Anything can happen on any given night in the world of MIAC hockey.
Take last year for example. The Auggies went into the conference tournament ranked fourth nationally and riding a 16-game home winning streak only to see seventh-seeded St. Olaf play spoiler and win the MIAC crown for the second time in program history.
Coaches will tell you the MIAC might be the deepest it has been in quite some time and that means this year’s title is up for grabs.
While the Auggies and Oles will be among the top contenders in the league, Saint John’s and Concordia should also be in the mix for the title. And don’t overlook Saint Scholastica either, which was a top four team in the conference standings last season.
The puck drops on a new season this weekend, and the regular-season championship isn’t likely to be decided until the final weekend. And once tourney play begins, the top seed might be favored but that doesn’t mean a lower seed can’t pull off an upset.
Augsburg (25-5, 14-2 MIAC)
All last season the Auggies were one of the nation’s best teams. And despite coming up short in the MIAC tournament, Augsburg went on to make a run at the Frozen Four before falling to eventual national champion Adrian.
With 20 players back for second-year head coach Greg May, expect the Auggies to be a title contender in the MIAC and nationally again this season.
Among the key players back is Mason Palmer, an All-American who dished out 22 assists during his first season with the Auggies. Palmer came to the program last year after transferring in from Northern Michigan.
Fritz Belisle was an All-MIAC pick who scored 16 goals and dished out 10 assists. Jared Blackowiak also returns. Anther All-MIAC selection, the senior standout scored 13 goals and dished out 12 assists.
Five other players earned all-conference honors last season while Samuel Vyletekla was on the all-rookie team as a goaltender. He went 11-3, recording five shutouts and saving nearly 94 percent of the shots he faced. All-MIAC selection Jack Robbell went 14-2 in goal and had one shutout. He saved just over 92 percent of the shots he faced.
Austin Dollimer scored 10 goals and dished out 22 assists while Gavin Holland tallied 13 goals and 16 assists. Both were All-MIAC picks.
Logan Kons (4 goals, 8 assists) and Nick Woodward (5 goals, 5 assists) were also earned all-conference honors.
Augsburg, coming off its 11th MIAC regular-season championship and seventh trip to the national tourney, also have several key newcomers, including St. Thomas transfers Vincent Weis and Michael Ferrandino.
St. Olaf (11-15-3, 5-8-1 MIAC)
The Oles are not only the reigning MIAC tourney champs, but they are also coming off a season where they played in the NCAA tournament, nearly stunning nationally ranked St. Norbert before falling in overtime.
Eddie Effinger begins his third season as the head coach and he worked the recruiting trail hard, with his newcomer class earning a top 10 ranking for the second straight year.
That talent is merely an addition to a young roster stacked with players capable of rising to the occasion on any given night.
Tyler Cooper returns as the team’s top goal scorer. The All-MIAC and USCHO All-Rookie team pick scored 14 goals last year while also dishing out nine assists
Sean Walsh is also back after scoring 12 goals last season. He ranked second on the Oles in that category and also ranked second in points.
Lukas Haugen will handle goaltending duties once again after fashioning an 8-6 record last season. He saved more than 91 percent of the shots he faced.
Haugen should get plenty of support from the offense as Cooper and Walsh are among the players back who accounted for 80 of the 82 goals the Oles scored and all 127 assists.
As talented as the Oles are, they are still young as only four seniors are on the roster.
Saint John’s (17-8-2, 9-4-1 MIAC)
The Johnnies finished third in the conference standings a year ago, reaching the MIAC tourney
for the fourth consecutive year, and they have high hopes of contending for the title this year.
They are certainly in a position to achieve that goal, especially with Auggie Moore back in the fold. The team captain led the Johnnies in points (28) and finished second in goals scored (15) and assists (13). Four of his goals were game-winners.
Jack Johnson is also back after scoring two goals and dishing out seven assists last season, and Peter Tabor is the team’s top returning defenseman, finishing with three goals and 14 assists last year. His assist total was the second-most on the team.
Top goal scorer Lewis Crosby also returns for the Johnnies. He punched in 17 goals last year and ranked second on the team in points with 23. He’s the first player in the program to score 17 goals in a season since Matt Erredge in 1999. The former St. Thomas player also tallied three hat tricks.
Joe Raleigh tallied four assists and Jack Olsen, despite playing in only nine MIAC games because of injury, finished last season with 11 assists.
Nick Michel came through with 10 goals and nine assists after transferring in from Alabama-Huntsville.
The Johnnies also still have Spencer Rudrud on the roster. Though he missed the final five games of the year because of injury, he finished with a team-best 15 assists as he turned out to be one of the league’s top rookies.
Jackson Sabo is also back. He appeared in 13 games and scored four goals while dishing out four assists.
Saint John’s also welcomes in six key newcomers, including Long Island transfer Justin Thompson.
The Johnnies will be tested early this year as they play seven of their first nine games away from home.
Concordia (13-10-3, 10-4-2 MIAC)
Don’t count out the Cobbers as a contender this season. A total of 23 players return for first-year head coach Kirk Olimb, including Cole O’Connell, an All-MIAC selection who tied for the team lead in goals and was second overall in points. He came through with 10 goals and 14 assists a year ago.
All-Rookie team pick Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe is also among the returning players. He finished third on the team in scoring with nine goals and nine assists.
Jaret Lalli is also back after playing in all 26 games for the Cobbers last season and scoring two goals while dishing out seven assists.
Jackson Nelson returns as the top goaltender for the Cobbers. He played in 20 games and fashioned a 2.08 goals against average while winning 11 games. Nelson made 448 saves.
The Cobbers will also count on several newcomers to contribute, including Bauer Barry, Joe Harguindeguy, Liam Haslam, Caden Triggs and Jack Westlund, a transfer from Gustavus who scored five goals and tallied seven assists last season for the Gusties.
Saint Scholastica (11-10-2, 7-6-1 MIAC)
The Saints are hoping to build off last season’s success. They’ll look to do it with Dave Williams as the head coach. He coached under the interim tag last season but had that removed in March.
A former player at the school, Williams led the Saints to a fourth-place finish in the conference last year.
The top three scorers all return fo the Saints, led by Arkhip Ledenkov, who scored 11 goals and dished out 13 assists. The goals were the most on the team.
Filimon Ledenkov is also back. He ranked second on the team in scoring with nine goals and 13 assists, tying for the most assists on the team. Tyler Hinterser returns after scoring seven goals and dishing out 10 assists last season.
Nathan Adrian is also a key returning player. He scored 10 goals last year, the second-most on the team, and tallied four assists. Jacob Seitz tallied one goal and came through with 11 assists.
Danylo Sukhonos (1 goal, 7 assists) and Bryce Johnson (4 goals, 3 assists) are also returning players who will be key contributors for the Saints. Sam Fuss (2 goals, 5 assists) and Brodie Girod (3 goals, 3 assists) are also back.
Depth at goal won’t be an issue either. Jack Bostedt started 19 games last season and made 544 saves. He went 11-7-1. Jack Branby and Oliver Quinn also saw playing time.
Bethel (15-11-1, 7-8-1 MIAC)
Last season wasn’t a bad one for the Royals, who boasted their highest winning percentage (.574) since the 2007-08 campaign. They’ll look to take bigger steps forward this season.
Chris McKelvie enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Royals and welcomes back 24 players.
Among them is Luke Posner, who is coming off a season in which he punched in eight goals and dished out nine assists.
Jarrett Cammarata tallied six goals and led the team in assists (16) and points (22). He played in all 27 games a year ago for the Royals.
Dane Soyanoff played in all 27 games as well. The durable defenseman scored twice and tallied nine assists.
Two transfers should help the Royals’ cause as well. Forward Justin Kelly comes in from St. Thomas and goalie Austin Ryman is a transfer out of Alaska Fairbanks.
One of the keys to success for Bethel will be its play defensively. It showed a lot of promise last season, tying the single-season mark for shutouts (3) and giving up just 75 goals, the fewest since the 2013-14 season.
Saint Mary’s (8-14-1, 5-7 MIAC)
The Cardinals are looking for their first winning season since the 2016-17 campaign when they finished 13-10-3. They have the potential to start strong as they play eight of their first 11 at home.
A total of 25 players are back, including leading scorer Brady Lindauer, who came through with five goals and 11 assists last season.
Bud Winter and Trevor Schroder also return and were among the top five in scoring last season. Winter finished with five goals and six assists, good enough for third on the team in points, and Schroder tallied three goals and seven assists, ranking fifth on the team in points.
Gabe Potyk also returns for the Cardinals after scoring a team-high seven goals. He also dished out two assists.
Saint Mary’s should also get key contributions from Landon Poellinger and Callahan Nauss. Poellinger scored four goals and racked up four assists last year while Nauss registered a goal and seven assists.
The Cardinals will be playing their fourth season under the direction of Ryan Egan.
Hamline (4-18-4, 1-10-3 MIAC)
Shane Wagner begins his second season at the helm of the Pipers, who are hoping to get things turned around after a year where wins were hard to come by.
Carson Simon is the top returning scorer for the Pipers after ranking third in points last season with five goals and seven assists.
Bailey Sommers is also back for Hamline. He finished fourth on the team in scoring, tallying four goals and six assists.
Andrew Erwin will also be a key contributor. He scored three goals and dished out six assists last season. Erik Dahl will be counted on to play a key role as well. He tallied two goals and eight assists last season.
Kevin Lake gives Hamline an experienced player in goal. He started 22 games last season and made 562 saves.
Newcomers such as Liam Guerin, Bodie Jorgenson, Jordan Halverson and Quinn Chevers-Whorms could make an immediate impact.
Gustavus (6-16-4, 0-9-3 MIAC)
The Gusties return only player who finished in double digits in points as Dylan Gast is coming off a year where he scored three goals and dished out seven assists.
Jack Suchy is also back for the Gusties. He tallied four goals and three assists last season.
Toby Sengvongxay also returns for Gustavus after tallying three goals and three assists a year ago. Joey Gimberlin (3 goals, 1 assist), Michah Gernander(1 goal, 3 assists) and George Hansen (1 goal, 3 assists) are also key returning players.
Jackson Hjelle is the only goaltender back with experience. He finished with 183 saves last season, appearing in 14 games.
