Why three teams may be underrated in college hockey preseason polls this fall
Oct. 4—Lawson Ice Arena was locked when Western Michigan hockey players arrived back on campus last fall.
They could not access it for workouts. They could not skate. They could not attend team meetings. It stayed that way for a couple of weeks.
When school administrators finally opened it up, it was anything but normal.
Players were spread out into seven different locker rooms — four players per room. They tried to keep roommates together to eliminate the number of close contacts if someone did test positive for COVID-19.
The Broncos practiced in two separate groups, wearing masks at all times.
Western Michigan only had a few full team practices under its belt when it jumped on a bus in late November to head to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Pod in Omaha.
Upon arrival in Omaha, the Broncos underwent coronavirus testing. Once cleared, they dropped off their gear at Baxter Arena.
It was the first time they had all been in the same locker room together.
The Broncos won twice in their first 12 games of the season.
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The University of Denver had its own set of circumstances.
Instead of coming together in the summer like usual, Denver's players first arrived on campus in September. After serving mandatory 14-day quarantines, the Pioneers began practice unlike any other season.
They were required to keep practice groups under 10 people. So, they split into three different groups based on living arrangements. The freshmen were together in one.
They jammed three practice sessions into a four-hour time window.
It quickly became even more complicated.
Less than a month after arriving on campus, goalie Devin Cooley signed an NHL contract with the Nashville Predators, leaving the Pioneers with just two goalies on the roster. That meant one group practiced without a goalie.
After a month, Denver was allowed to narrow it to two practice groups. After another month, the Pioneers got down to one. However, right after they practiced as a team for the first time, they had a positive COVID-19 case and had to shut down again.
Denver had only a handful of practices as a full team by the time they departed for Omaha and the NCHC Pod.
Denver won three of its first 11 games.
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It all sounds familiar to Northern Michigan.
The Wildcats split up into three different locker rooms based on living arrangements.
They also practiced in three separate groups, wearing masks at all times.
Eventually, Northern Michigan narrowed it down to two groups, then one. But like Denver, once the Wildcats got into full team practice, they had a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. Players began moving in and out of residences based on their infection status.
Northern Michigan had to shut down practices and push back the season-opening games.
When the Wildcats finally opened at home against Ferris State, they did so with just four full team practices under their belts.
Northern Michigan won two of its first 12 games.
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The 2020-21 season was not normal for anyone.
Teams across the country dealt with COVID-19 restrictions, positive cases, altered schedules on the fly and empty buildings for games.
But the build up to the season was vastly different for certain programs. Some teams practiced as a full unit for the entire fall and winter. Others barely snuck in full team practices before jumping into games.
Perhaps, it's no surprise that programs like Western Michigan, Denver and Northern Michigan all got off to slow starts, winning a combined eight of their first 36 games.
"We couldn't get any traction," Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny said. "We were doing anything we could to try to sweat and work on some things. Right when we thought the tide turned, we had an outbreak. I wasn't naive that we were as susceptible as anyone to it."
What makes those three programs notable, though, is they seemed to turn the tide down the stretch.
After the 2-8-2 start, Western Michigan finished the season 8-4-1 with sweeps against NCAA Frozen Four teams in St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.
After winning three of its first 11 games, Denver had a winning record in the second half (7-6) despite playing arguably the nation's best team, North Dakota, five times during that stretch.
After stumbling to a 2-10 record out of the gate, Northern Michigan corrected course and had a winning record the rest of the season (9-7-1). The Wildcats made a charge in the postseason to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's championship game.
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The coaches were quick to point out other culprits to the slow starts instead of blaming the odd preparation.
Western Michigan's top goaltender, Brandon Bussi, sustained an injury in the first period of the season and the Broncos left the Pod with a team save percentage of .862.
Denver struggled to generate offense and get consistency from star players.
Northern Michigan's top returning goalie, Nolan Kent, had season-ending surgery. Then, star forward Griffin Loughran, who finished second nationally a year earlier in goals, was away from the team for a month with post-coronavirus issues. Another top player, Andre Ghantous, also was away for more than two weeks with post-COVID issues.
While the coaches may look strictly at performances on the ice, it's also undeniable that Western Michigan, Denver and Northern Michigan had significant challenges preparing for the season, struggled mightily out of the gate, underachieved for much of the season, but were much different teams by the end.
They're all back to normal practices this year and eager to prove last season was a fluke.
"This season, it's been great," Potulny said. "Completely normal practices. I think at the end of year, you always go through who is bringing back how many goals across the league. I think there are a couple teams, us being one, who added more goals than we lost.
"We have 10 seniors, five super seniors. This will be Year 5 (as a coaching staff), which is basically our first recruiting class. These are our seniors. It's been nice to have some continuity in the program."
And, finally, for there's been continuity in practice.
"It's been so great," Ferschweiler said. "These guys work so hard every day. They set a standard that the incoming freshmen — even the freshmen from last year — have to live up to. Our leaders all look fantastic. They've set a super high standard that has to be met. That's an ideal work environment when your best players are your best players every day. It's been a real joy to coach these guys."
