Article by: Mark Jagord
For the first time this season, the National Junior College Athletic Association ranked the defending NJCAA hockey champion Erie Kats as No. 1. It took some time, but Erie is now back where they were at the end of last season after capturing the school’s second national championship.
After five polls that saw the Kats start at No. 3, the top two spots in this season’s first poll were given to western Region 13 opponents Williston State and Dakota College-Bottineau, respectively.
After the first poll, Williston State – runner-up to Erie in the 2105 title game – slipped to the third spot and the Kats have been hovering at No. 2 for the past three polls.
That all changed last week when the previous once-beaten Lumberjacks dropped three-straight to go 9-4 on the year, and it opened the door for Erie to claim No. 1. Dakota dropped a pair of games to Iowa State by a combined score of 8-4 and then fell to St. John’s University’s JV squad at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. before jettisoning to No. 2.
The Kats looked poised for another solid run at the title as they head into semester break. Aaron Wanat and Trevor Evans, two returning ECC All-Americans, lead all NJCAA scorers with 34 and 30 points, respectively.
ECC blueliner Tim Duffy leads all NJCAA defenseman in scoring with 16 points, while returning All-American goaltender Will Korczynski is tops in wins (7) and second in goals-against average. The Kats also hold the top six spots in NJCAA plus-minus ratings with Evans leading the way, followed by Richard Procknal, Wanat, Brett Ross, Duffy and Jaret Werner.
Erie is perfect at 6-0 in NJCAA region play, and although the Kats are showing four losses (three by just a single goal), no opposition has overpowered the Kats through their first 14 games. Oswego State may be the only team to beat Erie by more than a goal (3-1 win), but the Kats have also already beaten the Lakers in Oswego.
Last weekend, Erie took three of four points going into the break. They set a school record for goals in a 20-1 win over St. Bonaventure before dropping a 4-3 OT road contest at Syracuse.
Erie has a dozen games remaining before playoffs begin in late February. Next semester’s schedule starts with a home contest Jan. 8 against nationally-ranked University at Buffalo.
