San Diego College Review / Rick Hazeltine : Coach Likes USIU Climate for Hockey

Brad Buetow, hockey coach at United States International University, has a realistic outlook. Because USIU has the only Division I ice hockey team in California, he has to.

Minnesota and San Diego are as different as ice hockey and beach volleyball. So why does a coach who has built a nationally recognized program at Minnesota try to establish a team where the harshest winter day is still a few degrees warmer than the arena in which his team plays?

“I like the challenge and I wanted to build something,” Buetow said. “Here you really have to develop it.”

So far, Buetow’s program has exceeded his expectations.

Last year, the Gulls were 20-13, ranked No. 19 in the nation and won the first Great West Hockey Conference championship with a 9-3 record. It was the first time USIU had been ranked nationally in the six-year history of its ice hockey program, and the team won more victories than in the previous three years combined.

“I didn’t think that was possible last year,” Buetow said. “It was probably my funnest year. I’m not saying it was the best team, by any means, but it’s kind of nice to see everything come together.

“I’d never been prouder of a group of guys. And I never worked harder.”

The work is paying off. USIU averaged 2,000 fans for its final 12 home games at the 2,500-seat Mira Mesa House of Ice.

This season, the House of Ice is known as USIU Arena. An anonymous person purchased the Mira Mesa House of Ice this summer, then turned it over to USIU to manage. Buetow says his players have worked 3,000 hours to get the decaying structure in shape for the forthcoming season. They cleaned and repainted the interior and did minor repairs. Working on the arena has caused the team to get a late start in preseason drills.

USIU, ranked No. 19 in the preseason poll, opens at Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday and Saturday and plays Alaska-Anchorage next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Gulls’ first home match is Nov. 22 against Alaska-Fairbanks.

The Great West conference has been trimmed to three teams this season. Northern Arizona dropped the sport this year after its rink broke down and it was decided that repair costs were prohibitive.

But Buetow says that several teams, including Air Force and the University of Arizona, are interested in joining next year.

This season, the Gulls will concentrate on repeating as conference champions. And with a lot more at stake.

The NCAA has decided to expand ice hockey playoffs to include a ninth team chosen from schools not aligned with the four major conferences--Western Collegiate Hockey Assn., Central Collegiate Hockey Assn., Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Hockey East. Five seniors lead the Gulls this season.

Darren Clarkin of Nova Scotia; Jim Plankers, a transfer from Minnesota-Duluth; and Mike McGrath of Los Angeles, a transfer from Wisconsin, lead the defense.

The offense will be led by Gary Bernard of Nova Scotia and last year’s leading scorer, Jeff Dobek of Detroit. Dobek, whose brother, Bobby, played on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, led the Gulls with 21 goals and 14 assists.

UC San Diego could be the site of several NCAA Division III regionals. The women’s volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation, meaning that it could host the regionals Nov. 14-15. The men’s soccer team is ranked No. 13 nationally and No. 1 in the West. Two postseason tournaments are already set for UCSD. The National Invitational Water Polo Tournament, which includes the top eight teams in the nation not invited to the NCAA championships, will be held Nov. 21-23. The men’s and women’s cross-country regional will be held Nov. 15.

Division III regionals are generally hosted by the top team in that region.

USIU’s athletic department has finalized an agreement for the men’s basketball team to play its home games in Golden Hall and for the women to play at the Jewish Community Center. The basketball teams have played in various high school and community college gyms and practiced in a warehouse in Mira Mesa last year. The agreement to rent Golden Hall, which was the home of the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Assn., is for one year with an option for future years. Financial details were not disclosed.

College Notes

The San Diego State baseball team had the 16th best recruiting year in the nation, according to Collegiate Baseball. The Aztecs won their first Western Athletic Conference title last year. . . . Former Aztec women’s basketball player Toni Wallace will be playing for the University of Kansas this year. Wallace, a 6-4 center, transferred after becoming academically ineligible at SDSU. . . . The Aztec women’s basketball team has been ranked No. 11 in the nation by Street & Smith. The ranking was primarily because of transfer Chana Perry. But Perry, who also was named a preseason All-American by the magazine, will sit out this season to concentrate on her studies. Cal State Long Beach, which has another SDSU transfer--sophomore guard Penny Toler--was ranked 10th, the highest ranked Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. team.