In Coaches Annual Poll
St. Norbert Picked to Win 2005 Men's NCHA Title
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Oct. 19, 2004 St. Norbert College has been picked to win the 2005 NCHA Championship in the annual Coaches poll. SNC has won three straight regular season championships and the NCHA
Peters Cup playoff titles in 2003 and 2004. The Green Knights, under Coach
Tim Coghlin, finished 11-2-1 in NCHA play last year and won the league
crown by four points. SNC, which finished 27-3-2 overall, advanced to
the NCAA Div. III National Championship game but lost a 1-0 overtime decision
to Middlebury, Vt. The Green Knights picked up six out of the eight first
place votes and totaled 61 points. UW-River Falls was picked for second place and received one first place vote. The Falcons, under Coach Steve Freeman, finished 8-3-3 in NCHA play in 2003 and were 21-6-4 overall. The Falcons advanced to the NCHA playoff championship game, but lost at SNC, 2-0. UWRF earned a berth into the NCAA Div. III Championships and topped St. Thomas, 3-2 in overtime, to advance to the quarterfinals. The Falcons lost at SNC again, 3-0, in the NCAA playoffs. The Falcons finished with 53 points in the poll. UW-Superior is picked to finish in third place in 2005 and picked up the other first place vote. The Jackets, under Coach Dan Stauber, placed third in the NCHA last year with a 7-4-3 record. UWS was 15-8-4 overall. Superior won the 2001 NCHA regular season championship and won three straight (2000-2002) Peters Cup titles. The 2002 Jackets won the NCAA Div. III National Championship. UWS finished with 49 votes in the poll. Lake Forest was the most improved team in the NCHA in 2004 and is picked to finish fourth in third year's poll. LFC finished 7-5-2 in NCHA play in 2004, just one point out of third place and three points away from second. The Foresters, under veteran Coach Tony Fritz, finished 18-6-4 overall. Their fourth place NCHA finish was the team's best since joining the league in 1993. The 18 wins is the most by a Forester team since joining the NCHA. Fritz was named the 2004 NCHA Coach of the Year. LFC finished with 39 points in the poll. UW-Stevens Point, under Coach Joe Baldarotta, received 34 votes and is picked to place fifth. Last year the Pointers finished tied for fifth place with a 5-7-2 record and 12 points. UWSP finished 13-12-3 overall. The Pointers became the first team in NCHA history to win a road league playoff series when they topped UWS, two games to one, in the league's first round of playoffs. The Pointers have won four NCAA Div. III National Championships, five NCHA regular season titles and five Peters Cup championships. UW-Eau Claire was picked to finish sixth in this year's poll. UWEC, under Coach Jean Laforest, finished with 23 votes in this year's poll. The Blugolds finished in seventh place in the NCHA last year with a 4-9-1 record and nine points. UWEC finished 14-12-1 overall. They made a huge improvement over the 2003 season when they finished 1-22-2 overall. UW-Stout, under Coach Terry Watkins, was picked to finish seventh. Stout finished in a tie for fifth place in 2004 with a 5-7-2 NCHA record and 12 points. The Blue Devils finished 14-10-3 overall behind senior goalie Jeff Dotson who was named the NCHA's Most Valuable Player. The 14 wins is the most by a Stout team since the 1991 season when the Blue Devils recorded 15 wins. Stout earned 21 points in the voting. St. Scholastica, picked to finish eight this year, is the one NCHA team under new leadership in 2004-05. Mark Wick was named coach in October, replacing Cory Borys. Wick, a 1985 CSS graduate, takes over a program that finished in eighth place in the NCHA in 2004 with a 1-11-2 record. The Saints finished 6-17-4 overall. CSS finished with eight votes in the poll. The action starts for the 2004-05 season on Oct. 26 when UW-River Falls
hosts the Milwaukee School of Engineering. On Oct. 29 RIT is at St. Norbert,
Lawrence travels to St. Scholastica, Eau Claire plays at Stevens Point
in a non-conference game, Lake Forest is at MSOE and Marian is at Stout. |
2004-2005
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