Hoenshell, Seward Receive CHA Honors

Hannah Hoenshell capped off a fantastic series with a CHA Player of the Week award

A historic weekend for the Nittany Lion women was capped off appropriately as, for the first time ever, Penn State received two of College Hockey America's weekly awards at the same time. Sophomore forward Hannah Hoenshell was named the CHA Player of the Week Monday afternoon, while freshman defender Kelly Seward took Rookie of the Week honors.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the news? Penn State had a legitimate claim to even more, as freshman Laura Bowman scored twice in Saturday's win over Vermont, while Celine Whitlinger stopped 37 of 39 shots in that contest. Additionally, unlike with the previous week's watered-down awards, all six conference teams were in action over this past weekend.

Hoenshell and Seward are both highly-deserving recipients, as Hoenshell played arguably the best game of her career on Saturday, dancing through the Catamount defense all afternoon long to set up both of Bowman's goals and score the winner herself on a spectacular play immediately after Vermont had scored to tie things at two. Seward was an epiphany on the blueline, as she gained plenty of attention for her pair of big goals in the two matches but was perhaps even more impressive defensively in locking down UVM's often-potent forwards.

Coincidentally, last year's opening split in Burlington also brought CHA honors - in that case a rookie of the week nod to Micayla Catanzariti, who scored twice and added an assist in the historic 5-3 win over Vermont on October 6th, 2012. Later on, both Whitlinger (December 10th, 2012) and Hoenshell (January 7th) joined her as rookies of the week. Shannon Yoxheimer was the most decorated Nittany Lion a year ago, as she was offensive player of the week on October 22nd, 2012, rookie of the month for November 2012 and was named to the league's all-rookie team at the conclusion of the campaign.

Here are the CHA blurbs on the two newest award winners:

Hannah Hoenshell
(Soph; Fwd; Plano, Texas)

Hoenshell propelled Penn State to an undefeated weekend at Vermont, supplying three points and a game-high plus-four rating in Saturday’s 4-2 win. Hoenshell was involved in three of Penn State’s four goals on Saturday, tallying a goal and two assists. Hoenshell assisted Laura Bowman’s first collegiate goal to give Penn State a brief 2-1 lead. Following Vermont’s tying goal at 2-2, Hoenshell took the ensuing faceoff the length of the ice, darted around a couple defenders and put PSU ahead 3-2 for her second career game-winning goal. Hoenshell again wove through the defense, through the slot and to the right wing, tossing a perfect pass to Bowman who added an insurance goal. Hoenshell played in Friday’s 3-3 overtime tie at Vermont as well, taking one shot.

Kelly Seward
(D; Williamsville, N.Y.)

Seward was fantastic on both sides of the ice this weekend as Penn State went 1-0-1. Seward tallied two goals, which ties for the team high through two games. Seward posted a plus-two rating and seven blocked shots for the weekend. Seward scored the first goal of the season, a power-play tally, in Friday night’s 3-3 overtime tie. Seward fired two shots and posted a plus-one rating in the tie, while blocking four shots. On Saturday, Seward again scored Penn State’s first goal of the day, this time on a long bomb from the point that tied the score at one mid-way through the first period. Seward posted a plus-one rating and blocked three shots for Penn State.

Three Stars: September 16-22

Goalie Justin Golia and the Blue Lions are 1-1-0

3. NCAA Women’s Hockey: 2013-2014 CHA Preview
(The Hockey Writers)

Milestone alert: For the first time, to the best of my knowledge, a Penn State NCAA team has been picked somewhere other than last place by someone legitimate (so, like, not me). So thanks for that, Gabriella Fundaro. Okay, it's second to last, but baby steps. Additionally, Fundaro placed Shannon Yoxheimer (first team) and Jordin Pardoski (second team) on her preseason all-CHA teams.

My only criticism is that most of PSU's projected improvement was chalked up to internal growth, without a single mention of what I think is a pretty great recruiting class. It's always tough to expect rookies to be a huge part of a team (as we know from last year), but if Kelly Seward can be an anchor on defense and the Amy Petersen-Laura Bowman combination can give the Nittany Lions two reliable scoring lines, that's going to have a huge ripple effect up and down the lineup. Someone like Yoxheimer - called a borderline game-changer in the article - will suddenly see a lot more room to breathe, and she doesn't need a ton of space to pop a water bottle.

All in all, fifth place isn't a crazy thought. But if that does end up as the result, I think it will be the sort of fifth place Lindenwood experienced last year, with the occasional win over RIT and RMU, and higher slots still very much in play late in the season. And, as Josh Brandwene likes to say, anything can happen in the playoffs.

2. Penguins-Flyers outdoor game site undetermined
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Last week was an interesting one for those trying to figure out if and when Beaver Stadium will host an outdoor game between the Penguins and Flyers and/or (even better in my view) Penn State versus anyone. First up was this piece from Rob Rossi - no relation - which claims that a major sticking point in the early discussions between the NHL clubs has been figuring out which of the two will give up a home game for a neutral-siter. That's usually an easy call when the game is played in one team's city, less so when it's not. The NHL, not the designated home team, takes in the gate from the Winter Classic and other outdoor games, so it's not simply a matter of (for example) the Penguins dropping a Consol Energy Center contest and adding in one with more revenue.

Shortly after Rossi's article, the NHL announced that the Washington Capitals will host the 2015 Winter Classic (with the venue and opponent still to be determined). Since the league plays roughly 18 outdoor games per year now, that news is hardly as crippling to Penn State's chances in the short term as it would have been a couple years ago, but it certainly doesn't help.

1. @achamensd1
(Twitter)

Lately, people from across the hockey world have been noting any and all indications that the season is around the corner and attaching declarations like "HEY YOU GUYS! HOCKEY SEASON!" However, and with all due respect to the year-round preparation required to play the game at a high level, hockey season only truly begins when games take place. Well, we now have that. Congratulations to ACHA Division 1's Penn State Berks, the first PSU hockey team to play this season, and also the first to win, as the Blue Lions topped Indiana (PA) 5-4 on Friday. The next day brought a 4-1 decision for the hosting Crimson Hawks, but still, a road split is not the worst way to start a season.

Best of the Rest

Pretty please?

@rinsana11
(Twitter)

ComRadio's Ross Insana spotted jerseys at Family Clothesline in State College with a Pegula Ice Arena patch on them last week. Cool. It's important to state that these are replicas (notice that they aren't made by Nike), so it would be premature to jump to a conclusion other than "Family Clothesline is selling replica jerseys with a PIA patch on them."

Still, it would be nice to see the patches make their way on to the game jerseys for the start of the season. It won't be easy with the Big Ten and CHA logos placed in the "patch spot" on the real thing, but there are certainly options.

Trustees asked to provide financial hand to PSU sports
(PennLive)

Yeeeeeeahhhh...

Penn State is exploring a $30 million borrowing program to help tide its Athletic Department over troubled financial waters that have come with the Jerry Sandusky child sex scandal and other recent developments.

The plan is designed to help cover projected operating deficits and meet short-term capital needs at a time when the department is without football bowl revenue, home ticket sales are lagging, and the Sandusky scandal is bringing new costs.

Athletic Department expenses outstripped revenues by more than $6.1 million in 2012-13, according to university figures, which in turn has drained departmental reserves and caused a near freeze in spending on major maintenance and capital projects.

I've said it before, but hockey is pretty fortunate to have the guy behind the largest private donation in Penn State history in its corner. One has to believe that fact will help shield it from potential fallout related to the athletic department's finances.

@HockeyValley
(Twitter)

An official announcement is coming soon, but it looks like there will be a sequel to last year's successful Midnight Madness to celebrate the first full practice for the NCAA men. This year's event will be on the night of Friday, October 4th, into Saturday the 5th. And of course in the new arena, which promises to add an extra dimension to the fun.

CHA and America One to continue web broadcasts
(College Hockey America)

While the Big Ten's new television arrangement on the men's side got plenty of attention last week, the CHA and the women will have the identical setup as last season, as the league is in the final year of a three-year streaming deal with America One. Essentially, all games played in a CHA venue will be available on America One's outstanding platform, making the $125 for a season pass well worth it, in my view.

Women's Hockey Eighth In Opening USA Today Poll
(hurstathletics.com)

In the not-exactly-stunning department, CHA juggernaut Mercyhurst was eighth in the first USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine women's ranking of the year, with Minnesota - the undefeated national champions of 2012-2013 - in the top spot. Beyond the Lakers, Penn State opponents Quinnipiac (October 11th and 12th) and Ohio State (January 3rd and 4th, 2014) also appeared in the poll, among the others receiving votes.

Now it's a Penn State hockey rink

@PegulaIceArena
(Twitter)

Just in case you were wondering what became of those wall hangings that backed the seating at the Ice Pavilion...

Road wins, quality wins get boosts in changes to NCAA tournament selection criteria
(USCHO)

On Friday, the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee announced fairly significant changes to its formula for selecting at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament. Out is the criterion measuring performance against "teams under consideration," or TUC, those with an RPI of .500 or greater. In are tweaks to the RPI calculation that reward both winning on the road (while also reducing the punishment for losing on the road) and winning against teams rated in the RPI top 20. Generally, reception to the changes has been positive, as using TUC added unnecessary volatility to things (if you're unfamiliar with that situation, think about what might happen when several teams have an RPI right around .500 late in the season, and the effects of their bouncing on either side of the so-called "TUC cliff" from game to game).

Here's hoping we have a reason to care about all of that sooner, rather than later.

A Who’s Who from West to East in NCAA Men’s Division-I Hockey (Part 3 of 6): Big Ten Hockey Begins
(Chief Maj's Blog)

Random Big Ten preview? Sure. On Penn State:

The program is still in its infancy, but I believe the team will be in the top half of the standings come February, and could even challenge the more structured teams such as Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Okay.

Minnesota Leads Big Ten Recruiting Class
(College Hockey News)

Good: CHN called Penn State's recruiting class for this year "noteworthy." Bad: "Noteworthy" is the worst label given to any of the Big Ten programs.

USHL Alumni Voices: Tommy Olczyk
(USHL)

The captain dropped a couple minutes worth of video on the USHL experience, watching his brothers play and helping to lay the foundation at Penn State for the league's website - and more or less demonstrated why he's the Nittany Lions' captain.

Matt Skoff: Flyers prospect?

Ranking the Flyers’ prospects: Goaltenders
(Flyers Faithful)

While not a Flyers prospect, Matt Skoff got a mention here under "other names to watch," since he attended the team's development camp in July. Of course, the guy who wrote the story is Penn State alumnus Tom Zulewski, so there may be a bit of a bias in play.

Still, Skoff is certainly a guy with pro potential, and Philly's taken more of a look at him than anyone else, so why not?

2013-2014 ACHA Men's D1 Pre-Season Ranking
(achahockey.org)

An ACHA section is part of Three Stars this week, led by the ACHA Division 1 preseason poll. Not a Penn State story anymore, just interesting to know. Defending champ Minot State is number one, with notables Arizona State (2), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (6), Illinois (7), Delaware (11), Rhode Island (18), Lebanon Valley (23) and West Chester (25) also appearing.

The Rise of ACHA Division I Hockey
(The Hockey Writers)

Arizona coach Sean Hogan, who is doing some really nice work on his rebuild in Tucson, wrote this article outlining factors explaining ACHA D1's rise over the last decade. And he's 100 percent on the money. While I'm biased as a big-school alumnus, I'm not sure that I see the benefit to playing NCAA Division III over ACHA D1, particularly now that the top ACHA programs have most of the "extras" in place like institutional support and great coaching. And, in recent years, it's begun to look like people who aren't terrible at hockey feel that way too.

Playing shorthanded: How club hockey works
(Daily Illini)

The Illinois student paper delivered a bit of an ACHA primer for the uninformed, although one that reinforced why I still like talking about it a full three years after Penn State announced that its top teams would be leaving.

Senior defenseman Mike Evans said the Illini players are responsible for generating awareness throughout the community for Illini home games, where they make their primary source of funding through ticket sales, while the remaining bills get passed down to the team’s players and coaches.

...and, as tends to happen a lot with Illinois, there was one of those quotes:

"Illinois is a hockey state and there are a lot of great youth hockey players here that have to leave the state in order to play Division I hockey elsewhere," [head coach Nick] Fabbrini said. "The Big Ten Conference is going to be great for college hockey, and hopefully at some point the University takes a look at getting involved."

By the way, "college hockey directory" CollegeHockey.info, which hasn't done much correctly since jumping on the credibility-enhancing Twitter handle @USCollegeHockey, did notice that quote in case you were wondering. If you forgot (and how could you), CollegeHockey.info is the entity that blew up the hockey world for one evening in July by claiming that a DI announcement was imminent for the Illini.

Tommy Vannelli leaves Minnesota program
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Just as quickly as he arrived, freshman Minnesota defenseman Tommy Vannelli is now gone. A statement from head coach Don Lucia said that Vannelli struggled to balance athletics and academics, but really, he was sweating Penn State. We know that.

Speaking of PSU... Vannelli was a second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues back in June. His departure makes him the second consecutive Blues draftee to leave the Gophers early, following Max Gardiner.

JoeBa and HeidiBa shut 'er down

@BattistaJoseph
(Twitter)

JoeBa wrapped up what seemed like a recurring series of people saying their farewells to the Ice Pavilion on Sunday night:

The "last skate" at PSU's Greenberg Ice Pavilion. First skated here in Jan.1981. Great memories!

Great memories, indeed.

CHA Coaches Poll Tabs Penn State Sixth

Hannah Hoenshell and her teammates will again try to prove the coaches wrong versus Mercyhurst

Several hours after the Big Ten coaches slotted the Penn State men last of six teams in that conference's preseason coaches poll, College Hockey America announced that its coaches had given the Nittany Lion women the same treatment.

Here are the full results of the poll:

	Team	1st	Pts.
1.	Mercyhurst	5	25
2.	Syracuse		19
3.	Robert Morris	1	18
4.	RIT		13
5.	Lindenwood		9
6.	Penn State		6

That now-familiar "established vs. not" split is reflected, with the three programs in NCAA Division I before 2011 making up the top three and the newer entries in the second half. Favored Mercyhurst is in their position for good reason - other than the 2012 CHA tournament won by Robert Morris, the Lakers have taken literally every regular season and playoff title in conference history, dating back to the 2002-2003 season. Last year, MU went 29-7-1 overall, beat Syracuse in the CHA championship game, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year and took a quarterfinal victory from Cornell in overtime before falling to Boston University (PSU assistant coach Gina Kearns' alma mater) in the Women's Frozen Four.

The fact that PSU was voted into last place for the second consecutive season is far from stunning. The Nittany Lions are the most recent of the six CHA teams to gain NCAA status, and last year's inaugural NCAA and CHA group went 1-17-2 in the league and suffered a first-round CHA playoff sweep at the hands of RIT as part of a 7-26-2 overall record. Still, don't sleep on Penn State. Observers of the program and the CHA generally noted PSU's growth over the course of the season, as well as the way then-second year DI Lindenwood turned a corner late in 2012-2013 and started beating RMU, Syracuse and RIT after starting 3-36-1 against DI competition. With nearly the entire team back and an outstanding group of recruits thrown in, it's not crazy to think that Josh Brandwene's squad could be extremely dangerous as 2013-2014 progresses.

Penn State opens up October 4th at Vermont and returns home two weeks later to initiate Pegula Ice Arena on October 18th against Union. The first conference series is at home against Robert Morris on October 31st and November 1st.

Fifteen Lions Receive CHA Academic Accolades

Tess Weaver is now a member of the all-academic team in two different conferences

College Hockey America announced on Monday that 15 members of the 2012-2013 Nittany Lions women's team have been named to the CHA All-Academic Team, an honor given to student-athletes who record a grade point average of 3.0 or better during all in-season academic periods.

The Penn Staters recognized include forwards Kate Christoffersen, Hannah Hoenshell, Jill Holdcroft, Darby Kern, Emily Laurenzi, Kendra Rasmussen, Tess Weaver, Jenna Welch and Katie Zinn, defenders Jeanette Bateman, Paige Jahnke, Lindsay Reihl, Stephanie Walkom and Sarah Wilkie, along with goaltender Brooke Meyer. All except the graduated Christoffersen and Zinn, who transferred to the University of British Columbia after the season, are returning to the team in 2013-2014. Most of PSU's winners will be part of a massive sophomore class, with Zinn, Christoffersen, graduate student Reihl, senior Welch and junior Weaver the exceptions.

Christoffersen and Reihl were both picked as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars on July 10th, an award requiring a 3.7 GPA for the previous academic year. They also joined Weaver in winning Academic All-Big Ten selection in May, giving the trio the rare distinction of honors from two different conferences. Jess Desorcie, Taylor Gross and Cara Mendelson also won the latter Big Ten award which, like the CHA, requires a 3.0 GPA - but unlike the CHA measures cumulatively while also blocking freshmen from eligibility. Eighteen players of the 27 on last year's roster have now won some sort of award for their academic performance.

In all, 77 CHA players received that league's distinction, with Robert Morris' 21 leading the way. Additionally, 11 of the 77 were named co-winners of the Student-Athlete of the Year award for carrying a perfect 4.0: Kendra Broad (Lindenwood), Celeste Brown (RIT), Gina Buquet (Mercyhurst), Lauren Jones (Mercyhurst), Katelyn Scott (Robert Morris), Alison Wickenheiser (Lindenwood), Amy Stober (Lindenwood), Chelsea Witwicke (Lindenwood), Ali Binnington (RIT), Julia DiTondo (Mercyhurst) and Nicole Hensley (Lindenwood).

Here's the full release from CHA, including a list of all 77 winners:

Three Stars: June 24-30

3. Hockey or Football on Homecoming weekend? Penn State question of the day
(PennLive)

The brand-new Pegula Ice Arena will open its doors for the first NCAA hockey contest in its history, featuring the Nittany Lions against Army Friday night, Oct. 11. The next day is State's annual Homecoming game, and it should be a must-see game, as well, with Michigan coming to town for a 5 p.m. kick.

If you could only attend one game that weekend, which would it be? That is the Penn State question of the day.

Yes, I'm biased, but how is this even a question? Penn State football will play Michigan at home again in 2015. Penn State hockey will not be opening the ice arena that the university has needed for 100 years again in 2015.

2. A look back at highlights from the 2012-13 Penn State ice hockey season
(Stack the Pads)

Nothing wrong with a peek back before plowing forward, and Derek Meluzio has you covered in that department with photos, videos and memories galore.

1.Gibsonia’s Saad celebrates as Stanley Cup champion
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

As I'm sure you know, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last Monday with a stunningly quick game six rally in Boston to flip the result of a contest that previously looked like it would push the championship series to a seventh game. You probably also know that rookie Hawks forward Brandon Saad, a Pittsburgh-area native, is the younger brother of George Saad, who just completed his senior year with the NCAA Nittany Lions after three with the ACHA Icers. Regardless, it's not every day that a Penn Stater gets to celebrate on the ice with the Cup, so you can stand to hear it again.

Here's hoping the scene is duplicated someday, except with the Penn Stater in the beard and uniform. And involving pretty much any team besides the Blackhawks. The Islanders, Blues, Caps and Canucks would all work under the right circumstances.

Best of the Rest

@BattistaJoseph
(Twitter)

Your weekly PIA photo, combined with some news:

Successful test of the Ice plant at Pegula Ice Arena & raised scoreboard to the rafters! 72 days until we move in!

Seventy-two days from the June 26th tweet is Friday, September 6th. Going to go ahead and guess that not a whole lot of work is getting done on University Drive that afternoon.

Ohio State recruits Tyler Sheehy, Jack Dougherty decommit after Mark Osiecki firing
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Have I mentioned lately that I think the Buckeyes' stunning ejection of head coach Mark Osiecki a couple months ago was a huge mistake? Thanks to some great reporting from B5Q's Andy Johnson, we now know that OSU is up to five decommits since the coaching change. Zach Stepan, a teammate of Eamon McAdam with the Waterloo Black Hawks last season and a 2012 Nashville Predators draft pick, was the big blow in my opinion, but based on what I know about Tyler Sheehy, Jack Dougherty, Cliff Watson and Nolan Valleau... well, Osiecki wasn't a terrible recruiter, put it that way.

2013 NHL Mock Draft: NCAA Women’s Hockey Edition
(The Hockey Writers)

Hypothetical funsies: What if NHL teams were only allowed to draft women's NCAA players? The sole CHA player to be "selected" was Mercyhurst forward/conference player of the year Christine Bestland, as she went off the board 19th to Columbus, using the pick acquired from the Rangers as part of the Rick Nash trade. Don't ask me why trades of male players still count in a women-only league.

Arena's ice rink test hits its goal
(Lincoln Journal Star)

Pinnacle Bank Arena, the soon-to-be-open palace for Nebraska men's and women's basketball, is able to maintain a sheet of ice. If you need it. Anyone still want to argue for Illinois being the next Big Ten school to add hockey?

There actually is a counterpoint, though. At a listed capacity of 12,700 with the ice in, it's a little large for college hockey, and as a multi-purpose arena, Huskers hockey wouldn't have it whenever it wants. Wisconsin recently built a pricey ($27.9 million) auxiliary ice facility to combat similar issues with the Kohl Center. Ohio State suffers from that issue as well with Value City Arena, but with a less luxurious back-up, the OSU Ice Rink. In a world where Pegula Ice Arena is the new bar, is it really smart to enter NCAA hockey with a less-than-ideal facilities situation?

Gophers' Condon Talks Big Ten Hockey
(WSAW)

Someone affiliated with the University of Minnesota men's hockey program, senior center Nate Condon, is excited about the Big Ten. I don't really expect him to survive the week up there, but good luck bud.

The Meek Shall Inherit The Ice: Small colleges making it to the NCAA Frozen Four
(USA Hockey Magazine)

A nice look at how the little guys get it done on the game's biggest stage despite the presence of behemoth programs.

It's bound to change at least a little bit in time, but the article is interesting to me in part because Penn State reads more like a small-school program right now. The Lions are still heavy on mid-range prospects and four-year guys and light on the one-and-dones that characterize schools like Michigan and Wisconsin.



Eamon McAdam 2013 NHL Draft Prospect
(YouTube)

Generally, I'm taking a pass on NHL Entry Draft stuff here - most of the pre-gamers are out of date, the aftermath has and will be covered in other posts - but hey, highlights are timeless.

Goalies coach and Lancaster native Darren Hersh celebrates Kelly Cup title with Reading Royals
(lancasteronline.com)

Darren Hersh, the Icers' goaltending coach from 2000 through 2003, has had quite an interesting career - including a recent ECHL championship with the Reading Royals.

"I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of the special team that the Royals had this past season," Hersh said. "I hardly remember hoisting the Cup, because everything was a blur during the on-ice celebration. Honestly, there have been only a few other times in my life that I can remember being as happy as I was at that moment."

Oh, and because you can do things like this in hockey: two degrees of Eamon McAdam. Jay Williams, mentioned in the article and now at Miami University, is a former student at Hersh's goalie academy. McAdam and Williams were Waterloo Black Hawks teammates from 2010 through 2012.

2013-2014 Arizona Wildcat Hockey Schedule
(arizonawildcathockey.org)

The ACHA Division 1 Arizona Wildcats' schedule for the coming campaign includes a home series against York University, a CIS school. That one should be a nice measuring stick for both the rebuilding program and for the ACHA as a whole. The Icers lost to the then-Yeomen (they're called the Lions now, unfortunately) 6-1 on January 3rd, 2001. More recently, the CIS' University of British Columbia beat the ACHA's Arizona State and Oklahoma 8-2 and 4-3 (OT) in a holiday showcase on December 28th and 29th of last season.

Brianne McLaughlin named to 2014 Olympic hockey roster
(City of Champions)

Finally, congratulations to Robert Morris alumna-turned-assistant coach Brianne McLaughlin, who will once again serve as the CHA's only representative on the United States' Olympic entry for women's hockey next year in Sochi, Russia. The goalie was on the silver medal winning squad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and also has a pair of gold medals from the Women's World Championships (2011 and 2013).

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.

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.

Women's Games Revealed Against Syracuse, UNH

Taylor Gross and PSU will look for a first win vs. Allie LaCombe and Syracuse on November 9th

With 2013-2014 men's hockey schedules across NCAA Division I coming out almost daily and officially taking their first choice of dates and times at their schools' arenas, it seemed only natural that women's schedules would start to follow at some point. Welcome to "some point."

College Hockey America rival Syracuse - which I suppose didn't have to wait for the men, as the school has no NCAA men's program - released its 2013-2014 schedule on Wednesday. This, of course, also revealed 20 percent of Penn State's conference schedule:

Saturday, November 9, 2013: Syracuse at Penn State
Sunday, November 10, 2013: Syracuse at Penn State
Friday, January 24, 2014: Penn State at Syracuse
Saturday, January 25, 2014: Penn State at Syracuse

Last season, the Orange swept the season series from PSU, spoiling the Nittany Lions' first NCAA-era home games with a 10-0 weekend shutout before taking two more at the Tennity Ice Pavilion in January. SU finished a sturdy 20-15-1 overall and 13-6-1 in the CHA, good for second place in the league standings, and beat RIT 2-1 in overtime in the conference tournament semifinals before falling to Mercyhurst in the championship game. Leading scorer Holly Carrie-Mattimoe and ten-goal defender Jacquie Greco have departed, but the rest of the team, including Shiann Darkangelo (third in the CHA with 16 goals last season), Akane Hosoyamada (named the CHA's best blueliner for 2012-2013) and Kallie Billadeau (1.56 goals against average, 0.940 save percentage, all-CHA first team honors), returns. Without a doubt, Cuse will be title favorites entering the season alongside, as always, the Lakers.

In addition to the PSU-SU games, the Syracuse schedule announcement also shared the dates of the 2014 CHA Tournament. From February 28th through March 2nd, the sixth and fifth place teams will travel to play, respectively, the third and fourth place teams in a pair of best-of-three quarterfinal series. The two winners will then play the first and second place teams on the ice of the CHA's regular season champion on March 7th, with the winners of those semifinals meeting for the championship the next day.

Beyond Syracuse, and according to USCHO message board poster Hux (who is credible enough in my assessment for me to run with this news), Hockey East's New Hampshire will visit Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 27th at 2:00 p.m.

In UNH, the Nittany Lions will welcome (arguably and depending on the rest of the schedule, of course) the highest-caliber non-conference opponent to visit PSU so far. The Wildcats program has been around since 1977 and won the first women's national championship ever in 1998, sanctioned by the American Women's College Hockey Alliance ahead of the NCAA's involvement beginning in 2001. From 2006 through 2010, New Hampshire qualified for five straight NCAA Tournaments, and the program has won ten Hockey East regular season or tournament championships since 2004. While the Wildcats have fallen off of that form a bit in the last couple years - they went 14-16-4 overall and 10-8-3 in Hockey East in 2012-2013 - they'll look move back towards the top of DI behind sophomore defender Alexis Crossley and junior goaltender Jenn Gilligan, both of whom earned all-conference honors this past season.

High-powered Alexis Crossley will lead New Hampshire into Pegula Ice Arena in October

Crossley, in fact, has at least three biographical details in common with Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby: a hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, a stop to play at Shattuck-St. Mary's and a gold medal-winning goal from a major international competition while wearing the maple leaf. In Crossley's case, that last distinction came from the 2012 Women's U18 World Championships, where she opened the scoring in a 3-0 shutout of Team USA to take the tournament. Not quite as dramatic as Crosby's OT-er at the Vancouver Olympics, but impressive nevertheless.

The major downside? The Saturday game more or less runs directly opposite the men's game against Vermont at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, as well as the football team's game at Ohio State. Still, this will be an intriguing enough matchup and benchmarking opportunity to consider spending that evening with Josh Brandwene's squad.

Connecticut transfers Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch, incidentally, all have experience against their former league opponent while the trio played for the Huskies from 2010 through 2012. Welch played in all six games against UNH during her two seasons in Storrs, going 3-3-0 and potting a goal in a 6-3 UConn win on February 5, 2012. Paniccia made 20 saves in that contest to collect the victory, but backed up Alexandra Garcia in each of the other games. Gross was already a Lady Icer by that point, but she won twice against the Wildcats in three 2010-2011 meetings, assisting on the game's only goal on November 13, 2010 and scoring herself in a 2-1 triumph the next day.

As these are the first six confirmed 2013-2014 dates for the women, I've updated the W Schedules/Results page and will continue to do so until Penn State announces the full slate.

Three Stars: March 4-11

3. College Hockey Roundup: UMass-Lowell owns Hockey East; Penn State Holds NCAA Attendance Mark
(Flyers Faithful)

Yeah "Penn State Holds NCAA Attendance Mark" kind of caught my attention when this one came across.

In its first year as an NCAA program, Penn State actually set the mark for the highest-percentage of seats filled. Before moving over to the state-of-the-art 6,000-seat Pegula Ice Arena (above) next season, the Nittany Lions call Greenberg Ice Pavilion and its 1,400-seat capacity home. Despite the seating limitations, Penn State sold out every home game and averaged over 120% attendance.

In the NCAA records, PSU is given nine home games - two against AIC, Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville, and one against Buffalo State, Neumann and Robert Morris. Seven of the nine ended up as Ice Pavilion sellouts of 1,300 in a building that never has the same capacity listed in two different places. The Tuesday night Neumann game was just under a sellout at 1,071. The last one? The 5,389-person crowd in Wilkes-Barre against AIC on October 13th. Divide something like that against the Ice Pavilion's capacity (instead of counting Wilkes-Barre's 8,050 capacity for hockey for that game), and you end up with 128.1 percent capacity over the season.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the potential fan base for PSU hockey - that Wilkes-Barre game, as well as those in Hershey, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh chief among them. It seems kind of silly to pump ourselves over something like a falsely-calculated "attendance mark."

2. TMQ: Assessing the candidates for coach of the year
(USCHO)

Guy Gadowsky's name comes up in this coach-of-the-year discussion - then is fairly quickly dismissed for vague reasons ("I don't know if it'll gain a lot of traction"). Why? Find me one person who, before the season started, thought Penn State would even be competitive with major-conference programs - I'm an unapologetic homer, and I didn't think that - let alone actually beat four of them. With all due respect to guys like Rand Pecknold and Bob Motzko, who have done amazing things this season, there's really no argument in my mind. People thought Penn State would be a whipping boy for years, perhaps forever. Penn State surged well past "whipping boy" in its first year.

1. Rapid Fire 37 - Bo Pellah
(YouTube)

2014 commit Bo Pellah doesn't know Bill Murray. But is really into Taylor Swift. If I didn't secretly (not anymore, eh?) plow through two TayTay albums on every single road trip, I'd say something about how horrible that is. Regardless, a quick and highly entertaining interview - I always love anything that shakes players out of the hockeybot mindset in public.

Best of the Rest

@SeanTFrazier
(Twitter)

Hey look, you guys - Big Ten championship trophy. The conference isn't noted for commissioning quality designs, but I really like this one, as it looks like a bunch of skate blades and a puck. Kinda. Well done. Also, according to a photo tossed on Facebook by UNO message board MavPuck.com, we may have a Big Ten Tournament logo as well. Good times.

Jack Parker and the complicated legacy left behind at Boston University
(Puck Daddy)

Allow me to be the last to tell you that legendary Boston University coach Jack Parker is retiring at the end of the year after 40 seasons, 894 wins (and still counting for now), three national championships, boatloads of NHLers (including Mike Grier, a nephew of PSU football legend Rosey Grier) and a bunch of other impressiveness. When I first got into college hockey, BU was my favorite NCAA program, and while it probably wasn't any longer by September 16, 2010 (the last day before PSU was in that category), I've always generally rooted for the Terriers except against a handful of schools, with Parker being a huge reason why.

There's been a lot written about Parker's "complicated" legacy in light of the last couple of years of off-ice issues. Kind of reminds me of another coach, different sport, more familiar to readers of a Penn State blog. I believe history, ultimately, will be kind to both, but we'll see.

Going to go take a shower after linking something written by Ryan Lambert. Be right back.

High octant offense powers Minot State to first National Championship
(achahockey.org)

First off, congratulations to Minot State on the ACHA Division 1 title, as they beat Lindenwood 9-5 in the championship game in Bensenville, IL on Wednesday. The Beavers had developed a reputation as tournament flameout kings over the years, but I like their program, so I'm happy to see that one buried. Second off, "octant?" Never change, ACHA.

The three ACHA opponents of Penn State (Arizona State, Oklahoma and Ohio) all saw their seasons end in disappointment at nationals, with the eventual champs taking out both the Sooners (in overtime in the quarterfinals) and the Bobcats (in the semifinals). ASU fell to Lindenwood in the other semifinal. A team that beat Penn State this year wasn't even the second-best team in the ACHA, as things turned out. ACHA hockey is good hockey, people.

The NCAA Division III opponents of the Nittany Lions are also done with their seasons, by the way. Buffalo State wound up 13-12-2 overall with a loss to Oswego in the SUNYAC semifinals. Fredonia was 7-16-3 overall and lost to the Bengals in the SUNYAC quarterfinals (the two teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league standings). Neumann was the best of the three at 19-6-3. The Knights won the ECAC West tournament with a 3-0 victory over Manhattanville but missed out on an NCAA tournament at-large bid, becoming one of those rare teams to end their season with a win.

Mercyhurst defeats Syracuse 4-1 to win the 2013 CHA Championship
(chawomenshockey.com)

Meanwhile, on the women's side, congratulations to Mercyhurst, which recovered from last season's blip (a tournament championship game loss to Robert Morris) to continue their quest to win everything ever in the CHA. MU topped Syracuse in the final on Saturday, after the Orange took out RIT (which ended Penn State's season, of course) 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris 2-1 in the other semifinal.

The Lakers were also the only one of Penn State's opponents this season to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament, and they'll open with Cornell on Saturday.

Went with Matt Mendelson for the photo, because Cara Mendelson is not an enemy you want to have

In the Locker Room - Matt Mendelson
In the Locker Room - Zach Saar
(Muskegon Lumberjacks)

A couple of quick player profiles from the USHL franchise including one men's signee (Saar) and one women's team sibling (Mendelson). Toss in incoming RPI transfer Pat Koudys, and yeah, I'll admit that the Jacks are my favorite team in the league, at least right now.

Stork Commits To Ohio State
(youngstownphantoms.com)

Forward Luke Stork, a Pittsburgh native, visited Penn State but according to Phantoms coach Anthony Noreen:

“He had a lot of options but Ohio State was his No. 1 choice from Day One and I’m glad it worked out for both sides.”

So basically, he's wrong.

PS. I picked the one article I found about it that didn't use the word "delivers" in some way. You're welcome.

UAH releases 2013-14 hockey schedule; opens home slate with Bemidji State
(al.com)

Remember when Alabama-Huntsville played at the Ice Pavilion a month ago and head coach Kurt Kleinendorst let it slip that the Chargers were returning next year in one of his postgamers? Looks like that's off, thanks (probably) to the fact that the WCHA was able to accommodate the no-longer-independent school with a full conference schedule a year earlier than planned.

Today in Charger Hockey History: 1983 National Club Championship
(uahhockey.com)

Speaking of UAH, March 5th was the 30th anniversary of an epic national club championship game between the Chargers and Penn State. Here's a fantastic look at it from the FoTYT down south including, for the first time that I've seen, a full box score of the game.

Ice Zone to close for good May 15
(Youngstown Vindicator)

This news is a couple weeks old, but the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH, the site of the 2006 ACHA D1 Showcase and 2007 national championships, is closing in May. For whatever it may be worth, it hosted the Icers' last-ever ACHA championship game appearance, which capped a run of ten in a row as well. Somewhere, former Oakland forward Will McMahon, who scored four times and added an assist in the Grizzlies' 5-1 win over the Icers in that title game, is crying.

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And finally... here, once more, are your ACHA Women's Division 2 national runners-up. Thanks again for the ride, guys.

Front row (left to right): Mandy Mortach, Ashton Schaffer, Mary Kate Tonetti, Nina Elia, Tara Soukup. Middle row (left to right): Allie Rothman, Katie Vaughan, Carly Szyszko, Devon Fisk, Jackie Saideh. Back row (left to right): Associate Head Coach Tom Vaughan, Taylor Nyman, Georgia Foulds, Elizabeth Denis, Sarah Eisenhut, Head Coach Patrick Fung.