Three Stars: July 2-8

3. SCSU hockey lands recruit Tedesco with ... the logo
(sctimes.com)

Toronto Lakeshore (OJHL) forward Dan Tedesco has chosen St. Cloud State over Penn State (as well as RIT and Sacred Heart).

It sounds like the St. Cloud State men’s hockey coaching staff had Daniel Tedesco with the logo.

The school’s logo shares similarities with the one used by the Montreal Canadiens. Despite living in the Toronto suburb of Maple, Tedesco’s family is has an affinity for the NHL team that has a big ‘C’ on its jersey.

“Our family is big Montreal Canadiens fans and as soon as I saw the (‘ST’ surrounded by a capital ‘C’ logo), I saw it as a sign that it was meant to be,” Tedesco said. “But I loved everything about the campus, the dorms, the rink improvements really impressed me. Every day we went by the rink, more walls were built up. It was exciting.”

I know of a school that also has a rink with more walls being built up every day. It has a nicer logo than SCSU too. Just saying. Fans of the school winning Tedesco's services, apparently, are displeased with the caliber of the programs recruiting him. I'm displeased with the caliber of program beating PSU for recruits, so call it even.

Anyway, Tedesco might still join the Huskies this coming season, depending on how things shake out with a couple of serious injuries to their forwards. If not, he'll go back to the OJHL for another year.

2. 150 Miles for a Cure...
(nationalmssociety.org)

Women's assistant coach Casey McCullion is new to Penn State, but apparently not to being a Penn Stater, as she's participating in a bike ride for MS on September 29th and 30th. In her words:

I've registered for Bike MS because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed, including my friend from Holy Cross (and riding buddy) who lives with MS every day. I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Just as I did last year, I am dedicating my ride to him and hope that he will be able to join me (even if it's just for a few training rides)! Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

This year I am going to take on the two-day challenge - 75 miles each way - a minor challenge compared to those fighting this disease. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from Bike MS to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to Bike MS, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."

If you're able, please consider supporting her in this most worthy endeavor.

1. @KPegula
(Twiter)

Here's your "billionaires are people too" moment for the week. Kelly Pegula tweeted the above picture on Thursday, captioned "My dad playing NHL..." If it's some kind of special team owner release of NHL 13 (available to us peons on September 11th), I don't want to know about it.

What I do want to know: how many of Darcy Regier's decisions he reverses in Be a GM. That would be juicy. Probably a lot.

Best of the Rest

Crawford Architects
(Facebook)

The PIA architects presented Joe Battista with what they called the "Project Passion Award," really just a custom bobblehead of the hockey czar, complete with his playing days afro swag.

I should note that the bobblehead is wearing a jersey different from anything that the Icers or the 1940s varsity team ever used (it does admittedly look similar to the last Icers jersey, minus the words "Penn State"). The smart half of my brain says that architects aren't in the leaking jersey design business, and that they probably just slapped a PSU logo on the front of a generic blue and white sweater...although it does bear an uncanny resemblance to a possible reverse design of this:

Hey, I'm not doing my job if I don't point these things out...

W 2012-2013 Schedule
(Thank You Terry)

On Friday, the women's team Twitter revealed the game times for the December 7th-8th series at St. Lawrence (7:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.) and the February 22nd-23rd series at Robert Morris (7:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.). A quick check of the CHA website reveals that the January 25th-26th series at Syracuse had already been set for 7:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., meaning that all regular season game times for the women's team are now finalized.

Apologies for the self-linkage - the schedule on GoPSUSports.com was not updated for those three series as of the time this post went up.

2012 Golf Tournament
(Google Documents)

It sounds like the Icer Open is joining "attack the scoreboard end twice" on the list of Icers-era traditions relegated to the scrap heap as this year's tournament has been cancelled. While administration does plan to bring back a golf tournament in 2013, it will be part of a "Hockey Valley Weekend Experience" (your guess is as good as mine on that one) and will undoubtedly have a new name.

Also buried in the document: single-game tickets will be limited to a "limited number" of reserved seats, plus 300 standing room tickets. Of course, why stress over that when five-game packages - which cost all of $55 and include priority at the Pegula Ice Arena - still aren't sold out?

Would you send your son to Penn State?
(fairfaxunderground.com)

I suppose this was inevitable, but...

My son is a hockey prospect who is being recruited by several schools including Penn State. Given all of the other available opportunities, it seems pointless to even consider PSU.

Not that I really follow it, but from what I understand, recruiting for PSU football is going pretty well, and that particular program is obviously more directly tied in with current events. If they're surviving, I imagine this to be an isolated incident, and Guy Gadowsky confirmed that recruiting hasn't been an issue on Saturday. Wait, why is it pointless to consider PSU again? Worried about the negative association with the name of the school on the degree? That's fair, and admittedly a concern of mine as an alumnus...

It's really about the fact that since this story broke, it seems there was a great deal of institutional tolerance of Sandusky's crimes.

Oh okay...yeah, a few individuals is just like "a great deal of institutional tolerance." I hope you and your duster kid go somewhere else. Don't need anyone with your genes - or someone so weak-minded that daddy has to hit the message boards to pick a school for him - dragging the team APR down.

@NAIHockey/@KPegula
(Twitter)

KPeg makes a second appearance in this post. Why? For completely owning the NAIH, which is really representing itself as a professional, well-run organization in trying to...trying to what, exactly?

Kelly: Hey dad, something called NAIH said you should fire the whole scouting staff on Twitter.
Terry: NAIH?
Kelly: Yeah, I don't know what that is.
Terry: Well regardless, brilliant idea. I'll get on that as soon as I'm done unloading Derek Roy on Chel. Man it feels good to finally do that.

Seriously, that has to be pretty damn annoying. I saw her use that reply to someone else trying to suggest the Sabres go after Gabriel Landeskog (personal opinion: they should also trade Andrej Sekera and a first rounder to Edmonton for Hall, RNH and Nail's rights). Probably the best way to handle it.

Trouba sticks with word, will play for Michigan in fall
(The Michigan Daily)

Highly-touted 2012 Michigan commit Jacob Trouba, the ninth overall pick in last month's NHL Entry Draft by Winnipeg, was involved in quite a saga last week. First, the Daily, citing anonymous Ontario Hockey League sources, reported that there was only a 50-50 chance that Trouba will end up at Michigan. Then last Monday, citing a diffent OHL source, the paper said that the Kitchener Rangers offered Trouba $200,000 to break his pledge to the Wolverines. The story quickly escalated to the point that the Trouba family felt as if it had to issue a statement reaffirming his plans to head to Ann Arbor in the fall.

Rule number one when dealing with major junior: it's never over. That said, if Trouba does stick with the college route, I don't mind calling him one of my favorite players despite his choice of school. Kid's good enough that he may never face Penn State anyway, as he realistically could be a Jet by 2013.

Those people on the roller coaster aren't even looking. I'd look.

Hersheypark Arena Fire Contained; Roof Damage Should Be 'Easy To Repair'
(Broad Street Hockey)

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire...fortunately on Thursday, they did get some water and did not let the motherf***er burn.

Hersheypark Arena is best known as the former home of the Hershey Bears, and many also know it as the edifice where Wilt Chamberlain dropped his NBA-record 100 points in a game. Some two decades before that though, it was the frequent home of Penn State hockey. What was then called Hershey Sports Arena hosted eight of 26 games played by the 1940-1947 varsity team with known locations (of 29 overall), and 16 of 43 with known locations (of 46 overall) when counting the unofficial teams that preceded the varsity years. Even without a Penn State team gracing the ice there since December 5, 1984, Hersheypark Arena probably still ranks in the top ten venues played by PSU hockey teams (just an educated guess - no way I'm taking on that project right now). Also, Mark Scally became the only Icer to ever start an NHL preseason game there. More on that later this week, I hope.

Basically, as a history geek and someone that appreciates one of the last true hockey barns still standing, I'm glad it's okay.

Expert says sanctions unlikely for Penn State

Penn State could pay tens of millions in Jerry Sandusky scandal fallout
(Centre Daily Times)

A couple of CDT items to close things out here, as well as follow up on Friday's post relating The Scandal to hockey. I know that the CDT is paywalling now - I'm still under my 15 pageviews per month limit for out-of-towners, fortunately, but that's why one of the articles is linked from a non-CDT site, in case you were wondering - so essentially:

1. A former NCAA infractions committee chair says that the association shouldn't punish PSU beyond what the legal system provides. He cites the idea that it's outside of the NCAA's scope and also argues that piling NCAA sanctions on to everything else would be "like shooting road kill." Great.
2. Penn State does, as mentioned in the comments to the TYT post, have liability insurance to pay Jerry Sandusky's victims. However, the insurer is apparently resisting payment of costs in at least one case and the amount of the school's coverage is unknown. A more sarcastic "great" fits here.
3. Anything beyond what insurance covers will be paid by interest revenues from loans given to PSU's self-supporting units. Since athletics is one of those self-supporting units, it seems as if its budget will remain safe from that specific expense, beyond the interest it was already paying anyway. Back to straightforward "great."

I think we're safe removing the direct legal costs from the "how does this affect hockey" equation, and I mentioned in the post that I haven't observed effects on operations (including recruiting, for example, despite the link above). That leaves the possible damages to hockey at a) A financial ripple effect from damage done to the football program, likely through lost ticket sales/donations, or possibly sanctions; b) NCAA or Big Ten sanctions that do something beyond simply bludgeon the football program and involve the entire athletic department. And of those, b) seems like a pretty remote possibility right now and a) will be impossible to fully assess for a while. There's also the matter of those $10-15 million surpluses that have been stashed away somewhere for a few years now. I'm not quite ready to start yelling "SUCK IT HATERZ!!!" but I am feeling a little better about my Penn State-affiliated distraction from Penn State than I was even a couple days ago.