When freshman right winger Jeremiah Luedtke arrived at UAA this fall, head coach Matt Thomas did not coddle him.
There was no talk of Luedtke slowly finding his role, or needing an adjustment period in his transition to college hockey from junior pucks, or simply chipping in a bit. After averaging just 2.06 goals per game last season, the Seawolves needed help, pronto.
"He told me I was expected to produce right away,'' Luedtke recalled. "I was nervous, but at the same time I was excited.''
Thomas immediately slotted Luedtke at right wing with senior center Blake Tatchell, the team's best offensive pivot. Luedtke has played on Tatchell's right side through all 10 UAA games, delivering 1-7—8 totals and a plus-1 rating.
"I didn't think it would be this awesome,'' Luedtke said. "It's been great.''
Luedtke is one of three freshmen who have made an immediate impact in UAA's 6-3-1 start, in which it has averaged 3.20 goals per game heading into this weekend's nonconference series against visiting Penn State at Sullivan Arena.
Besides Luedtke, freshman defenseman Wyatt Ege has proved the Seawolves' highest-scoring and best all-around blueliner, and freshman left winger Mason Mitchell has furnished them a true power forward.
Luedtke, Ege and Mitchell have played in all situations and quickly earned the trust of Thomas and his staff.
Thomas said preseason practices quickly convinced him the 5-foot-9, 158-pound Luedtke would be a good fit on Tatchell's wing.
"I liked Luedtke's pace – he's got good speed, deceptive speed, and he's got good skills to go with it, plus he seemed to see the game a lot like Tatch,'' Thomas said. "With his quickness and elusiveness, he's hard to contain.''
Ege, meanwhile, has delivered 3-2—5 totals and a plus-3 rating – the rest of UAA's defensemen have totaled two goals – and become assistant coach Louis Mass' most trusted blueliner. Ege isn't big by any standard, for a forward or defenseman – 5-11, 176 – but Mass likes his smarts and ability to make plays with his stick on both sides of the puck.
And what Mass believes makes Ege a cut above is both his skating and his composure, which the former Alaska Aces assistant coach said reminds him of former Seawolves and Aces defenseman Matt Shasby.
"I think his greatest asset is his feet,'' Mass said. "He's kind of like Matt Shasby – just an effortless skater. He can play more minutes because of that.
"When you skate like that, you can make a mistake and recover, so you can take more risks. Plus, he doesn't panic with the puck.''
While Luedtke and Ege are smaller players, Mitchell is a 6-2, 209-pounder who is at his best when he's playing a north-south game and going to the net. Mitchell in nine games owns 2-4—6 totals and a plus-5 rating that is tied with sophomore center Matt Anholt for the team lead.
What Thomas appreciates most about Mitchell is that he has played him on the left side with centers Tatchell, Anholt and Tanner Dusyk, and believes Mitchell's consistency has bolstered each line.
"His game doesn't change,'' Thomas said. "He knows his identity.''
Seawolves notes
Penn State features a couple of Alaska connections in coach Guy Gadowsky, the former UAF bench boss, and senior center Eric Scheid, who began his college career at UAA.
Gadowsky coached five seasons at UAF (1999-2004). For what it's worth, he went 9-10-1 against UAA.
Long-time Anchorage hockey fans might also recall Gadowsky as a Fresno Falcons sniper, and then the Falcons' coach, when that club and the Anchorage Aces played in the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League.
Also, from the Hockey-Is-A-Small-World Department: Thomas was Fresno's bench boss in the ECHL.
This is Gadowsky's fourth season at Penn State, which hired him when it made the jump to Division I from club level. He also coached seven seasons at Princeton and has been Coach of the Year in the CCHA, ECAC and Big Ten.
Scheid began his college career at UAA under then-coach Dave Shyiak in 2010-11, and led Seawolves freshmen in goals and points with 6-9—15 totals in 30 games. He returned to the U.S. Hockey League the following season before heading to Penn State. Scheid owns 1-5—6 totals in seven games this season after going 14-15—29 in 31 games last season.
The Seawolves and Nittany Lions have one common opponent this season in American International University. UAA beat AIC 6-2 at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament in Fairbanks and Penn State swept AIC, 8-3 and 5-3.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Penn State
6-2-2
at
UAA
6-3-1
Friday and Saturday, Sullivan Arena, 7:07 p.m.
TV: GCI Channel 1 and 999 (HD), tape delay, 10 p.m.