Monday, June 18, 2012

Three Stars: June 11-17


3. Black Hawks accept invite to Junior World Cup
(wcfcourier.com)

2013 G Eamon McAdam's team will represent the U.S. in the second-ever Junior World Cup August 18-26 in Omsk, Russia. The tournament, won by Krasnaya Armiya of Moscow last year, features teams from ten countries split into two groups, with the top two following an intra-group round robin advancing to the semifinals. Canada, incidentally, will be represented at the World Cup by the OHL's Sudbury Wolves. Unfortunately, they're not in Waterloo's pool, meaning that somewhere, USHL commissioner Skip Prince is considering human sacrifice to get both teams to the semifinals.

On a more serious note, it should be a nice opportunity to get an early look at McAdam (who is the most experienced returning goalie for the Black Hawks) against top-shelf competition.

2. Pine Creek grad assumes big leadership role at Penn State
(Paisley Hockey)

Women's captain Taylor Gross gets some nice run from veteran college hockey scribe Joe Paisley. And she sounds ready to run show on the CHA.
“Even if I was not captain, I would still need to be a leader because of my Division I experience on a team with a lot of freshmen,” [Gross] said. “But, I think we will surprise some people. We will be better than most people will expect.”
1. The Jersey Thread
(Pride of Pegula)

If you think about it, the revealing of Penn State's NCAA jerseys is really the only big thing left unannounced to this point, so why not hit the boards and engage in some pointless and ultimately futile (but fun) speculation about it?

The picture leading this post is the official TYT endorsement for the jersey design. For the home and away, I kept the lettering and numbering basic (because we are Penn State) and the striping single to mirror PSU's iconic football helmets, which hockey borrows as well. I didn't include the chipmunk anywhere, because I concluded that "PENN STATE" lettering has been more significant as an element of historic PSU hockey jerseys and adding a chipmunk would clutter things. That said, I would be open to using it as a shoulder patch or even in place of the front numbers, similar to the current jerseys. Or, you could even remove the last names and place a small chipmunk in that space, which would be pretty solid. Anyway the alternates, of course, are a nod to the jerseys of the first varsity team in 1940-1941:


Special thanks to PoP proprietor Aaron Griffin, who really deserves credit for the idea on the alternates, by the way.

If you want a better look, click here (after allowing me to remind you that I'm some random guy in Ohio with zero influence on the jersey design process). If you think you can do better, well that's what the thread is for.

Best of the Rest


Pegula Ice Arena Construction Photo Gallery
(statecollege.com)

Friend of TYT Ben Jones took some time off from covering the Jerry Sandusky trial to snap some PIA site pictures. He stole my thunder on that a little, but I'm not at all mad - I avoid Sandusky coverage as much as I possibly can (unfortunately - in this case - staying on top of PSU hockey news means I have to keep up with "general" PSU news outlets, so...), I can only imagine what it's like, for someone who cares at all about Penn State, to have to take a front-row seat to it as a job requirement. Taking a break to give some time to a positive story, yeah, I get that.

Anyway, they're from last Wednesday. And looking quite good.

Lions, and Dutchmen, and Bears! Oh my!
(Stack the Pads)

Be on the lookout for some great PSU coverage from StP, with special attention given to the goaltenders. I think it's axiomatic in the hockey world that non-goalies don't truly get goalies, so I'm looking forward to the insight.

Coaching veteran Guy Gadowsky to speak at Hockey Coaches Conference
(The Coaches Site)

I mentioned this in a Three Stars a couple weeks ago, but since the hosts actually sent me the press release, I'll give them one more go. I have no idea how they even know of TYT, but I'm honored to be considered that legitimate. Here's the canned quote on Gadowsky:
"Guy Gadowsky is one of the top amateur coaches in North America. He built both the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Princeton University Mens’ programs into National contenders; however, it’s his track record of developing his players on the ice and in the classroom which sets him apart." said Aaron Wilbur, managing director of the Coaches Site. "His contributions to grass roots hockey are immeasurable and we are excited to have him represent the NCAA and Penn State University."

@TheoFleury14
(Twitter)

Correction: Tim Curley, Gary Schultz and Graham Spanier allegedly (for the time being, that word still needs to be in there) tried to cover this up to protect there [sic] 51 million dollar a year profitable football program. I've never done 28 tons of blow over a decade and a half, but not surprisingly, it apparently affects your cognitive abilities.

I try to stay out of the whole thing as much as possible unless it touches the hockey program in some way (AD changes, Terry Pegula reaffirming his donation, etc.) and like I just mentioned, I don't envy those who don't have a choice in the matter. But a hockey hall of famer guy who could have been a hockey hall of famer, had he not trashed his career, tweeting about it is noteworthy, I guess.

Ohio State men's hockey schedule coming together for last CCHA season
(examiner.com)

Included for the fact that an Ohio State guy semi-admits to his program's weakness. There's something that doesn't happen very often. Well, it doesn't in football, but maybe it does it hockey. Going to have to play the "I'm still new here" card on that.
The format [for the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational] has not been decided but if it’s one where the winners advance to the title game then Robert Morris would likely select OSU for its first game based on Miami’s better record the past few seasons.

It’s unlikely the Buckeyes and Miami would want to face each other in a nonconference game unless some hardware was at stake.
So...RMU wouldn't pick Miami because OSU sucks more. They wouldn't pick PSU - which, it has to be said, sucks more than everyone as a new program until otherwise proven - because OSU would throw a hissyfit about playing Miami in a non-conference game. Hey, here's an idea: pick Miami anyway and give us PSU-OSU, RMU-Miami. Because pairwise credit is fun and everyone gets two games regardless. And because it's the best draw of any of the arrangements. And because RMU plays both PSU and OSU in December.

Wait, that's what the Target Center looks like?

NCHC believes its on target with tournament site
(Omaha World-Herald)

Since the NCHC hitting the Target Center in Minneapolis for their tournament (opposite the Big Ten in St. Paul) is old news now, I searched for, and found, an article with something more interesting than the typical write-up.
"I’m sure the Target Center is willing to go head-to-head with the Big Ten, based on the teams," [Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean] Blais said. "Obviously if Minnesota is playing (in St. Paul), they’ll sell it out. But if fans can’t get tickets to that, or — nothing against Penn State or Michigan or Michigan State or the Big Ten — if those teams are playing, I think they’ll want to see our tournament."
Two can play at that game, Deano. If North Dakota's out of the NCHC tournament, you're left with a choice of: a) two branch campuses, b) two MAC schools (and I love the MAC as a current student at a member school), c) two schools 900+ miles away and d) St. Cloud State in e) a facility that's almost universally seen as second-rate for hockey compared to the Big Ten's Xcel Energy Center. So good luck with that. The Big Ten, without Minnesota, still offers three all-time top ten men's hockey programs and five schools with universal brand recognition. And (including Minnesota again) the main campuses of two NCHC schools, although Nebraska doesn't sponsor hockey yet.

Actually, it is worth pointing out that the Big Ten's entire tournament will be played in St. Paul (or Detroit, in alternating years). In other words, Minnesota will have at least one game at the Xcel Energy Center every single year the tournament is there. North Dakota, on the other hand, will have to get through a best-of-three campus site first round to make it to Minny. They probably will most of the time, but hey, no guarantees when you've recruited the eight best hockey programs in the country into one conference.

Quick break while I finish laughing from typing that last sentence...

ND vote lets school scrap Fighting Sioux nickname
(Yahoo!)

I'm. So. Pumped. And no, it has nothing to do with my opinion of Native American mascots, the NCAA's rule on them or the larger social and political issues involved. I just hate North Dakota, so things that make them sad make me happy, simple as that. All of that said, this is The Story That Will Never Die (TM), so I'm not throwing the party until what's apparently a minority of the state's residents are unsuccessful in their next avenue of appeal, an attempt at a constitutional amendment.

Back at ya, buddy.

NCAA Sends North Dakota State's Championship Banner To Rival UND
(SB Nation Minnesota)

This isn't a hockey story, but it's hilarious. Fun fact: North Dakota State has more hockey national championships than North Dakota. 8-7.

Ice Hockey Will Host Delaware in Outdoor Game
(godutchmen.com)

Lebanon Valley College is taking on the defending ACHA national champs at Hersheypark Stadium on January 22nd, following an AHL outdoor game between Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the 20th. If LVC gets their team up to standard, it should be a great event.

23 comments:

  1. clearly you are a moron as NDSU has zero national hockey championships!!! they HAD a club team that was in the same sense as a beer league, NDSU will never have a real hockey team as they could never compete with UND.

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  2. I think you're the moron for not picking up on the sarcasm

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  3. And what a model athletic program Penn State has had the past year. Why don't you stop talking until your team actually starts playing hockey.

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  4. HAHAHAHA Without Nobody in Minnesota is gonna want to go watch Penn St, Michigan, Michigan St, or Ohio St. when they can go watch teams from their own state like Duluth or St.Cloud, but oh they are just tiny little schools who wants to watch them except in terms of hockey they're both more known then half the B1G. Love the fact that you hate UND because thats what losers do, hate them cause you ain't them. Thats when you know you're a big time program because you're hated by some but envied by all. I almost forgot to mention your sites pathetic, Penn St will never be good at hockey, thanks for breaking up the best hockey conference ever WCHA, NCHC>B1G hockey, and watch out for Sandusky. That is all douche.

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  5. penn state will be the osu in college hockey......meaning nobody cares about them...... good luck with your 2,000 fans cheering their team on.. scsu and umd have better programs than half the big ten league teams now... good luck loser. sandusky has ruin your football program too. wait and see....

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  6. Man, you guys really showed me...how completely accurate my preconceptions about you were. Thanks for taking the bait, I had fun today :)

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  7. Taking the bait?????

    I wouldn't say you were baiting UND fans/students/residents as much as (to keep the fishing metaphor going) dropping a stick of dynamite into the lake. You can't outright tell a group of people you hate them and call it "baiting."

    Pretty ridiculous to think you proved some point about ND fans when any person in the world, hockey fan or not, would react to someone saying they hated them and basically hoped bad things happened to them.

    Next time try saying something about how the new PSU hockey arena will be the nicest in the country bar none...I am sure that will get some over-reactive ND fans to your website and you will have achieved your goal in a much more subtle, non-offensive way.

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  8. According to your mouth-breathing friend Goon, nobody reads this blog, so I'm not sure I actually have any dynamite in my tackle box. Then again, maybe he's right since he's a nobody (no less so than I am - despite his bluster about pageviews and whatnot, he's still just another fanboy blogger out there in the ether) and you guys are all nameless, so...yeah, nobody.

    You guys are the ones who felt you had to play anonymous internet hero to someone who doesn't like you but who is ultimately harmless and just trolling. Surely this isn't the first time this has happened, since you guys aren't very likeable. Given recent events, both in and out of college hockey, PSU isn't exactly the textbook definition of well-liked, but I sleep just fine at night without unloading on everyone out there who doesn't like us. So yes, I view these comments more as you taking bait than as me forcing your hand (as with dynamite).

    Anyway, you're all ideal representatives of your school, and you DEFINITELY changed my mind about everything. Keep up the great work, and see you next time I dare to say that I don't like UND.

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  9. The analogy to fishing with dynamite, like much of the other posts from anonymous commenters on here, is nonsensical. I am a fan of a successful and storied program from the East Coast. The program has unparalleled success within its conference and respectable success on the national stage, much like North Dakota. Fans of opposing teams within and without the conference comment frequently how they hate the program or revel in anything that causes the program difficulty. There are the inane comments that referees support us, that we play crookedly, or that we're overly arrogant. Guess what? People say those things about both the Sioux and my team. You know what? My college hockey fanbase does not have the reputation of appearing on fora, including blogs and news articles, about other conferences or programs, and insulting them like Sioux fans do. Sioux fans are notorious for this. Anonymous 6 implies this with his comment that much less than avowed hatred would prompt hysteric and disproportionate comments from Sioux fans on this post.

    Kyle does not hate you for your success (get over yourselves on that, really, congratulations, you're more successful than a team that has not played one game at the NCAA Division I level; huge accomplishment!). He dislikes you for the reputation that your fans have. A reputation that most of the anonymous posts have proven correct. Some in the college hockey world hate the Sioux for their success. Kyle's comment is directed at a specific and experienced reputation of your fanbase.

    Anonymous 4 is wrong on the jealousy count, but he is also wrong about the NCHC being better than Big Ten Hockey. Do you know the record of North Dakota against programs that will be in the Big Ten? The record is 305-299-31 in favor of the Big Ten. That's a losing record. North Dakota has a lopsidedly losing record against Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. North Dakota's last national championship? 2000. Last team from what will be the Big Ten Hockey Conference to win a national championship? 2006. How many programs from what will be the NCHC made the 2012 Frozen Four? 0. Future members of the Big Ten Hockey Conference? 1. I can see the clear superiority of the future NCHC and North Dakota.

    Sure, you guys like to invoke Minnesota-Duluth, a future member of the NCHC to bolster the respectability of your future conference. Yes, they won a national championship in 2011. Ever been to a game in Duluth? They have a beautiful chant for you guys. Last time I checked, chanting "small-pox blankets" at a team with an American Indian mascot was racist. Well, I guess if you want to rely upon Minnesota-Duluth to prop up your future conference, you must be fine with their program and the conduct of their fans. So, you must be fine with racism. I think this is quite a revelatory realization...

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  10. OSU-PSU and MIA-RMU would definitely make the most sense. Like you say, Robert Morris is already playing Penn State and Ohio State in December. Also OSU is playing Miami in their last series before the Christmas break so it would be kind of bizarre for them to play each other the first game back too. (Not that there's any guarantee of common sense in NCAA hockey.)

    Just my opinion, but I don't think Robert Morris has to be all that concerned about finding a beatable opponent. In the last three seasons they're something like a combined 3-1 against OSU and Miami.

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    1. I want to see PSU vs Miami. Miami already has 4 games scheduled against OSU and I do not care much about RMU (no disrespect intended). I am planning on making the trip, and I would rather see Miami play PSU. Miami is going to be extremely young next year, so I think their games will be competitive, regardless of who they play. As a PSU alum and former Icers season ticket holder, I would love to see PSU play Miami (I am a current Miami season ticket holder).

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  11. @Anon 11:15

    The original comments say nothing about North Dakota's hockey team...he says he hates North Dakota, and then goes on to discuss a political issue that doesn't really have much to do with the actual hockey team aside from what logo is ont heir jersey. This would be an entirely different agrument if he said he hated ND's hockey team and wanted them to lose. That would be trolling, but to say he hates an entire state of people on a hockey blog is a bit ridiulous. I mean do any of you actually personally know anyone from ND?

    Kyle:

    Stick to hockey and not stupid nicknames like "mouth breather." My 14 year old cousin has even quit using that one. Also I know ND is small but just because Goon is an ND blogger does not mean he is my "friend" or represents eveyone in ND.

    I just don't get why you're so mad bro? Should be the best time of your life right now with PSU making the D1 jump and you are wasting your time calling people names and and practicing xenophobia.

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  12. Last guy:

    Thanks for the semi-civility - I'll respond in kind.

    Do you really think I'm talking about the entire state of North Dakota? Come on. The guy you answered has it exactly right, as far as my attitude. I'm probably one of the least xenophobic fans out there. Pre-PSU, I had about 10 favorite teams and still, generally, talk about everyone with great respect, even the AHA teams. I called North Dakota (along with Boston College) the most consistently excellent program in the country on this blog at one time. If you read between the lines of the NCHC entry, I'm showing ND a pretty good amount of deference there as well.

    Did you really just try to "U MAD BRO?" me? Wow. Let's see: *I* said I don't like North Dakota in a weekly post where I say things like that (See my comments about Theo Fleury in this same post - this blog tends to be more matter-of-fact most of the time, but I set aside Three Stars to act like an internet troll once a week if I feel like it. My prerogative.). I've been composed throughout. You guys, assuming you aren't regular readers since I don't have those, had to charge over here to put a fairly unimportant guy in his place while sounding like lunatics in the process. Shouldn't you save some of that for the NCAA or whichever of the Sioux tribes refused to vote on the name?

    Truth be told, I AM having the time of my life. I've dreamt about this for a long time. The college hockey community has been fantastic with rare exception, and those rare exceptions tend to wear the same colors, with no nickname. Discussions with other college hockey fans confirm that I'm not jumping to conclusions based on a sampling error, either.

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  13. And you managed to make all of those points without even bringing up that Ralph Englested was a big ol' racist.

    The idiots from North Dakota trolling here - and I don't believe they're especially representative of all UND fans, but are a vocal subset of those fans - are among a group of haters that are apparently so insecure about themselves or their favorite team that they believe it's an afront to decency that another university would chose to participate in "their" sport. Get over your bad selves. Or are you afraid that when us Eastern city folk get involved that you'll no longer be the big fish in the small pond? A real hockey fan would be excited about the growth of the sport, not being so precious about it like an obnoxious hipster who's mad that their favorite indy band has now "sold out" by playing venues larger than 100. Grow up.

    It's not really much of an insult to us to say "only 2000 people care about Penn State hockey." Even if that's true (it isn't) we're quite proud of those 2000. If you had ever been to The Greenberg Ice Pavilion (or, more to the point, smelled it) or understood the obstacles the program has had to overcome over many many years to get this far, you might understand that we are just as passionate, if not more so, than your 200,000 fans (est) who have become accustomed to world class comfort and plenty of funding and easy access to recruits from Shatuck-St Mary's Hockey Factory, Inc. (I could point out that the reason the Ralph sells out 12,000 consistently is more because there's nothing else to do in Grand Forks in the winter, but that would be beneath the class and dignity of PSU fans.) Or do you think that somehow being part of something "popular" makes you cool? Are you in 6th grade?

    And the ACHA, which NDSU used to be very good in, is not a "beer league" and Penn State - especially Joe Batista - is a big reason why it isn't and why it's helped grow the game outside of your precious prarie hockey hotbed into places like Oklahoma and Arizona and Florida. You're just exposing your ignorance.

    BTW, whatever happened to NDSU hockey? They used to be an ACHA powerhouse but have fallen off the radar.



    Theo Fleury is just ignorant of the facts, which isn't surprising given that most of the mass media, especially ESPN and the cable news networks, have spread mostly lies and misinformation about this situation. The reality of it is horrible enough as is without all of their lies on top of it. I could explain more in detail, but this is not the forum for that and I'm tired of doing that anyway.

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  14. "The record is 305-299-31 in favor of the Big Ten" You mean the big five until next season when they become the big six right.
    From the UND SID who is impechable and a stats guru http://www.fightingsioux.com/fls/13500/pdf/2011-12/2011-12_MHKY_guide.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=13500

    The actual record is 295-299-31 also UND has owned MSU and has a 62-36-2 record. On the flip side of the equation Wisconsin is 62-84-11... So what the big six has won four more games against UND.

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    1. My numbers are accurate. It is your guide that is wrong. For example, your guide mentions the North Dakota-Michigan record as 40-46-4. They have omitted conveniently a loss. The real record is 47-40-4 in favor of Michigan. The last game, according to the guide, between the two teams was March 24, 2007. However, that neglects to include the April 7, 2011 Frozen Four game between Michigan and North Dakota that Michigan won 2-0. The Michigan State and Ohio State records are the only two records that are recorded accurately. The recorded number for the series with Minnesota is off by three Minnesota wins and two North Dakota wins. The Wisconsin record reported is off by two Wisconsin wins and two North Dakota wins. Do I need to waste my time to find where your guide omits those results? I do not feel like engaging in that mind-numbingly tedious task, but having proven that your guide is flawed, I know easily that the error lies not with my calculation, but with your media guide. You should be proud of yourself, you gave us another reason to disrespect your fanbase. Your fans drone on and on about your history, but you care not enough to even record it accurately.

      Haha you're so clever. That joke about the Big Ten having twelve members in football and six in hockey is so original and inventive. I know that you cannot conceive of a college athletic conference that cares about the academic integrity of its institutions and the athletic programs of its institutions; a college athletic conference that is tied together by shared culture, principles, and history. That's why your fans are so amusing when you mock the Big Ten and Ivy League, conferences with those values, because your fanbase cannot conceive of a university association that has ties that run that deeply through the ethos of the institutions that belong to it. So, yes, it is the Big Ten Hockey Conference because it is part of the Big Ten, the name invokes a cultural ethic, not a quantitative description of its membership.

      Also, Sioux fans who think that their program is the greatest, why do you bother yourselves with trolling a blog that dedicates itself to a program that has not even dropped the puck on its first NCAA Division I game? I am curious how many Yankees fans troll Cubs fora. Not too many. If you think that your program is far above another, why waste your time with the perceived lesser team's fora or its fans? The answer is one of two options. One, you have to berate other programs because you realize that yours is not that good anymore. Two, you have nothing better to do with your time or your lives. Only you guys know the answer.

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    2. Actually, the solution for the error in the data is far easier than I had thought initially. The record book you provided and the all-time recorded your calculated omit the results from the 2011-12 season itself. North Dakota had a record of 2-4-0 against Minnesota and a 2-2-0 record against Wisconsin during the 2011-12 season. However, that does not account for the lack of one Minnesota win. There is still something off with the record book. I have brought the two in accord as best that I can and as far as I am willing to dedicate my time. The record keeping is not as bad as I implied initially, but there are errors. The omission of the 2011 Frozen Four loss to Michigan is very suspicious in itself.

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  15. ANON - I am not so sure you want to beat your chest too much about Michigan and UND, the Fighting Sioux have gone 4-2-1 against Michigan since the 1998 season so I am not sure you have much to beat your chest about. Also, when it matters the most UND is 3-0 and 2-0 respectively against Michigan State and Wisconsin during the NCAA playoffs.

    3-28-98 A L 3-4 NCAA
    10-7-00 A T 5-5 ot
    12-28-01 N W 5-4 ot
    10-12-02 N W 5-4 ot
    3-24-06 H W 5-1 NCAA
    3-24-07 N W 8-5 NCAA
    4-07-11 N L 0-2 NCAA
    With a quick check into the histories, UND is 2-2 against UMN and 2-2 against Michigan in the NCAA tourney means both programs have been pretty even when it mattered the most.

    Lastly, I think that all realized that UND versus the B1G has many twists to the story - we can spin the numbers any way we can to make our causes look better. Also, it's too long before the College hockey season begins again.

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  16. I posted the schedule of the UND and Michigan games since 1998 so you can see what I am talking about.

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  17. All this speculation about which hockey conference (B1G or NCHC) is better is pretty silly. We really won't know until the leagues start to play. To be honest, right now it really doesn't matter. Hockey East is the strongest conference. Period.

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  18. It comes and goes. A few years ago, the WCHA was the best. Now it's HE.

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