Chance Creger: Biscuits and Breezers' College Spotlight Player

Biscuits and Breezers

by Sophia Etier
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image courtesy of: Meg Emily

Chance Creger

Height: 6 ft 3 in

Weight: 200 lbs

Hometown: Lafayette, Colorado, USA

Once you enter the world of college hockey everything changes. Expectations and skill levels sky rocket, players are expected to play at their peak performance every game, and more wins are expected to be shown in the stats. But this is no problem for Chance Creger. Chance thrives on hard work and ambition and is always putting his best foot forward. He isn't afraid to embrace the large frame that he plays with and he will always go to extreme lengths to defend his team as well as the blue line. Creger is most certainly the type of defenseman that every team needs at least three of. He is fearless, he is driven, and won't stop lifting his team up until they have played the very last second of their season. You can tell by stats alone that Chance is an absolute steam train of a player and nothing will stand in his way of achieving his goals. If he wants to light the lamp behind the opposing goaltender, he will not put on the brakes until the job is done. If he is set out on a shift to protect the goaltender at all costs, no one will be messing with that tendy as long as Creger is still standing. Also, just because a team is hyped up to be the biggest or the strongest or the fastest, that doesn't mean Creger will take that in to any consideration. Sure he might change his style of play throughout the night to accommodate his opponents, but he faces every team just like any other. Records or championships do not mean anything on the ice when it's a safe bet that Creger will use all he's got to out skate you every single time. Chance is out there for three main things; to see wins, to support his team, and to continue to grow as a player and expand his horizons as well as opportunities. If you have a player similar to Creger on your roster, you have a player that pours heart and soul into his ice minutes as well as one who will go through absolutely any situation the game will throw at him just to see his team victorious at the end of the night. He is as tough as nails and will take any injury just a the Black Knight in Monty Python's Monty Python and the Holy Grail; "'Tis but a scratch" "It's just a flesh wound" or perhaps even better "I've had worse". Creger is certainly an offensively minded defenseman who can hold his own in front of the net just as skillfully as the forwards. I personally would compare him to either San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns or Arizona Coyotes blue liner Keith Yandle. Both Yandle and Creger are intense defenseman who shine both as team players as well as independent skaters. Creger and Burns both play a ferocious game and are always a huge presence on the ice. All in all, Chance will be a huge asset throughout his college career and will continue on a path that produces tremendous strides. Best of luck Chance with Northland College and the rest of your hockey career!

Chance Creger : Men's Hockey 2014 Team Preview

"There is a bright future for the hockey program. Key newcomers coming in are freshman's defenseman Chance Creger (Lafayette, CO), forward Timothy Perks (Oxford, MI), defenseman Colton Robak (Gilbert Plains, MB) and defenseman Ben Owen (Devils Lake, ND). Also, two defensive sophomores from Devils Lake, ND in Karson and Kyle Kuntz."
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Chance Creger : Zombie Hockey Player

SAAC Hosts Second Annual "Haunted Ravine"

ASHLAND, WI - Northland's SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) hosted its second annual "Haunted Ravine" on Sunday, which was open to all members of the surrounding community. The "Haunted Ravine" featured student-athletes appearing as zombies, goblins, mummies and more to create a spooky environment through the ravine underneath Northland's well-known bridges. Members of the community were invited to begin their risky walk by entering the eerie graveyard, continuing through a tarp tunnel of terror, the ghoulish Night before Christmas town, finding the body-less head and eventually exiting through Northland's haunted hall of fame. The fee for having this bone-chilling experience was a food item which would be donated to The Brick, a food donation service in Ashland.

Junior Cassie Baumgarten (volleyball) envisioned this shrilling event last year and with its initial success, SAAC was determined to continue this Halloween. SAAC administrators Katie Groschel (softball), Louis Corcoran (men's cross country), Matt Hoszko (hockey) and Kert Wuestenhagen (men's soccer) helped facilitate this vision and the success continued with 146 brave visitors this Sunday. The "Haunted Ravine" was held from 5:30-6:30 for children and then for adults from 7:00-9:00. SAAC looks forward to hosting this event again next year!
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Northland College Inter-squad Game

After a big week of practice, hockey is officially in full swing here at Northland. Last night we had our annual Blue vs. White inter-squad game after a full day of volunteering for Ashland's Youth Hockey Day. It was a great game that gave us the opportunity to form a little more chemistry within the lines. Our pace was high considering the shortened bench on both sides and the compete level was definitely there was well. Overall the team looks great, our passes are clicking, the systems are working smooth and the entire team is buying into working hard this upcoming year. I am looking forward to this week of practice as we prepare for Adrian this Friday and Saturday!

Chance Creger: Ashland Youth Hockey Coaching

This last week Northland College Hockey had the opportunity to coach the U8 and U12 teams from the local youth hockey program in town. Being involved with the community here in Ashland and continuing to coach while I'm at college was something I wanted to do as soon as I committed here. Hockey here in Ashland really is a community effort, kids from the U8s receive donated gear so that they can try hockey without making a huge financial commitment. This is a great opportunity for our team and being able to coach young kids is always enjoyable. The camp will continue to throughout the month on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the Defense and Forwards will trade off weeks so the whole team can participate.

The chemistry of the team is really coming together, its great to get to know the guys in the classroom along with at the rink and gym. Captain Skates and Morning Workouts started this past week and are going really well. I have been able to knock some of the rust off and continue preparing for the season. Our first game will be on October 31st at Adrian.

Chance Creger: Northland College Commitment

In the recent weeks there has been some major changes in my plans for college this semester. Unfortunately my hopes to attend MSOE were smothered after receiving a sub-par amount of financial aid. The plan had been to do participate in ROTC under a scholarship, in order to make up for the extra tuition that I needed for MSOE. Although the engineering program is one of the best in the country, the amount of debt that I would have accumulated over the four years would not have weighed even with the degree I received. My attention quickly shifted to find another path with either another D3 school or with professional hockey. I contacted Derek Armstrong, President of the Denver Cutthroats, in order to make plans to attend the Cutthroats Open Camp. Unfortunately with the folding of the Cutthroats I was unable to attend the open tryout.

During this time, one of my good friends and former teammates Dax Deadrick had come down to Colorado to train for the week. Fresh off a commitment to Northland College, he had sparked my interest in the hockey program and I sent in my application. Shortly after, Dax passed on my contact information and I was contacted by the Head Coach of Northland College, Seamus Gregory. Coach Gregory expressed heavy interest in having me join the program over at Northland which was beginning the first year of a rebuilding process. I went through the admissions and was awarded a substantial Academic Scholarship which cut the tuition to a more reasonable amount. I committed to Northland College shortly after and continued to train for the remainder of the summer to prepare for the upcoming season. I am extremely excited to be apart of the team here at Northland College and will continue to train heavily until tryouts in mid-October. I have just arrived for orientation today and will begin classes September 3rd.

Kenny McCudden Camp

It has been a very busy off-season this summer! This past week I had another great opportunity to coach at the Kenny McCudden camp at boulder for the second year in a row. My family hosted two Chicago players once again which is always a pleasure. One of the two Jacob McGlynn (White Center in Picture), stayed with us last year. He has improved tremendously and will be playing for Chicago Fury AAA next season. My youngest brother, Cole(22 white in picture) was also able to participate in the camp this year and will be playing U14 AAA for the RM Roughriders this upcoming season. Both Jacob and Cole won the "Kenny Cup" awarded to four players who showed the most tenacity, best work ethic, and overall skill in the week long camp. They will have their names engraved on the cup and I could not be more proud of both of them. 

Although this week was much more focused on my coaching, it was a fantastic learning experience to increase my overall knowledge of the game. I spent the week assisting at Stations with Kenny McCudden, Chris Lockrem and Paul Gylnn. All three are tremendous coaches and listening to how they presented skill work to players will absolutely aid in both my playing and coaching. It was an awesome experience and I hope to be able to participate in the camp again next year in Chicago! During Friday's game I was asked to referee the game for the kids, needless to say that will be one side of Hockey that I never wish to pursue. 

This off-season I have been very focused on both off and on ice training. I will be going into next season much stronger and weighing between 210 and 215. Also I am participating in the Denver Cutthroats Open Tryout August 22nd-24th! It should be a perfect opportunity to showcase my skill in a professional atmosphere and gear up for next season.