Northern Michigan University hockey team chosen No. 2 in CCHA preseason poll, pair of Wildcat players earn early honors
Northern Michigan University's A.J. Vanderbeck, center, tries to collect the puck as Michigan Tech's Arvid Caderoth, left, and Tristan Ashbrook defend during the first period on Jan. 25, 2021, at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Shannon Stieg)
MARQUETTE — Unfortunately — or maybe fortunately — for the Northern Michigan University hockey team, championships aren’t made in October or November, let alone September.
But the Wildcats are still having a wildly successful preseason after several announcements were made by their league, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, earlier this week.
That may be fortunate as head coach Grant Potulny can convincingly tell his team that their pick as the No. 2 team in the league’s preseason coaches poll doesn’t mean a thing if their play doesn’t back it up.
NMU got this high preseason ranking despite finishing in a modest fifth place in the eight-team league’s regular season last year.
Northern was 12-13-1 in CCHA games and 20-16-1 overall after going on the road to open the league playoffs and beating Lake Superior State in a best-of-three series played in Sault Ste. Marie.
Northern Michigan University forward A.J. Vanderbeck, second from right, looks to pass the puck to teammate Alex Frye, right, in the Wildcats' defensive zone as Minnesota State's Jack McNeely, second from left, and Julian Napravnik try to apply pressure during the first period of their WCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 2, 2021. (Photo courtesy Shannon Stieg)
The Wildcats opened that weekend with a 5-1 victory before falling 3-2 in the middle game and rebounding for a 5-4 victory to advance to the semifinals, where they lost in the single-game round 8-1 to regular-season and playoff champion Minnesota State-Mankato.
The Mavericks went on to not only play in the NCAA Division I tournament, but reach the Frozen Four and then the national championship game before falling to Denver for the title.
Now NMU has been chosen No. 2 to Mankato in the preseason poll, getting two first-place votes and 61 polling points. The Mavericks earned the other six first-place votes and 69 of a possible 70 total points.
Bowling Green State was chosen third with 58 points, followed by Bemidji State fourth with 51, Michigan Tech fifth with 47, Lake Superior State sixth with 45, Ferris State seventh with 32 and St. Thomas eighth with 30.
Maybe what swayed the coaches about the Wildcats is the return of 17 players from last year’s squad, including four of its top five scorers — while No. 1 scorer Hank Crone is gone, A.J. Vanderbeck, Andre Ghantous, Trevor Cosgrove and Michael Colella are back.
A.J. Vanderbeck
Vanderbeck had 24 goals and 19 assists for 43 points, Ghantous 10-25–35, Cosgrove 9-19–28 and Colella 15-12–27.
And top goaltender Charlie Glockner comes back as a sophomore this season, too, after he earned CCHA All-Rookie status last season.
The Wildcats open their season with the initial CCHA series against No. 3 preseason pick Bowling Green at home in less than two weeks on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1-2.
Several other league teams play nonconference series that weekend, including Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State in a single exhibition game in Houghton on Oct. 1.
Interestingly, the Wildcats will have played nearly half their schedule, 16 of 34 games, before Thanksgiving.
Joey Larson, then playing for downstate Hartland High School, is one of 10 freshman commitments to the Northern Michigan University hockey program. He was named Michigan's Mr. Hockey in 2019. And he was voted recently as the CCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year. (Photo courtesy Livinginston Daily)
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Vanderbeck named to preseason team
Vanderbeck was one of seven players named to the All-CCHA Preseason Team after leading the league in the 2021-22 season in overall goals with 24 and power play goals with eight.
Vanderbeck’s 43 points were eighth in the league, while his 0.67 goals per game not only led the league, but was second in the nation. The 5-foot-11 forward from Monument, Colorado, was also named to the All-CCHA Second Team at the conclusion of last season.
The remaining members of the league Preseason Team are forwards Brendan Furry of Minnesota State and Louis Bourdon of Lake Superior State; defensemen Jake Livingstone of Minnesota State, Elias Rosen of Bemidji and Jacob Bengsston of LSSU; and goalie Blake Pietila of Michigan Tech.
Furry, a senior, was named CCHA Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches after leading the Mavericks to the NCAA championship game. He had 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 points last season, his assists total third in the NCAA.
The second defensemen’s position was a tie between Rosen and Bengsston to make it three instead of the usual two defensemen chosen.
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- Northern Michigan University’s A.J. Vanderbeck, center, tries to collect the puck as Michigan Tech’s Arvid Caderoth, left, and Tristan Ashbrook defend during the first period on Jan. 25, 2021, at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Shannon Stieg)
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- Northern Michigan University forward A.J. Vanderbeck, second from right, looks to pass the puck to teammate Alex Frye, right, in the Wildcats’ defensive zone as Minnesota State’s Jack McNeely, second from left, and Julian Napravnik try to apply pressure during the first period of their WCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 2, 2021. (Photo courtesy Shannon Stieg)
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- A.J. Vanderbeck
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- Joey Larson, then playing for downstate Hartland High School, is one of 10 freshman commitments to the Northern Michigan University hockey program. He was named Michigan’s Mr. Hockey in 2019. And he was voted recently as the CCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year. (Photo courtesy Livinginston Daily)
Showing promise for the future, incoming NMU skater Joey Larson was voted the CCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year by the league’s coaches.
He’s a forward from downstate Brighton who most recently played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, scoring 32 goals and adding 34 assists for 66 points in 61 games last season. He also had four goals and 13 assists in nine playoff contests.
He previously played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, New Mexico Ice Wolves of the North American Hockey League and Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League.
Larson was named Michigan’s Mr. Hockey in 2019 while playing for downstate Hartland High School, which won the MHSAA Division 2 state title that winter. Marquette Senior High School reached the semifinals in that division before losing to Trenton, which then lost to Hartland in the finals.
Larson had 60 goals and 48 assists for 108 points in 77 games over three years for Hartland.
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
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