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2009 Booster Club Golf Outing Mark your calendars! On July 26th, the fourth annual golf outing will be held at the Ironwood Golf Club in Howell, Michigan. For information or tickets, contact any player, Booster Club Officer, or the Field House. Kruczynski and Sultana honored with league awards...
Lawrence Tech icers hope for first playoff bid Lawrence Tech's hockey program has been through a few ups and downs in its history, which dates to 1989. Likewise, Tech's 2007-08 team has been up and down this season, beginning the year 14-4, then losing six straight contests following the All-Star break. Despite the recent downturn, the 14-10 Blue Devils have already improved on their victory total from last season, when they finished 13-17 in coach Kevin Gee's first year behind Tech's bench. "Certainly, the talent level of the players is improving," Gee said. "I think they're used to my system. I think we've found a groove here. We've certainly got a lot more support from our fans, a lot more support from the university. É Overall, I've got such a good group of kids. They want to play for each other." The system Gee mentioned stresses fundamentals with an emphasis on high-energy play. "The puck pursuit is hard, we're aggressive on loose pucks," Gee explained. "We try to force a lot of turnovers. We try to be careful with the puck in our own zone. We don't try to force anything. The biggest thing is making sure that they do the little things Ð they have to finish their checks, they have to commit to the puck when they're trying to clear the zone, things like that. A lot of mental stuff, disciplined stuff. Getting into the habit of doing good things. It's not rocket science by any means." A technology school that literally can produce rocket scientists, athletics take a back seat to academics at Lawrence Tech, which does not award athletic scholarships. But Tech hockey fans are numerous and enthusiastic at the Blue Devils' home contests, played at the Southfield Arena. Those fans had plenty to cheer about in the first half of this season. The players were healthy, the schedule was favorable, and the team got on a roll. "We were playing well," Gee said. "We had a full complement of players. Everybody was healthy, everybody was moving along pretty good. I think the schedule was a little bit lighter, so the kids were able to, maybe, pick up a couple of wins there and get some momentum, keep some confidence. They were scoring a lot of goals." Since the All-Star break in early January, the Blue Devils' depth has been reduced by a player transfer, two other skaters who became academically ineligible, plus some injuries. As a result, the Blue Devils haven't found that same confident zone where they resided throughout the first half. "I think after the holiday break we've been light on energy," Gee said, following a loss to Grand Valley State Jan. 19. "We just don't seem to have that fire, don't seem to have the passion. But the kids are working hard to get out of it. They're trying to get back on track, working hard in the weight room, working hard in practice. I think we'll be able to get out of it. We've just got to keep working. É The biggest thing is we've got to get 60 minutes out of the team at all times. Right now we're not getting it. We've been getting 20 here and 40 there but we haven't been able to string a whole game together." Tech came close to ending its losing streak one week later, getting a better effort but falling to Lake Superior State in a shootout, 3-2. Junior forward Andy Kruczynski leads the Blue Devil scorers with 23 goals among 37 points through 24 games. Junior defenseman Ben Sultana has eight goals and a team-leading 25 assists for 33 points and sophomore forward Mike Smartt has 31 points, including 15 goals. The Blue Devils put six players in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference All-Star game. Junior defenseman Dan Baker won the hardest shot competition during the skills challenge and senior goalie Tommy Beetham, who stopped all shooters, won the breakaway competition and the rapid fire events. Other Tech All Stars included Sultana, Kruczynski , senior forwards Kyle DeHenau and junior forward Andrew Aulerich. Both Kruczynski and DeHenau are four-time All-Stars, while Aulerich is the Blue Devils' captain. "He's top-notch," Gee said. "He's the best (captain) in the league. He's a great kid. He's a straight-A student, tons of character, the kids respect him. He works his butt off on the ice, he works hard in the weight room." Beetham in the top goalie in Tech's three-netminder group. He entered this weekend 6-5 with a 3.83 goals-against average. Junior Matt Beck is 4-4, 3.83. Both veterans suffered recent injuries, forcing Gee to press freshman Ryan VanWert into the fray. VanWert has responded well so far, with a 4-1 record and 0.63 goals-against. "Tommy's a veteran É so as we get into the stretch I do expect him to carry the load," Gee said, just prior to Beetham's injury. "Matt Beck, he's been very solid so far. Up until the midway break his goals-against was the best in the league. He's a competitor, he likes to battle. He's got a ton of experience, he's played a lot of junior hockey, he's played everywhere. I trust either one of those guys. Then we've got freshman Ryan Van Wert, a big, tall (6-feet-5) kid. He's going to be the guy in the future. We get him in whenever we can. He works hard in practice. He's a fantastic third string. He's working hard, he's always there to push the starters." Tech put its first hockey team on the ice in 1989, playing 14 games as an independent. The school became an original MCHC member in 1991, but dropped hockey for two seasons, 2000-01 and 2001-02. Hockey returned in 2002-03 and Tech regained full MCHC membership in 2004-05. The Devils are also members of the American College Hockey Association's Division 3. Gee's goal is to cap the season with a trip to the ACHA final four, which will be held in Rochester, Minn., March 12-15. First, the Blue Devils will have to qualify for, and win, the Northern regionals, Feb. 15-16 in Saginaw. "It's going to be a tough road," Gee said. "This year they've added the regional tournament, so it's not just about the rankings. We do have to win our way into the tournament. We think we've got a good chance. The LTU hockey program has never won the league, they've never won the playoffs, they've never had a trip to the national championship. That was my goal when I took over this team and that's going to be our goal at any time as we move forward. And everything that we do in practice, every game during the season, we make sure that we're preparing for that, the opportunity that we're going to have to play for the national championship. That's a big deal for these guys."
Click on the link below to view the original article. http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/SPORTS02/802030397/1064/SPORTS All Star Notes Defenseman Dan Baker ( Wyandotte, MI / Detroit Trackers Midget Major ) won the Hardest Shot competition during the skills challenge at the MCHC All Star game this weekend in Midland. Also winning individual events was goalie Tommy Beetham, who stopped all shooters to win the breakaway competition and the rapid fire events. The East division jumped out to early lead in the all star points race by dominating the skills challenge by a score of 13-1. The final score of the game was East 15, West 9. The 2007-2008 MCHC All Star team has been selected, and LTU will send six players to Midland, MI on Jan. 5th. Representing LTU on the MCHC East AllStar Team are: Tom Beetham, Sr. G Harrow, Ont. 5w-2l, 3.41 GAA .900% Ben Sultana, Jr.D Redford, MI. 7g-19a-26p, 28pim Dan Baker, Jr. D Wyandotte, MI 5g-15a-20p, 22pim Kyle Dehenau, Sr. F Shelby Twp, MI 7g-13a-20p, 26pim Andrew Aulerich, Jr. F Eagle, MI 9g-10a-19p, 38pim Andy Kruczynski, Jr. F Westland, MI 18g-11a-29p, 11pim Head Coach Kevin Gee, 2nd yr. Lincoln Park,MI 26w-21l Post Season Awards 2006-2007 Season
MVP (Adam Jakubowski)
Most Improved (Joe Puranen)
Rookie of the Year (Rich Parkinson)
Coaches Award (Andrew Aulerich)
Senior Honors (Doug Sparks, Dan McCarthy, Andy Percowycz, Josh Dawson) |
