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Polls & Scheds

Freshman Production

NCAA Update

Sifters

ICYMI

Polls & Scheds

DCU/USCHO Division I Poll December 5, 2022

Others receiving votes: Boston College 11, Princeton 10, Maine 6, Mercyhurst 5

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll

December 6, 2022

Others receiving votes: Boston College 10, University of Maine 7, Mercyhurst University 4, Princeton University 3, Minnesota State University 2, St. Lawrence University 2, Long Island University 1, Union College 1.

DCU/USCHO Division III Women’s Poll – December 5, 2022

Others receiving votes: Hamilton 17, Connecticut College 13, Wesleyan 13, Cortland 11, Augsburg 2, Bowdoin 1, Hamline 1, Suffolk 1

Weekly D-I Schedule

Tuesday – 12/6

Wednesday – 12/7

Friday – 12/9

Saturday – 12/10

* No Games Sunday 12/11

Weekly D-III Schedule

Tuesday – 12/6

Wednesday – 12/7

Friday – 12/9

Saturday – 12/10

Sunday – 12/11

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NCAA Freshman Production

Being a point producer at the NCAA level is not easy. D-I or D-III, the level doesn’t matter. Scoring goals is even harder and getting points is more difficult than players usually think. How much production a freshman may produce is a common question many NCAA coaches ask their freshman before their first year begins.

Hey Sally, question for you… So, how many points do you think you’ll have this season?

Usually asked to spark some thinking about realistic expectations or goal setting, its always interesting to hear where a player sees themselves and what level of point production they may think they can achieve.

This is a topic I have always been curious about. So, I dove into the numbers. Special thanks to collegehockeystats.net.

To illustrate how difficult point production is, here is an example from the ’19-’20 season in D-I and D-III.

At D-I

During the 2019-202 season there were a total of 282 freshman on NCAA D-I rosters. Of those, there were 163 forwards, 86 defenders, and 33 goalies. Of the Forwards and Defenders, only 88 had 10 or more points the entire season. Said another way, 164 players or 65.8 % of the entire freshman class scored less than 10 points for the year. The highest point total by a freshman was 39. The highest number of goals scored was 19 and highest number of assists was 24.

Of 88 D-I Freshman with 10 points or more, the average number of goals scored was 7.2 — 65 players had 5 goals or more but only 24 players had 10 goals or more.

Of that group of 88, the average number of assists was 10.6 — 81 had 5 assists or more with 46 having 10 or more.

Of those 88, the average number of total points was 17.8

The ave. number of games played was 33.5.

To put further into context, we looked at the Freshman year production of Forwards and Defenders who were on the 2022 US & Canadian Olympic teams. You can see their numbers below. Granted we’re talking about Olympians, but from a pure point production standpoint, there were only 5 players – ON EACH TEAM – who had 40 or more points as freshman. And the distribution of point totals from each team are very similar.

22-OLY-FR-NCAA-Production-3Download

22-CAN-OLY-NCAA-ProductionDownload

At D-III

Of the top 53 D-III Freshman point producers, the average number of goals scored was 8.8.

Of the same top 53 Freshman point producers, the average number of assists was 10.9.

Of the same top 53 Freshman point producers, the average number of total points was 19.75.

The ave. number of games played was 25.3

In the future, we’ll do a deeper dive into the numbers and come up with breakdowns by league, division, and ultimately where freshman point producers are coming from prior to entering the NCAA.

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NCAA Update

It would appear the NCAA transformation committee is in a holding pattern relative to making any additional changes to recruiting rules within women’s ice hockey. The feedback has been that the NCAA needs to figure out what it wants for a governance and infractions structure first, before deciding on new recruiting rules – which does make sense.

So for now anyway, as D-I women’s hockey moves into the Spring/Summer months, we should expect the same rules to be in place for coaches and prospects as we have had previously.

• D-I coaches can begin regular communication with recruits starting June 15 after the prospects grade 10 year
• Verbal offers may be made by coaches to prospects beginning June 15 after a prospects grade 10 year
• On or off campus in-person face-to-face contacts may not begin until August 1 after the prospects grade 10 year
• Unofficial and Official visits may happen at any time beginning August 1st for prospects after their grade 10 year
• D-I coaches are not allowed to evaluate prospects in-person off of their campus from the Monday prior to the American Hockey Coaches Association convention (April 24, 2023) until June 1
• D-I coaches will have an unlimited number of prospect evaluations from June 1 until September 1, 2023. After September 1, D-I coaches are limited to 7 total recruiting opportunities (evaluations or face-to-face contacts with prospects), of which there may be no more than 3 face-to-face off-campus contacts.

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Sifters

The Hall Calls… One of the greatest female players to ever play, Finnish Forward Riikka Sallinen was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month. Sallinen played in over 1550 games scoring over 600 goals and amassing 1300 points. She retired from the game at the end of the 2018-2019 season after a career that started back during the ’88-’89. She played in 4 Olympic games and 8 IIHF World Championships. You can read more on her amazing career HERE.

US Names U18 Worlds Roster… USA Hockey announced its U18 roster that will compete in the IIHF U18 World Championships In Sweden January 8-15 in Östersund, Sweden. You can see Team USA’s Roster HERE and its schedule HERE. Minnesota leads the way in having 9 players named to the roster. Canada has not named its roster yet.

New Program Hood College Coaching Position… New NCAA Division III program at Hood College has officially posted its head coaching position, You can find it HERE.

Getting Serious… The International University Sports Federation (FISU) Games is coming to Lake Placid in January – and women’s hockey plans on being a big part. As the 2nd largest multi-sportitng event in the world, the U.S. Women’s hockey entry will be comprised of players who are college/university students at the NCAA D-III and D-I levels. Although the event falls during the NCAA hockey season, former Syracuse Associate Head Women’s Coach Brendon Knight, has been charged with putting together the strongest roster he can. You can learn more about the event HERE.