Brian Faison - University of North Dakota

2009-10 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Fighting Sioux men’s hockey team
enters the 2009-10 season with one eye
on defending its MacNaughton Cup as WCHA
champion and the other on a � fth NCAA
Frozen Four berth in the past six seasons.
However, before either of those goals can
come to fruition, one key question must be
answered: Who will � ll the shoes of UND’s
eight graduated seniors?
Replacing a senior class is hardly exclusive
to UND. It is a fact of life for every team in
the nation. But head coach Dave Hakstol is
replacing more than just goals and assists; he
is replacing a group of young men that won
105 games and advanced to three Frozen
Fours, often relying more on savvy than skill.
“I think that is the big challenge for us,”
said Hakstol. “The outgoing class brought
a lot of di� erent things to the table, a lot of
intangibles that helped win hockey games.
The experience those guys brought to our
team was invaluable.
“How quickly our sophomores and juniors
can step up into those leadership roles is the
big question we have to answer.”
The 2009-10 Sioux will not be lacking in
talent. Fifteen National Hockey League draft
picks dot the roster, one that includes 15
returning letterwinners. UND also welcomes
an incoming class of 10 freshmen, including
last season’s Alberta Junior Hockey League
rookie of the year and United States Hockey
League playo� most valuable player.
“As young as we are,” Hakstol said, “I think we
have a great mix of energy and excitement
that youth brings, combined with great
experience and character in our returning
players.
“This is a team that I’m very excited about.
We’re looking forward to getting into the
process of building the team throughout the
year.”
BETWEEN THE PIPES
After an early transition period as a freshman,
Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta)
quickly established himself as one of the
top goaltenders in the WCHA, leading the
conference in victories and narrowly missing
out on the league’s goaltending title. He also
became college hockey’s “iron man,” starting
the � nal 33 games of the season.
“I thought he handled everything in a very
professional way,” Hakstol said. “Brad has
proven he can play a lot of minutes at this
level. His challenge is to elevate his game from
his freshman year consistently throughout
the season.”
Although Eidsness thrived with a heavy
workload, earning all-conference and allrookie
honors, Hakstol sees freshman Aaron
Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) easing Eidsness’ burden.
“I’m sure � rst and foremost on Aaron’s mind is
to take some of those minutes and challenge
for the No. 1 job,” Hakstol said.
“We brought Aaron here for a reason.
Depending on the transition period, I think
he’s capable of pushing for minutes every
week.”
Freshman Tate Maris (Denver, Colo.) was
added to the team late in the summer and
will complement Eidsness and Dell.
Brad Eidsness was named to the All-WCHA third
team and the WCHA All-Rookie team after leading
the conference in victories as a freshman.
38 2009-10 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA MEN’S HOCKEY MEDIA GUIDE
All-American and WCHA Defensive Player of the
Year Chay Genoway will captain the Sioux in
2009-10.
ON THE BLUELINE
The Sioux return � ve defensemen from last
season in senior Chay Genoway (Morden,
Manitoba), juniors Derrick LaPoint (Eau
Claire, Wis.) and Jake Marto (Grand Forks,
N.D.) and sophomores Ben Blood (Plymouth,
Minn.) and Corey Fienhage (Apple Valley,
Minn.).
Genoway was the group’s workhorse,
anchoring UND’s power-play and penalty
kill units while regularly logging the most
minutes on the squad. One of the top
o� ensive defensemen in the country, he also
collected a career-high 32 points.
After a season in which he was named a
second team All-American and the WCHA
Defensive Player of the Year, Genoway will
wear the captain’s “C” in 2009-10.
“Chay is not only one of the most dynamic
players in the country,” Hakstol said, “he’s also
one of the most competitive.
“That should serve us well in the leadership
role he’ll play.”
Marto broke out as a top WCHA defenseman
last season, particularly down the stretch,
picking up all of his career-high 17 points
over the � nal 29 games.
“Jake seems to be the guy on our blueline who
doesn’t garner a lot of attention,” Hakstol said.
“But he is very well-respected as a leader o�
the ice and his value on the ice in all situations
does not go unnoticed by his teammates.”