In an April 1 wrap-up interview for the 2013-14 season, University of Vermont men’s hockey coach Kevin Sneddon said of freshman center Mike Stenerson, “We believe in Michael; Stenerson is a top two line guy.”
Sneddon went on to explain that Stenerson’s limited playing time — 1 goal and 2 points in 15 games — as a freshman was “just the way things shaped out.”
Stenerson was a center and thus was competing against such players as Chris McCarthy, Jake Fallon and Jonathan Turk. “Those three guys were playing pretty solid,” pointed out Sneddon at that time. “We tried him at wing but we think he’s a better center.”
Fast forward to the start of this season and there’s Mike Stenerson, now a left wing and second in goals and points for 6-1-1 Catamounts after a sweep of Maine in which the sophomore forward had the game-winning goal in overtime Friday and five points on the weekend.
Stenerson has made the transition from center to left wing, joining center Colin Markison and right wing Brady Shaw a strong scoring line to supplement UVM’s nominal top line of Mario Puskarich-Fallon-Brendan Bradley. Stenerson, Markison and Shaw combined for five goals and four assists in the two Maine games. They also accounted for two goals and two assists in the third period of the 2-2 tie at Notre Dame, Markison scoring the tying goal.
After Saturday’s completion of a sweep of Maine, Sneddon said, “Stenny, it’s so nice to see him get off to such a great start. He didn’t play a lot of hockey for us second period last year.
“He did a great job of getting stronger in the offseason. He’s used to playing the wing now. He’s making plays; he’s responsible with and without the puck,” he said.
Saturday, Sneddon recalled the coaching staff’s postseason evaluations last year, saying “If you can get a couple of guys to take really big steps coming into the next season, he was one of the guys we would have circled and said we really needed Mike to come back and make an impact. He certainly has to date and there’s no reason the think he wouldn’t continue this. He’s been a real bright spot for us.”
Sneddon said Stenerson benefited from the team’s off-season condition program and said, “He looks confident out there,” which Stenerson separately confirmed by saying he was “a lot more confident this year.”
“Last year was kind of hard being a freshman, a little nervous at the beginning of games,” he said. “Now it’s kind of relaxing, slowing the play down out there and making plays.”
Total team effort: While Stenerson, Markison and Shaw, along with Mario Puskarich (game-tying goal Friday) dominated the highlights against Maine, Vermont put together some of its finest team hockey in some time over the final five-plus periods.
The Catamounts did not excel in the weekend’s opening period but pretty much dominated the Black Bears after that with their speed, depth and execution.
“We had so many individual efforts tonight on different plays,” Sneddon said.
One such player was North Dakota transfer Dan Senkbeil, who sat out last year and did not play in the season’s first seven games. Inserted as physical forward on UVM’s fourth line Saturday, Senkbeil drew praise from Sneddon after the game.
“Senkbeil for his first effort as a Catamount was a physical presence out there. He did a lot of great things for us. It’s a tough situation to come in, not having had any game experience. He did a great job,” Sneddon said.
Jake Fallon and Kevin Irwin excelled in the gritty aspects of the game and Jonathan Turk was strong on faceoffs. Sneddon also said, “The defensive corps did a great job especially in the third period of getting pucks out. (Maine was) very aggressive on the forecheck and our guys weathered the storms well, just got pucks out and got pucks deep, kept the game real simple.
“It was a complete team effort. We were able to utilize four lines in the third period, which is essentially the sixth period in the weekend, or six-and-a-half periods of hockey. We were fresh. We had good line changes. We looked like we knew what we were doing with the lead for sure.”
Vermont will need the same level of intensity and cohesion this weekend during the Catamounts’ Hockey East series at No. 16 Providence.
Catamounts on the rise: The coaches and players will say that polls mean nothing and they’re right. Where a team is ranked this week has absolutely no effect on anything.
Still, jumping to No. 10 in both national Division I polls is a nice pat on the back for this year’s accomplishments and as a touchstone for how far UVM has come in recent seasons after the plunge from a Frozen Four appearance in 2009 to the depths of 2011-12 (6-27-1).
Contact Free Press correspondent Ted Ryan at TedRyanVT@aol.com and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TedRyanVT
