Tuesday, February 10, 1998
February's Ice Scoops
The Best High School Team in the Country
Last night, I got back from Minnesota. Before I left, the Hertz lady at the Minneapolis Airport told me I'd put nearly 1,000 miles on the rental. Sounded about right to me -- I'd gone as far north as the Lake of the Woods and returned via Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota.
The weather was unseasonably mild. I listened to a lot of country music on the radio. I watched a wolf watch me from the side of the road. But mostly I watched hockey. I saw Grand Rapids eke out a home win over International Falls, the latter being a far cry from Larry Ross' great teams of the past. Up in Baudette, I saw Lake of the Woods High School make short work of Kittston Central. On the way back to Minneapolis I stopped in Fargo to see the USHL Ice Sharks and the North Iowa Huskies.
But the best game I saw came on my first night out there, in Cloquet, Minnesota. If you don't have a map handy, Cloquet's about twenty miles south of Duluth. In Cloquet, they're about to open a spiffy new arena, but the bathrooms aren't finished, so for now the Lumberjacks still play in the Pine Valley Arena. It's better known as The Barn, but it's really not very barn-like. With its low-slung roof, it better resembles a large milking shed. Anyway, the night I was there it was jam-packed. As a matter of fact, I've never seen a building -- at least one that wasn't a bar -- that full. Movement was virtually impossible.
The reason for the excitement? The Greyhounds of Duluth East, the #1 ranked high school team in the state of Minnesota, were in town. As the visitors took the ice for pre-game warmups, the boos cascaded across the ice. During warmups, I spoke to some Cloquet supporters. All told me I was about to see the upset of the year. The Lumberjacks, they added, hadn't lost since the last time they'd met East.
I didn't say anything, but I wondered privately why this time would be any different. Just from watching warmups it was obvious that Duluth East was far more skill than the #10-ranked Lumberjacks. While the ice was being resurfaced, I went to the warming room for a cup of coffee. In a glass case stood a wood statue of Corey Millen, an early '80s Lumberjack star. He was so checked and cracked that the stick had fallen from his hand and rested helplessly at his feet. A bad omen, I thought.
From the drop of the puck, Duluth East poured it on. All night, Cloquet worked like bastards, but they had no one with the same skill level as Rheese Carlson, the Greyhounds' senior left wing, or the two defensemen who start the attack from the blue line -- Gopher-to-be Nick Angell, and junior Pat Finnegan.
The latter is the most spectacular of the group. Finnegan, 5'10" and perhaps 180 pounds, hasn't always thrilled coaches with his defensive lapses and off-ice shenanigans, but there is no denying his gifts. An exceptional skater, Finnegan has a slightly bow-legged style that allows him to move laterally without tipping off his defender. He's so assured, and so smooth, that he'll often head up ice only to turn back into the zone if the holes he's looking for have closed up on him. One end-to-ender -- a short-handed job late in the third period -- resulted in a goal, perhaps the most spectacular goal I've seen this winter. Finnegan cut right, left, and right as he beat three men in the neutral zone and then moved in, held the puck, and roofed it on Cloquet junior goalie Adam Laaksonen. It was East's fifth and final goal of the night, and Finnegan had figured in three of them.
Up front Rheese and Ross Carlson are the big guns. Rheese is the older, and, at least for now, the more dangerous of the two. In the fall, Rheese played in the USHL, for the North Iowa Huskies. When he returned to school in time for the hockey season, he failed to return his guardianship back to his family in Duluth. Hence, after playing two games, he was discovered to be ineligible. Duluth East forfeited the games, and, even though Carlson was later absolved of any wrongdoing, the forfeits will stand. (Of Duluth's three losses, only one is 'real,' a 7-5 defeat at the hands of Grand Rapids while Carslon was sitting out.) Carlson, about 6'0" and possibly 185, is quick, skates well, and is stronger than he looks. His shot is powerful -- at one point in the second period he was able to hold off a Cloquet defender with his left arm while, with his right hand gripping the stick halfway down the shaft, got off a one-armed shot that almost resulted in a goal.
Nick Angell, the senior defenseman bound for the U, is not exactly Ben Clymer, but he's a solid two-way player who'll help the Gophers in time. Next to Finnegan, he looks pretty unflashy, but he too scored an unassisted goal. And unlike Finnegan, I don't recall his being beaten all night.
Other players worth watching include senior goaltender Adam Coole, whose GAA is under 1.00, freshman defenseman Jon Hedberg, and the younger Carlson -- Ross, a tenth grader who plays on the opposite wing of Rheese. Hedberg, by the way, is from Edina but, because of Minnesota's open enrollment, can play anywhere he wants. He chose Duluth East, as did Finnegan, who's from Virginia (the Iron Range town, not the state). Cloquet senior center Kyle Nosan is from Baudette.
At any rate, it looks like Duluth East, a unanimous #1 in Class AA, will be the team to beat going into the Minnesota State High School Tournament. In Massachusetts, that distinction is almost certainly going to go to Catholic Memorial. This begs the question: Which team is better?
As far as stars go, they're pretty evenly matched. On any given night, one could beat the other. However, after giving it some thought, I'd put my money on CM, mainly because they have four lines they can run out there and they play hard. Over a three-game series, East could be worn down by CM. However, I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
CW
Maine Keeps on Truckin'
Apparently, Maine recruiter Grant Standbrook liked what he saw on his visit to Exeter, New Hampshire in January as Exeter goaltender Mike Morrison has given Maine a verbal commitment. The 6-3/180 Morrison, who played for St. Sebastian's last year, also drew considerable interest from UMass-Amherst.
Niko Piles On
We alluded to Maine's involvement with Niko Dimitrakos in this column yesterday, and now we have gotten word that the smooth skating defenceman has indeed given Maine a verbal commitment. He's Maine's fifth recruit (third on D) thus far, in what is shaping up to be a top flight recruiting class.
Taft Forward Commits to Vermont
6-3/210 Taft forward Chris Hills has made a verbal commitment to play for the University of Vermont next season. Hills was a senior at Taft last year, but was perceived as too slow to play the division one game by most observers. He made the decision to return to Taft for a post-graduate year, and worked over the summer to improve his quickness. And it definitely shows. Hills won't score many goals, he'll be more of a physical presence at the next level.
Vermont is also close to inking another prep standout, Deerfield Academy winger Ty Hennes. Dartmouth also likes Hennes, but would like him take a year in the USHL, then enroll in school in the fall of 1999.
Poor T.C.
At this time last year, T.C. Harris rumors were a dime a dozen. For those unfamiliar with Harris' story, he burst on the scene as freshman at Boston Catholic power Matignon in the winter of 1993, and has been under intense scrutiny ever since. An exciting player, T.C. accumulated 212 points over his four years playing for Marty Pierce, but no school wanted anything to do with him. You see T.C. had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. Last summer, he accepted a walk-on offer from UMass-Lowell. For the past few weeks, there's been a rumor cicrculating around the rinks that Harris had been kicked out of Lowell. We're here to tell you that the rumor is false, as T.C. is going to classes and practicing with the team. Currently, he's out of game action with a pulled stomach muscle, and has not played since the Governor's Cup. By all accounts he's staying out of trouble. It seems some people are eager to see T.C. fail, and some people, ourselves included, are too willing to believe it.
Maine's Recruiting Class Taking Shape
In a story that has been brewing for weeks, 6-1/184 center Barrett Heisten of the U.S. Under-18 team has finally committed to play for the University of Maine next season. Heisten is a rugged forward with NHL potential, who has to be considered one of the top recruits in the nation. The Anchorage, Alaska native had drawn interest from Colorado College and Michigan, but Maine had clearly pulled away from the pack in recent weeks. With his experience in Ann Arbor, Heisten should have an immediate impact next season, that is if he ever shows up in Orono. The possibility of Heisten bolting to play major junior in the WHL next season has hovered over his recruitment all season. Reportedly, he was disappointed with his position on Central Scouting's mid-term list (2nd Round-#41 overall), and has since warmed to the idea of playing college hockey. A great catch for Shawn Walsh's Black Bears, but once again do not rule out the major junior option.
Heisten's certainly a blue chipper, but if Maine is to return to national prominence next season they'll have to upgrade their defence in a big way. So far they have commitments from defencemen Doug Janik of the U.S. Under-18 team and Cushing Academy's Peter Metcalf, but Maine recruiter Grant Standbrook is far from done. Maine is right there with Michigan and Harvard in the Jeff Jillson sweepstakes. Jillson, who's story has been well chronicled over the last year, has regressed some this season, but to deny his potential would be a grave mistake. Another name we also hear connected with Maine is former Matignon and current Avon Old Farms defenceman Niko Dimatrakos.
U.S. Under-18 Team Gets 1st Commitment
Yesterday 6-5/195 D Arthur Femenela Jr. of the New Jersey Junior Devils committed to play for the U.S. Under-18 team next season. Femenela is the first in what should be a long line of commitments for the U.S. program in the coming months. Femenela is a smooth skater with a long fluid stride and soft hands. He's made tremendous strides (no pun intended) over the past year, considering he was cut from his bantam team last year. Femenela opened eyes at the Select 15 festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota this summer, but struggled early on in this, his first year with the Jr. Devils. In January, Femenela (Birthdate: 6/6/82) cemented his spot as one of the top '82 defencemen with his play at the Toronto Marlboros New Year's Tournament.
Lowell Has a Goalie on Campus
6-3/195 goaltender Cam McCormack is enrolled at UMass-Lowell for the spring semester. McCormack, like Maine recruit Matthew Yeats, played a game of major junior for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL as a sixteen year old, thus he's ineligible to play in an NCAA game until January 1999. He appears to be the heir apparent to Lowell's #1 goaltending slot, with Martin Fillion graduating this year and Scott Fankhouser next. McCormack played most recently with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League. He's been a league all-star and is noted for his quickness.
Collins Will Be Back
Rumors have been circulating around rinks in Massachusetts for the last week that St. John's of Shrewsbury star Brian Collins is out for the season. The story goes back to a hit Collins took late in the first period of St. John's 2-0 loss to Catholic Memorial last Thursday. He did not return the rest of the evening. What we're getting at here is that Collins injury is not season ending. He began rehabilitation for a slight shoulder separation yesterday and is expected back in two weeks.
USHR will debut our New England-New York 11th grade rankings late next week. It's a safe bet that Collins will be near the top of that list.
Copyright © 1998 U.S. Hockey Report
All rights reserved.
Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.
