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10/7/07-Hockey
Six freshmen join five area skaters in search of CCHA honors this season
By Mike Rosenbaum of The West Bloomfield Eccentric
If the pre-season prognosticators are correct, several area players should compete for top team and individual honors during the 2007-08 Central Collegiate Hockey Association season.
According to CCHA coaches, Miami (Ohio) -- which includes three Eccentric-area skaters -- is favored to win the conference title, while media pundits prefer defending NCAA champion Michigan State, where a pair of promising area freshmen should see significant ice time.
A total of 11 area players, including six freshmen, are set to play for six different CCHA squads this season.
The top returner is Miami defenseman Alec Martinez. The Stoney Creek graduate was an Honorable Mention All-CCHA choice last season, and a pre-season All-Conference pick this year. A junior, Martinez had nine goals, including six power play tallies, and 15 assists in 2006-07.
But RedHawks' coach Enrico Blasi sees Martinez as more than just an offensive threat.
"I think he's one of those players now that's emerged as, hopefully, a complete player for us, offensively and defensively," Blasi says. "He's a quality young man that understands the big picture, puts the team first, in front of individual success."
Joining Martinez on Miami's blue line is West Bloomfield native Brad Robbins. A senior, Robbins will play a defensive-oriented role after notching four assists and a plus-five rating last year.
"He's got a lot of experience," Blasi says. "He is a stay-at-home defenseman and when he plays that way he's very effective. Hopefully he can add strength and some physical play on the back end."
Bloomfield Hills native Bill Loupee enjoyed his first full season last year, netting one goal and adding four assists in 34 games. As a junior, he should continue to see regular ice time at forward this year.
Loupee, Blasi says, is "one of those guys that always finds himself in the lineup, just from his hard work. He's a great young man as well. The one thing about our team is, they understand what's expected of them and what their role is, and Billy really leads the way in that. And we feel good about, if we need somebody to step in and play in a certain situation, he can do that. He's the epitome of a role player."
West Bloomfield's Corey Elkins is back at full strength after playing a total of 35 games for Ohio State the previous two years. Elkins suffered a knee injury as a freshman and was still feeling the effects until late last season. The junior forward finished with seven goals and seven assists in 26 games last year, but Buckeyes associate coach Casey Jones expects Elkins to better those numbers this season.
"He's got more of an expanded role now," Jones explains, "so he'll have more opportunity. But most of his production, too, came late (last) season, where he took on a major role for us on the power play. So I'd expect him to build off his last couple of months. He was pretty dynamic for us and he might have been our best player in the playoffs."
At Western Michigan, Troy Athens grad Jeff Pierce enters his senior season after posting college career-best numbers last year, when the right wing netted 12 goals among 33 points, including seven power play markers.
"He's kind of the energizer bunny," says Broncos coach Jim Culhane. "He has such enthusiasm and respect for the game. He possesses good offensive instincts and is someone who we look to continue to get better and score goals for us."
Patrick Nagorsen is one of two members of Orchard Lake St. Mary's 2005 state championship squad who'll enter the CCHA this year. The Novi native, who played the previous two seasons with the Traverse City North Stars of the North American Hockey League, is expected to play center for Western, although Culhane isn't certain what type of role Nagorsen will play this year.
"I think there's a feeling-out process for us, as a staff, on where Patrick's going to fit," Culhane says. "But I think he's going to have a good career at Western Michigan. We recruited Patrick (because) we felt he had the instincts to contribute offensively."
Two area freshmen will try to crack a veteran Michigan State lineup that includes 20 letterwinners from last year's NCAA championship team. But coach Rick Comley is confident that both skaters are up to the task.
St. Mary's graduate Jeff Petry played the last two seasons with the U.S. Hockey League's Des Moines Buccaneers. A two-time USHL all-star, Petry helped lead Des Moines to a Clark Cup championship in 2006 and was the league's Defenseman of the Year in 2007. The Farmington Hills native was a second round choice by Edmonton, 45th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
"He's going to be an outstanding player," Comley says. "He's played two years at Des Moines and has really solidified his game. He still has a long way to go strength-wise, but we brought him in to be an impact player and I think he will be. He'll play on our power play. He'll play a lot. I think he's got a very, very bright future."
Fellow freshman Dustin Gazley will bid for playing time at forward. Comley calls the Southfield native "a dynamic player. He'll be one of our top three right wingers. Dustin competes. He battles. He plays with speed. He has really good puck skills. He's going to be a very effective player."
Michigan coach Red Berenson is similarly confident that a pair of area freshmen will contribute to his squad this season.
Chad Langlais, a member of Cranbrook-Kingswood's 2004 state championship team, is one of several freshmen defensemen bidding for ice time on a young Wolverines squad. After two seasons with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, however, "Chad should be the most experienced of our young defensemen," Berenson says. "He played four years at Cranbrook, he played two years in the U.S. Hockey League. So he's a little older than our average freshman. He brings an element of offensive skill and I think smarts. Not size, he's probably our smallest defenseman. But he'll be a smart, quick, offensively-gifted player. We'll definitely look at him as a guy that could help us on the power play."
Bloomfield Hills native Matt Rust is well-established in Ann Arbor, having spent the previous two seasons in that city as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program.
"Matt Rust is a hard-working, very good-skating centerman," Berenson says. "He's a good two-way player, he has good defensive instincts, he has good offensive instincts. And last year in the Development Program he played up to 30 Division I opponents. So he'll be the most ready of our freshman forwards to come in and compete at a high level."
Another Bloomfield Hills native, goalie Pat Nagle, will compete with two veteran netminders for playing time at Ferris State. Nagle earned NAHL Rookie of the Year honors and helped lead St. Louis to the league championship last season.
"We've got high hopes for Pat," says Ferris coach Bob Daniels. "We're bringing him in to play him. My game plan is to split Pat with one of the two returning goaltenders for about the first month or so. And then, from that point on, kind of see where it all filters out."
Daniels calls Nagle "extremely athletic. He's well-conditioned. He's a real competitor. And I think that's borne out by the fact that he did lead his team to a national title a year ago."
The college hockey season begins next weekend. CCHA games begin Oct. 19
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