bright spot: Senior goalie Eric Rohleder is playing well. He made 38 saves in the opener and 48 against Tartan. That's a good start for a guy who had seen minimal varsity experience coming into the season.

ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL
Last week: 1-1-0. Lost to Farmington, 4-3. Won at St. Paul Johnson, 6-2.
Season: 1-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 Big Nine Conference.
What happened: I really believe this JM team can challenge for a Big Nine title. Why? It has two quality scoring lines and four veterans on the blue line (two, as has been noted multiple times here and in print, are brand new to the position). The Farmington score was a bit of a surprise, and it could ultimately play a factor in the seedings for the Section 1AA tournament, but keep in mind that JM played its first two games without starting goalie Jacob Garvey. That said, Patric Sadecki played well in his first two varsity starts, making a total of 49 saves. His early-season playing experience will be a benefit as the season goes on. His nerves will be gone. He's played two full varsity games. ... JM doesn't play again until Saturday, when it opens Big Nine play at home against Mayo. The one thing I know coach Jay Ness wants to develop is some consistent scoring from the second line. The Rockets got a little of that against Johnson, but they'll need more than just Gavin Sandwick, Nick Paulson, Jared Bromberg and Sam Broman to score on a regular basis.

No. 8-ranked ROCHESTER LOURDES
Last week: 0-1-0. Lost at No. 1-ranked St. Thomas Academy, 8-1.
Season: 0-1-0 overall.
What happened: What happend is, a Lourdes team that had about six or seven guys with just a few days of practice under their belts, ran into the top-ranked team in the state, and the defending Class A state champ. The Eagles know they have to be patient this year and they'll have some ups and downs early in the season. A half-dozen or so guys just returned to practice last week after making a run to the state football championship game. Thinking back to 2010, when Lourdes won the state football title (and had a handful of players miss the first two-plus weeks of hockey practice), it took until mid-January before they really began clicking on all cylinders. We'll have a better idea of where this team is at right now after the upcoming week, when it goes to New Prague (Tuesday), and plays host to Chanhassen (Thursday) and No. 5-ranked St. Cloud Cathedral (Saturday).

ROCHESTER MAYO
Last week: 1-1-0. Lost to Lakeville North, 3-0. Won at Faribault, 4-2.
Season: 1-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Big Nine Conference.
What happened: The Spartans are one of the favorites to win the Big Nine and a big reason why is senior goalie Case Hansen. He was sharp last week, stopping 30 shots against North and 18 against Faribault. Mayo managed just 14 shots against North, but I know at least one of the Spartans' top forwards was feeling ill that day, plus they had four or five sophomores playing in their first varsity game. Plus, North is always one of the top teams in Section 1AA and has generally put up six, seven or more goals against the Rochester teams (North beat Mayo 12-1 last season). Mayo's win at Faribault was a bit disjointed without a lot of five-on-five time. Still, the Spartans will want to make more of a statement in their next three games, all against teams expected to be in the top half of the Big Nine: Thursday at Mankato West, Saturday at John Marshall and Dec. 11 against Owatonna.

DODGE COUNTY
Last week: 1-3-0. Lost to Faribault, 3-2; lost at Minnehaha Academy, 5-2; lost to Waseca, 4-3 (OT); won at Austin, 9-7.
Season: 1-3-0 overall.
What happened: The Wildcats are 1-3-0, but could just as easily have two or three wins. They led Faribault entering the third period, but gave up the game-winning goal with just 1:33 to go after taking a penalty 21 seconds earlier. Against Waseca, Dodge County had a 3-2 lead late in the third, after a seemingly momentum-changing short-handed goal by Stefan Rechtzigel with 7:13 to go. Waseca tied it 59 seconds later, then won 50 seconds into OT. The 'Cats offense broke out on Saturday, with seven players scoring at least once. Their defense wasn't as sharp as it had been, though, allowing seven goals and 37 shots on goal. ... Dodge County plays host to Winona on Tuesday in a game that could have a big impact on the seedings for the Section 1AA playoffs.

RED WING
Last week: 0-3-0. Lost at Buffalo, 5-1; lost at Hudson (Wis.), 5-3; lost at South St. Paul, 3-1.
Season: 0-3-0 overall; 0-0-0 Missota Conference.
What happened: No need to panic, Wingers fans. Just think back to two years ago, when Red Wing started 0-9-0. That team made it all the way to the Section 1A semifinals and pushed Rochester Lourdes in a 4-2 loss. So far, it looks like this year's team needs to figure out how to be a third-period team. The Wingers have been tied or trailing by just one goal entering the third period of all three games so far. Eight players have at least one point so far for the Wingers, so they know they don't have to rely on one or two guys to do all the scoring. ... The Wingers play four of their first five games on the road, including games this week at North St. Paul (Thursday) and Fergus Falls (Saturday).

High School Hockey | A trip around the Rochester rinks

Posted by: Feldman

Our annual boys hockey season preview is scheduled to come out in Saturday's paper, but the family Feldman is heading out of town for T'giving, so I made my trip around Rochester today and stopped at practices for all four Rochester teams.

Without getting too much into the info that will appear in Saturday's preview, here are some initial thoughts and notes after visiting with each coach and team. I'll go in the order of the practices I stopped at:

ROCHESTER MAYO

They won't say it, but reading between the lines, I sense a lot of optimism about where this season could lead for the Spartans. They've lost the Big Nine Conference championship by one point each of the last two seasons and they seem determined to not let that happen this season.

It starts with an established goalie — senior Case Hansen — and very good depth up front. Mayo's all-senior top line of Ryan Martin, Adam Alcott and Max Whitney has shown it is capable of scoring, and senior Tommy Hanson could be a big scorer this season, too. Mayo will have three lines — 10 forwards, really — that will rotate and all can provide some scoring.

We can't leave out top returning d-men Will Holtan and Tommy Fjelsted because I don't want to get checked by either of those guys. They'll provide toughness and offensive ability from the blue line. That's a good combination to have.

Watch out for: Mayo's all-sophomore line; it could will a key group for the Spartans by the end of the season.

Opener: Nov. 27, vs. Lakeville North, Graham Arena I

• • •

ROCHESTER LOURDES

Don't be surprised if the Eagles don't hit their stride until after the calendar hits January.

They're missing 10 guys right now, two out with injuries and eight who are on the Eagles' football team that will play for a state championship this Saturday. The good news: A lot of young guys and borderline JV/varsity players are getting a chance to impress the coaches and possibly earn a spot on the varsity roster.

Even if the Eagles had their full roster right now, they would need some time to figure out line combinations. Nothing's set in stone, including who will play on the top line with vets Jason Samuelson and Alex Funk. It could be Ben Weir, could be Griffen Buck, could be one of the three Carstens brothers, could be someone else.

Lourdes will have a good battle for the top goalie job, too, as senior Andrew Ellingson and sophomore Jack Burkel — a transfer from Red Wing — will both get their chance early in the season to seize the job.

Watch out for: Eighth-grader Tucker Chapman, a forward and a transfer from Texas, who could stick on the varsity from the get-go and play significant minutes. ... The Eagles again have a stacked schedule, including games against both defending state champions (St. Thomas Academy and Benilde-St. Margaret's).

Opener: Dec. 1, at St. Thomas Academy, 7:30 p.m.

• • •

ROCHESTER CENTURY

The Panthers are in a different spot than they're accustomed to: They have a lot of young players and will use the regular season to build toward the playoffs. Their goal won't be to come storming out of the gate.

That said, the Panthers still have some skilled guys leading the way, particularly forwards Hayden Ashworth and Dalton Travis. Ashworth excelled as a sophomore last season, while Travis, now a senior, was arguably the team's best forward in the final weeks of the season.

Senior Matt Sturchio is the only defenseman back with a lot of varsity experience. Sophomore Riese Zmolek is in that category, too, but he likely won't be able to start skating until sometime in January after suffering a broken ankle nearly two months ago.

Watch out for: A good battle for the starting goalie job. Senior Eric Rohleder is the only goalie with varsity experience. He'll be pushed by sophomores Max Andrist, Joey Pundt and Carter Downs.

Opener: Nov. 29, vs. Farmington, 7:30 p.m., Rochester Rec Center

• • •

ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL

The Rockets lost a lot of exprience, particularly on the blue line. And that's where they'll be looking for help early on. In fact, at least two veteran forwards — Alex Lovett and Jared Bromberg — have volunteered to make the switch to the blue line. That will hurt JM's forward depth, but there's still enough returning talent up front that JM could be in the mix for the Big Nine title deep into the season, as it was a year ago.

Senior Jacob Garvey will be looked to to hold down the fort in goal. Junior Patric Sadecki will also get some chances.

Watch out for: The Rockets' top line of Gavin Sandwick, Nick Paulson and Sam Broman. Those three are together right now and have clicked well in scrimmages and practices. They'll be relied on for a lot of offense as JM looks to develop some other lines behind them.

Opener: Nov. 27, vs. Farmington, 7:30 p.m., Rec Center.

H.S. Hockey | Scrimmages at Graham Arena tonight

Posted by: Feldman

Sorry for the short notice, but if you're interested in getting a first look at Rochester's boys high school hockey teams (at least the three public school teams), tonight's a good chance to do so.

Century, JM and Mayo will once again play a series of varsity and JV scrimmages against one another, and St. Louis Park (coached by former JM and NHL standout Shjon Podein) will join them.

Podein led a rather remarkable turnaround at SLP last season, helping the Orioles go from two wins in 2010-11 to 18 wins last season. However, Podein learned late in the summer that three key players -- senior D Marshall Tema, sophomore F Josh Passolt and freshman F Alec Baer -- are not returning to SLP this year. Tema is playing in the NAHL, while Passolt transferred to Maple Grove and Baer transferred to Benilde-St. Margaret's.

Here's a more complete story on those players leaving the Orioles' program. Passolt and Baer were the team's second- and third-leading scorers last year.

Here's a schedule for tonight's scrimmages (notice the Rochester varsity teams will not scrimmage each other):

GRAHAM I
5:30-6:05: Mayo vs. SLP
6:20-6:55: Mayo vs. SLP
7:10-7:45: JM vs. SLP
8-8:35: SLP JV vs. JM JV
8:45-9:30: Century vs. SLP

GRAHAM IV
5:45-6:20: JM JV vs. Century JV
6:30-7:05: Mayo JV vs. JM JV
7:15-7:50: Mayo JV vs. SLP JV
8:05-8:40: Mayo JV vs. Century JV
8:55-9:30: SLP JV vs. Century JV 

Hockey | NAHL Showcase to feature 129 Minnesotans

Posted by: Feldman

The Austin Bruins begin their 2012-13 North American Hockey League season in just more than 24 hours. All 24 NAHL teams will converge on the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine for the annual junior hockey showcase.

The Bruins open their season at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday against Amarillo (Texas). Here's my Bruins/Showcase preview from today's Austin P-B print edition. By the way, Bruins coach Chris Tok had some nice things to say about former Rochester John Marshall forward Zach Johnson. Tok mentioned Johnson as one of three young forwards who have stuck out in camp so far. Tok said Johnson has done a nice job at center, opening up space for his linemates and setting them up for scoring chances.

Here's a link to the Showcase website, where you can find schedules and Internet broadcast information.

According to Let's Play Hockey, this year's Showcase will feature 129 players from Minnesota, including five from Rochester -- Johnson and Drew Anderson (Century) from the Austin Bruins; goalie Brock Kautz (Century) from the Janesville (Wis.) Jets; defenseman Rory Vesel (Lourdes) from the Bismarck Bobcats; and defenseman Alec Brandrup (Lourdes) from the Coulee Region Chill (Onalaska, Wis.). Another former standout Big Nine Conference/Section 1 forward, Eric Carlson of Albert Lea, will play for Janesville this season.

Janesville will face Austin on Saturday, the final day of the Showcase, at 7 p.m. Vesel and Brandrup both play for Central Division teams, so they'll play in and against Austin often during the regular season.

Here's a link to Let's Play Hockey's list of the 129 Minnesotans who will play in the Showcase.

The Showcase is well-attended by college coaches and scouts, and professional scouts. This year's Showcase will feature far more than just the 24 NAHL teams. There will be 36 teams from the North American Prospects Hockey League competing at the Tier I 18U major midget level and 16U midget minor levels. Eight teams from the Upper Midwest High School Elite League will play this weekend, too, as will all six 18U midget major teams from the Tier I High Performance Hockey League (Compuware, CYA, Honeybaked, Little Caesars, Mission and Team Illinois).

Local hockey | Emptying my notebook

Posted by: Feldman

Lots of hockey notes that I've let build up that we need to get to here. Now that all of our high school fall sports previews are out of the way, I can get back to some hockey stuff that I've been meaning to get to for, in some cases, months!

Here we go ...

• John Marshall boys coach Jay Ness didn't really celebrate the Fourth of July this summer. He did his celebrating a week or so later, when he spent a few days in Sault Ste Marie, Mich. Ness was there to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Lake Superior State University's 1992 NCAA Division I hockey championship. It marked the school's second national title in four years, and it would go on to win another, in 1994. Ness played on the 1994 team, as well, as a senior. He finished his four-year LSSU career with 24 goals and 38 assists for 62 points. That '92 LSSU team was coached by Jeff Jackson, now the head coach at Notre Dame. Among the star players on that team: Brian Rolston, who has played more than 1,200 games in the NHL, including 241 with the Minnesota Wild. Rolston had 46 points for the '92 Lakers championship team; Ness had 19 that year (nine goals, 10 assists).

• As things change here at the P-B, my duties are expanding to include coverage of the North American Hockey League's Austin Bruins. The coverage of our local and area high schools won't suffer; but you'll probably notice more blog posts and, if you follow me on Twitter (@PBFeldy), more tweets about the Bruins and the NAHL this season. You likely won't see many stories on the Bruins appear in the actual Rochester print edition; my coverage will be mainly for the Austin edition of the P-B (yes, we put out a separate edition each day in Austin). The stories I do write on the Bruins, I'll link to them here, because ...

• Two former Rochester high school players will be playing really close to home this season. John Marshall's Zach Johnson and former Century standout Drew Anderson have made the Austin Bruins' roster. In addition to this blog, you can keep up with the Bruins on their web site.

• Four current Rochester Lourdes players have been selected as featured players in this year's Minnesota Hockey Hub/Breakdown Sports 2012-13 High School Hockey Guide. Defensemen Karl Krecke and Griff Slightam, and forwards Jason Samuelson and Alex Funk will be the first Eagles players to be featured in the book. We'll link to the book here when it becomes available for purchase. Funk, Samuelson and Krecke begin play in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League this weekend.

A bunch of former Lourdes players are still playing and/or are in new places this fall:

• Two of the team's leading scorers from last year, forward Landon Farrell and defenseman Justin Dewitz, will play AAA midgets with Russell Stover this season.

• Former all-state defenseman Rory Vesel is back for his second season with the NAHL's Bismarck (N.D.) Bobcats. Vesel was just starting to play very well last year when he suffered a broken jaw and missed a couple of months. We'll get to watch Vesel a bunch this year, as the Bobcats are in the same division as Austin.

• Former Lourdes defenseman Alec Brandrup is playing close to home, too. He's with the Coulee Region Chill of the NAHL. Coulee Region is based in Onalaska, Wis.

• Another former Eagles d-man, Pete Spratte, will be a freshman at Lake Superior State University this fall. LSSU plays in the CCHA, which will merge into the new-look WCHA after this season. That means Spratte will get to play in Mankato each season, against MSU, Mankato, and former Rochester Mayo standout Charlie Thauwald. Former La Crescent star Eriah Hayes is a senior at MSU, Mankato, this year.

• Ex-Eagles netminder Nick Heimer is a freshman again. Heimer was offered a spot recently at Hamline University and he accepted. I'm going to try to get in touch with Nick in the coming days to find out what he thinks of finally playing college hockey and just how he ended up at Hamline.

• Former Lourdes forward Tyler Voigt will return to Tufts University for his second season of Division III hockey.

• Ex-Lourdes standout F Brandon Bahnemann will be a senior at St. Thomas this year. The 2007 Lourdes grad started his college hockey career at Division I Bentley University, but transferred back closer to home and will close his college career this season.

• Mankato West grad Tyler Bruggeman, the goalie who backstopped the Austin Bruins to the NAHL Central Division championship series last spring, will play college hockey at Division III St. Scholastica in Duluth.

• Former Rochester Century goalie Brock Kautz will play in the NAHL, too, with the Janesville Jets.

• Former Century d-man Connor Faupel will play with the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League again this season. Faupel helped the team win the Turnbull Cup, the league's playoff championship, last season and advance to the Royal Bank Cup, the tournament that crowns Canada's Junior A champion.

• Century's Dalton Travis is on the Rochester Ice Hawks opening-day roster. I'm guessing he's doing a before-and-after deal, where he'll play with the Hawks until the high school season starts, then return to them after the high school season ends. I haven't confirmed that, yet, but I'd bet that's the case.

• Red Wing native Ryan Kesti is entering his third season with Northern Michigan University. Kesti lettered for the first time last year, when he had two points in 34 games.

• Byron's DJ Vold is a key returning forward for the Granite City Lumberjacks of the NA3HL. The 'Jacks won the NA3 title last year, in addition to winning the league's Central Division championship.

That's a fairly comprehensive list of area players who are playing in college, juniors or elsewhere this fall. I haven't scoured all college and junior rosters yet, so this isn't complete, but, if you know of former Rochester or area players who are competing in juniors, college or pro hockey, let me know. I'll start compiling a more comprehensive list soon.

H.S. Hockey | Summer camp report: Century

Posted by: Feldman

High school hockey teams around the state are taking a mandatory break from their summer camps this week for the holiday, so I figured now is a good time to get these summer camp reports posted. Like I said in a previous post, there's not a ton of information we can gain from these camps, other than the coaches like having a few weeks on the ice with their players in the summer, to see who wants to put in the time and effort in the offseason.

We'll start our trip around Rochester with the Century Panthers.

CENTURY PANTHERS

Last season: 18-7-2, Big 9 conference champions; lost to Lakeville North, 6-1, in Section 1AA semifinals.

Key players lost: G Erik Wennberg (17-6-2, 2.39 GAA, .904 save pct., 6 SO); F Nick Jacobs (captain; 13-24--37, 3 GWG; team-best 4 pts. in 2 playoff games); D Brandon Kautz (captain; 15-19--34, 10 PPG); F Blake Heroff (captain; 9-7--16); F Tyler Iverson (8-14--22; 11 pts in last 7 regular season games); F Isaac St. Marie (15-9--24; 3 PPG).

Key players returning (grade listed is the grade they'll be in, this coming school year): Sr. D Matt Sturchio (3-7--10); Sr. F Dalton Travis (15-9--24); Jr. F Hayden Ashworth (12-27--39); So. F Jacob Roth (4-10—14); So. D Riese Zmolek (5-8—13); Sr. D Ki-Jana Humphreys (1-2—3).

Questions for coach Josh Klingfus

• How do you use these summer practices? What do you want to accomplish? "It's all skill work, shoot a lot of pucks, skating, stickhandling, some 1-on-1, 2-on-1 stuff, a lot of station work and breaking down each player individually."

• You lost a lot of senior leadership off last year's team. How do you replace that? "We have to have guys step into those roles. The (seniors-to-be) class will step in and do just fine. We'll need guys like Matt Sturchio to pull a lot of weight, and we'll have some younger leaders, too — Hayden Ashworth, Riese Zmolek, along with the upperclassmen, we'll go as far as those guys push us."

Thoughts on the Panthers: Klingfus said the Panthers have about 35 kids going through summer workouts with the team, which is a nice number. Eric Rohleder is the only returning goalie with varsity experience, so he'll be given every chance to win the job, but will have some young guys pushing him when practice starts in November.

Dalton Travis was a player Century relied upon the entire season to provide offense and give the team a spark. He had 14 of his 24 points in the first eight games of the year, but he had a couple of big games down the stretch (including a hat trick against Albert Lea on Feb. 6) as the Panthers clinched the Big Nine title. They'll need him to continue to score and be a leader. Ashworth led the team in scoring last season as a sophomore, but lost one of his key linemates — center Nick Jacobs — to graduation.

Zmolek is one of the best all-around defensemen in the conference, and displayed a strong two-way game all of last season as a freshman. He had two points in his first varsity game and looked comfortable stepping into such a key role as a young player. As Klingfus said, they'll need Zmolek to be a leader this season, particularly with the loss of three-year blue-liner Brandon Kautz.

Century's schedule will be decent once again. The Panthers have non-conference games scheduled against two teams that made the state tournament last season, Section 1AA champion Lakeville South (Jan. 3, 7:30 p.m., Graham Arena 4) and at defending Class AA state champion Benilde-St. Margaret's (Jan. 17, 7 p.m.).

H.S. Hockey | Some notes (and changes to Kiwanis Festival lineup)

Posted by: Feldman

Whew. That was a fun Stanley Cup Final, eh? Too bad the last game had to be the least enjoyable of all, but congrats to L.A., what a run for the Kings as a No. 8 seed. And I'm sure glad I picked them to win; it's in print and everything (but don't go back and look at my prediction, just take my word for it. Please.)

On to some local hockey stuff.

* A reminder: The Minnesota Wild Road Tour will stop in Rochester on June 25. Players Matt Kassian and Charlie Coyle will be here, as well as former player Antti Laaksonen and TV color analyst Mike Greenlay will be here. They'll stop at the Wells Fargo on 55th St. NW from 4:15-5:15 p.m. More info. on the Road Tour can be found here.

* The annual Don Lucia Model Camp began on Monday, with 108 players from around the state (and some from bordering states) divided into six teams of 18 players. Players from our area/Section 1 who are competing this year: Jared Bromberg, F, Rochester John Marshall (will be a junior this fall); Soren Colstrup, F, Owatonna (junior); Luke LIjewski, F, New Prague (junior); Ryan Jutting, F, Mankato West (senior); Andrew Scofield, F, Northfield (senior); Ryan Drazan, D, New Prague (junior); Austin Kilian, F, New Prague (junior); and Colton Schmidt, F, New Prague (junior).

For more information on the camp, including full rosters for each team, click here.

* First off, congrats to former Lakeville North goalie Charlie Lindgren, who has committed to play at St. Cloud State. The Huskies and coach Bob Motzko, an Austin native, are getting a steal. Lindgren was a pain in the side for Section 1AA teams for four years; I'm certain the Rochester teams were happy to see him graduate.

Lindgren's rise to a D-I scholarship reminds me of the path former Rochester Century standout Alex Kangas took. All of us in this part of the state realized how special Lindgren was from the time he stepped in the goal as a freshman. Two years ago, we watched him nearly single-handedly lift his team past Lakeville South in the section final, then nearly single-handedly win two consy games at the state tournament. I can't wait to see how he does in St. Cloud and the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which begins play in the 2013-14 season.

* This is pretty cool: The Ottawa Citizen newspaper recently reviewed the book "Scarlet Ice," written by Roger Dier. It's the story of the 1995 Mankato West hockey team, the issues it had on and off the ice, and more importantly, the story of its sparkplug player, John Janavaras. Just 15, Janavaras was a workhorse. He also died that year after a outbreak of bacterial meningitis swept through the school. Read the review, then check out the book. The writing is quite good in spots, not so good in others, but Dier has put a tremendous story in print.

* For college puck fans, I talked with Minnesota State, Mankato, beat writer Shane Frederick (follow him on Twitter @Puckato -- great follow) last week at the state softball tournament. I asked him how things were going so far with new Mavs head coach Mike Hastings officially on the job. He said it sounds like MSU has seen a spike in season ticket sales; the real test might be to watch the sales of single-game tickets. We know MSU can sell tickets when the Gophers, Wisconsin and North Dakota come to town. How will Hastings' presence impact the sales for games against teams like Michigan Tech or Anchorage, though? I suppose it all comes down to winning.

Frederick also said he expects that MSU assistant coaches Darren Blue and Todd Knott will be retained, at least through this season, if not longer. It would be tough for Hastings to start searching for assistant(s) now, anyway, with a short time before players report to campus. Plus, St. Cloud State is already on the hunt for a top assistant, after Steve Johnson left to join head coach Dean Blais in Omaha.

* KIWANIS FESTIVAL NEWS

I fully admit I'm a dork, and I spend time in the middle of June digging through high school hockey schedules five months in advance of the season beginning. But as I did, I noticed a handful of teams who have been regulars at the Rochester Kiwanis Festival do not have the tourney listed on their schedules for this December.

I don't have the AA field (though I'll take a guess at most of it) yet, but I do have a tentative list of teams for the Class A field. I'll post what I know (and what I think I know) and let you formulate your opinions:

CLASS AA: Rochester Century, Rochester John Marshall, Rochester Mayo and Eau Claire Memorial all have the Festival listed on their schedules. I don't know this for certain, but I'm assuming long-time Festival attendees New Richmond (Wis.) and Fargo (N.D.) South will return. Those teams are a part of the Festival; it wouldn't be the same without them here. Eastview does not have its non-conference schedule posted as of yet, so there's a good chance the Lightning could return.

The eighth team in the AA field could be Richfield. The Spartans at one point had "Rochester tournament" listed on their schedule, but it noted "vs. Rochester Century" ... that has been removed from their schedule as of now. They only have 22 games listed -- three short of the 25 allowed by MSHSL rules -- so perhaps they're seeking a different tourney, or are waiting to confirm a spot in the Kiwanis? 

Prior Lake -- a team I was really hoping would return this year -- is out. The Lakers have the Schwan's Cup Silver Division listed on their schedule.

CLASS A: Here's the way the Class A field shakes out, tentatively, I'm told. Looks like long-time tourney participant Albert Lea is out, as are St. Michael-Albertville and Northfield, both of which were in it last year. Albert Lea is scheduled to play in Simley's tournament, in Inver Grove Heights.

The Kiwanis Class A tournament appears to include the following: Lourdes (defending champ), Dodge County, New Ulm (2010 champ), Ashwaubenon (Wis.), Verona (Wis.), WSFLG (Wis.), Northland Pines (Wis.) and Kansas City.

That would mean half the field has turned over. Lourdes (defending champ), Ashwaubenon (4th place last year), New Ulm (6th) and Dodge County (8th) are back; the other four teams are new.

Verona could be a nice addition; it went 22-1 in the regular season last year and qualified for the state tournament, where it lost in the semifinals to eventual state champion Notre Dame Academy.

That's all I know for now; I'll pass on more about the tournament as I find out.

H.S. Hockey | All-Big Nine Team announced

Posted by: Feldman

The All-Big Nine Conference boys hockey team was released on Thursday. As you'd expect, the conference champion Century Panthers led the way with six players on the team, plus four honorable mention. Big 9 runner-up Mayo has five players on the team, plus four honorable mention; JM has two players on the team and six honorable mention. 

Here's the complete list, which you can also find by going to the Big 9 website and clicking the link that says "2011-12 Big 9 Boys Hockey All-Conference."

BIG 9 ALL-CONFERENCE

Century: F Nick Jacobs, Sr.; D, Brandon Kautz, Sr.; G, Erik Wennberg, Sr.; F, Dalton Travis, Jr.; F, Hayden Ashworth, So.; D, Riese Zmolek, Fr.
Mayo: D Steve Serratore, Sr.; G Case Hansen, Jr.; F Adam Alcott, Jr.; F, Ryan Martin, Jr.; F, Max Whitney, Jr.
John Marshall: F, Gavin Sandwick, Jr.; D, Alec McGinn, Jr.
Owatonna: F, Justin Brown; F, Soren Colstrup; F, Matt Ratzloff.
Mankato West: F, Tyler Resnar; G, Zach Fox.
Albert Lea: F, Levi Hacker; D, Auston Larson.
Winona: D, Luke Hemker.
Austin: F, Ethan Larson.
Mankato East: G, Lucas Weihe.
Faribault: None.

HONORABLE MENTION
Century: D, Matt Sturchio; F, Blake Heroff; F, Tyler Iverson; F, Isaac St. Marie.
Mayo: D, Jack Dingle; D, Tommy Fjelsted; D, Will Holtan; F, Nolan Edwards.
JM: G, Jacob Garvey; D, Matt Broman; D, Ryan Lakin; F,  Alex Lovett; F, Hunter Heightland; F, Kyle Andrews.
Owatonna: G, Luke Ebeling; Aaron Kirsch; Robert Dietz; Tyler Yentsch; Alex Whited.
Mankato West: D, Billy Bingham; Josh Christenson.
Albert Lea: None.
Winona: F, Cameron Kelly; F, Ryan Grant.
Austin: F, Marcus Stoulil.
Mankato East: None.
Faribault: G, Cody Morsching.