Tryouts Done - Team Takes Shape   The Yellowjackets, and the rest of their Division III brethren, opened their official practices this week.  With the common start date of October 15, it means that there is just over two weeks between day one and the drop of the puck on the season.  It also means that there is a lot to accomplish in a short time, including trimming the number of players in camp and coming up with a roster for the year.  After three days of practices and scrimmages, the 'Jackets have done that. There are changes galore on the roster after the departure of players due to graduation et al.  So new faces can be seen in goal, on defense and up front. To open the year, the 'Jackets will carry four goaltenders.  Returning veteran Mike Rosett (Sr. Anchorage, Alaska) will be joined by transfers Jim Patterson (Jr. Kamloops, British Columbia) and Bryan Dalbec (So. Superior, Wisconsin) and newcomer Garrett Tinkham (Fr. Paradise, Texas).  Who will carry the workload in goal remains to be seen, but there should be no shortage of competition for playing time between the pipes. "Competition is a good thing.  We asked these guys if they wanted a full-blown competition to see who would make this team and they did.  It has carried through tryouts and will carry into the season," said Yellowjacket Head Coach Dan Stauber.  "Some teams don't like to carry four goaltenders, and obviously you can't dress them all every game.  But things are still wide open and we will let them continue to play this out as we get closer to our season opener." Change has come on the blue line as well.  This season the 'Jackets will carry seven defensemen.  Four veterans return, led by a trio of seniors - Art Clark (Sr. Bloomington, Minnesota), Josh Seifert (Sr. Superior, Wisconsin) and co-captain Brian Bina (Sr. Grand Forks, North Dakota) - all of whom have played significant minutes since their arrival.  The other returning veteran is John Dvorak (Jr. Grand Forks, North Dakota).  "We're confident that these four guys will give us a great base on the blue line and will help the young guys come along over the course of the season," Stauber said. Three newcomers will also vie for playing time - Chad Blanleil (Fr. Kelowna, British Columbia), Casey Dion (Fr. Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Derek Stauber (Fr. Duluth, Minnesota).  Blanleil and Dion are coming off of junior careers that saw each of them put up six goals and 21 points in their final season.  Stauber will be looking to make a quick adjustment from the high school game to the college game, as he has no junior hockey experience. "All of these guys bring something different to the table for us.  All of them will contribute.  We expect them to contribute, to play solid defensive hockey every night,  Stauber said.  "We expect the veterans to lead and play like veterans.  We expect the freshmen to come along and do it quickly.  Defense is traditionally the toughest position to make the jump, so the veterans will have to help these young guys adjust." One thing that can derail any team on a quest for a championship is injuries.  With just seven defensemen, the 'Jackets are sacrificing some depth on the blue line this season. "You can't worry about injuries.  You have to worry about the things that you can control, and for us that's making sure we work with these guys and have them ready to play every night.  We can't play the 'what if' game and try to play on what we'll do if someone gets hurt," Stauber said. Another luxury the 'Jackets no longer have is the versatility of Ryan Kuntz.  Kuntz, who graduated after last season, was a player that could be plugged in at any forward position or on the blue line.  Sometimes he played all those positions in the same game.  With him on the roster, the 'Jackets could carry seven defensemen, knowing that if needed they could also drop Kuntz back.  That, obviously, is not an option this time around. "We will miss having Ryan around for a number of reasons, but that definitely is one of them, Stauber said.  "Most of the time you dress six defensemen in a game, but we had seven when Ryan was playing forward and that helped us on more than one occasion.  We don't have that this year so our six that are in the game will be the six that are in the game." So it will be something old and something new on the 'Jacket blue line this season.  Hopefully the new can play as steady as the old from day one the departures from last season will not be given another thought. Up next: What's happenin' up front?