UAH is picked to finish ninth in the WCHA according to the preseason coaches’ poll, while the media expects the Chargers to finish seventh again. The polls were released during Monday’s WCHA preseason media call.
Despite the tempered expectations for the Chargers, head coach Mike Corbett likes what he’s seen so far from his team.
“Sometimes progress is never as fast as you want, but we’re looking to continue taking positive strides for our program this year,” Chargers head coach Mike Corbett said. “I’m excited for our group moving forward.”
Corbett cited a leadership group of defensemen Kurt Gosselin (who was third-team all-WCHA in 2017 and received votes for preseason all-WCHA in media poll) and John Teets, and forwards Madison Dunn and Hans Gorowsky. Corbett said more players stayed in Huntsville this summer to prepare than ever before in his tenure, now entering its sixth season.
The questions for UAH are the goaltending, which will be unproven to start, and who will pick up the slack offensively with the departures of Josh Kester (24 goals) and Tyler Poulsen, who “always had timely points that are important in our league,” Corbett said.
Corbett has confidence in the goaltenders who will vie for the No. 1 spot left by Jordan Uhelski, who is now a graduate transfer at Miami. Mark Sinclair played seven games as a freshman last season, and Jake Theut is a graduate transfer from Northeastern.
Timeliness of goals will be crucial for the Chargers to exceed expectations and continue to climb the WCHA standings, according to Corbett. “It’s going to be attention to detail. We’re a bit unproven on who’s going to score and stop the puck. We have to win battles in front of the nets, we have to have some fight in our game. Timely goals will be the biggest thing.”
UAH begins the 2018-19 season on Oct. 6-7 at Miami. The Chargers have their home opening series Oct. 19-20 against Arizona State.
Minnesota State is picked to win the MacNaughton Cup again in both polls. The Mavericks took seven of the first-place votes by the coaches, with Northern Michigan getting two votes and Michigan Tech one.
The votes were more split in the media poll, with MSU taking 13 of 19 first-place votes, Northern Michigan five, and Bowling Green one. Although NMU took the second-most first-place votes, the Wildcats finished third overall in the media poll.
The media poll was conducted by Geof Morris of UAHHockey.com. The coaches’ poll was conducted by Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press.
Three WCHA teams are ranked in the USCHO.com preseason poll. Minnesota State starts the season 10th, with Michigan Tech 18th and Northern Michigan 20th.
2018-19 UAHHockey.com WCHA Preseason Media Poll
First-place votes in parentheses.
- Minnesota State (13), 182 points
- Bowling Green (1), 159
- Northern Michigan (5), 150
- Michigan Tech, 133
- Bemidji State, 110
- Ferris State, 102
- UAH, 69
- Lake Superior State, 57
- Alaska, 47
- Alaska Anchorage, 28
Preseason WCHA Player of the Year
Troy Loggins, Sr., F, Northern Michigan
Others receiving votes: Jake Jaremko, So., F, Minnesota State; Marc Michaelis, Jr., F, Minnesota State; Adam Rockwood, Sr., F, Northern Michigan; Atte Tolvanen, Sr., G, Northern Michigan.
Preseason All-WCHA First Team
Marc Michaelis, Jr., F, Minnesota State
Jake Jaremko, Fr., F, Minnesota State
Troy Loggins, Sr., F, Northern Michigan
Alec Rauhauser, Jr., D, Bowling Green
Philip Beaulieu, Jr., D, Northern Michigan
Atte Tolvanen, Sr., G, Northern Michigan
Preseason All-WCHA Second Team
Adam Rockwood, Sr., F, Northern Michigan
Jake Lucchini, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Darien Craighead, Jr., F, Northern Michigan (tie)
Brandon Kruse, So., F, Bowling Green (tie)
Parker Tuomie, Jr., F, Minnesota State (tie)
Ian Scheid, Jr., D, Minnesota State
Chris Pohlkamp, Sr., D, Bowling Green
Ryan Bednard, Jr., G, Bowling Green
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically by position): Forwards – Stephen Baylis, Sr., Bowling Green; Jay Dickman, Sr., Bemidji State; Gavin Gould, Jr., Michigan Tech; Jake Jackson, Sr., Michigan Tech; Steven Jandric, So., Alaska; Reggie Lutz, So., Minnesota State; Corey Mackin, Sr., Ferris State. Defensemen – Justin Baudry, Sr., Bemidji State; Kurt Gosselin, Sr., Alabama Huntsville; Ryker Killins, Sr., Ferris State; Mitch Meek, So., Michigan Tech; Nolan Nicholas, Jr., Alaska Anchorage. Goaltenders – Zach Driscoll, So., Bemidji State; Nick Kossoff, Sr., Lake Superior State.
2018-19 Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes in parentheses.
- Minnesota State (7), 88 points
- Northern Michigan (2), 80
- Bowling Green, 76
- Michigan Tech (1), 64
- Bemidji State, 54
- Ferris State, 49
- Lake Superior State, 40
- Alaska, 36
- UAH, 35
- Alaska Anchorage 18
WCHA Preseason Player of the Year
Adam Rockwood, Sr., F, Northern Michigan (4)
Others receiving votes: Jake Jaremko, So., F, Minnesota State (3); Marc Michaelis, Jr., F, Minnesota State (2); Troy Loggins, Sr. F, Northern Michigan (1).
WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year
Cooper Zech, D, Ferris State (5)
Others receiving votes: Dryden McKay, G, Minnesota State (2); Griffin Loughran, F, Northern Michigan (1); Tim Theocharidis, D, Bowling Green (1); Chris Van Os-Shaw, F, Minnesota State (1).
Preseason All-WCHA Team
Adam Rockwood, Sr., F, Northern Michigan
Marc Michaelis, So., F, Minnesota State
Troy Loggins, Sr., F, Northern Michigan
Alec Rauhauser, Jr., D, Bowling Green
Philip Beaulieu, Jr., D, Northern Michigan
Atte Tolvanen, Sr., G, Northern Michigan