When you talk about completely turning around an organization, the Central Wisconsin Saints are the model of what can be done in one short season.
Starting off the season with a one win and eight loss record, giving up 41 goals against in those first nine games, the Saints looked like they were willing to settle for another season of mediocrity or below average play.
Funny how things can change in an instant. With an infusion of new blood, the Saints were about to prove doubters wrong.
With new management taking over in October, what have the Saints done?
How about going 30 – 5 – 0 – 2? Giving up more than four goals per game to start the season the Saints cut that down to just over two goals per game for the rest of the year. Scoring only 16 goals in the first nine games averaging less than two goals per game, and the Saints closed the season scoring an average of nearly five goals per game the rest of the way.
Want to win games? Score more and get scored on less. Pretty simple equation.
Lead by New Jersey native Kevin Miller with 22 goals and 31 assists, the Saints have a balanced scoring attack. Andrew Veglucci a New York City native was second in scoring with 17 goals and 21 assists. Miller and Veglucci are already being looked at by multiple Tier II teams for the 2014-2015 season, Miller having experienced a call up with the NAHL’s Soo Eagles earlier this year, and Veglucci having been a main camp participant with the Janesville Jets.
Boasting what could be seen as the best three man goalie rotation in the league hasn’t hurt the Saints either. Chet Tooker, found at the Pre Draft Combine last summer lead the Great Lakes Division and entire MNJHL in GAA and Save Percentage. It sure didn’t hurt having AJ Smith who was second in the league in Save Percentage while leading the league in Minutes played and while seeing nearly 37 shots per game. Lets not forget veteran netminder Dax Deadrick who also finished in the top ten of GAA and SP.
Look for Smith and Tooker at the next level next season while Deadrick is deciding on which NCAA program he will attend.
Playing very effectively and overcoming injury were Nicholas Mardirossian, and Jason Wrbelis. Mardirossian is perhaps the most physically improved athlete in the MNJHL, packing on nearly twenty punds of muscle during the season while fine tuning his exceptional face off and penalty killing ability. Wrbelis is proving the move to the Saints was a wise decision with schools taking notice of his 23 points in 27 games.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Saints is that there are only six 1993 birth date players on this team! They are young, and now have a real appetite for winning games. With ten players accumulating better than 20 points, they have a balanced scoring attack throughout every line.
While I would have liked to mention every player on this team in some way, and every player deserves some mention for a complete team success story, there is only so much time in the day. But look for this team to make noise in the MNJHL playoffs, and follow up stories to come.
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
