National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 10, 1997

Division II

Defending champs looking tough

Event: 1997 Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

Overview: As the nation's top-ranked team for the past two seasons, defending champion Alabama-Huntsville (20-4) has won 14 of its last 15 games and will not give up its title without a fight. The Chargers are led by senior cocaptain Tony Guzzo, who set school records for career goals and assists this season. Guzzo has scored 16 goals and leads the team with 31 assists and 47 points. Senior forward K. C. Schneider has 16 goals and 46 points, while Huntsville native Matt Parker leads the team with 17 goals. Sophomore Cedrick Billequey, who has a 13-3 record and a 2.45 goals-against average, has established himself as one of the top goaltenders in Division II ... Second-ranked Bemidji State (22-7-2 overall, 14-5-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association) hopes to celebrate its 50th year of hockey with its fifth Division II title. Head coach Bob Peters, who ranks second in NCAA history with 686 all-time victories, is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Beavers. Senior center and cocaptain Jeff Sobb leads the team with 52 points, while junior forward Josh Klingfus has scored a team-leading 19 goals. In goal, the Beavers' last line of defense includes freshman Adam Pavlatos (12-4-1, 2.99) and junior Neil Cooper (10-3-1, 3.61). Cooper notched the team's first regular-season shutout in five years earlier this season, then followed that effort with another shutout the following game.

Field: Two teams.

Dates and site: The competition will take place on the campus of one of the competing institutions March 14-15. The format will consist of a two-game series with a "minigame" tiebreaker, if necessary.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1417 for bracket/schedule, and 5123 for championship series results. Championship results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the March 24 issue of The NCAA News.