Stauber wants to make Gophers ‘most fun team to watch in college hockey’

All Robb Stauber wants from his alma mater is an interview

When you talk to Stauber, his intensity, honesty and determination are readily apparent, and you have to believe him when he says he would love the opportunity to lift the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey program back up to where it belongs — as the elite college hockey program in the country.

“This program is in trouble, and I’m not sure they know it,” Stauber said. “First of all, I hope I can get an interview. If I do, I will absolutely say what I believe. There is not a chance in hell I would say something I don’t believe in, just to get the job. I will explain what I would do — that we will unleash the talent to go north, south, diagonally, and all over, and do things that are very different to keep possession of the puck, and make the Gophers the most fun team to watch in college hockey.”

That’s the same attitude he brought to the job as head coach of Team USA’s women’s team, which he led down his own forceful and controversial path with a revolutionary style that swept the U.S. to the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Don Lucia decided to retire early this week, after 19 years of coaching the Gophers to the first and only two NCAA championships they’d won since Herb Brooks won three national titles in an amazing seven-year run through the 1970s, ending a gap of 23 years.

The line of potential successors has been immediate, long, and growing, there will be major campaigns to support some of them.

Robb Stauber will be the one off to the side, easy to overlook, possibly, but armed with the exact outlook and historic perspective to do what many think is impossible: unifying the scattered M-Club hockey boosters who have turned away from the program, reuniting the entire state’s high school structure behind the Gophers, and, without even intending to, rekindling the torch that Herbie not only carried, but created.

In 1988, Stauber was the first goaltender to receive the Hobey Baker Award given to the player deemed to be the best in college hockey that season. (Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletics)

Stauber’s resume is richer in quality than quantity, since coming from Duluth Denfeld High School to the ‘U,‘ where he became the first goaltender to ever win the Hobey Baker Award back in 1988, and dominated WCHA goaltending statistics while leading Minnesota to the NCAA Frozen Four in all three years he played. He played on some Team USA outfits, and played for the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL before becoming a highly decorated goaltending coach at Minnesota, UMD, in running his own hockey schools, and by coaching goaltenders for USA Hockey. Eight years after starting to coach Team USA goalies, Stauber was offered the chance to be head coach. Ironic timing in a game that has become more primitive in its evolution, and lost Stauber as a fan.

“I can’t stand watching hockey,” Stauber said. “It is so bad, that I have gotten sick watching dump-and-chase hockey. Four years ago, I was sitting upstairs at the Women’s Olympic finals, and we were up 2-0 with 14 minutes left. Our plan was to dump the puck in to protect the lead, and Canada scored twice to tie it and beat us in overtime.

“I said, ‘I can’t stay involved if this is how we’re going to play.’

“It was a miracle I got the U.S. coaching job,” Stauber added. “Reagan Carey, our manager, had been sitting upstairs with me watching the team play for years. I always talked to her about how we could do things differently. She recognized that we were doing some old-school things, and she decided to take a chance on me.”

Stauber made changes in personnel, including the addition of Maddie Rooney, the youngest player on the team, as one of three goaltenders. The current UMD star started all but one game in South Korea, including the brilliant performance in the gold medal shootout game against Canada.

But mostly, he patiently but surely changed the ingrained, instinctive style of every player on the team into his own concept, which greatly resembles the regrouping puck-control style of the Russians, and of Herb Brooks.

“I am really disappointed that the media never even asked us about the transition in the way we played, and the players have never truly gotten the credit for what we went through,” said Stauber. “They had all come from good college programs, and they were all used to playing the traditional style, which meant getting out of your zone and then dumping the puck into the other end.

“We wanted them to bring the puck back and regrouping, sometimes more than once bringing the puck back out of the offensive zone to keep possession. There was a lot of resistance, and a lot of pain transforming what they all believed in to what we wanted to do. The players would complain, ‘what about scoring?’ and I’d say don’t worry about scoring; if we keep the puck, the scoring will come. We looked like a peewee team sometimes while we were making the transition in style.”

The style of creative hockey Stauber believes in is in stark contrast to traditional North American hockey, which has become a simplistic game of chipping the puck out of the zone, and sending it in deep to the offensive zone, hoping to forecheck for a turnover and a scoring chance. So uniform is the game these days that if you listen to broadcast analysts their only assessment is: “They’ve got to get the puck in deep, and get pucks and bodies to the net.”

Stauber believes otherwise, and he is too young to realize that Brooks harbored the same beliefs, privately, before experimenting with them during his years with the Gophers.

Photo courtesy of Stauber’s Goalcrease Training and Equipment Center

“I was always enthralled with what Herbie was able to accomplish at Minnesota, and it made me want to go there as I was growing up,” Stauber said. “You look back at the Russian teams back then, and they were without question the best at skill and imagination of how to play the game. They don’t play dump-and-chase; they keep possession of the puck until they can create a good scoring chance. Herbie’s style was similar, and when he went to coach the New York Rangers, I watched them on TV every time I had the chance.

“In 1989, I got the chance to play for the U.S. along with John Vanbiesbrouck, and I got the chance to start against the Russians in what was Igor Larionov’s last World Championships. They had guys like Fetisov and Krutov and I think they started me so they could save Vanbiesbrouck. I didn’t sleep the night before. I’d studied them, and I knew they would pass up scoring plays to set up back-door plays, and I knew I would have to adjust my game because they could make a goalie look silly. I think we lost 3-1, but it was 2-1 late.”

Believing in a system that is alien to North American players was a bold gamble. Brooks did it with his hand-selected team for 1980, and while the changeover was virtually ignored by the media who don’t really understand the game’s nuances, Stauber was more concerned with getting all his players on board. His staff included Brett Strot, who had been Stauber’s trusted ally since they were teammates and roommates in Gopher days, and Paul Mara, a high school coach in Boston who joined fairly late.

“Paul got so excited about what we were trying to do that he’d call people and say they wouldn’t believe what we were doing. Coaching women is a lot different than coaching men. The women will listen to what you say, and do it. It was difficult to get them to go out and improvise, because they were used to being shown by Xs and Os what to do next. We wanted them to keep possession of the puck, but when they got a chance, to go for it and make plays on their own.”

Shades of Herbie’s “Sophisticated pond hockey.”

It wasn’t until late in their development year, December, maybe, that Stauber said he felt that everybody had bought into the whole plan. “If any one of us coaches, or any of the players, didn’t believe in it, it wouldn’t have worked,” he said. “When we got to the point where it was working, some Canadian players gathered to watch us practice. We were doing random regroups, and I’d say to the players that I didn’t know what the Canadian players could learn from it; they can’t figure out what we’re going to do, because we don’t know what we’re going to do.

“We did different drills every day, almost all of them situational, using different forechecks, all intending on getting the players to read what their opponents were doing, and anticipate what they might do. It was great, because no two days of practice were the same, and it forced me to constantly think of what more we might do. There are no drills that can work in every situation.”

Was he surprised at the impressive results the team achieved in South Korea? Was he nervous?

“No, I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “I was happy and excited, but not surprised. We executed the way we practiced, and part of execution is winning. After we won, some good hockey people started to understand what we were doing. But I don’t think the players ever got enough credit from the media, who got all caught up in the hoopla.

(teamusa.usahockey.com photo)

“I’m so proud of what we accomplished. After every game, Igor Larionov waited for me and gave me a hug. He was so excited about how we were playing, he said, ‘The girls are smarter than the guys.’ He was genuinely enthused about what we had done. The Russians learned to be the most creative and dynamic team ever in hockey, and I believe part of that was because their lives were controlled so much, that the only place they felt freedom was when they go out on the ice. We take it for granted.”

Interesting. We’re the opposite — we’ve got freedom, but everything on the ice is controlled.

“We had so many good people on the U.S. team, and many of them are going back to college next year,” Stauber said. “They might be miserable when they find out they’re going to have to go back to dump and chase.”

While Stauber hasn’t been associated with either the Gophers men or women since he quit coaching their goaltenders, he’s aware of the drop in attendance, the grumbling about the switch to the Big Ten, and he knows that the “new breed” journalists think any big name coach could come in and succeed, even though many of the most loyal diehards insist otherwise. All the most-mentioned candidates have some assets and liabilities, whether recruiting, or lacking head coaching experience, and some might be lured more by the large salary than any tradition or heritage.

Stauber covers all the bases — including a gold medal for his coaching experience. He’s only offering positives, including the NHL based criticism about the wide, Olympic ice sheet at Mariucci Arena.

“The wide rink? I would make that a home-ice advantage,” said Stauber. “Just this morning, a fellow who followed what we did with Team USA asked me if I’d plan on playing the same way if I got the Gophers men’s job, and I assured him I would. I have no intention of doing anything but what I believe in.

“But first of all, I hope I get an interview.”

The post From Gold Medal to Maroon and Gold? appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Longtime official to become first female to skate in a WCHA men’s contest

Veteran official Kristine (Langley) Morrison, who has worked four NCAA Women’s Frozen Four tournaments and several international competitions, will serve as a referee this weekend at Ferris State, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced today.

“The WCHA is committed to providing growth opportunities for all of our officials,” said WCHA Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement. “As part of that process, we are exploring new evaluation and development paths for our female officials. Kristine has consistently been rated among the top on-ice officials in the women’s league and is certainly deserving of this opportunity for continued professional growth.”

A member of the on-ice officiating staff for the women’s WCHA since 2005, Morrison will skate Ferris State’s Crimson & Gold intrasquad game Saturday and the Bulldogs’ exhibition contest against the University of Lethbridge on Sunday.

Morrison, who played hockey college hockey at Wayne State, is married to veteran official Jonathan Morrison who works Big Ten games in Minnesota and Wisconsin as a linesman.

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No. 1 jersey to be retired in Oct. 30 ceremony

Move over Brett Hull, Keith “Huffer” Christiansen and Bill Watson. You’ll soon have some company.

On Oct. 30, the University of Minnesota Duluth will officially retire Glenn “Chico” Resch’s No. 1 jersey during a first intermission ceremony at AMSOIL Arena, making the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame charter member the fourth Bulldog male in any sport to be so recognized. He’ll join Brett Hull, Christiansen and Watson in that exclusive club.

“We congratulate “Chico” on this prestigious and well-deserved honor,” said UMD athletic director Josh Berlo.  “Not only did he enjoy prosperous playing career both here and in the National Hockey League, but he’s always been an outstanding ambassador for UMD and Bulldog hockey.”

A three-year fixture in goal for the Bulldogs, Resch was selected to the All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association second team as a senior team captain in 1970-71. He exited the Bulldog program ranking among the top three leaders in virtually every career and single-season statistical category for UMD goaltenders.

“The world for me changed during my time at UMD,” said Resch, who now makes his home in Emily, Minn. “It was a launching point for me — both personally and professionally. I met my wife (Diane) there and everything I was able to accomplish after that in hockey and in broadcasting I owe to those four years.”

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Duluth Athletics

The recipient of UMD’s Outstanding Senior Athlete Award for 1970-71, Resch went on to spend 14 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders (1973-81), Colorado Rockies (1981-82), New Jersey Devils (1982-86) and Philadelphia Flyers (1986) before retiring in 1986 at the age of 37. He became the first ex-Bulldog to appear in an NHL All-Star Game, doing so in 1976, 1977 and 1983.

After retiring, he served as the goaltender coach for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987-88 and embarked on a broadcasting career that same season — as the color commentator on Minnesota North Star telecasts.  He also handled that same role for UMD hockey (KBJR-TV) for three years (1987-90) before returning to the coaching ranks as Minnesota North Stars’ goaltending coach and scout in 1990-91.

He returned to the television booth permanently in 1996 and, for the next 18 seasons, was the lead analyst for the New Jersey Devils on MSG+ and FSN New York.

Resch, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, was one of 12 individuals inducted into the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame’s inaugural class back in 1991.

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It’s been a busy week for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). In addition to launching its new web platform, the league also began selling subscription packages for WCHA.tv – the online streaming platform of the men’s WCHA.

The conference has partnered with Stretch Internet to allow fans to watch all 10 league teams and up to 196 games during the 2015-16 season on just about any device – computer, tablet, phone and many Smart TVs – with a responsive experience customized for that particular medium. High-quality HD streams, when available from the originating arena, will be viewable in multiple screen layout options (including picture-in-picture, multi-view format to watch up to four games simultaneously and full-screen video).

Live and archived game broadcasts, from the season’s opening face-off through the Broadmoor Trophy championship game, are available through the following WCHA.tv subscription packages:

• League-wide Season Pass ($129.99) –For less than $1 per game, fans receive live and archived access to a minimum of 192 and a maximum of 196 WCHA games, including: Every WCHA regular season league game, along with each team’s non-conference home contests and select home exhibition games, the league’s postseason tournament and the 2016 WCHA Final Five.
• Single-team Season Pass ($89.99) –For fans who only want to watch their favorite team, this package delivers live and archived coverage for the selected team’s non-conference home games, select home exhibition games and all WCHA regular season league contests (home and away). Note: Picture-in-picture and multi-view format are not available for this package.
• League-wide Nightly Pass ($9.99) –Fans can watch live broadcasts of every game played in a WCHA arena that night, up to five games spanning three time zones.
• Single-team Nightly Pass ($7.99) –Fans can watch their favorite team play at home or on the road (WCHA games only) with this one-team, one-game price.

“We are excited to get the 2015-16 season underway, and are thrilled to offer our fans a variety of options to watch the league and their favorite team via WCHA.tv,” said WCHA Commissioner Bill Robertson in a league release. “Our partnership with Stretch Internet will give WCHA fans the best possible experience with high-quality, easily accessible and multi-faceted streaming broadcasts.”

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The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced the launch of the conference’s new –look website on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for both its men’s and women’s pages. Wcha.com’s redesign is the result of a partnership between the league office and website provider 867 Studios.

“We wanted to provide WCHA fans with an easily accessible and visually striking showcase of the league’s tremendous student-athletes, coaches and institutions,” said Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement released by the league. “With its simplified layout, content and continued statistical integration with collegehockeystats.net, we feel the new wcha.com will be a go-to resource for our fans.”

In addition to its responsive design, allowing for scalability across devices, the new wcha.com’s large, rotating displays near the top of the home page and team pages magnify current news and stories, while content is organized in a simplified manner.

The site’s statistical platform, which is integrated with collegehockeystats.net and contains some of the most expansive analysis available, is also responsive – with more enhancements planned as the season unfolds.

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NSCC shifts to Saturday start

The third annual North Star College Cup will feature a semifinal matchup between the tournament’s first two champions but on Saturday rather than Friday. The University of Minnesota announced today that the NSCC is adopting a Saturday-Sunday format beginning in 2016 after two years of utilizing a Friday-Saturday arrangement.

That means defending champion Bemidji State will square off against inaugural champ Minnesota at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30 following Minnesota State and St. Cloud State’s 1 p.m. semifinal contest at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

The winners will battle for in-state bragging rights in Sunday’s 4 p.m. title game while the puck drops in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

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SCSU forward named conference’s Offensive Player of the Week

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Feb. 9-15 on Monday with St. Cloud State junior forward David Morley capturing its Offensive Player of the Week award.

The junior forward from Richmond Hill, Ont. contributed four points (2g, 2a) and finished a plus-2 on the weekend as St. Cloud State earned a road split at No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth. Morely assisted on both SCSU goals in Friday’s series opener, a 4-2 Bulldogs win, and scored twice, including potting the eventual game winner, in the Huskies’ 4-1 win on Saturday at Amsoil Arena.

Morely’s point-scoring streak has now reached six games including two points in each of his last four games.

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Minnesota Wild prospect Alex Tuch, a freshman at Boston College, has been named Hockey East’s Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week for his performance last weekend against No. 17 Vermont.

The Baldwinsville, N.Y. native selected by the Wild in the first round (No. 18 overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft picked up three points (2g, 1a) in the series including the tying goal in Friday’s game with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Tuch followed that up on Saturday by scoring the game winner in the Eagles’ 6-5 win over the Catamounts.

Tuch’s teammate Ian McCoshen, a senior from Faribault, Minn. was also recognized by the league as one of its Weekly Top Performers after registering his first two-goal game Saturday, including a power-play goal, to help lift the B.C. over the Vermont.

On the women’s side Hockey East lists Minnetonka’s Erin O’Neil and Elk River’s Jonna Curtis among its Weekly Top Perfomers. O’Neil, a freshman goaltender at Boston University, stopped 27 shots and collected an assist in a 6-1 win over Providence Saturday. Curtis, meanwhile, recorded three points (2g, 1a) to help her New Hampshire team to a three-point weekend at rival Vermont.

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Minnesota forward Travis Boyd’s performance against Ohio State last weekend earned him a pair of honors this week as the Hopkins, Minn. native was named Big Ten First Star of the Week and NCAA Third Star of the Week.

Boyd notched both game winners in the Gophers’ sweep of the Buckeyes and registered his first collegiate hat trick on his way to a career-high four-point night in Saturday’s 6-2 win.

The awards mark the fifth time Boyd has been honored by the Big Ten, and third this season, but the first time the Washington Capitals prospect has been recognized by the NCAA.

The senior has been hot of late, registering 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games and leads the Big Ten in game-winning goals with six (fourth nationally) and power-play goals with seven (tied fourth nationally).

Michigan State’s Zach Nagelvoort earned the Big Ten Second Star of the Week with PJ Musico of Penn State picking up Big Ten Third Star honors.

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