Men's Hockey Q&A

Now that basketball has gotten the 2012-13 MIAC Winter Playoff season off and running, it's time for hockey to join the fun. The Men'sHockey Playoffs begin tonight (Friday, Feb. 22) with the No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal game. No. 5 St. Olaf visits No. 4 Gustavus tonight in a rematch of last weekend's regular-season final series, and the winner will join No. 1 St. Thomas, No. 2 Saint John's and No. 3 Concordia in the semifinals on Saturday.

The Tommies and Johnnies - longtime, storied rivals - actually shared the MIAC's regular-season championship with 21 points apiece in conference play. The two split their regular-season series. St. Thomas finished 10-5-1 in league play and Saint John's was 9-4-3, so the Tommies won the top seed in the tournament by virtue of more MIAC victories. Both teams will be on their home ice Saturday, as the Tommies host the St. Olaf/Gustavus winner, and Saint John's hosts Concordia in the other semifinal.

For the third-straight day, the MIAC Media Blog brings you another installment of Championship Coach Q&A. However, since there was two co-champions, you get to double down on a Q&A from each team's coach. St. Thomas' Jeff Boeser and Saint Johns' Doug Schueller off their thoughts on their co-championship regular season, and give us a look ahead to the 2012-MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs

MIAC Media Blog Championship Coach Q&A

Jeff Boeser, St. Thomas Men's Hockey

MIAC: First question, how does it feel to win a share of the MIAC regular season title for the second season in a row? What are some of the qualities that helped your team win a share of the conference championship? 

St. Thomas Head Coach
Jeff Boeser

BOESER: We feel very humbled and fortunate to share this title with Saint John's. Congratulations to Saint John's, they are really playing well. Our team defense and goaltending are the reasons we had the chance to get where we are.

MIAC: There was a ton of balance at the top of the standings this year, with five teams all having a shot at the title on the final day of the regular season. Was this the most balanced you’ve seen the MIAC at the top? Talk about the strength of the league. 

BOESER: I guess I've been part of the MIAC the longest, and this year eight of our nine teams had a chance to make the Playoffs going into the last weekend of the regular season ... unbelievable balance. It's the most balanced this league has ever been.

The league is a bit older now for most teams. I don't know the percentages, but it's a league where most of the players play one to two, and even sometimes three, years of juniors. They've played 60 games or more per year in juniors. The everyday grind, travel, traveling long distances and playing games makes them mentally and physically stronger, and mentally tougher. This is actually a much easier schedule than they played in juniors, with 25 games and travel - for the most part - is much easier.

That plays into the league's strength, and the coaching is so strong. All the coaches work hard and put a lot of time into recruiting. There are a lot of good hockey players out there.

MIAC: Who are some of your players that have been catalysts for your success this season, especially some guys that fans might not know about just from looking at the stats. 

St. Thomas stops a St. Olaf scoring chance at the
2012 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase

BOESER: We do not have any superstars on our roster. We feel we have depth as far as good players who work hard. We work hard at trying to play good team defense.

Some players to watch on our team include our goaltenders: Ty Simcoe (soph.) and Drew Fielding (soph.) have both played very consistent for us. We feel we have a special defenseman in Michael Krieg (soph.). He works very hard at his strength and conditioning because he knows he has to log the minutes he plays. The heart and soul of our team is 155-pound Spencer Brendel (senior). He is our best defensive forward and top penalty killer. He also leads our team in hits.

We hope when fans watch our team, they will say that St. Thomas really works hard and they play the game the right way.

MIAC: Looking ahead, give us a preview of the 2012-13 MIAC Men’s Hockey Playoffs. Last year your team was the No. 1 seed, but lost a home semifinal to a hot St. Olaf squad. How has that experience prepared or motivated your team heading into this season's tournament?

BOESER: This year, I believe there isn't a favorite heading into the Playoffs. Whoever wins, I don't believe you call it an upset. There is only three points difference between the first-place teams and the fifth-place team. Teams are that even. Last year was last year, and a different team. All we can control - and we talk about it often - is our attitude and effort. Work hard, play hard and have fun. That's our simple motto.

MIAC Media Blog Championship Coach Q&A

Doug Schueller, Saint John's Men's Hockey

MIAC: First question, how does it feel to win a share of the MIAC regular season title? What are some of the qualities that helped your team win a share of the conference championship? 

Saint John's Head Coach
Doug Schueller

SCHUELLER: It feels great for our guys and for our hockey program.  It has been some time since we have been part of a title (2005) and the guys have a lot to be proud of.  The qualities that help us are hard work, chemistry in the room and a group of guys that have all bought in to a certain way of playing the game.  We have all the guys on the same page and it is much easier to do that when you are able to show success within a system or identity.

MIAC: There was a ton of balance at the top of the standings this year, with five teams all having a shot at the title on the final day of the regular season. Was this the most balanced you’ve seen the MIAC at the top? Talk about the strength of the league. 

SCHUELLER: Our league is one of the most balanced leagues in the country.  Any team can win on any given night.  Look at Hamline and they finished at the bottom, but tied us and beat St. Thomas.  Every night is a challenge and, in a lot of ways, consistency in play wins out most of the time.  Last year was very tight as well, but not as tight at the top.  We always have had a tight league pretty much all five years that I have been here, but the log jam at the top is the tightest that I have seen.

MIAC: Who are some of your players that have been catalysts for your success this season, especially some guys that fans might not know about just from looking at the stats.

SCHUELLER: One of our best players from day one has been Phil Johnson who came to SJU right out of Duluth East High School.  He is a great player at both ends of the ice.  I would also say that our leadership has been great and not always recognized on the score sheet.  Tobias Linbro, Michal Palmiscno, Dave Mylrea, and Trent Johnson are all great leaders in their own way. Tobias could really be seen as an unsung hero, as he does everything for the team and sacrifices his body every game for his teammates.

Saint John's attacks the net against Bethel during the
2012 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase.

MIAC: Looking ahead, give us a preview of the 2012-13 MIAC Men’s Hockey Playoffs. Last year your team lost a hard-fought semifinal game to eventual Playoff champ Gustavus. How did that experience help your team as you prepare for this year’s tournament, and how will home ice be a factor for the Johnnies? 

SCHUELLER: The game against Gustavus last year was a real tough game to swallow.  We had some great opportunities to tie that game up and we fell just short.  The experience will help us a lot as we now have that game under our belt and we know what it takes. 

Home ice advantage is always a question mark in our building, as our rink is comfortable for visiting teams because it is such a nice rink. Most visiting teams are excited to play on the larger ice sheet because they have more time and space, and it is tough to get a great atmosphere because it is a 6,000-seat facility and 20 minutes from campus.  With that said, we are 7-2-1 at home this season and we always feel confident with our white jerseys on.

MIAC: Thanks to Coach Boeser and Coach Schueller for sharing their thoughts with the MIAC Media Blog during a very busy week, and good luck to the Tommies, Johnnies, Cobbers, Gusties and Oles as the Men's Hockey Playoffs open tonight. Don't forget to follow all the action on the MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs Page and the MIAC Scoreboard.

Hoops heats up

The MIAC Basketball Playoffs are nearing their completion as hockey begins. Tonight, No. 1 St. Thomas hosts No. 4 Carleton and No. 2 Concordia hosts No. 3 Augsburg in a pair of thrilling Men's Basketball Playoff semifinal games. Tomorrow, the No. 1-seeded Concordia women host No. 2 St. Thomas in the MIAC Women's Basketball Playoff Championship games. The men's title game follows on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the home court of the highest remaining seed.

I'm up in Moorhead for the Cobbers' men's semifinal tonight and the Championship tomorrow, then I'll head to the men's title game, wherever it may be, on Sunday. Follow all the action on the MIAC Scoreboard and Men's Playoff Page and Women's Playoff Page, and make sure to use the Twitter hashtag #MIACPlayoffs if you tweet from our games! It's a great time of year, and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Safe travels to all the Playoff teams and fans, and good luck!