SURPRISE TEAM

Sure, we knew that Mike Eaves could recruit defensive talent to Wisconsin, and we knew (as evidenced by his 2006 NCAA title) that he could lead a unit of men into battle, but who know there were this many offensive arrows in the Badgers’ quiver? With all of the talk of the amount of offense generated by teams like Minnesota Duluth in the first half, it should be noted that the Bulldogs need 11 goals in their next game just to tie the Badgers’ offensive output (73 goals in 18 games) so far. Most impressive has been junior forward Blake Geoffrion, who has 14 goals for Bucky.

SURPRISE INDIVIDUAL

Marc Cheverie's first half for Denver earned him a place on INCH's First Half All-WCHA Team.

For years, hockey fans in Duluth have lamented the locals that got away, angrily recalling names like Stauber, Spehar and Hill having success elsewhere. With that in mind, this is turning out to be a nice season for home-grown talent at Minnesota Duluth. We knew Jack Connelly had offensive pop, but hardly anyone could’ve predicted the league-leading 18 assists put up by another Twin Ports kid, junior Rob Bordson, in the first half. After a seven-point rookie campaign, Bordson made just 15 appearances last season, putting 0-0-0 on his personal stat sheet. With that past to reflect on, you’ll forgive us if we didn’t pick Bordson for his current point-per-game pace. Duluthians are just happy to see success from one that didn’t get away.

WHAT HAPPENED TO …

In fairness, we picked Michigan Tech for 10th in our preseason prognostications, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Huskies are 3-13-0 so far (with one pre-Christmas game yet to be played). But what’s been the most unpleasant surprise in the Keweenaw is how seemingly nothing has gone right so far in 2009-10. The overall health is much better than a year ago, and there is some real talent to be found in the likes of leading scorer Brett Olson and promising freshman defenseman Steven Seigo - the league’s top-scoring rookie from the blue line. So why are the Huskies in the cellar not only in the standings but in key stats like goals scored, goals allowed and penalty kill? From Jan. 12 to Feb. 27, Tech plays 9 of 11 games at home. That should be as good a chance as any for Jamie Russell and his charges to right the ship.

BEST NEW FACE

Notching 16 points in his first 18 collegiate games really shouldn’t be that surprising of a feat for North Dakota rookie forward Danny Kristo. The USA Hockey NTDP product has had a habit of creating offense for years both in Ann Arbor and with Omaha of the USHL (57 points in 50 games last season), which is likely why the Canadiens used a second-round pick on him in 2008. Over the holidays he’s likely to be in a different version of bleu, blanc et rouge, playing for Team USA at the World Juniors in Saskatchewan.

BIGGEST UPSET

As we eagerly await next season’s addition of Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha to the family, we like to think that years from now, we’ll be referring to the current crop of WCHA teams as the “original 10.” So when a seemingly nondescript Minnesota State team traveled to visit the nationally-ranked Beavers (13-2-1 at one point) then headed back to Mankato with impressive 5-1 and 3-2 wins, we were shocked. Shocked! For MSU it may be the start of something big. Or it may have been the renewal of something even bigger. A quarter-century ago, the Mavs and Beavers had a great rivalry in the D-III NCHA. Maybe those wins in Bemidji were the Mavs’ way of saying, all these years later, “It’s on, again.”

TOUGHEST ROAD OUT

While others like to start out at home with a winnable non-conference series, Bob Motzko and his St. Cloud State club took a different approach this year, visiting the coach’s old haunts in Oxford to open the season versus the top-ranked Redhawks. The talented Huskies’ underwhelming 7-5-2 start has partially been a product of long WCHA road trips (to Michigan Tech, Alaska Anchorage and Denver) and tough home series (a 2-2-2 mark versus Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin and Colorado College). And looming in January, what once looked like a solid two-win trip to Quinnipiac now looks much more daunting with the Bobcats sitting at 13-3-1.

TOUGHEST ROAD IN

Known recently for brutal first halves and all-but-unbeatable second halves, there may be a flip-flop of fortune in the works for North Dakota this season. The Fighting Sioux are a respectable 9-6-3 at the break but a daunting second half looms. After a January weekend in suburban Chicago for the Shillelagh Tournament, NoDak has second-half trips to Minnesota, Cornell, St. Cloud State and Colorado College, along with home dates with league-leading Denver (there’s no truth to the rumor that the Pioneers’ coach will be tethered to the bench this time) and high-scoring Minnesota Duluth. That’s not a great road map for keeping the MacNaughton Cup in Grand Forks, with the Sioux currently sitting in sixth place.

MUST-SEE SERIES

Denver coach George Gwozdecky inflamed the passions between DU and North Dakota last January, taking a stroll across the Ralph’s ice sheet en route to an ejection. The Sioux scored 10 goals that weekend, got three points and eventually got the league title. So when the 2009-10 WCHA schedule was released showing a Grand Forks visit by the Pioneers on January 29-30, don’t think those dates weren’t circled in red on the calendars of many, many NoDak fans.

BIGGEST QUESTION ANSWERED

Don Lucia

Can another rookie goalie help Colorado College be competitive? Anybody who thought the feats of Richard Bachman (the rookie goalie who led the Tigers to the MacNaughton Cup two years ago) were flukes had better get used to good youngsters holding opponents at bay when they play Colorado College. After a brief flirtation with junior Tyler O’Brien between the pipes, Tigers coach Scott Owens took a page out of his own book, putting rookie Joe Howe in the crease. All Howe has made of the opportunity is a 10-3-3 record to go along with his impressive .926 saves percentage. Most importantly, the Tigers head to a holiday tourney in Florida just one point behind Denver in the race for the WCHA title.

BIGGEST QUESTION REMAINING

Is the bench boss at Minnesota coaching with his job on the line? Over the summer, Golden Gophers forward Jay Bariball was one of a host of Minnesota players working hard on and off the ice, determined to make this season a return to glory. Sadly, Bariball didn’t make it to December on the ice, sidelined with a season-ending injury as the Gophers won just six of their first 14 WCHA games. Folks in the know insist that Don Lucia’s job is safe, and the coach who brought a pair of national titles to Dinkytown will be there for the long haul. But that hasn’t stopped the incessant speculation about Minnesota alumni like Nebraska-Omaha’s Dean Blais or D-III Hamline’s Scott Bell taking a turn behind the Mariucci Arena bench. As always, the only cure is winning.

INCH’Ss FIRST HALF ALL-WCHA TEAM

G-Marc Cheverie, Denver: By averaging a shutout roughly every third game he starts, Chevy has Denver fans thinking about another Hobey coming to town.

D-Brendan Smith, Wisconsin: Even on a team with two Smiths and two Johnsons, it’s hard for this Badger’s league-leading 18 assists to remain anonymous.

D-Chay Genoway, North Dakota: The Fighting Sioux were 7-1-1 when Genoway got hurt, on Friday the 13th (of November). They’re 2-5-2 since then. Get well soon Chay.

F-Bill Sweatt, Colorado College: Blackhawk fans must drool when they dream of what this speedy kid from the last stop on Metra’s UP West Line may do in black and red.

F-Jack Connolly, Minnesota Duluth: Perhaps inspired by his brother’s NCAA title at BU last season, the townie Duluthians call “J-Con” has put up a dozen Bulldog goals so far.

F-Rhett Rakhshani, Denver: With 11 goals in a hot first half, Rakhshani is on pace for a career best year and has keyed the Pioneers’ run to the top of the WCHA heap.