| PLAYER OF THE WEEK |
DAN BAKALA
Bemidji State
Jr. | G | Calgary, Alberta
His Statistics: 64 saves; 1 goal allowed; 2 wins; 1 shutout vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
His Impact: Bakala was nearly unbeatable in leading Bemidji State to its first-ever WCHA series sweep, backstopping two wins against visiting Nebraska-Omaha, which entered the weekend rated third in the INCH Power Rankings. He stopped all 25 shots he faced Friday en route to a 3-0 win against the Mavs and followed that outing with 39 saves in a 3-1 victory Saturday.
Benched in favor of teammate Mathieu Dugas for four straight starts last month, Bakala has a 3-0-0 record while turning aside all but one of the 81 shots he’s seen since regaining the starting job. He enters this weekend’s series at Wisconsin ranked fourth in the WCHA in save percentage.
His Runners-Up: Kevin Kapalka, Lake Superior State; Chris Kushneriuk, Robert Morris; Andrew Miller, Yale; Paul Thompson, New Hampshire.
The INCH Player of the Week is brought to you by The INCH Shop.
| STICK SALUTE |
It’s been an up-and-down season for Colorado College thus far, but one constant for the Tigers has been the play of freshman forward Jaden Schwartz. The Wilcox, Saskatchewan, native potted two goals and added five assists in CC’s weekend sweep of Michigan Tech, giving him 11-14—25 in 16 games, tops among NCAA rookies in scoring. A first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Schwartz is a strong candidate to play for Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo later this month. Catch him while you can, college fans, because his stint at this level could be brief.
| BENCH MINOR |
Sacred Heart got its second win of the season Saturday, using three first-period goals to beat Mercyhurst 3-2. That might be a step toward turning around a season that has seen the Pioneers struggle thus far, as they are 2-10-4 overall and 2-6-4 in Atlantic Hockey. The huge downturn is especially disappointing following last year’s banner campaign that saw Sacred Heart record 21 wins, advance to the Atlantic Hockey tournament finals, and finish second in the conference standings.
This year, things haven’t gone so well. Sacred Heart currently ranks last in the nation in overall team defense (4.88 goals against per game) and penalty killing (69.6 percent). That isn’t helped by the fact that they are the ninth-most penalized team in the country, with 16.9 penalty minutes per game. Offensively, Sacred Heart has the nation’s sixth-worst power play at 11.6 percent and the fifth-worst scoring offense with just 2.12 goals per game.
| SAY WHAT? |
“When you’re all protected up as compared to players who play without a (full) facemask, you don’t open yourself up as much. It’s safety, believe it or not.”
St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko, explaining how allowing NCAA players to wear half shields instead of full cages would make the sport safer. That comment was part of an interesting piece by Mick Hatten of the St. Cloud Times on the future of the half shield in college hockey.
| RANKINGS OUTRAGE |
A Denver fan living in Missouri chastised us Monday for dropping his beloved Pioneers one spot in this week’s INCH Power Rankings despite their split at then No. 1 Minnesota Duluth. As we were going to explain to this gentle reader (who gave us a bogus e-mail address, preventing us from responding to his complaint), it wasn’t what DU did or didn’t do that caused them to slide. Instead, we were compelled to reward Boston College for its dismemberment of Boston University, so we vaulted the Eagles from No. 13 to No. 6. Ultimately, four teams that split last weekend—Denver among them—ended up sliding one spot as a result.
When it comes to rankings, remember this: your team does not play in a vacuum.
| TWEET OF THE WEEK |
@sportnsound I’ll be LV for the marathon Sun. An error in my time has me starting up front with the Kenyans. I imagine they’ll be surprised to see me.
Congratulations to INCH photographer Larry Radloff, who completed Sunday’s Las Vegas Half-Marathon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 4 seconds. Upon registering for the event, race organizers mislabeled Radloff’s entry and he was placed in the lead group at the start of the race.
