Union Series Confirmed, Schedule Shaping Up

Pete Sweetland and PSU will again try to shut down Union's Daniel Ciampini Thanksgiving weekend

The already-known series between Union and Penn State at Pegula Ice Arena, the return trip from last year's matchup in Schenectady, NY, has been set for Saturday, November 30th and Sunday, December 1st by Union's schedule release. As with all of the Nittany Lions' 2013-2014 contests so far, the game times are TBA.

The Dutchmen, of course, have emerged from 15 years of mediocrity following their elevation to NCAA Division I in 1991 to become one of college hockey's nouveau riche, first under Nate Leaman and now under Rick Bennett. Union has won the last two Whitelaw Cups (ECAC Tournament championships) and two of the last three Cleary Cups (ECAC regular season championships). The school famously rebooted as a DIII power by legendary Cornell and RPI coach Ned Harkness in 1975 has also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons, advancing to the 2012 Frozen Four.

Last year's 22-13-5 (10-8-4 ECAC) squad swept the Nittany Lions 2-0 and 4-1 on November 24th and 25th, 2012 at the Achilles Center's Messa Rink. Based on what we knew of Penn State's team at the time (in other words, PSU hadn't played Ohio State, Vermont, Michigan State and Wisconsin yet), the results were stunningly close, as both games included empty-netters by the Dutchmen and the second contest was 1-1 after 40 minutes, with David Glen - who else - accounting for the blue and white's goal. Flyers draft pick and World Junior Championships gold medalist Shayne Gostisbehere dropped a power play bomb early in the final stanza to break the deadlock.

Union is at an interesting stage in its program's development, one where it gets decided whether recent successes are an aberration or whether reloading and competing at the top of college hockey on a consistent basis is possible. Some key pieces from that Frozen Four team have begun to depart thanks to both graduation and the professional ranks - notably, in that latter category, 2012 Hobey Baker Award finalist and Academic All-American Troy Grosenick, who stopped 37 shots against PSU in the November 25th matchup and signed with the San Jose Sharks in April. Gostisbehere returns on defense, along with Mat Bodie, and guys like Daniel Carr, Josh Jooris, Max Novak and Daniel Ciampini are still around to score the goals.

Teams are allowed a maximum of 34 games by the NCAA (with certain games exempt from the total). With the Union series now known, PSU - which does not meet any exemption allowances so far beyond the fact that postseason games like the Big Ten Tournament don't count - has 27 games fully on the books. There are the 20 Big Ten games obviously, Union, the Pegula Ice Arena opener on October 11th against Army, the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff versus Vermont on October 26th, the November 8th game with Sacred Heart, and the Three Rivers Classic on December 27th and 28th including Boston College, Robert Morris and Bowling Green.

Seven other matches (two at Air Force, one at Robert Morris, and at home against Boston College, RIT and twice against UMass-Lowell) range from confirmed, just without a hard date, to rumor containing a fair amount of meat on the bones. Assuming they all materialize, Penn State's 2013-2014 opponents and locations are now entirely known. As always, check M Schedules/Results for the complete rundown.

PSU to Host Sacred Heart in November

UVM transfer Alex Vazzano will fortify SHU, which allowed more than five goals per game last year

Reciprocating an October 27, 2012 contest in Milford, CT that saw a 6-3 Nittany Lions win, Sacred Heart will visit Pegula Ice Arena on Friday, November 8th according to an official SHU schedule release. Game time is still TBA.

Following PSU's high-flying victory, which included six different players on the blue and white side of the scoresheet, the Pioneers went on to have a disastrous campaign - in fact they were winless in their first 28 games (0-26-2) before finally chipping off Holy Cross and Bentley in a four-day late season span on the way to a 2-30-4 (2-21-4 Atlantic Hockey) mark. Robert Morris dispatched SHU in two straight in the AHA playoffs to quickly and mercifully end their season.

If there is possible redemption for Sacred Heart in November, it rests in the idea that head coach C.J. Marottolo had a large senior class in 2012-2013, with nine departures from last season's 24-man roster. Not that the senior class was terrible - leading scorer Eric Delong and Kyle Verbeek, the son of NHL 500 goal scorer Pat Verbeek, were in that group - but when you're 2-30-4, a reboot can be a good thing. Notable newcomers include Alex Vazzano, a Vermont transfer who will attempt to stabilize the Pioneers' goaltending situation after serving his NCAA-required year in residence. SHU also brings in a massive freshman class that leans heavily on Canadian Junior A alumni like right wing Spencer Graboski, who teamed up with Penn State defenseman Dave Thompson for three seasons with the BCHL's Chilliwack Chiefs/Quesnel Millionaires franchise.

In terms of the big picture... well, we may now know the big picture. We have 20 Big Ten games, single games at home against Sacred Heart, Army, RIT and - maybe/hopefully - Boston College, as well as on the road against Robert Morris and in Philadelphia against Vermont. Toss in an away series with Air Force, the Three Rivers Classic, a home series versus Union and - again maybe/hopefully - with UMass-Lowell, and... guess what? That's 34 games, the maximum allowed by NCAA rules. The dates are still largely up in the air, but the opponents are now entirely known. Or I'll look like an idiot when the schedule is finally released. One or the other.

The single game on a Friday also leaves an obvious open question: what's happening on Saturday? Penn State football is on the road (at Minnesota) that day, so this isn't a single-game weekend aimed at ducking football, like the October 11th Friday-only PIA opener against Army preceding Bill O'Brien's squad's hosting Michigan on the 12th. There probably will be another hockey game on the 9th.

My first instinct was to check Boston College's schedule, but that seems like a non-starter. The Eagles have the 9th open, but play at Boston University on the 8th and host Army on the 10th. They're not likely to zoom into Hockey Valley on an off day (after playing their archrival) between games in Boston.

The other two possible stand-alone games are, like Sacred Heart, return trips from 2012-2013 games: home against RIT and at Robert Morris, a trip easily do-able as part of a back-to-back. Neither school has announced its schedule yet, and neither has any known games that weekend. It's probably not a reach to think one of those games will fall on that Saturday, and if I was a betting man, I'd lean towards RIT because the date more closely mirrors the Nittany Lions' 3-2 win over the Tigers on October 20, 2012. PSU played the Colonials at the Ice Pavilion on December 15th last season and still has the December 13th-15th weekend available this year.

McAdam Rated as Second-Rounder by ISS

In the 2013 version of its annual draft guide, released Monday night, International Scouting Services has named incoming freshman Eamon McAdam its third-ranked goalie ahead of next month's NHL Entry Draft.

Continuing that grand TYT tradition that involves me paying for stuff so you don't have to, here's what the guide had to say about McAdam. First, the overall goaltender rankings, then his detailed player capsule.

Second round? Not too shabby.

Average lateral movement might not matter when you can do this. Just saying.

McAdam, in case you're wondering why I talk about him so much, has a chance to hit a couple of significant milestones for Penn State's program. First off, his being chosen on June 30th at Newark, NJ's Prudential Center would make him the first-ever NHL selection of a PSU-affiliated player, as transfers Max Gardiner (2010, 3rd round/74th overall by St. Louis) and Pat Koudys (2011, 5th round/147th overall by Washington) were both tabbed while committed to their previous schools. Secondly, if ISS did all of the drafting - and remember, they do none of the drafting - McAdam would become the highest-picked player to suit up for the Nittany Lions.

The ISS list is one of three notable rankings that has attempted to slot McAdam in this year's draft. The Hockey Writers recently placed him as a fourth-round-worthy 113th overall, while NHL Central Scouting Services has him as the sixth-best North American goalie in their final ranking (over the last five years, that has meant anywhere from the third to the sixth round and the 77th to the 164th overall pick). McAdam, who is at the NHL Draft Combine in Toronto this week, missed out on The Hockey News' rankings, which only include their top 100 prospects.

Other players with PSU ties who have previously received draft consideration, Bo Pellah, Mike Williamson and Mark Yanis (a second-year eligible) among them, were not listed by ISS. While it's again important to note that ISS doesn't make the picks, it should be taken as another sign that in terms of Penn State interests for 2013's draft, it's starting to look like McAdam or bust.

Stacked NCAA Women's Schedule Announced

Hannah Hoenshell and the Nittany Lions once again host Mercyhurst on February 15th and 16th, 2014

Penn State has officially announced its second-ever NCAA women's slate, and the first at the Pegula Ice Arena. Without further delay, here it is (* denotes College Hockey America games):

Date	Time	Opponent	Location
Fri. Oct. 4	7:00 p.m.	at Vermont	Gutterson Fieldhouse // Burlington, VT
Sat. Oct. 5	3:00 p.m.	at Vermont	Gutterson Fieldhouse // Burlington, VT
Fri. Oct. 11	TBA	at Quinnipiac	TD Bank Sports Center // Hamden, CT
Sat. Oct. 12	TBA	at Quinnipiac	TD Bank Sports Center // Hamden, CT
Fri. Oct. 18	7:00 p.m.	Union	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Oct. 19	2:00 p.m.	Union	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Oct. 26	7:00 p.m.	New Hampshire	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Oct. 27	2:00 p.m.	New Hampshire	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Thu. Oct. 31	7:00 p.m.	Robert Morris*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Nov. 1	4:00 p.m.	Robert Morris*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Nov. 9	2:00 p.m.	Syracuse*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Nov. 10	2:00 p.m.	Syracuse*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Nov. 15	7:00 p.m.	at RIT*	Ritter Ice Arena // Henrietta, NY
Sat. Nov. 16	7:00 p.m.	at RIT*	Ritter Ice Arena // Henrietta, NY
Fri. Nov. 22	TBA	at Lindenwood*	Lindenwood Ice Arena // St. Charles, MO
Sat. Nov. 23	TBA	at Lindenwood*	Lindenwood Ice Arena // St. Charles, MO
Sat. Nov. 30	2:00 p.m.	Maine	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Dec. 6	3:00 p.m.	at Mercyhurst*	Mercyhurst Ice Center // Erie, PA
Sat. Dec. 7	2:00 p.m.	at Mercyhurst*	Mercyhurst Ice Center // Erie, PA
Fri. Jan. 3	7:00 p.m.	at Ohio State	OSU Ice Rink // Columbus, OH
Sat. Jan. 4	7:00 p.m.	at Ohio State	OSU Ice Rink // Columbus, OH
Fri. Jan. 10	7:00 p.m.	Colgate	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Jan. 11	2:00 p.m.	Colgate	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Jan. 24	TBA	at Syracuse*	Tennity Ice Pavilion // Syracuse, NY
Sat. Jan. 25	TBA	at Syracuse*	Tennity Ice Pavilion // Syracuse, NY
Tue. Jan. 28	7:00 p.m.	at Princeton	Hobey Baker Memorial Rink // Princeton, NJ
Fri. Jan. 31	7:00 p.m.	RIT*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 1	2:00 p.m.	RIT*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 8	2:00 p.m.	Lindenwood*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Feb. 9	2:00 p.m.	Lindenwood*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 15	2:00 p.m.	Mercyhurst*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Feb. 16	1:00 p.m.	Mercyhurst*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Feb. 21	TBA	at Robert Morris*	Island Sports Center // Neville Twp., PA
Sat. Feb. 22	TBA	at Robert Morris*	Island Sports Center // Neville Twp., PA

The CHA Tournament, once again, will be played entirely at campus sites. The sixth-place team and the fifth-place team will travel, respectively, to play the teams finishing third and fourth in the standings for a pair of best-of-three series over the February 28th through March 2nd weekend. The winners then will travel to the home of the CHA regular-season champion to meet the top two seeds for the semifinals (March 6th) and championship game (March 8th).

In a nice touch, a video was produced with head coach Josh Brandwene's comments concerning the schedule, so let's work that in here. Seriously, it's 3:16 long, not the usual throwaway for an occasion like this, so get on it.



The schedule takes on a decidedly streaky flavor, with an early eight-game homestand between October 18th and November 10th followed immediately by a run of eight away games in nine overall between November 15th and January 4th. The Nittany Lions will also play 60 percent of their CHA home games during a late-season stretch at the Pegula Ice Arena between January 31st and February 16th.

The 14 out-of-conference games show that, once and for all, the kid gloves are off - the likes of Division III Chatham and Division I (kind of) Sacred Heart have been replaced by a solid collection of Hockey East and ECAC schools like Quinnipiac, New Hampshire, Maine and Colgate. QU's women, much like their male counterparts, have enjoyed a rather quick ascendancy under head coach Rick Seeley. The Bobcats won just three times in 2008-2009, but haven't won fewer than 19 since then. A big part of that success has been senior forward Kelly Babstock, who scored 28 goals among her 55 points last season, good for 8th and 11th in the nation. New Hampshire finished an uncharacteristic 14-16-4 last season, but the 1998 AWCHA national champs remain a traditional power and feature sophomore defender Alexis Crossley, an all-Hockey East selection last season and a gold medalist with Team Canada at the 2012 Women's U18 World Championships.

Other Hockey East (Vermont) and ECAC (Union, Princeton) opponents will reprise their slots on last year's schedule. The Nittany Lions went 1-4-0 against that collection of teams in 2012-2013, with the win a historic 5-3 triumph at UVM last October 6th in the program's first NCAA game behind two Micayla Catanzariti goals. Union is also a notable opponent for the presence of star goalie Shenae Lundberg who, like Crossley, owns a gold medal from the Women's U18 World Championships (2011, Team USA) and who also played for PSU assistant Casey McCullion at Deerfield Academy in 2007-2008.

In her second straight season opener at UVM, Micayla Catanzariti will aim for a repeat of last year's win

Ohio State will become the first-ever WCHA opponent for the Nittany Lions, and of course is an exciting addition for that university's status as Penn State's biggest rival over the last couple decades. The Buckeyes - who interestingly enough, have been rumored to join the CHA off and on in the past - finished 19-15-3 last year and are decidedly on the rise under former Robert Morris coach Nate Handrahan. Perhaps even more impressively than any of their wins, OSU managed to hang within two goals of Minnesota on February 9th. The Gophers were undefeated (41-0-0) national champions last season, and featured Patty Kazmeier Award winner Amanda Kessel, so yeah, that's actually kind of good. Ohio State did register wins over titans Wisconsin (3-1 on November 17th) and North Dakota (5-3 on October 12th) and will certainly be one of the Nittany Lions' biggest tests to date.

CHA contests, of course, remain the bulk of the schedule, and after seeing the five league opponents for the first time last year, it's pretty safe to say that the conference is stronger than its ever been as it looks to gain an NCAA Tournament autobid for 2014-2015. Mercyhurst re-asserted itself as the dominant team by winning both the regular season and conference championships and adding their usual NCAA appearance in 2012-2013 after Robert Morris stunned the Lakers to win the CHA Tournament two seasons ago. Syracuse emerged as a top-tier team, finishing second in both the standings and the playoffs. Along with Penn State, RIT and Lindenwood joined up as part of their transitions to NCAA Division I and were both highly competitive. The Lions were particularly notable in that regard, as they suddenly started chipping off big victories over the second half of the season (a sweep of RMU and a win at Syracuse to name three) after a 10-44-1 start to their time in DI that included only three wins against DI competition.

Beyond the schedule, Penn State also reiterated ticket information for the inaugural Pegula Ice Arena season:

Tickets for the inaugural Pegula Ice Arena season can be purchased in a season ticket package ($50) for all 17 games or on a game day basis of $5 by calling 1-800-NITTANY (648-8269) or visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office.

Seating at Pegula Ice Arena will be general admission in the lower bowl. A Nittany Lion Club donation is not required for season tickets. Students will be free to all regular-season games, while men's hockey premium season ticket holders in the loge, club and suite levels will receive complimentary women's hockey season tickets.

I'll go ahead and say it: $50 for a front row seat (if you get there early enough, see the general admission thing) to Penn State's home schedule might be the best deal in sports.

Three Stars: May 20-26

Jerry York and his program, which has won three of the last six national titles, may be visiting PIA

3. 2013 NHL Draft Rankings – War Room May Edition (Round 4: 90-120)
(The Hockey Writers)

It's not all that common to find people with the knowledge and guts to rank NHL Entry Draft prospects beyond the first round, so full marks to THW for taking on that task. They have Eamon McAdam listed 113th ahead of the June 30th event, and also quoted a certain Penn State hockey blog in discussing him.

Yeah, okay, they misspelled my last name and put this site's URL down as "ThankYouTerryBlogspot.ca," but hey, at least the link works.

McAdam will be in Toronto for the NHL Scouting Combine all this week as he attempts to maximize his draft position.

2. Special look inside PSU's new hockey arena
(WJAC)

The latest best look at the Pegula Ice Arena came from WJAC last week.

One quick news item buried in the moving pictures: all 18 men's scholarships are fully endowed, according to Joe Battista. Put that together with the arena being completely paid off, ticket sales proceeding well and Big Ten Network money (even if it isn't $2 million), and I'm pretty confident in my admittedly revised opinion of Penn State hockey's finances.

1. The Hottest Ticket in Town is Going Fast! Get Them While You Can!
(statecollege.com)

I'm not sure why StateCollege.com compromises itself as a news gathering and reporting entity to let Battista write what is essentially a weekly advertisement for Penn State hockey, but I'm glad that they do.

The non-conference schedule features a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four! While I can’t tell you dates or exact teams, I will whet your appetite and toss you a hint on a featured game that will take place in Pegula Ice Arena this season. Think recent National Championship team from New England that Penn Stater’s will surely pack the arena to see as we “jump in to the deep end of the pool” in just year two of our NCAA College Hockey timeline.

Wow, okay.

Just to get the less surprising part of that out of the way, "a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four" could probably be considered more fuel for the fire that is the UMass-Lowell rumor, as the RiverHawks made it to Pittsburgh back in April. Vermont (which made the Frozen Four in 2009), RIT (2010), Union (2012) and Three Rivers Classic participant Boston College (2010 and 2012) have also participated in the season's final weekend within the last five years. Toss in conference opponents Wisconsin (2010), Michigan (2011) and Minnesota (2012), and that's an impressive collection of eight different Frozen Four teams of the 18 different programs qualifying since 2009.

On top of that, we have a home "game" against a "recent national championship team from New England." Recent is subjective, of course, but since 2000, the only winners from New England are Boston College (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012), Boston University (2009) and Yale (2013). Right off the top, we can chop BU from the list, as the Terriers have released a schedule that does not include Penn State. It's probably not Yale either, as the Ivy League schools limit themselves to a 29-game schedule and according to USCHO's 2013-14 Schedule Thread, the Bulldogs have 31 games (two are exemptions) already in for the coming year - although it should be noted that the Bulldogs haven't officially published anything yet.

So... Boston College. The Eagles haven't released their schedule either, but The Boston College Hockey Blog has most of it pieced together. However, there are only 33 games on BCHB's list, one under the non-Ivy limit of 34. So given Battista's parameters and what we know of the other teams fitting them, I have to think that BC is it. Jerry York's program has been the class of college hockey over the last decade, and Penn State could play them twice in year two. Deep end, here we come.

Just to sweep up before leaving, Battista also mentioned that the PIA opener against Army on October 11th against Army will be nationally televised and that season ticket deposits now top 3,400.

PS. The scheduling mentioned in this entry adds up to 13 non-conference games which, when adding in the 20 Big Ten contests, still puts Penn State one under 34. So there may be a surprise yet to come.

Best of the Rest

PSU hockey arena beginning to look like hockey arena
(Broad Street Hockey)

I want to preface this by saying that, issues with Black Shoe Diaries' Bill DiFilippo aside, I'm a huge fan of the SB Nation network. I consider myself an avid reader of five of its blogs and a frequent-ish reader of at least three others, Broad Street Hockey included. Both BSD and BSH have been very good to this blog in the past. I really like Travis Hughes as well, and consider him among the most intelligent and level-headed hockey writers out there today. He's generally a PSU-friendly guy, as demonstrated by the fact that this post exists. All of that said... WTF guy?

Philadelphia will host the 2014 Frozen Four. Chances of Penn State making it are very, very slim with what's expected to be another weak out-of-conference schedule and a very tough in-conference slate.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, here's what we know about the out-of-conference schedule: one game against Army to open the PIA, the game against Vermont in Philly, a Three Rivers Classic including Boston College (although I have to think that PSU will open against Robert Morris again as the powers that be try to cultivate that rivalry, with BC and Bowling Green in the other first-day game), an away series against Air Force, a game at RMU, a home series against Union and one PIA game against RIT. The rumor mill includes three possible home games against Boston College and UMass-Lowell, as noted above.

Is that appreciably different than Wisconsin's non-league schedule? The Badgers will play (all two-game series, unless noted) Northern Michigan, at Boston College (1), at Boston University (1), Lake Superior State, at Miami, Colorado College, Alabama-Huntsville and the biggest joke in college hockey right now, known to some as Alaska-Anchorage.

What about Ohio State? They have (again, two-game series unless noted) Miami (1), at Miami (1), Bowling Green (1), at Bowling Green (1), Robert Morris (1), at Robert Morris (1), Minnesota-Duluth, Niagara, Canisius and Mercyhurst. I'm biased, but I happen to think PSU's slate is significantly better.

Long story short, Penn State scheduled well enough that there's really no rational justification for saying that the Nittany Lions have "another weak out-of-conference schedule."

Oh yeah... the link also includes a couple of pretty cool GIFs of the PIA progress from beginning to now (which were actually the centerpiece of the thing, until an throwaway comment at the end set me off).

URI: No interest in varsity hockey
(Rhode Island Public Radio)

Confirming what I sort of suspected all along but didn't want to say out loud, Rhode Island's reported efforts at varsity hockey are apparently not taking place on an official level.

URI officials have no interest in upgrading the current program from club status to a varsity sport in either men’s or women’s hockey, says URI sports information director Mike Lepray. "We’re not pursuing adding either men’s or women’s hockey to varsity status."

St. Anselm, your move.

St. Anselm hockey eyes Division I
(New Hampshire Union Leader)

If the last article didn't erase all doubt concerning the most likely elevation candidate, this one will, with Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America commissioner Bob DeGregorio even admitting that the Hawks are the clubhouse leaders.

Chambers & O'Brien Pairing Highlights 17th Annual CVC Golf Tournament, May 31
(gopsusports.com)

Guy Gadowsky and Josh Brandwene will both play in Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer golf tournament on Friday. BUT WHO CARES OMG BILL O'BRIEN AND PAT CHAMBERS!!!

Yeah, I'm turning into "bitter hockey guy who resents that football and basketball get more attention," after swearing I wouldn't. If I ever start dropping "pointyball" and "bouncyball" (occasionally "squeakball") with regularity, you'll know that I'm all the way gone.

Stampede Name Head Coach to Lead the 2013-14 Campaign!
(The Junior Hockey News)

Now-former Ice Lions coach Matt Morrow won't be the only guy with Penn State ties coaching in the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League in 2013-2014. Gary Gill, who oversaw Penn State Berks' elevation to ACHA Division 1 in 2007-2008 after serving as an assistant in 2006-2007, is the new head coach of the Cheyenne Stampede. Gill departed Berks after just one season in charge, but thanks in part to his efforts the team saw immediate success at the D1 level, qualifying for the ACHA national championships in 2009.

Creek Lewis will look to move to 4-0 in his career against UMBC on December 8th

2013-14 Schedule
(umbcicehockey.com)

Speaking of the Ice Lions, we now know two of their games for the coming season, thanks to MACHA rival Maryland-Balitmore County putting out their schedule. The Retrievers will visit Pegula Ice Arena on Sunday, December 8th, with PSU hitting crab country on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Matchups between the two powers of ACHA Division 2's Southeast Region are always tremendous, so if you want to get out to see the Ice Lions, you could make a worse call than December 8th.

Other things revealed through the UMBC schedule: the MACHA playoffs will take place over the February 14-16, 2014 weekend, the ACHA's Southeast Regionals follow on the 22nd and 23rd, while the ACHA National Tournament (March 21-25, 2014) has been awarded to Marlborough, MA. Furthermore the MACHA, which lost East Carolina and Monmouth from its ranks after last season, appears as if it is dropping its divisional structure and operating as a single and stacked ten-team circuit (PSU, UMBC, Rider, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Rowan, St. Joseph's, Liberty, Delaware, Temple), with each team playing its nine opponents once at home and once on the road.

Brandywine Ice Hockey Honored at All Sports Banquet
(psubrandywineathletics.com)

PSU Brandywine's 25th annual all-sports banquet, which featured University Park athletic director Dave Joyner as a guest speaker, had some representation from the only commonwealth campus hockey team to qualify for ACHA Division 3 regionals last season: Drew Haber, Andrew Hieber, Francis Fourney and Joe Naselli were each recognized for their DVCHC all-conference selections.

@LetsPlay_Hockey
(Twitter)

Duluth East (MN) High School product Meirs Moore, a defenseman with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, committed to RPI last week after previously expressing interest in Penn State.

RIT's Ali Binnington: good at playing goalie, not an idiot

RIT women's hockey raises $5,939.86 to help "CURE Childhood Cancer"

Women's hockey goaltender Ali Binnington earns 2013 Co-SIDA/Capital One Academic All-Region honor
(ritathletics.com)

Congratulations to the Tigers, a CHA rival of the Nittany Lion women, on the nearly $6,000 generated by their Skate for the Cure event in February (the check was only recently presented to the target organization, which is why this is news now) as well as to goaltender Ali Binnington on becoming RIT's first academic all-region selection of their women's Division I era.

NCHC commissioner Scherr says link to European job ‘premature’
(USCHO)

Let's close this out by taking a second to laugh at the dustiest conference in the nation, which may end up needing to hire a second commissioner before its inaugural season.

Done? Okay, now back to figuring out whether "CBS Sports Network" is a real channel or something they made up.

Morrow Departs For Idaho

Ice Lions head coach Matt Morrow has accepted a full-time assistant coach position with the Western States Hockey League's Idaho Jr. Steelheads under head coach Kyle Grabowski, according to the Steelheads' website.

Morrow leaves Hockey Valley after two highly-successful years both with the ACHA Division 2 team and in Penn State's MBA program. In 2011-2012, as an assistant to Josh Hand, Morrow helped guide PSU to a stellar 30-3-0 record that included the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and playoff championships. The Ice Lions, helped by captain Jim Recupero and goaltender Tom Badali (both all-region selections) qualified for the 2012 ACHA national championships and posted shutouts in the first two games of the tournament, but fell to Grand Valley State in a contest for the right to advance to the semifinals. That defeat snapped an incredible 25-game winning streak spanning from October 21, 2011 until March 18, 2012.

Hand moved on to devote more of his time to the Nittany Lions' NCAA Division I team's goaltenders this past season, giving the reins of the Ice Lions to Morrow. PSU didn't skip a beat though, reloading its way to a 27-6-1 mark, including a perfect 10-0-0 in the MACHA's North Division. For the second consecutive season, Penn State finished the regular season as the second-ranked team in the ACHA's Southeast Region, earning an autobid to nationals. However, once there, the Ice Lions were unable to recover from an opening-game loss to eventual semifinalist Illinois State and again went home with a 2-1-0 record in the group stages of the tournament.

With the Jr. Steelheads, Morrow will be stepping into another organization that has done a bit of winning even though it was only established in 2009. Idaho has won the Thorne Cup as the champion of the Tier III Junior A WSHL in each of the last three seasons, and its most recent effort came after a 44-1-1 regular season. Last month, the team also added the Amateur Athletic Union and United Hockey Union national championships to its trophy case (in 2011, the WSHL made waves in the hockey world by leaving USA Hockey's umbrella and joining the AAU). Typically, the Jr. Steelheads send players to the Tier II North American Hockey League or directly to NCAA Division III, ACHA Division 1 and ACHA Division 2 programs. In 2012-2013, left wing Patrick Anderson became the first Idaho alumnus to join an NCAA Division I team, arriving at Michigan Tech after one season with the Jr. Steelheads and two in the NAHL.

Prior to his arrival at PSU, Morrow - a University of Miami graduate - spent three seasons assisting former NHL enforcer Peter Worrell with Florida Atlantic's ACHA Division 3 team and with North Broward (FL) Prep. With Morrow on the staff, North Broward won two state titles and appeared at the USA Hockey High School National Championships.

Three Stars: May 13-19

Billy Downey (left) and Guy Gadowsky (right) both earned stars this week. But not Bryce Johnson.

3. @Billy_Downey
(Twitter)

It wouldn't be Director of Hockey Ops Billy Downey's Twitter account if it wasn't dropping some nice insider photos on everyone with exciting regularity. Linked above: Pegula Ice Arena's RapidShot Training System (more or less exactly what you think it is - a way to practice shooting off the ice and with the aid of high-tech gadgetry), which was installed last week.

Another recent Downey tweet showed off the arena's scoreboard, which was lowered on Friday so that speakers could be installed.

2. 2013 Draft Blog: Eamon McAdam Pt.4
2013 ISS Draft Rankings: May
(The Pipeline Show)

Eamon McAdam (now that the incoming freshmen have all been formally introduced, I'm going to stop slapping "2013 recruit" in front of them) continues to be all systems go for the NHL Entry Draft in June. He's retained his number three ranking among draft-eligible goaltenders from ISS, and also penned a fourth blog entry for TPS in which he recaps the end of his junior career with the Waterloo Black Hawks while also looking ahead to his schedule over the next few weeks - the draft combine, tryouts for next year's World Junior Championships team and of course, the start of summer classes at Penn State.

1. Q&A with Guy Gadowsky
(Lions 247)

I'd encourage everyone to read Andrew Dzurita's interview with Guy Gadowsky, but it's behind a pay wall. So... what to do?

I've seen people reference rules related to copy/pasting excerpts of pay articles that permit doing it on a limited basis, but am ignorant as to any commonly-accepted specifics concerning word counts, percentages or content. Also, I subscribed to Lions 247 for the sole purpose of reading this one article (and as someone who knows myself well, I probably won't cancel until I'm broke). So with those two things in mind, I don't think I'm committing some gross blogger ethical violation in sharing three of the 13 questions Dzurita asked. I'll even toss in a plug: I think Lions 247 is easily the best of the major-network un-free Penn State sites, so if you're going to pay for one, make it that one. Particularly since the others never have much of anything about hockey.

Of course, I didn't select the three questions at random, I picked those that involve Gadowsky saying things you may not have heard him say before (in other words, I deliberately skipped queries related to PSU's fan support, the Big Ten's toughness and whether last season met expectations). Is that crossing a line? Probably. Oh well.

---

Lions247: What's been the biggest challenge for you going out and recruiting?

Guy Gadowsky: I think it's the unknown. We're going up against programs who have a long-standing tradition of not only college success but alumni success in the NHL and so on. We're unknown. You can talk about the league, but it hasn't happened yet. You can talk about the arena, but we haven't seen it yet.

Lions247: You're getting some quality recruits, but on the whole have kids you've talked to been skeptical of trying to build a program from the ground up?

Guy Gadowsky: Some recruits are really hungry to be a part of building something, and I understand that very well. I think our captain Tommy Olczyk had a really good idea of the big picture of the pride it takes to build this program. Then there are other recruits who have the mindset of wanting to go into a program who already has the tradition in place. We have to get the right person for sure.

Lions247: I know you can't speak specifically on non-conference opponents before all the contracts are signed, but in general what is your scheduling philosophy?

Guy Gadowsky: I think you never really know, to be honest. A school like U-Mass Lowell wasn't a team who consistently gets to the Frozen Four and last year they did. So I think it also depends on the year, but our goal is to play great Division I opponents. We're listening to everybody and trying to provide the best Division I experience.

---

Does that last answer all but confirm that PSU is playing Lowell this year? I'm pretty satisfied that there's a critical mass of smoke there, but feel free to make your own call - between this and the message board rumor, you know everything I do about it.

Best of the Rest

SI Delves Into Penn State's Athletic Medical Staff
(Black Shoe Diaries)

In case you're one of the two Penn Staters who hasn't heard yet, Sports Illustrated took a giant dump on Athletic Director Dave Joyner in their latest issue (on newsstands now!), so I'm probably not doing my fake, unpaid job if I don't link something about it. I picked BSD because I thought it did a good job of overview, discussing both the initial story and PSU's response, while also taking a much-appreciated neutral stance and refraining from the blind Joyner/Board of Trustees bashing or #OneTeam/move forward flag waving that dominates so many discussions in the Penn State community these days.

The story has nothing to do with hockey, just the guy in charge of hockey and the rest of the athletic department and his decisions related to medical coverage for football. And it will probably blow over shortly, if it hasn't already, because there's not any firm evidence of wrongdoing by the university. Just a lot of in-fighting.

Brett Larson Joins OSU Staff as Associate Head Coach
(ohiostatebuckeyes.com)

This one goes a bit beyond the typical "update the masses on a Big Ten coaching staff addition" entry, because new Ohio State Associate Head Coach Brett Larson's previous job was as the head coach and general manager of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers. While there, he tutored PSU goalie Matt Skoff and forward David Goodwin. As Larson started with the Muskies in 2011-2012, he just missed Tommy Olczyk (who was with the Icers that season), but I'll make an insane leap and guess that there's some familiarity there as well. Prior to the two USHL seasons, Larson assisted at Minnesota-Duluth for three, a stint that involved working with new OSU head coach Steve Rohlik. In case you needed the connection.

NHL 14 cover vote: Wayne Simmonds saves us all, beats Evgeni Malkin
(Broad Street Hockey)

Had Penn State football not re-set the bar on "bad offseason" for all eternity not too long ago, Cal Vulcans hockey would have a credible case for it. If you read these posts, you already know about the massive pot bust of now-former players Jesse and Steven Powell on April 16th, which resulted in the entire program's suspension, subsequently lifted a couple weeks ago.

Now we have the tale of former Cal player Corey Briggs. Last week, Briggs reacted to the Flyers' Wayne Simmonds - who is black, if you didn't know - eliminating the Penguins' Evgeni Malkin in an online vote-based tournament to determine the player on the cover of the next video game in EA's NHL series by tweeting that "if that [f-ing] [racial slur beginning with "c"] is on the cover in [sic] selling my equipment." Then he was decidedly less than remorseful when called out as the racist idiot that he is. As things turned out, Briggs left school and the Vulcans' program in December, but given that...

1. ...he was still listed on the roster at the time,
2. his Twitter avatar was (he deleted his account) a photo of him in a Cal jersey,
3. his father works for the team, helping to coordinate its recruiting and scouting efforts, and
4. the whole thing was publicized by a pretty well-read website...

...it still caused plenty of embarrassment for a program that was probably hoping to lay low for a while.

Your 2013-14 Illinois Big Ten Hockey Schedule
(The Champaign Room)

On a lighter note and elsewhere in the SB Nation network, here are Illinois' thoughts on the release of the Big Ten schedule a couple weeks ago.

And remember kids, no matter what a stripper tells you, there's no sex in The Champaign Room.

Johnstown continues to embrace hockey
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

The wave of good press for the NAHL's Johnstown Tomahawks in the wake of their first season in central Pennsylvania is still going strong.

Dallas Stars relieve Glen Gulutzan and Paul Jerrard of coaching duties
(dallasstars.com)

The Dallas Stars' firing of Glen Gulutzan last week severed (at least temporarily) one of the more prominent limbs of the Guy Gadowsky coaching tree. Gadowsky coached him with the defunct Fresno Falcons of the defunct WCHL in 1996-1997 and in 1998-1999 before moving into the college ranks with Alaska. It wasn't an insignificant pair of seasons for Gulutzan - in an interview after being hired by the Stars in 2011, he cited Gadowsky as one of his coaching influences.

Justin Kirchhevel was at UAA when an alleged incident involving former coach Dave Shyiak occurred

UAA coach accused of hitting player with hockey stick
(Anchorage Daily News)

I don't think I've done a thorough enough job discussing the utter clusterstorm that is Alaska-Anchorage hockey right now, so starting at the beginning...

1. UAA coach Dave Shyiak was fired in late March after a four-win season and seven mostly-terrible ones preceding it. In addition to lots and lots of losing, several players transferred out, including two (Justin Kirchhevel and Eric Scheid) who wound up at Penn State.
2. A committee to find Shyiak's replacement was formed and by mid-April four finalists were determined. Receptions were set up for Seawolves hockey alumni and the general public to meet the finalists, ask questions and register opinions. I had never heard of such events, but was told that it's not uncommon after jokingly asking the number to text in a vote and when the results show was to air. Penn State, apparently, can still go further on the whole "transparency" thing.
3. Almost immediately, the Alaska State Hockey Association and the UAA hockey alumni issued separate votes of no confidence in athletic director Steve Cobb. Both groups, more or less, were concerned with the state of the program and upset that they didn't have more say in the coaching search.
4. Despite being near the finish line, the entire coaching search process was started over on May 7th, with a new committee that included (surprise!) more UAA hockey alumni. The application period this second time around just closed on Friday.
5. The second committee will develop a list of finalists, who will then be added to the finalists from the first group. A combination of both committees will then come up with a recommendation for Cobb, who hopes to have the new coach in place by June 15th. What could possibly go wrong there? For whatever it's worth, three of the original four finalists have said they remain interested, while the fourth - Michigan Tech assistant Damon Whitten - has apparently pulled out. I'm going to go ahead and call Whitten the smartest of the four.

Which brings us up to the news at hand: former Seawolves forward Mickey Spencer, corroborated by two anonymous former teammates, alleges that Shyiak went Mike Rice on forward Nick Haddad during a practice on January 11, 2011.

"He tomahawked, lumber-jacked -- whatever you want to call it -- him across the thigh on his (hockey) pants,'' Spencer said. "We knew this wasn't a small deal, it's kind of a big deal. I've seen a coach break a stick over a goalpost or the glass because he's pissed about something, but I've never seen one take out his anger on a player.''

Spencer also claims that Shyiak later instructed the team to keep quiet about the incident.

The coach, through his attorney, does not deny contacting Haddad with a stick but disputes the nature and force of it, saying he was simply trying to get the player's attention. Haddad, for his part, seems to fall somewhere between Shyiak and Spencer in his recollection, saying that the act crossed the line, but that he and Shyiak made up shortly after and he considered it a dead issue at that point. A criminal investigation has been opened, but the guess here is that it gets about as far as the internal investigation conducted at the time of the incident. I mean, the alleged victim thinks it's "ridiculous," so...

Kirchhevel, by the way, was a member of the Seawolves during 2010-2011. Wonder what he thinks or knows about it.

2013-14 Women's Roster Released

Blueliner Lindsay Reihl, now a graduate student, returns to help lead PSU into Pegula Ice Arena

Penn State has posted its 2013-2014 women's roster on GoPSUSports.com. Without further delay, here it is:

No	Name	Pos	Yr	Ht	Hometown	Last Team
2	Jeanette Bateman	D	So.	5'6"	Greeley, CO	Colorado Select
3	Cara Mendelson	F	Jr.	5'6"	Pittsburgh, PA	Steel City Selects
4	Jordin Pardoski	D	So.	5'5"	Rochester Hills, MI	Honeybaked
5	Stephanie Walkom	D	So.	5'7"	Moon Twp., PA	Pgh. Penguins Elite
6	Lindsay Reihl	D	Gr.	5'4"	Cheshire, CT	CT Polar Bears
9	Amy Petersen	F	Fr.	5'4"	Minnetonka, MN	Minnetonka HS
10	Micayla Catanzariti	F	So.	5'4"	Rancho Santa Margarita, CA	Gilmour Academy
12	Sarah Nielsen	F	Fr.	5'6"	Edina, MN	Edina HS
13	Kendra Rasmussen	F	So.	5'5"	Sartell, MN	Sartell/Sauk Rapids HS
14	Darby Kern	F	So.	5'11"	Venetia, PA	Pgh. Penguins Elite
15	Jess Desorcie	F	Jr.	5'4"	Westford, VT	Connecticut College
16	Hannah Hoenshell	F	So.	5'3"	Plano, TX	Alliance Bulldogs
17	Paige Jahnke	D	So.	5'6"	Oakdale, MN	Roseville HS
18	Laura Bowman	F	Fr.	5'7"	Minnetonka, MN	Minnetonka HS
19	Jill Holdcroft	F	So.	5'1"	Pa. Furnace, PA	Pgh. Penguins Elite
20	Emily Laurenzi	F	So.	5'2"	Townsend, DE	Nat'l Sports Academy
21	Sarah Wilkie	D	So.	5'6"	Ashby, MA	Williston N'hampton
22	Jenna Welch	F	Sr.	5'8"	Austin, TX	Connecticut
23	Birdie Shaw	F	So.	5'2"	Troy, MI	Honeybaked
24	Taylor Gross	F	Sr.	5'1"	Colorado Springs, CO	Connecticut
25	Katie Murphy	F	Jr.	5'4"	Novi, MI	Honeybaked
27	Kelly Seward	D	Fr.	5'9"	Williamsville, NY	Nichols School
30	Celine Whitlinger	G	So.	5'8"	Garden Grove, CA	Gilmour Academy
31	Brooke Meyer	G	So.	5'7"	Naperville, IL	Chicago Huskies
33	Madison Smiddy	D	Jr.	5'7"	Grand Rapids, MI	Honeybaked
36	Tess Weaver	F	Jr.	5'5"	Windber, PA	Pgh. Penguins Elite
37	Nicole Paniccia	G	Sr.	5'5"	Oakville, ON	Connecticut
40	Shannon Yoxheimer	F	So.	5'7"	Jackson, MI	NAHA

The primary news items with any roster release, of course, are the comings and goings and this roster confirms that forward Katie Zinn and defender Taylor McGee have both left the program after their freshman seasons. McGee, who arrived at PSU from Taft School, was sidelined with a concussion for a chunk of the season but was still generally a solid regular when healthy, playing in 23 games and collecting a pair of assists. Zinn, a Coquitlam, BC native, is probably the less surprising of the two departures. She played in 12 games and scored once with three assists, but ended the season on an undisclosed suspension and last played in a 2-1 loss at Union on January 12th, missing PSU's final 13 games.

Josh Brandwene's recruiting class remains at the four - Kelly Seward, Sarah Nielsen, and Minnetonka High School linemates and three-time state champions Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen - officially announced back in November and tracked here over the last year-plus. Just to refresh things, here is a post including observations on Seward after watching her at USA Hockey nationals with the Buffalo Bisons in April, another covering Bowman and Petersen's most recent Minnesota AA title in February, and one reporting Nielsen's initial commitment last August.

Buffalo-area native Kelly Seward is a key part of an outstanding freshman class

Also, here are the quotes from PSU's fall National Letter of Intent signing release, including Brandwene on each player, and each player on Penn State.

Bowman on PSU: "I chose Penn State because I was impressed with the school of science and research opportunities. I love the atmosphere that I feel there and the campus is exactly what I imagined my college would look like. I can't wait to become part of the Penn State family and I'm looking forward to making history in the new Pegula Ice Arena."

Brandwene on Bowman: "Laura is the total package of skill, speed, height and tenacity. She is equal parts scorer, play-maker and outstanding penalty killer. Laura plays terrific hockey at both ends of the ice and she will have immediate impact."

Petersen on PSU: "I chose Penn State for both the athletic and academic options that it has to offer."

Brandwene on Petersen: "Amy defines what it means to be a clutch scorer. Her consistent play, her intensity, and her knack for big game performances are what caught our eye. She's fun to watch and will be an immediate presence in our lineup next year."

Seward on PSU: "After visiting many college campuses, I feel that Penn State is a great school to attend. Even though it is a huge campus, it has a small-school feel. It is the perfect fit for me."

Brandwene on Seward: "I am very impressed with Kelly's consistency and well-rounded game. She possesses great height, strength, foot speed, on-ice vision and puck distribution skills, complemented by a terrific point shot. She'll be a defensive force for us."

Nielsen on PSU: "I fell in love with Penn State because of the coaching staff, their team-first philosophy and type of hockey tradition they're trying to build. I also loved the beautiful campus and college town feel."

Brandwene on Nielsen: "Sarah is a fantastic two-way forward with an outstanding hockey IQ, and impressive maturity and poise. She has skill, strength, a positive attitude, and tremendous work ethic. Sarah will be a difference-maker for us at both ends of the ice."

With the four freshmen and three departures (outgoing senior Kate Christoffersen being the third, of course), the Nittany Lions' roster for the inaugural season at Pegula Ice Arena now sits at 28: 17 forwards, eight defenders and three goaltenders.

Growth Coming to the CHA?

Rhode Island, apparently not sick of being scored on by Tommy Olczyk, is eyeballing DI

Following the massive conference upheaval in men's Division I hockey - started by Penn State, of course - over the last couple offseasons, this summer promises to be relatively quiet.

Hockey East adds Notre Dame this coming season and Connecticut next season, and will then be at 12 teams with no obvious candidate for expansion out there. The WCHA, after being gutted, absorbing the CCHA's remnants and adding Alabama-Huntsville, is at ten. The NCHC has eight teams and a demonstrated a lack of interest in anyone else available within their footprint. The ECAC, the only conference not really affected by any of this, remains at 12. The Big Ten, of course, has six teams and won't expand unless a school already in the conference for other sports starts a varsity hockey program.

It's probably a reach to compare these conferences to noble gases (as we've learned across different sports, conference stability is almost always an illusion), but things are about as settled as they can be. Everyone is on an even number and there are no obvious poaching candidates or independent teams. Essentially, a school adding a new program is the only foreseeable way to throw things back into flux.

Then there's Atlantic Hockey. Considered NCAA Division I's only mid-major conference thanks to its self-imposed scholarship limit of 12 (two-thirds of the NCAA maximum, although the league will be working its way up to 14 over the next few years) and therefore the low man in the pecking order, the AHA is where the big boys go to grab a team to get back to an even number, as Hockey East did with UConn after scoring Notre Dame. That transaction left the league at 11 teams and, as it turns out, hungry for more.

[Commissioner Bob DeGregorio] said the league plans to return to 12 teams and expects to add one of two schools that have shown major interest. Sacred Heart athletic director Don Cook will chair the expansion initiative.

The league would not name the interested schools because they have not yet formally applied. Last November, DeGregorio told USCHO that he was in contact with four schools — St. Anselm, Rhode Island, Navy and Alabama-Huntsville — about joining Atlantic Hockey. Alabama-Huntsville has since joined the WCHA.

“We expect [applications] soon,” DeGregorio said.

Shortly after that story went up, the Boston Herald broke the news that both St. Anselm and Rhode Island plan on applying to join Atlantic Hockey. The Herald quoted an optimistic-sounding URI camp:

“We’re very strong contenders. The issue, right now, is really the money. I see it really as something that’s going to happen,” said Roberta Blute, who is heading up the private Blue Line Commission, comprised of URI alumni and faculty, which is seeking to raise nearly $5 million to fund the upgrade of the men’s hockey program from club to varsity status. “We’re being aggressive on this. It’s going to take time and money.”

Money's usually the thing, ain't it?

While many varsity programs started as "informal" teams that later gained university recognition, Penn State and Alabama-Huntsville are the only DI teams that can truly be said to have evolved from club roots in the modern era. Rhode Island, apparently, is trying pretty hard to make it three. The former ESCHL rival of the Icers, which also defeated PSU for the 2006 ACHA national championship, would certainly be an intriguing DI add and one that makes a lot of sense, given that they're the only public flagship school of a New England state not already in the show. If nothing else, the first time PSU and URI meet as DI opponents would be fun for re-kindling what was a pretty solid rivalry over the last decade of Penn State's time in ACHA Division 1 and for observing how one side's sports information department claims no series history while the other's claims lots of history.

Could St. Anselm be in the CHA by the time rising sophomore Alex Kazmer's career is over?

With all due respect to Rhody - and their attempt at making the jump has TYT's full support - they're actually not the more intriguing option from our perspective. Let's jump back to USCHO's Chris Lerch to see what he has to say about St. Anselm.

St. Anselm has a nice facility and is 10 miles from the AHA offices. This would open the door to the school taking its women’s team to College Hockey America, which could lead to Holy Cross and Sacred Heart joining. Both have not despite the natural CHA-AHA alignment because of travel expenses – most of the of CHA is in NY and PA. It’s not clear if URI would field a varsity women’s program, but that could work as well in terms of Sacred Heart and Holy Cross being enticed to upgrade their women’s programs.

Soooo.... St. Anselm winning the vacant Atlantic Hockey spot over Rhode Island could lead to not one, but three new rivals for the Nittany Lion women in College Hockey America (which, as Lerch mentions, shares an administration with Atlantic Hockey, making it common for AHA schools to place their women's programs in CHA).

While Rhode Island could also, in theory, upgrade their ACHA women's program to comply with Title IX, that's certainly not the least expensive option for a school already scrambling to afford things (unlike a PSU, which has an athletic department covering just about every sport except rugby and quidditch and therefore had few options for Title IX beyond women's hockey, URI only sponsors nine women's sports). St. Anselm, which already competes in NCAA Division II for both men's and women's hockey, has to be said to have an edge in that regard.

Holy Cross, notable for Nittany Lions assistant coach Casey McCullion's career as a standout goaltender there, is in DIII for women's hockey and is a natural candidate to elevate to DI for symmetry with the school's men's program, which is in Atlantic Hockey. Sacred Heart, also in Atlantic Hockey on the men's side, is DI's only women's independent, but has been rumored to join the CHA off and on in the past. Penn State already has a bit of history with the Pioneers, as the Nittany Lions took three of four games this past season, while the ACHA Lady Icers split a series in Fairfield, CT in 2011-2012.

While we're still a few rather large steps away from a nine-team CHA materializing, any addition at all would certainly be welcome for the league that - thanks mostly to Findlay, Niagara and Wayne State dropping their teams out of the blue at different points over the last decade - has struggled to maintain the six teams necessary for an autobid to the NCAA Tournament. While Penn State, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Syracuse, Lindenwood and RIT all seem in it for the long haul (and if they are, that autobid should finally be coming around 2015-2016), insurance never hurts.

The major drawback? It's a 1,200-mile drive from Manchester, NH (St. Anselm) to St. Charles, MO (Lindenwood), and a geographic spread beyond the wherewithal of the membership is often cited as a factor in the demise of the CHA's men's league, which folded in 2010 after 11 seasons. That inconvenience may lead to the resurrection of another popular rumor, one that has Lindenwood and Ohio State trading conferences. The Buckeyes are in the WCHA for women's hockey, and actually considered moving to the CHA in 2004, then thought better of it when Findlay folded.

As one seismic shift winds down, another may be just beginning. Such is the reality of college athletics in 2013.