Turmoil abounds with St. Cloud State Huskies

St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko still has 25 players --- three goalies, eight defensemen and 14 forwards -- but he can't keep sustaining the losses he has lately.

Three players have left the team this week.

On Monday, senior defenseman Chris Hepp, an assistant captain from Savage, Minn., departed for the Idaha Steelheads of the ECHL. He signed a pro contract with them.

Hepp played in 100 games over four seasons with the Huskies. He had one goal and two assists this season.

"Chris was a big part of our success in 2009-10 with his physical and demanding defensive play," Motzko said. "We thank him for his contributions to the program and we wish him all the best as he begins his professional career."

On Wednesday, Motzko dismissed senior forward Tony Mosey of Prior Lake for a violation of team rules.

The Huskies were in a tournament in Florida, which they won. Mosey played in the first game, but not the second. The Huskies beat Cornell and Miami by 4-3 scores on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

Also gone is freshman forward Bryce Johnson who has joined Omaha of the USHL. He was scoreless in three games.

Several other WCHA teams also lost players during the holidays:

* Sophomore defenseman Dylan Olsen of UMD signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and is head for their top affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs. He was playing for the U.S. team in the World Junior Championships. He was the Bulldogs' second highest scoring D-man with 1 goal and 12 assists for 13 points.

* Colorado College freshman forward Jaden Schwartz, among the WCHA's leading scorers witrh 26 points, suffered a broken ankle playing for Team Canada in a preliminary round game against the Czechs in the World Juniors. He is out until mid-January.

Schwartz has 11 goals and 15 assists; he is tied for fourth in points among conference players.

"William has decided to leave our varsity hockey program and concentrate full-time on his hockey career," Gwozdecky said. "William feels he will have a better opportunity to play on a regular basis and contribute in a more important role at the junior hockey level," Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said. "He was a good teammate and was well liked in our locker room. William will be missed by our program." SHORT SLASHES

* UMD finished nonconference play 5-1-1; the one loss was 5-0 to North Dakota last Thursday on the night the team's new arena opened.

* Minnesota Hockey Hub lists the top 15 unsigned state prospects and says three of them are considering the Gophers. They are:

-- Forward Mario Lucia, Wayzata, 6-2, 185. He is The Don's son and is rated the top state prospect among high school players for the 2011 NHL draft. Only a junior. Among other schools he is considering are Boston College, Denver, Notre Dame and Michigan. Already bigger than Tony, who was captain of Gophers last season, and better at same age.

-- Defenseman Max Everson, Edina, 6-0, 184. He is a senior. Assistant coach Grant Potulny and injured winger Zach Budish, a former Hornets player, were showing a prospect from Edina around Mariucci at a recent game there. Bet it was Everson.

* The Gophers are seventh among WCHA in scoring in all games, averaging 3.15 goals per game. They have nobody among the top scorers. Senior winger Jay Barriball is tied for 15th with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points. He may be Minnesota's only hope this season for a 20-goal scorer.

Jacob Cepis, another senior winger, is tied for 25th in scoring with seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points.

A big bugaboo is the penalty kill, 12th in the WCHA at 74.7 percent. The defense overall is eighth, giving up 3.05 goals per game.