January 11, 2015
Midseason Review and Interregional Information
|
MCRHL (DII) |
The World (DII) |
MCHRL (DIII) |
MCRHL (DIII) |
|
DePaul |
Illinois St |
Michigan St |
Lindenwood |
|
Purdue |
|
Grand Valley |
Bethel |
|
Western Michigan |
|
|
|
Midseason News and Notes
Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, but it’s time get back into the grind, put away your New Year’s party favors, and say good-bye to egg nog. Before the MCRHL moves forwards, lets examine the three divisions in the first half of the season.
Division I:
It is evident that this year has been the most physical the MCRHL Division I has seen in recent memory. Players have commented on Monday morning following an MCRHL event that “it hurts to move”. Thankfully, we have escaped 3 weekend tournaments without any major injuries (only one hospital trip). Although the skaters may walk away from games sore and bruised, it is making for some real entertaining hockey.
Highlights from first half of the season:
- History Made! Michigan beat Michigan State for the first time...EVER! The teams have been playing each other since 2003
- Miami OH kills off a 4-2 penalty kill with 2 minutes remaining to beat Ohio State and win their first ever Division I game.
- Robert Gaser lifts Eastern Michigan to an overtime as they up set Michigan.
- Gran Valley goaltender Alex Stutzky, 2014 All-Conference, has four shutouts in just 11 games.
- Six of the top seven point scorers are new to Division I this year.
Midseason Standings:
|
Team |
Games Played |
Wins |
Losses |
OT Loss |
Points |
|
Grand Valley |
12 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
20 |
|
Michigan St |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
|
Michigan |
12 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
13 |
|
Miami OH |
12 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
|
Ohio State |
8 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
|
Eastern Michigan |
8 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
Division I Stats:
|
Rank |
Player |
Previous Rank |
Team |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
|
1 |
Kevin Putnam |
1 |
Miami |
15 |
14 |
29 |
|
2 |
Mac Burkhard |
NR |
Michigan State |
13 |
14 |
27 |
|
T-3 |
Eric Purcell |
4 |
Michigan State |
18 |
8 |
26 |
|
T-3 |
Dominic Zuelch |
2 |
Grand Valley |
16 |
10 |
26 |
|
5 |
Danny Worth |
3 |
Michigan |
9 |
16 |
25 |
Division II:
As tight as the Division I race may be, the race for the MCRHL Division II title is even tighter. No team has established themselves as top dogs, and it will surly be a race to the finish.
First half highlights:
- DePaul and Purdue are welcomed back to the MCRHL after a short hiatus.
- Purdue wins their first three Division II games by a total of four goals.
- Despite losing to Akron (by one) and Purdue (in overtime) Western Michigan finds themselves in first place.
- Scoring leader, Tommy Vogel, has already doubled his point total from last year.
- There are currently 2 undefeated goalies in Division II: Samantha Carrier (Western Michigan) and Max Miller (Akron).
Current Division II Standings
|
Team |
Games Played |
Wins |
Losses |
OT Loss |
Points |
|
Western Michigan |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
|
Purdue |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
|
Akron |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
|
DePaul |
6 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
|
Michigan Tech |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current Division II Top 5 Point Scorers
|
Rank |
Player |
Previous Rank |
Team |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
|
1 |
Tommy Vogel |
1 |
Western Michigan |
13 |
11 |
24 |
|
2 |
Joey Nahay |
NR |
Akron |
18 |
5 |
23 |
|
T-3 |
Chase Heising |
2 |
Purdue |
16 |
5 |
21 |
|
T-3 |
Jon Weising |
T-2 |
Western Michigan |
11 |
10 |
21 |
|
5 |
Bryan Thumme |
3 |
Western Michigan |
9 |
11 |
20 |
Division III:
There may be only three teams (two of which from the same school), but that doesn’t mean the competition has diminished. Michigan State Green looks to have picked up where they left off from last years National Championship Runners-up. Don’t count out Grand Valley who have a few tricks up their sleeves. They were in the same position in 2012 when they beat Michigan State twice at regional to win their first ever MCRHL Division III crown.
First half Highlights:
- Michigan State Green team has won 7 straight regular season games extending their regular season winning streak which started in 2010.
- Grand Valley and Michigan State White have split the season series, each with one win and one loss. Both teams are currently deadlocked in the standings.
- Michigan State Green have the top four point scorers in DIII.
Current Division III Standings
|
Team |
Games Played |
Wins |
Losses |
OT Loss |
Points |
|
Michigan State Green |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
Grand Valley |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
|
Michigan State White |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
Current Division III Top 5 Point Scorers
|
Rank |
Player |
Previous Rank |
Team |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
|
1 |
Andrew Saunders |
1 |
Michigan State (G) |
21 |
10 |
31 |
|
2 |
Ryan Werner |
T-2 |
Michigan State (G) |
9 |
12 |
21 |
|
3 |
Richard Kobylski |
T-2 |
Michigan State (G) |
11 |
9 |
20 |
|
4 |
Drew Vandeputte |
NR |
Michigan State (G) |
9 |
9 |
18 |
|
5 |
Joe Burke |
4 |
Michigan State (W) |
9 |
7 |
16 |
MCRHL vs The World
The annual MCHRL Interregional held at Hat Trick Hockey in Palatine, IL is right around the corner. During the last weekend in January, we will see the best the MCRHL has to offer against a handful of the top teams in the county. We like to think of it as “MCRHL vs The World.”
As of now, we still have room for one more Division I and one more Division III team to play against some of the best teams in the Nation. If your team is interested in playing in one of the best interregional events with some of the highest caliber teams, please contact Jeff Nolan.
Division I Teams
|
MCRHL Teams |
RPI Rank |
The World |
RPI Rank |
|
Michigan St |
4 |
Lindenwood |
2 |
|
Grand Valley |
7 |
Neumann |
3 |
|
Michigan |
18 |
Bethel |
12 |
|
Miami OH |
23 |
|
|
Other Teams
|
MCRHL (DII) |
The World (DII) |
MCHRL (DIII) |
MCRHL (DIII) |
|
DePaul |
Illinois St |
Michigan St |
Lindenwood |
|
Purdue |
|
Grand Valley |
Bethel |
|
Western Michigan |
|
|
|