Lake Forest College Men's Hockey
1999-2000 Season Preview

"Fritz, Foresters Looking For a Breakthrough Season"

     Head Coach Tony Fritz is counting on the maturation of three consecutive solid recruiting classes and a renewed dedication in the off-season to add up to the Foresters' first winning season since 1990-91 and their first playoff win since joining the NCHA for the 1992-93 season. "This is the year we've been building for," explains Fritz, who guided Lake Forest to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1991. "All three of our upper classes -- the seniors, juniors and sophomores -- have experience.  I'm excited about the commitment level they've shown in the off-season - it's at an all-time high. They've really bought into our off-season workout program. I feel we're ready to make an impact in the league. We have been competitive in the NCHA since day one. In fact, the year before we joined the league we were in the national quarterfinals against Stevens Point. We've been competitive but haven't been able to break through and get into the upper half. We're hoping that we are building in that direction and I feel that this year we are going to break through. Our goal is to host an NCHA playoff series."
     "This team has been maturing. They're not only experienced, but strong and talented. As a team, we have two strengths. Number one, we bring back a strong core of defensemen - five very experienced, very good players who perform at a high level. Secondly, we really didn't lose many people from last year, so we'll put some good experience on the ice." 
     Fritz uses words such as 'seasoned', 'experienced', and 'veterans' to describe his group of returning defensemen - Bruce Mutch, Seth Baker, Tom Durkin, Scott McClure and Sean O'Neill. They helped hold opponents to three or fewer goals 11 times last season. "This group of men have logged some quality minutes on the ice and have good size," added Fritz. Mutch was one of two Foresters to record double digits in assists (James Austin led the team with 12 assists). He finished last season with 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists), while Durkin and McClure had nine points apiece.  
     The return of over 95% of the teams' scoring from last season, including the top six goal producers, also has Fritz excited. The Foresters will also be strong and experienced up the middle, starting with three solid centers in senior Doug Fur, Mark Falconi, and Dan Holmes. Fur led the team in scoring average at a point per game, but appeared in only 12 contests due to a midseason broken wrist. Falconi scored a team-high 11 goals, including five power play goals. Holmes (7 goals, 8 assists) will also be a strong asset at center. Coach Fritz will need their experience on the offensive end of the ice. "Last year we lost six one-goal games and seven two-goal games," Fritz explained. "It's tough to win like that. Between our returnees and two or three rookies, we should start scoring more goals. The core of this team has been together for three years now and we think now is the time for good things to start to happen. I felt that way last year, but we just couldn't score. This year, with the experience and added people, we will score more and start to win."
     The biggest hole to fill for the Foresters seems to be directly in front of the net with the graduation of two-time Honorable Mention All-NCHA performer Aaron Vickar. But Coach Fritz feels he has two capable net-minders in juniors Mason Black and Justin Howard, "Mason and Justin are very good goalkeepers. They've paid their dues and are ready to play hockey in the NCHA. Everyone seems to think goaltending will be a weakness for us, but I am not worried about that at all. I think at Mason and Justin's talent and what they've done and I think we're in good hands. I believe our goaltending situation will be good." Black started six games last season and had a team-best 3.66 goals against average and stopped 85.9% of the shots on goal. "We never felt we dropped off in talent level last year with Mason in goal."
     The 1999-2000 schedule will also be unique for Lake Forest. The NCHA will play a balanced schedule with each team playing a home and home series with every league team. Each school will be paired with a traveling partner with the partners alternating opponents for Friday and Saturday nights' games. NCHA teams will also play similar series versus the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this season.