It's official: Pierro-Zabotel to the Dub

As the Western College Hockey blog speculated last month, Michigan Tech recruit Casey Pierro-Zabotel will not enroll at Michigan Tech, but will rather sign with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, thus giving up his NCAA eligibility. He had been playing in the BCHL while trying to gain eligibility after he was initially denied by the NCAA Clearinghouse this past fall. Pierro-Zabotel was a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

WCHA Blog's Take: This is certainly a big blow to Michigan Tech. While their current roster has the makings of a very formidable team, they lack the explosive game-breaking type player that Pierro-Zabotel could have been.

Michigan Tech & Minnesota State add recruits

According to Chris Heisenberg's recruiting website, Michigan Tech has added Waterloo Blackhawks' forward Brett Olson to its' 2009 recruiting class, while Minnesota State has secured the services of Tri-City defenseman Cameron Cooper for the fall of 2008.

Olson, who hails from Superior, Wisc., has 32 points in 102 USHL games, as the Western College Hockey blog points out. He has average size (5'11", 173 lbs.) but should be a solid role player for the Huskies.

Cooper, meanwhile, is a name that may be familiar to Twin Cities residents, as he recently played for the Academy of Holy Angels before heading to the USHL. The Lakeville, Minn. native is off to a good start this season, as he has six points in 10 games for the Storm.

BCHL forward Witt commits to Michigan Tech

The Michigan Tech Huskies have added BCHL forward Evan Witt to their 2009 recruiting class, according to Chris Heisenberg's recruiting website. Witt, who currently plays for the Vernon Vipers, has three goals and five assists in 18 games this year for the Vipers. This season will be Witt's first in the BCHL, and he'll presumably continue his career in Western Canada next season before heading to Houghton in the fall of 2009. When he hits campus, Witt, who currently stands at 5'11", 175 lbs., will be just short of his 20th birthday.

Tech's Pierro-Zabotel to the Dub?

The Western College Hockey blog is reporting that Michigan Tech freshman Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who isn't eligible to join the Huskies until after the current semester, may opt to play for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. Pierro-Zabotel, who was the 80th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, was considered a partial qualifier according to the NCAA's initial eligibility standards. He will use the fall semester to fulfill the necessary requirements to become eligible.

As the WCH blog points out, "this is still just a rumor, albeit one from a fairly credible source, and things can always change, but as of right now, it doesn't sound promising for the Huskies."

WCHA Blog's Take: When it was announced that CPZ would have to sit out for the first half of the season, it seemed like there was a fairly good chance that he'd wind up playing major junior hockey as opposed to waiting it out to play for the Huskies, given he's a western Canadian kid and his lofty NHL draft status. We'll see if this rumor comes to fruition, but if it does, this is certainly a blow to a Tech team with high aspirations this season.

Tech adds a pair of recruits for 2008

As the Western College Hockey blog and Chris Heisenberg reported, Michigan Tech has added a pair of recruits for next fall.

The first is Bryce Reddick, a 5'10", 165 lb forward who currently plays for the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the BCHL. The Las Vegas native had 19 points in 54 games last season for the Caps, and currently sits 16th in the BCHL scoring race with 21 points in 15 games. He will have just turned 19-years-old when he steps foot in Houghton next fall.

The other Husky recruit added on Thursday is Seth Soley, who is from Eau Claire, Wisc. The Eau Claire Memorial High School forward has good size at 6'1", 185 lbs., and has played very well thus far in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League -- he is currently the second-leading scorer behind fellow Wisconsin native Nate Condon, who is uncommitted.

Top AJHL goalie spurns WCHA schools, picks RPI

According to the U.S. Hockey Report, Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL) netminder Allen York has committed to RPI for the fall of 2008. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Denver, and Michigan Tech were among the schools that York was considering. The Gophers and Badgers reportedly wanted York for the fall of 2009. His final two choices, however, were RPI and Denver, and when US-NTDP goalie Adam Murray committed to Denver for 2009, that helped convince York to commit to RPI.

WCHA Arena No. 9 – John MacInnes Student Ice Arena

Last week, the WCHA Blog kicked off its list of which WCHA arenas are the best. I'm basing my list off of three criteria (Arena, Atmosphere, and Crowd). For a detailed list of what these three items mean to me, click here and scroll down a bit.

Here is a list of the arenas that I've already covered:

10. Sullivan Arena - Anchorage, AK

This week, it’s arena No. 9: the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, which is home to the Michigan Tech Huskies

Arena

Because this arena is No. 9 on my list, I obviously don’t think too highly of it, but the arena itself isn’t terrible. Much like Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, it’s usually fairly easy to obtain tickets at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, so you can sit in an area with good sitelines. There are some seats on both sides of the arena where you’ll be looking through some handrails for portions of the game.

There is plenty of parking outside the arena, but you do have an above-average walk to get from the main parking area to the arena. Once you get to the arena, you’ll notice that its part of the Student Development Complex, which is home to several offices and other athletic facilities.

Just to your left when walking in the front door of the arena, you'll find a very solid gift shop. They have a nice array of Tech gear, and even offer hockey equipment for purchase.

Once you get in the arena, you’ll see that the two ends – much like the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud – basically are just two concrete walls, with most of the seating coming on the two sides. Most of the seats are wood chairs that you must fold down yourself. However, like I said before, if you’re able to secure good seats – which shouldn’t be a problem for most series – you’ll likely be just fine once the puck drops.

As pretty much any visitor to the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena knows, one must try the ice cream that is sold in the arena. It’s very affordable and really tasty. The lines form quickly after the period ends though, so you better be ready to scoot if you want to get to the front of the line.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere in the arena is not too bad because of the fact that it’s clearly a college arena, not a pro arena. Michigan Tech’s pep band has been present at the WCHA Final Five the past few seasons, and they are very good at what they do, although some of their songs can really stick in a person’s head, such as the Copper Country Anthem.

The arena itself holds just over 4,000 people and can get pretty loud if the Huskies get on a roll. The students also do a good job of getting into the game, which isn’t often the case at a smaller school that – in recent years – has struggled to sustain success on the ice.

Crowd

Aside from the students, the crowd doesn’t bring much to the table. Most of the onlookers are a bit on the older side, which usually doesn’t make for a fun atmosphere.

Like I said though, the students can get into things, and that helps compensate for the lack of participation by some of the other attendees.

Summary

In the short-term, Michigan Tech’s improved play on the ice should certainly help the overall experience inside the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. As most sports fans know, when a team is good, the crowds are bigger and more into the game, which can help you forget a building that is a bit outdated and lacking some of the more modern amenities that elevate some of the new rinks throughout the WCHA.

Overall Grade: C

Tech picks up a recruit for 2008

According to Chris Heisenberg's recruiting website, Michigan Tech has added former Blaine High School defenseman Ricky Doriott to its class of 2008. Doriott, who is listed at 6'5", 205 lbs., played last season with Wichita Falls in the NAHL. He scored five goals and added 12 assists in a total of 48 games, while registering 123 penalty minutes.

According to Heisenberg, he will play with Sioux City in the USHL this year before joining the Huskies in 2008. Doriott will turn 20-years-old this October.

WCHA Roadtrip Town No. 10 – Houghton

Making roadtrips to watch your favorite team is fairly common amongst WCHA fans. Most fans are located in the Upper Midwest and are just a few hours away from several towns that are home to WCHA teams.

I have personally made roadtrips to each WCHA town for the purpose of watching the University of Minnesota at least one time, and have been to most towns several times for the purpose of watching the Gophers and other WCHA teams play. So, with that being said, I feel that I’m somewhat qualified to put together a ranking of all the WCHA towns and their ability to be a good host.

What makes a town good for roadtrips can obviously vary depending upon your prerogative and personal opinions. Some people go for the sole purpose of wanting to party and have a good time. Others may be traveling with kids and look for more family-friendly things to do.

In trying to put together this list, I took into account five different things that I personally would consider important to most fans in a hockey roadtrip town. In alphabetical order, here are those points.

Note that I plan on doing a separate list for WCHA arenas, starting with No. 10 next Wednesday.

1. Access – How easy is the city to get to for most WCHA fans?


2. Bars – As any fan knows, it’s important to have a place to eat and/or drink before and after the games.


3. City Experience – Some people like to make a three-day weekend out of a roadtrip, so what does the city have to offer outside of hockey-related places?


4. Hotels – When traveling, it’s obviously important to have hotels that are decent, affordable, and close to your main points-of-interest while on the road.


5. Ticket Cost / Availability – Arguably the key to any roadtrip is securing tickets to watch your team play. It’s important to factor in the cost of tickets and how readily available tickets are at various schools.
   

Starting today and continuing through the next nine Fridays, I’ll countdown my personal list, starting today with No. 10: Houghton, Michigan, which is home to Michigan Tech.

Access

Getting to Houghton is a challenge for most fans, regardless of where you’re coming from, for a few reasons. The main challenge for most fans is just the sheer distance you’ll have to travel. The closest WCHA town to Houghton is of course Duluth, which is still 217 miles away. If you’re traveling from the Twin Cities, you’re looking at a six-hour drive. Same goes for Madison, and Grand Forks is about 7 hours away.

The other challenge that travelers could experience is of course the weather. Those drive-times listed above don’t take into account the frequent snow that can occur in northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan during the fall and winter. Most roads are single-lane highways on the way to Houghton, so bad weather can really make the drive slow and possibly dangerous.

Bars

Houghton is the smallest town home to any of the WCHA schools. That being said, there are still some decent watering holes to be found. Most of the viable bars are found in downtown Houghton along Sheldon Ave. The Library is my personal favorite, as it features a cool atmosphere, a great food menu, and its own brewery. The Ambassador is known by fans for its great pizza, and business usually picks up later in the evening for the “party crowd.”

There are a handful of other bars and restaurants found in downtown, but one issue here is that because the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena is up on a hill away from the downtown a bit, it can be a challenge to walk from a bar/restaurant all the way to the arena. Most fans would rather have the ability to walk to the arena before and after the game without having to worry about driving and parking.

City Experience

What makes a "city experience" good or not really depends on the type of person you are and what you enjoy. That especially holds true when it comes to Houghton. If you enjoy doing outdoor winter activities, then you’re set, as the area offers several offerings.

I am not that type of person, so for me, the thing I look forward to the most in terms of “non-hockey” things to do is to visit Dee Stadium, which is located right behind the Best Western. According to Wikipedia, it replaced the Amphidrome, which burned down in 1927, and was formerly home-rink for Michigan Tech. The rink itself is so-so, but the allure to the arena is that it has a pretty cool museum within it that houses some very cool memorabilia about the start of professional ice hockey in the U.S., which started in the Houghton-area.

The wild-card in the whole “city experience” situation when it comes to Houghton is Winter Carnival, which is the annual weekend in mid-February that turns the city into a complete zoo.

Hotels

Houghton doesn’t offer anything fancy in terms of lodging, but that won’t be an issue for most college hockey fans. I personally stay at the Best Western Franklin Square Inn. The rates vary of course, but I’ve usually spent in the neighborhood of $90 per night, which isn’t outrageous, especially considering most fans travel with other people and thus tend to split the cost of the room. It features a bar at the top of the hotel which features a nice view over Portage Lake.

There are several other lodging options, which can be found here.

Ticket Cost / Availability

Aside from Winter Carnival weekend, WCHA fans should have no trouble getting tickets to watch their squad take on the Huskies. Games are rarely sold out and ticket prices are very reasonable, especially in relation to some other WCHA rinks. Additionally, they don’t adjust their ticket prices based on which team coming to town (like other WCHA schools do), so that is another nice feature.

More info can be found here.

Summary

Overall, Houghton is one town that your average WCHA fans needs to visit at least once. It's very unique and different than the other towns the conference has to offer. That being said, part of that uniqueness also hurts it in some of the categories mentioned above, as the size of the town limits what Houghton can offer.

Overall Grade: C

Tech freshman Pierro-Zabotel to join Huskies in December

Michigan Tech freshman-to-be Casey Pierro-Zabotel, who was a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, is hoping to gain eligibility that will allow him to join the Huskies this December, head coach Jamie Russell announced via a press release today.

According to the release, Pierro-Zabotel is considered a partial qualifier according to the NCAA's initial eligibility standards. The Kamloops, B.C. native will continue to play junior hockey during the fall. He finished third in the BCHL in scoring last season with 51 goals and 65 assists.

The earliest he can join the Huskies would be on December 15 for a non-conference series against Northern Michigan.

WCHA Blog's Take: Most onlookers expect the Huskies to build on their strong 2006-07 campaign where they finished in a tie for sixth place and advanced to the WCHA Final Five. Losing Pierro-Zabotel for the first half of the season (at a minimum) is certainly a blow to the Huskies. They have a very tough first-half schedule, which features home conference series with Minnesota State, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State. Additionally, Tech travels to Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota for road trips.

The Huskies lost just three seniors off last year's team, so this loss isn't devastating by any means. However, Pierro-Zabotel was thought of by many to be one of the top freshman in the WCHA this year and certainly would have been a boost to a Tech offense that finished seventh in the WCHA last year in conference scoring.

Source: PIERRO-ZABOTEL AIMS TO JOIN MICHIGAN TECH HOCKEY TEAM IN DECEMBER