2010-11 Men's Hockey Season Preview

Taking the next step is something that all teams need to do in order to become an elite program. The challenge a team faces is to keep building towards goals and never settling for anything less than perfection. The Adrian men’s hockey program has set the bar very high in their first three years of existance. They have built a program that others want to follow. The Bulldogs are now looking towards the next step in their progression and that is winning another conference title, winning an NCAA Tournament game and competing for the Division III National Championship.

The first three years have been built around a very talented and committed recruiting class that are now entering their senior year. Each year has been culminated in the raising of the Harris Cup as champions of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA). The team’s record during the first three seasons is 77-8-1 and they have gone 59-1 in regular season MCHA contests. The two records are staggering enough if you are an established program, but to do it from scratch makes it even more remarkable. There are 17 players from the inaugural recruiting class that want to leave a lasting legacy at Adrian College.

“The opportunity to be part of a brand new program is what first drew me to Adrian College,” said captain Mike Towns. “To start an entire program from scratch, create tradition, and build such strong relationships has been an unbelieveable experience. We want to leave a legacy of a strong program, a winning tradition and the ability to compete at the national level year after year. Winning a national championship would be extremely difficult. To achieve such an accomplishment requires endless amounts of dedication, character, and commitment. We as a team are excited about the opportunity to compete for that ultimate prize.”
The national championship hardware is the team’s ultimate goal but it is also important to stay grounded and take each game as a learning experience.

“The objectives change each year but we can not take a night off,” said head coach Ron Fogarty entering his fourth year on the bench. “We need to make every game important and not look ahead to far. We have to be ready for anything other teams will throw at us. The MCHA is getting better and has great coaches who know hockey. Our schedule has gotten tougher each year and those battles prepare you for March.”

The usual suspects are back at forward with the likes of seniors Shawn Skelly, Mike Dahlinger and Eric Miller. Skelly is a former MCHA Player of the Year (‘08-’09) and is the all-time point leader in school history (181). He has the ability to create space and has one of the hardest slapshots in Division III. Skelly enters his senior season with 81 goals and 100 assists. He has also scored 38 career power play goals, including 28 in MCHA play which is a league record.

Dahlinger is the reigning MCHA Player of the Year and has seen his production increase each season with the team. He was named Second Team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association after leading the MCHA in points and assists. He finished the year with a career-best 41 assists including 36 helpers in MCHA action which set a league record. Dahlinger formed a line with seniors Sam Kuzyk and Brad Houston last year which proved to be the top scoring line for the Bulldogs.

Miller was fighting through injuries last season and saw his production dip from his first two seasons. He finished with 36 points, which is very good by most standards, including 12 goals and 24 assists. Miller has had a stellar three-year career with 156 points including 70 goals and 86 assists. The forward spots also include sophomore Jeff Young and junior transfer Jordan Watts, who comes to Adrian from Division I member RPI.

Adding depth at forward will be freshman Josh Cousineau. The Penetang, Ontario native played junior hockey with Couchiching of the OJAHL and posted numbers of 65 points in 49 regular season games in 2009-10. He had an even better 2008-09 campaign in which he finished with 78 points including 11 points in 10 playoff games.

Sophomore Andrew Dovey will return for the Bulldogs after a fine rookie season. Dovey scored five goals and added 14 assists as a freshman. Towns is a steady team player who has served as captain for two years. He set a career-best with nine goals a year ago and also had nine assists. Houston is a quite offensive force who seems to creep up on opposing teams who are geared to stopping the other Adrian playmakers. He has scored at least 17 goals in all three seasons and has 58 career goals and 58 career assists. Houston has scored 12 career power play goals and served 175 penalty minutes.

Kuzyk, sophomore Zach Graham and senior Kyle Watson  feature a good balance of scoring and toughness. Kuzyk scored a career-best 20 goals a year ago and ranked second on the team with 44 points. Graham was one of Division III’s best freshmen in 2009-10. He ranked 11th in Division III in points per game (1.61) and finished the year with 16 goals and 29 assists. He also ranked second in Division III in points by a freshman.

The defense will be spearheaded by four seniors who have a combined 290 games on the blueline for the Bulldogs. It looks like the defense will be without senior Chris Stansik, who will likely sit out the season recovering from an injury and be ready to play his final season in 2011-12. Jeremy Klaver and Eric Roman will be a defensive pairing while Bobby Hineman and Quinn Waller will be a combo as well. Klaver and Waller have played more games than any other Bulldogs and bring experience and knowledge to the table. They quarterback a power play that has been sensational since their arrival. Klaver had 28 points including a career-best eight goals a year ago while Waller is one assist shy of the MCHA career record for a defenseman which is held by Stansik.

The goaltending situation has received a depth boost with the addition of freshman Mike Morissette to compliment senior Brad Fogal. Morissette hails from LaSalle, Ontario. He played junior hockey with Oakville of the OJAHL in 2009-10 and went 25-7 in goal in 35 games.
Fogal has logged a ton of minutes over the last three seasons and could get a break when the time is right. He has never lost a game between the pipes in MCHA action going 52-0. He has a 68-7-1 record all-time with 12 shutouts and a 1.95 goals against average. In addition, he has a .922 save percentage and has made 1,653 saves.