ACHA D2: Penn State 6 vs. Marist 1

The Ice Lions (27-6-1 overall) closed their Pool C schedule at the ACHA Division 2 National Championships - and their season - with a 6-1 win over Marist Sunday morning in Chesterfield, MO.

In winning for the second straight day after a tournament-opening loss to Illinois State, Penn State demonstrated both heart and resiliency. Neither, however, were enough to catch the Redbirds, who tied Weber State in Sunday's other Pool C game to finish the round robin 2-0-1 (just ahead of PSU's 2-1-0) and as the group's representative in the national semifinals on Monday.

Without knowing how that simultaneously-scheduled game was proceeding, the Ice Lions did everything they could in an attempt to swing the tiebreakers in their favor (which would have come into play had ISU lost to Weber State) by crushing the top-seeded Red Foxes.

After a scoreless first period, an unlikely source initiated the rout: Mac Winchester. The blueliner, playing his final game in blue and white, potted PSU's first two goals. First, just 20 seconds into the second period, and following a textbook breakout after Marist had cleared the opening draw behind PSU goalie Ryan Demuth, Winchester fired one in down left wing. First assist on the goal, unofficially, went to Foxes defenseman Cameron Rosata, who deflected the shot past Tom Dorsey, his goaltender. Then, with 6:41 left, and just after keeping the play alive along the boards, Winchester ripped home the loose puck that he helped create from high in the left wing circle. Both goals came through a power play that ended the season on a high note, by connecting four times for the second day in a row.

The third period turned into a 20-minute-long statement, as the Ice Lions battered the Foxes for four more goals, including three in the first 4:06. Another early strike got things started, this time just twelve seconds in. That was followed shortly after by Taylor Vincent, who intercepted a careless pass across the middle while on the forecheck, then dangled Dorsey into oblivion before burying. Mike Broccolo converted PSU's third power play goal, and fifth overall, from near the blue following a puck to the front created by a faceoff win and good movement. Marist immediately answered through a Chris Cerbino one-timer from the slot on a Foxes power play, but Chris Lewis' capper restored the five-goal advantage in the late stages of the game.

Seniors Winchester, Demuth, fellow goalie Kevin Lowthert, one-time Icers forwards Broccolo and Joe Zitarelli, and defenseman Tyler Starn all enjoyed productive conclusions to their distinguished careers, which saw the Ice Lions thrust themselves into national championship contention over the last two years. A strong group of returners - Lewis, Vincent, Max O'Malley, Fredrik Linge and Franky Reluzco to name a few - should help to keep Penn State among ACHA D2's elite next season, when the team joins University Park's other three intercollegiate hockey teams in a move to Pegula Ice Arena.

Club Sandwich: January 31st

Blueliner Tara Soukup pumped home the eventual winner in a key victory over West Chester.

Women

PSUWIHC.com box score and recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap

It's only a mild exaggeration to suggest that No. 4 Penn State, now 6-2-1, earned a bid to the ACHA National Tournament in Ashburn, VA from March 7th through 10th with a 2-1 win at second-ranked West Chester on Saturday. And it's no exaggeration at all to suggest that if invited, PSU will be among the title contenders - in four games against the nation's top two teams (California (PA) being the other), the team now has a 1-2-1 record.

Stealing from myself via PSUWIHC.com to decribe the signature win, because I can:

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Tara Soukup's second-period goal powered PSU to a 2-0 lead and would hold up as the game-winner. Freshman sensation Devon Fisk assisted Soukup and also scored the game's opening goal earlier in the period, with help from Mandy Mortach and Ashton Schaffer. Fisk now has 12 goals and 16 points in just nine games.

After going up two with 5:31 remaining in the middle frame, Penn State would continue to keep a potent WCU team at bay for most of the rest of the game. Although Becky Dobson broke Katie Vaughan's shutout bid with 1:09 remaining, the junior goaltender still polished off her fifth win.

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PSUWIHC.com box score and recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap

While a sweep would have been unreal, PSU had to settle for a split - still an outstanding weekend considering the opponent and the stakes.

Once again, from the PSUWIHC.com recap:

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On Sunday, Carly Szyszko connected on a third-period goal from Mortach and Mary Kate Tonetti to pull Penn State within 2-1 with 15:32 remaining, and just 37 seconds after Amanda Vito had scored the Golden Rams' second goal. But the team would not find an equalizer, despite a 31-27 shooting advantage over the course of the game. A couple minutes after a late power play was foiled by a quick PSU penalty, head coach Pat Fung called Vaughan to the bench for an extra skater, but the only outcome to the gamble was a game-sealing empty-netter by WCU's Colleen Tweedy.

Defensively, the team turned in a stellar effort, limiting Dobson, the leading scorer in ACHA WD2, to just one meaningless goal and one assist over the two games. Coming into the weekend, Dobson had a staggering 55 points in 12 games, part of an offense that averaged 6.58 goals per game - but was held in check by Vaughan and PSU's blueliners. The WIHC also successfully killed all eight WCU power plays over the weekend, including a 1:50 stretch of 3-on-4 and 3-on-5 time during Sunday's game.

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A new ACHA WD2 poll is expected out this week, and while Penn State doesn't have much room for upward mobility, a jump to the third spot and added distance above the national tournament cutoff are reasonable expectations.

Penn State's next games - the last ones before nationals bids are awarded - will be February 9th and 10th at Buffalo, an ACHA WD1 team.

Mike Broccolo was among many seniors starring in their last Ice Pavilion weekend.

Men

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

Seniors Ryan Demuth, Mac Winchester, Kevin Lowthert, Joe Zitarelli, Mike Broccolo and Tyler Starn received their official send-off with a Senior Night trashing of Monmouth that, as it turned out, was a showcase for many of those playing their final home weekend.

Fredrik Linge opened the scoring, from Austin Meehan, at the 6:16 mark of the first period, and the hosts never looked back. Chris Lewis - on the power play - and Linge expanded PSU's lead to 3-0 after 20 minutes, before Lewis added another and Joe Bonazelli also scored in the second.

The third period highlighted former Icers-turned-Ice Lions, as Broccolo, Zitarelli and Winchester scored to close things out. Broccolo also had a pair of assists in the game, while Zitarelli had one.

Demuth (nine saves) and Lowthert (seven) split a relatively painless shutout, in stark contrast to Monmouth goalie Stephen Bonora, who had 66 shots slung his way.

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

The Ice Lions became the first of the four University Park hockey teams to play its final game at the Ice Pavilion - and a decisive win over Southeast No. 5 Rowan not only closed the barn in style, but gave Southeast No. 2 PSU some ammo in its push to secure an autobid to the ACHA national championships.

The Profs stunned Penn State 43 seconds into the game with a goal by Alekos Polis, and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission when J.C. Caulfield scored on the power play with 11:40 left to answer Dylan Jones' tying goal.

Four unanswered goals - by Taylor Vincent, Peter Daley, Linge and Lewis - in the second period would give the Ice Lions the upper hand in the game, and Lewis would add an empty-netter with 19 seconds remaining in the game for the final margin. Ten different PSU skaters collected points, headed by Lewis' two goals, Brandon Russo's two assists, and Linge's one of each.

PSU will now take on a three-game weekend thanks to a makeup at Rider on Friday, a match initially cancelled by Hurricane Sandy in October. Previously-scheduled games at St. Joseph's and at UMBC are on Saturday and Sunday. Another Sandy makeup, a rematch at Monmouth on February 10th, will close out the regular season.

Club Sandwich: January 16th

Taylor Nyman and her orange laces made a three-point debut against Navy.

Women

PSUWIHC.com recap and box score // PSUWIHC.com highlights

Black Shoe Diaries recap // Mary Kate Tonetti/Carly Szyszko postgame video

Suffice it to say that the women's ACHA team had quite an interesting day on Sunday, one that began with their being locked out of the Ice Pavilion when preparing to make the drive to Annapolis for their first game of the new semester.

Once arriving at the Naval Academy, it quickly became apparent that Navy's team had forgotten about the game, scheduled for 1:55 p.m., and several options, including simply giving the ice time to PSU for a practice and recruiting some of the under-19s from the game scheduled prior to PSU-Navy were considered. But in the end, the Midshipmen were able to piece together something resembling their regular club.

For those who don't know, I've taken on the task of putting together a website for the team, so it would be kind of foolish to not plagiarize myself at least a little here in recapping the game, one notable for the successful debuts of semester break additions Taylor Nyman and Elizabeth Denis, both forwards (Denis, of course, played for the Lady Icers last year).

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Mandy Mortach scored four times and added two assists, while five other players enjoyed multi-point games as No. 4 Penn State climbed to 5-1-1 with a 9-1 rout of the Naval Academy.

After a fairly slow and even start, Elizabeth Denis opened the scoring on a 2-on-1 with Devon Fisk 6:30 into the game. From there the floodgates opened, as just 28 seconds later, Carly Szyszko put back the rebound of a Tara Soukup shot. By the end of the first period, PSU had a 5-0 lead after Fisk created a turnover and fired home, Mortach buried a second rebound goal started by a Soukup shot during a PSU power play - then added her second four minutes later.

Navy did get a goal back on a rebound effort with 4:06 remaining in the second period, but not before Mary Kate Tonetti's redirection of a Szyszko pass followed by Tonetti's assist of a Mortach laser from the high slot pushed the game into blowout status.

In addition to Denis, and her goal in her re-introduction to Penn State hockey, Taylor Nyman made a highly-successful debut with the team. She scored the game's final goal from just outside of the blue paint while assisting on two others, including a late helper to Mortach on a 2-on-0 that she easily could have taken herself.

Katie Vaughan started in goal and gave way to Sarah Eisenhut after the first period. Both were outstanding, combining for 16 saves and continuing PSU's three-month streak of not allowing more than one goal in a game.

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Fourth-ranked PSU is in for a much more difficult test next up on January 26th and 27th at No. 2 West Chester. It goes without saying, but those two games carry huge implications for the next ACHA WD2 poll, due out the week following those games, and therefore for the ACHA national championship tournament.

Max O'Malley scored an important goal last Friday against Liberty.

Men

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

The Ice Lions also opened their semester over the weekend, with the always-tough Virginia road trip to face MACHA South Division opponents Virginia Tech and Liberty - but thanks to two tight wins it was a successful one, as Penn State is now 15-4-1 overall.

Despite a first-period Ryan Urban goal and heavy dominance on the shot board, the Ice Lions found themselves facing a third-period deficit against Liberty on Friday, due to Flames tallies from D.J. Dinnison (twice) and Bobby Cervone in the middle frame surrounding PSU defenseman Max O'Malley's second goal of the season.

The contest swung back in the Ice Lions' favor thanks to a late second-period boarding major to LU's Seth Reed. Penn State took full advantage of that glorious opportunity by scoring twice on the long power play, once by Chris Lewis (from Joe Zitarelli) and also by Urban (from Mac Winchester and Tyler Starn). Goalie Ryan Demuth (25 shots, 22 saves) held things down for the last 16:05 of the game, including through two Flames power plays.

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap // HockeyYall.com recap

Against Virginia Tech the next night, the Ice Lions allowed the game's first goal, to the Hokies' Alex Hashmi, with just 15 seconds remaining in the first period. Perhaps even worse than that, PSU failed to capitalize on four power plays during the stanza, including a long 5-on-3.

The team recovered well though, with Peter Daley's rebound goal tying the game during the middle stages of the second period and Urban finally cashing in a power play with a backhander shortly after. Fredrik Linge assisted on both goals.

Demuth, who turned in another strong effort with 23 saves on 25 shots, surrendered a Virginia Tech goal to Peter Veltri with Starn in the box for interference halfway through the third to tie things back up just after a 5-on-3 ended. However, he stopped two of three Hokies during the shootout that followed a scoreless overtime, allowing goals by Zitarelli and Brandon Russo to give PSU the win.

The Ice Lions, who have likely solidified their position of second in the ACHA D2 Southeast Region (significantly, a ranking that would earn an autobid to the ACHA national championship tournament) with the two wins over the regional Nos. 7 and 8, have just six regular season games left. The first two of those are this coming Friday and Saturday at Kentucky, home of two ACHA legends: midnight starts and schedule posters.

Club Sandwich: December 20th

Sophomore forward Chris Lewis was deadly on the power play Friday night against Berks.

Men

The Ice Lions, which beat ACHA Division 1 Penn State-Berks 8-3 at the Ice Pavilion to open the season, took a little longer to get going on Friday in southeastern Pennsylvania. Eventually though, strong special teams proved too much for Berks in a decisive win to climb to 12-4-1.

After some back-and-forth action to open the game, Max O'Malley scored about 13 minutes in to put the University Parkers ahead for good. Chris Lewis made it 2-0 at the first intermission with a power play goal set up nicely from behind the goalline by Joe Zitarelli. Berks and goalie Michael Narrigan continued to stand tall through most of the second period, and very nearly escaped the middle frame at 2-0 before Zitarelli created a turnover on the forecheck while shorthanded that was buried by Brandon Russo in the last minute of play.

The relentless Ice Lions power play finally put things out of reach in the third period, when Taylor Vincent scored on a cross-crease pass from Peter Daley while on the advantage. Lewis followed up with a his second PPG of the game, a dirty effort assisted by Zitarelli and Mike Broccolo in which he collided with Narrigan while scoring. Lewis, by the way, clearly won that confrontation. While he was knocked to the ice, he made the most of it with a snow angel celly. Narrigan, on the other hand, was knocked out of the game and watched as Justin Golia gave up two late goals to pad the margin a little.

Ryan DeMuth survived the mediocre beaks of the home crowd ("number one, your five-hole is ginormous big," for example) to turn in a solid effort despite allowing a late goal - through his six hole (between the stick/blocker arm and body).

HockeyYall.com recap

PSU followed up the Berks win with an even bigger one - 3-1 over Rowan, the Southeast Region's second-ranked team, to climb to 13-4-1 heading into the semester break. With the Ice Lions fourth in the region entering the game, some upward movement on the back of this result seems likely in the next D2 poll, expected out Friday. It also vaults PSU ahead of the Profs into the driver's seat of the MACHA North at 5-0-0 in the league.

Because it's literally the only information I could obtain online about it, here's most of the HockeyYall.com recap - I thought it would be rather disingenuous to lift information from there and restate it in my own words without bringing anything additional to the table.

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In both teams’ most meaningful game of the season to date, Penn State defeated Rowan 3-1 Saturday in New Jersey to improve to 13-4-0-1 and strengthen its hold on first place in the Mid-Atlantic College Hockey’s North Division.

After a goaless first period, Mac Winchester scored in the second to give Penn State a 1-0 lead that it carried into the third, where the Ice Lions outscored the Profs 2-1. Frederick Linge and Mike Broccolo scored for PSU to help gain the win for goalie Ryan DeMuth.

"[It was] a tight game from start to finish," noted Matt Morrow, Penn State’s head coach.

Erich Moen scored the lone Rowan goal.

"We played okay," said John Caulfield, the Profs’ head coach. "Couldn’t buy a goal. Missed about eight rebound chances wide or bouncing over sticks. Frustrating."

The win was the Ice Lions’ sixth in their last seven games. They will resume their season Jan. 11 at No. 6 Liberty, another MACH opponent.

After going undefeated and untied in their first 11 games, the Profs were 4-4-1-1, including three losses in their last four games, and stand at 15-4-1-1 today. They’ll return to the ice on Jan. 6 against Montclair State.

"The Virginia Tech loss (7-1 on Dec. 7) was the only bad loss," said Caulfield. "We were totally outworked there. The UMBC (Maryland-Baltimore County) and PSU games, we just couldn’t score. And when we made mistakes, they scored. We need the break — injuries and tired bodies."

Both Penn State and Rowan are likely to see a change in their status when the ACHA releases its third Southeast Region ranking of the season this week, with the Ice Lions moving up the ranking and Rowan heading South.

Katie Vaughan - helped by the defense of Allie Rothman - tops the ACHA in save percentage.

Women

There's not much new to report on the women, who hit the break at 4-1-1 after thrashing Slippery Rock 8-0 on December 9th. The team is undoubtedly hoping to see some upward movement in the second ACHA Women's Division 2 poll of the season - due out this past Sunday, but unreleased as of this post - on the back of that win.

Several team members rank at or near the top of the ACHA WD2 statistical charts. Goaltenders Sarah Eisenhut and Katie Vaughan are 1-2 in goals against average, with a 0.72 and a 0.86, respectively. Vaughan leads in save percentage with a 0.959 mark, and Eisenhut's 0.947 is fourth. Offensively, freshman sensation Devon Fisk's 10 goals are tied for 11th overall, but 7th when counting on a per-game basis.

Club Sandwich: December 12th

Senior Joe Zitarelli opened the game's scoring on Saturday against Temple.

Men

Box score

It's not often that great passing gets headline status, although through the Ice Lions' performance against Delaware it probably earned the privilege, as PSU's first three goals were all the product of pretty set-ups.

Neil Laessig opened the scoring 4:14 into the game by snapping one past Delaware goalie Joe Marshall after a nice Will Vaeth indirect pass started a rush. He was quickly answered by Matthew Gumina on the power play, but the Ice Lions would surge back ahead with a three-goal second period.

Two minutes into that frame, Taylor Vincent finished a 2-on-1 with Reluzco. That was followed with Chris Lewis going five-hole on a give-and-go and Joe Bonazelli's backhand-forehand-shelf goal. The Blue Hens did pull within two in the third period thanks to Trevor Richmond slamming one home from the back door, but Ryan Urban squelched any comeback notion by finally finishing a shorthanded breakaway, after PSU had been denied on two attempts earlier in the game.

In goal, Teddy Steinhart turned in a workmanlike 21-for-23 effort, while - and how's this for balance - 12 different Ice Lions registered points, but none had more than one.

Box score // Daily Collegian recap

Penn State didn't waste any time jumping all over Temple in a key MACHA North matchup, as Vincent put back Reluzco's rebound 4:03 into the game, and after a long stretch of PSU dominance (the Ice Lions won the first-period shot count 25-5) Joe Zitarelli made it 2-0 ten minutes later from Mike Broccolo. Another pair of goals - Urban, from a Reluzco feed that deflected in off of his skate and Brandon Russo through traffic - in the first 3:18 of the second period effectively sealed the game's outcome.

Temple did escape being shut out in the highly-physical contest that saw 14 minor penalties handed out, as well as injuries to Laessig and Vaeth from a scary first-period collision. With five minutes remaining in the second period and Chris Dinsmore off for tripping, the Owls' David Brewer connected on the power play to make the score 4-1. However, goalie Ryan Demuth and a defense that only forced him to make four third-period saves shut the door the rest of the way.

The Ice Lions, now 11-4-1 (4-0-0 MACHA North) and ranked fourth in the Southeast Region of ACHA Division 2, will close their fall semester schedule this coming weekend with two very tough games at Division 1 Penn State-Berks (Friday) and at the Southeast's second-ranked team, Rowan (Saturday).

Women

I covered the ACHA women's team's 8-0 blasting of Slippery Rock in its first-ever home game Sunday morning separately, so here are those posts one more time:

ACHA W: Penn State 8 vs. Slippery Rock 0
12/9 Postgame: Mary Kate Tonetti, Allie Rothman, Carly Szyszko
Penn State-Slippery Rock Photo Gallery

The short-notice game (it was just announced just five days before it was played) may prove quite important for No. 5 PSU, now 4-1-1. ACHA Women's Division 2's next poll is due out Sunday, and the win over No. 11 SRU will stand as the team's only contest since the release of the current ranking, dated November 18th. In other words, without it, Penn State would have been in the unenviable position of trying to tread water without playing a game between polls.

Furthermore, among a tightly-packed cluster of teams, co-No. 3 Delaware is just four points clear of Penn State for fourth place overall and (more importantly, given the format of the national tournament) third among East Region teams. The Blue Hens are 1-1-0 since the present poll came out, and only beat The Rock 6-3 on November 17th. Could Sunday's result trigger upward movement for PSU? Here's hoping.

The women resume their schedule after break with a game at Navy on January 13th.

Club Sandwich: November 13th

Sophomore forward Franky Reluzco (one goal, two assists) had a good weekend at the Siena Showcase

Men

While the much-anticipated frankenweekend for the Ice Lions did not develop (a second game on Sunday at ACHA Division 1 Lebanon Valley College was cancelled), PSU still had a tough task in the form of three top D2 programs at the Siena Showcase. Mission accomplished: the Ice Lions are now 8-3-1 (3-0-0 MACHA North) following a 2-1-0 mark in Loudonville, NY.

Box score

The Ice Lions opened up by blasting the hosts on Friday evening, courtesy of five different goal scorers and a 16-save effort from Kevin Lowthert.

Franky Reluzco, PSU's leading scorer so far, tallied about ten minutes into the game with an unassisted effort, and Joe Zitarelli made it 2-0 from Chris Lewis and Mike Broccolo just 44 seconds later.

In the second period, Siena's Brian Sisti answered with Austin Meehan in the box for a butt-ending major, but a barrage from Fredrik Linge, Neil Laessig and Taylor Vincent over a 6:10 span later in the period ended any comeback thoughts the Saints may have entertained.

The game was a rematch of one from last year's ACHA national championships, won 5-0 by Penn State.

Box score // WPUHockey.com recap

In the always-dangerous middle game of a tough weekend, PSU was downed 7-1 by New Jersey's William Paterson University. WPU, now 7-2-1, is a D2 power, having appeared at the ACHA national championships each of the last four years.

Still, the score was a little flattering to the Pioneers. Thanks to a Lewis goal (assisted by Tyler Person and Max O'Malley), PSU was only down 2-1 heading into the second period and missed a prime opportunity to tie the game with 1:31 of carryover power play time on fresh ice. The Ice Lions also outshot WPU 20-10 in the first period.

“We needed to make adjustments because our goaltender won that period for us”, said [WPU] Coach [Joe] Ballance.

The score remained 2-1 late into the second period when a Pioneer timeout after an icing call played a role in shifting the game away from its established tightness.

“We wanted to both regroup and get a fresh line out on the ice because of the no change icing”, said Coach Ballance. After the timeout, the Pioneers played with some energy and would score a minute later as Freshman Mark Apidopolous (Paramus, NJ) would score his first goal of his collegiate career with assists coming from Kyle Garlasco and Ryan Mara. “It was a great feeling to get my first college hockey goal. I got a great pass from Garlasco and I got all of my shot and it beat the Penn State goaltender,” said Apidopolous.

Following the Apidopolous goal, the floodgates opened. The freshman added a second to cap the game's scoring, but Jonathan Craig, Jeremy Lewis and Matthew Hunter also scored in between the two.

Box score

PSU wrapped up what, on balance, has to be considered a successful weekend by dusting the defending ACHA Division 2 national champions. Florida Gulf Coast has actually struggled so far this year at 3-6-2 overall, but did beat Oakland (the team that ended the Icers' final season is presently ranked 8th in D1) 5-1 back on October 5th to show that they still have something in the tank.

The Eagles were unable to score until finally breaking Lowthert's shutout bid with 32 seconds left - but by then, the Ice Lions had already bombed FGCU goalie Ryan Lynch with 49 shots, scoring on seven of them. Ben Snow had two snipes, while Lewis added a goal and two assists. Broccolo, Zitarelli, Meehan and Vincent were the other Ice Lions goal scorers.

Women

Following the blowout of Maryland on November 3rd that boosted the team's record to 3-1-1, it's increasingly likely that the ACHA women are done for the semester, as they have been unable to secure an opponent for the scheduled December 14th home game (it's proven tough to book largely because it involves finals week travel for many schools). Without that game, the team's next match won't be until January 13th at Navy.

The first Women's Division 2 poll of the season will probably be released this week - it will be interesting to see how the coaches handle PSU, which does meet minimum game requirements for an ACHA National Tournament invite. For ranking purposes, teams are divided into east and west regions, with the top four from each region at the end of the year receiving a bid to the championships.

Club Sandwich: November 6th

Containing Devon Fisk (15) proved impossible for Maryland Saturday night. Photo: Kim Vaughan

Women

Freshman sniper Devon Fisk's hat trick boosted Penn State (3-1-1) to a third straight win, 5-0 at Maryland Saturday night.

Goalies Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut, who are 1-2 in ACHA Women's Division 2 in goals against average, bolstered that status with a combined shutout of the Terps, who entered the game with a 3-1-0 record and scored 18 times during a three-game winning streak that PSU snapped. Vaughan played the majority of the game and made 15 saves, before Eisenhut finished up the last couple minutes, saving a pair. PSU fired 28 shots on the Maryland cage.

Fisk jump started the offense early by scoring on the very first shift of the game, then added another in the second period. Penn State's third tally came from a somewhat unusual source: Mary Kate Tonetti, who played goalie for the Lady Icers last year (and before that, obviously) but moved to forward this year to help the team achieve positional balance. It was her first-ever goal, although she scored like she had been doing it for a while, with two Terps proving no contest for the former West Chester Quaker.

Mary Kate Tonetti sheds the defense en route to her second-period goal. Photo: Kim Vaughan

In the third period, Fisk scored her third of the game and sixth of the season, while captain Carly Szyszko finished things off on a breakway.

The club's next game is scheduled to be their Ice Pavilion debut on December 14th, although no opponent has committed for the date as of yet.

Men

Despite having their pair of games in New Jersey postponed for obvious reasons, the Ice Lions (6-2-1, 3-0-0 MACHA North) were not light on news last week. Senior Joe Zitarelli, an Icer for two seasons, was named captain for this season, succeeding the graduated Jim Recupero. He'll be assisted by fellow senior Mac Winchester and sophomore Chris Lewis.

Furthermore, the first set of ACHA Division 2 rankings of the season were released Thursday. Penn State was voted fourth in the southeast region, behind Miami, Rowan and Bowling Green. It's worth reiterating that the top two teams in each of the four regions at the end of the regular season get autobids to the ACHA national tournament, while the teams ranked third through tenth in each region compete in a playoff to determine the other half of the national championship contenders. Long story short, the Ice Lions are in position to keep the season going right now, but they'd prefer to climb at least two slots by February.

This weekend, the team will travel to Siena College in Loudonville, NY for games against the Saints, William Paterson and Florida Gulf Coast. It's a pretty daunting slate of games, as all three of those teams appeared at nationals last year, and all three are ranked in the top nine of their respective regions this year. It's made even more difficult by the fact that following the Sunday morning game with FGCU, PSU will head down to Hershey for a night game against ACHA D1 Lebanon Valley College.

Club Sandwich: October 9th

Men

Friday box score // GoDutchmen.com Friday recap
Stack the Pads Friday recap

The ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions (3-1-1) learned a hard lesson about spotting a team early goals during Friday night's home tilt against D1 Lebanon Valley College.

In each of the first two periods, the Dutchmen scored less than 60 seconds from the opening faceoff. The first tally, by Cole Bell, forced PSU to play from behind for most of the first period, a venture that ended successfully with late goals from Joe Zitarelli and Franky Reluzco. LVC then tied the game early in the middle period off of the stick of John Hagy II, and the teams traded goals later in the second to close out the game's regulation scoring.

Penn State killed off an overtime interference penalty to Mac Winchester to survive until a shootout, but Zitarelli's skills competition tally wasn't equal to LVC's pair.

The loss was the first in the regular season for the Ice Lions in nearly a full year, dating back to last October 9th, against SIU-Edwardsville at the 2011 ACHA Showcase. PSU, however, will get a chance for revenge on the Dutchmen on November 11th at Hersheypark Arena.

Counting that LVC game and heading into Saturday's ACHA Showcase tilt with Miami in Rockville, MD, the Ice Lions had lost just four times since the beginning of 2011-2012. Two of the four (the Dutchmen and Lindenwood on October 8, 2011) were against D1 opposition, and none of the four included a margin of more than two goals.

In light of that data, the RedHawks' blowout win qualifies as stunning. A wild first period saw Chris Lewis score both first and last to keep the game even after 20 minutes. From there, however, it was all Miami in a chippy match.

The Ice Lions, who surprisingly and suddenly find themselves at an early turning point in their schedule, play just once this weekend, on Saturday evening at MACHA rival Delaware.

Women

California recap // Sunday box score

The women's ACHA Division 2 team (0-1-1) began its first season of play by being swept at California (PA).

Since it's all we have on Saturday's game, the first in team history, here's an excerpt from the recap on the Vulcans' site.

The Vulcans managed to get off to a great start in their opening game of the season. Just five minutes into the contest Angelica Smith scored the first goal of the season to give the Vulcans a 1-0 lead.

The scoring would come to a halt after Smith’s goal all the way until the 7:36 mark of the third period when Penn State tied the game at 1-1. As regulation play finished out neither team was able to break the tie as the game headed towards a five minute sudden death overtime period.

In the overtime Margo Laboon found the back of the net at the 2:04 mark to give the Vulcans their first ever win over Penn State.

Cal goalie Maria Sciacca made 24 saves in Saturday's game, then added another 34 and a shutout on Sunday. Katie Vaughan was great in the opposite crease in turning away 26 of 28 in the second game, but goals from Kelsey DeNardo and Alli Paratore proved the difference.

PSU will travel to Michigan State to battle the ACHA D2 version of the Spartans this weekend.

Ice Lions Announce Roster, Schedule

Former Icer and USHLer Brandon Russo isn't done wrestling with Ohio just yet - he'll do so with the Ice Lions against the D2 Bobcats on November 16th and 17th.

Matt Morrow, the new head coach of the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions, will pilot a 31-man roster through a 28-game regular season schedule, the team has announced.

Here's the roster:

Defensemen (9)     Yr.   Ht.   Wgt.  Hometown
Forrest Dell       So.   5'10" 185   Arvada, CO
Chris Dinsmore     Jr.   6'3"  215   Sinking Spring, PA
Robert Fauth       Fr.   6'0"  185   Carmel, IN
Matt Knudson       Fr.   5'11" 198   Upper Arlington, OH
Max O'Malley       Jr.   5'10" 180   Aston, PA
Tyler Person       Fr.   6'1"  180   Brick, NJ
Brandon Russo      So.   5'7"  175   Fairfield, CT
Tyler Starn        Sr.   6'1"  170   Pittsburgh, PA
Mac Winchester     Sr.   6'2"  205   Newton Square, PA

Forwards (18)      Yr.   Ht.   Wgt.  Hometown
Joseph Bonazelli   Fr.   5'11" 180   South Windsor, CT
Mike Broccolo      Sr.   6'2"  185   Webster, NY
Peter Daley        Jr.   5'7"  155   Hopewell, NJ
Neil Laessig       So.   5'9"  165   Lansdale, PA
Chris Lewis        So.   6'0"  215   Fort Covington, NY
Robert Liberge     Fr.   6'1"  195   Lynn, MA
Fredrik Linge      So.   5'10" 165   Porsgrunn, Norway
Austin Meehan      So.   6'0"  175   Yardley, PA
Chris Putsch       Sr.   6'1"  195   Media, PA
Brian Reed         Fr.   6'1"  195   Chester, NJ
Franky Reluzco     So.   5'9"  180   Fredrick, MD
Ben Snow           So.   5'8"  170   Webster, MA
Joe Spagnola       Fr.   5'11" 182   Mountain Lakes, NJ
Ryan Urban         So.   6'0"  170   Chester Springs, PA
Will Vaeth         Fr.   5'10" 175   Horsham, PA
Matt Venoit        So.   6'0"  195   Virginia Beach, VA
Taylor Vincent     Fr.   5'8"  175   Lafayette, LA
Joe Zitarelli      Sr.   5'11" 185   Center Valley, PA

Goaltenders (4)    Yr.   Ht.   Wgt.  Hometown
Ryan Demuth        Sr.   6'1"  175   Yardley, PA
Martin Gudewicz    Jr.   5'9"  162   Pittsburgh, PA
Kevin Lowthert     Sr.   5'11" 190   Prospect Park, PA
Theodore Steinhart Fr.   5'9"  165   West Orange, NJ

To casual observers, the obvious focal point of the roster will be Dell and Russo, two members of the final ACHA Division 1 Icers team last season. They'll join 2010-2011 Icers Winchester and Zitarelli (who played for the Ice Lions last year), as well as Broccolo (who didn't) to form a significant part of the team's nucleus.

Taking things a little deeper reveals a team that, while suffering some significant losses from last season, still brings back plenty of firepower and adds quality players to complement the returners. The expression "reload, not rebuild," although a cliche, certainly applies here.

Lewis, last year's leading scorer (32 goals, 24 assists) and a second-team All-American, will be back, as will sniper Reluzco (15 goals) and four of the team's best defensemen, including Dinsmore and O'Malley. Demuth, who won seven games in goal a year ago, will get first crack at replacing Tom Badali, who posted a 1.45 goals against average while winning his first 20 decisions of the season. The newcomers include former Jr. Flyers Cleek and Vaeth, as well as Daley and Lowthert, who make the move to University Park after playing for the ACHA D3 team at the Brandywine campus.

Robert Liberge arrives at Penn State from Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, MA.

Penn State will attempt the tall order of topping 2011-2012's achievements - a 31-3-0 record that included a 25-game winning streak, MACHA regular season and playoff championships and an ACHA national championship tournament appearance - against a schedule that includes a nice mix of familiarity and novelty. The usual league opponents like Temple, Delaware and Virginia Tech are all there, but so is a series in the legendary environment (midnight starts, raucous crowds) of the Kentucky Wildcats, a pair of games each against D1 opponents Lebanon Valley College and Penn State-Berks (including November 11th at LVC's home, the venerable Hersheypark Arena), and mid-season tournaments in Washington, DC and Loudonville, NY.

By the way, the fact that two games are shown on November 11th is not an error - PSU is really going to attempt the day-night doubleheader with five hours of bus in between. If you're intrigued by that, and you should be, games are streamed on the team's UStream channel.

September 2012

Fri. 28 vs. Penn State-Berks (ACHA D1), 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 29 vs. Rider, 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 30 at Temple, TBD

October 2012

Fri. 5 vs. Lebanon Valley College (ACHA D1), 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 6 at ACHA Showcase (Washington, DC), TBD
Sun. 7 at ACHA Showcase (Washington, DC), TBD

Sat. 13 at Delaware, 5:15 p.m.

Sat. 20 vs. Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m.

Sat. 27 vs. St. Joseph's, 1:00 p.m.

November 2012

Fri. 2 at Monmouth, TBD
Sun. 4 at Rider, 2:15 p.m.

Fri. 9 at Siena College Tournament (Loudonville, NY), TBD
Sat. 10 at Siena College Tournament (Loudonville, NY), TBD
Sun. 11 at Siena College Tournament (Loudonville, NY), TBD
Sun. 11 at Lebanon Valley College (ACHA D1), TBD

Fri. 16 vs. Ohio, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 17 vs. Ohio, 7:30 p.m.

December 2012

Fri. 7 vs. Delaware, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 8 vs. Temple, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. 14 at Penn State-Berks, 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 15 at Rowan, 8:15 p.m.

January 2013

Fri. 11 at Liberty, TBD
Sat. 12 at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. 18 at Kentucky, 11:55 p.m.
Sat. 19 at Kentucky, 11:55 p.m.

Fri. 25 vs. Monmouth, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 26 vs. Rowan, 7:30 p.m.

February 2013

Sat. 2 at St. Joseph's, 5:30 p.m.
Sun. 3 at Maryland-Baltimore County, TBD

Fri. 15 at MACHA Tournament (Abingdon, MD), TBD
Sat. 16 at MACHA Tournament (Abingdon, MD), TBD
Sun. 17 at MACHA Tournament (Abingdon, MD), TBD

Sat. 23 at ACHA D2 Southeast Regionals (Location TBD), TBD
Sun. 24 at ACHA D2 Southeast Regionals (Location TBD), TBD

March 2013

Fri. 15 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (St. Louis, MO), TBD
Sat. 16 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (St. Louis, MO), TBD
Sun. 17 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (St. Louis, MO), TBD
Mon. 18 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (St. Louis, MO), TBD
Tue. 19 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (St. Louis, MO), TBD

Fall Semester Review: Ice Lions

Generally speaking, when one of your season highlights is a loss, you're probably not having a great season.

For new coach Josh Hand and the Ice Lions though, it was a loss that unofficially announced their contention for the ACHA Division 2 national championship. On October 8th Lindenwood, the dominant program in Division 1 over the last several seasons, stepped in to fill a vacancy in the Division 2 showcase. This was no stripped-down exhibition-version LU squad (Colin Long and Grant Gorczyza both played, to name two big guns), but the Ice Lions made them wish they kept their scheduled off day by carrying a 5-3 lead into the third period. Some questionable officiating then contributed to four unanswered Lindenwood goals, but still, point made. A letdown defeat to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville followed the next day, but other than those two games, PSU has not lost this year.

PSU's 8-0-0 mark in MACHA games (of 17-2-0 overall) looks even more impressive when you consider that the Ice Lions have not allowed more than two goals against any team in the league and have only scored fewer than four once. That "once" deserves some context though: it was a season-defining 3-1 win against Maryland-Baltimore County.

It would be great enough to beat one of the southeast region's powers, one that has been to the national tournament each of the last two years. But throw in the fact that UMBC is No. 2 in the southeast region with PSU at No. 3 - the top two teams in each region automatically go to nationals, third through tenth play in a regional tournament for two more bids - and the fact that the Retrievers ended the Ice Lions' season last year in that regional tournament, and the win becomes large almost beyond words.

It was former Boston Bulldogs star Creek Lewis who opened the scoring against UMBC with a shorthanded goal, then added an assist to captain Jim Recupero seven minutes later to give PSU what would prove to be an adequate amount of scoring. Leading scorer Lewis and Recupero along with former Icer Joe Zitarelli have driven the offense all season, although the effort has been large on balance with 21 different goal scorers on the team's 123 total, including six with nine or more. Recupero was at the center of probably the most dramatic moment of the season to date - an overtime winner in the D2 showcase against DePaul on October 7.

That's not to write off a defense that has only given up more than two goals twice all season (in the two losses). What could have been considered a thin unit coming in has been ably anchored by Mac Winchester (another name familiar to Icers fans), Tyler Starn, T.J. Laessig, Chris Dinsmore and Steve Aloia. Tom Badali sports a goals against average just north of one, and he's spelled by Ryan Demuth.

Looking ahead, PSU only has eight regular season games left. A home game against Pittsburgh on January 7 opens the spring semester (a return trip to the Steel City takes place on February 3). The following weekend brings a trip to Virginia to play MACHA South schools Virginia Tech and Liberty. Home games against Delaware (January 21), Rowan (January 28), Monmouth (February 4) and Saint Joseph's (February 11) round out the schedule. Of note: PSU has already played each team except Pitt and Liberty, and only November's 4-1 and 3-1 wins over the Hokies were closer than a four-goal margin.

Following that are the MACHA playoffs (February 17-19) and the ACHA southeast regional tournament (February 24-26), although PSU would prefer to not have to participate in the latter event. The national championship tournament will be hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL from March 16-20.

Three Stars: September 26-October 2

The guy on the other side of the table just questioned JoeBa's pun-making ability.

3. It's official: Flyers-Rangers in Winter Classic
(philly.com)

Brother of Nick Seravalli is the writer of record for all things Philly as far as TYT is concerned, so here's his piece on the Winter Classic's finally being announced. Of course, more to the point of why we're here:

The Winter Classic will not be only a 1-day event. The AHL's Phantoms will battle Hershey on Jan. 6 at CBP. Penn State's men's hockey team, transitioning to Division I, will face off against Aston's Division III Neumann University, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4.

This is newsworthy in the sense that last we knew, the official word was simply "Penn State at Neumann January 4th, time TBD." Now a respected reporter is calling it tentatively scheduled for Citizens Bank Park. Maybe a fine line, but hey, that's what I do. Of course, we all know what the situation is, and the Winter Classic announcement hopefully makes it one step closer to reality.

2. New Coaches Bring Fresh Faces Division I
(achahockey.org)

No, I didn't transcribe that headline incorrectly. Total pro as always, ACHA. Other than that, this one's notable for its inclusion of (and quotes from) Guy Gadowsky, but also Friday opponent Lebanon Valley College coach Don Parsons.

1. Next Stop, Indiana…To Get a Taste of Irish Ice
(statecollege.com)

A Joe Battista column entirely about hockey? Yes, please. And yeah, "Irish Ice" is what inspired the caption at the top, even though it took me about four days to get it.

Best of the Rest

Captains Announced for 2011-12 Season
(psuicelions.com)

I'm going to try and reserve this space for a quick weekly update on the ACHA D2 Ice Lions. First off, congratulations to new captain Jim Recupero, as well as alternates Joe Zitarelli (a former Icer, of course) and Steve Aloia.

Josh Hand's charges are off to a great start at 4-0-0 (20-1 vs. Susquehanna, 6-2 vs. Rider, 7-2 vs. Pitt-Johnstown and 5-1 at Montclair State) and will head to the ACHA D2 Showcase in St. Louis this weekend, where they'll take on DePaul, Minnesota-Crookston and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Of note to Icers followers: Joe Zitarelli (two goals, eight assists) and Chris Lewis (five goals, four assists) are the team's two leading scorers so far. Mac Winchester has three assists, while Matt Venoit remains injured.

Jason Kalinowski verbally commits to New Hampshire ice hockey
(Stamford Advocate)

The best kind of recruiting losses are ones you didn't know you were in on in the first place. Such is the case with Kalinowski, who chose New Hampshire over Penn State, Quinnipiac and Cornell. The good news? He plays at Salisbury Prep with Thomas Welsh and the 16-year-old isn't college-bound until 2015. Get to work, kid.

Joe Battista Part 3
(YouTube)

The completion of the Penstone-Battista trilogy (Part 1 / Part 2)...this actually turned out to be my favorite segment because of how you can see Battista wrestling with the question that I remember discussing with my best friend Tim some years ago. Specifically, I'm talking about the certain loss of intimacy that comes with going big time and the memorializing of something great (without which there would be no big time). I have no doubt that both facets are in good hands.

Oh, did I forget the View From the Booth post with color pictures of on-campus hockey played on makeshift rinks in the front yard of a frat house from the 40s and an interview with Bill Downey? Shame on me. But here you go.

Recruiting stars aren't aligned for Gophers football team in 2012
(St. Paul Pioneer Press)

Here's a juicy little nugget, buried deep in this article's bowels:

The buzz in hockey circles is that Don Lucia could be offered the Big Ten hockey conference commissioner job when the league opens in 2013.

If true, he'd have to be pretty stupid to say no, especially considering the temperature of the chair in his current office at Minnesota. In fact, the idea of Lucia getting fired got me to do a Head Coach Candidate post on him back in March. Although I believe the same guy who made me think he might be fired wrote this (some background: Lucia's not fired). But...

...here's the problem. What people in "hockey circles" (repeatedly) don't seem to understand is that there are these things called "all-sports conferences." They often sponsor football, basketball and numerous other sports - all at the same time! So when one of these (say, the Big Ten), adds a sport (say, men's hockey), it doesn't mean it needs a commissioner. Because it already has one. His name is Jim Delaney.

Once again, there's no such thing as the "Big Ten Hockey Conference." It's just the same Big Ten that already exists. Maybe you've heard of it. That's not to say that Lucia isn't in line for a league job to oversee hockey in some capacity, it just won't be the capacity of commissioner.

Colonials honor McLaughlin with arena banner
(USCHO)

Weidner new assistant coach with Niagara women
(USCHO)

Two stories from the CHA this week - Allysen Weidner, a former four-year RPI player and one-year coach at Division III Hamilton College is now on Niagara's staff. Also, Robert Morris legend/assistant coach Brianne McLaughlin now has something in common with 2008 Capital One Mascot of the Year Zippy: a banner somewhere on the other side of "tastefully understated."

2011–2012 Women’s D-I Season Preview
(USCHO)

Speaking of, here's a little get-to-know-you on our future conference rivals (and the rest of women's DI as well). And yes, Mercyhurst is predicted to roll the CHA, as is their custom.

MSUM would spend $1 million a year on coaching expenses if it gets D-I hockey
(inforum.com)

Remember Minnesota State-Moorhead? If you don't: back in July, they announced their intention to start an NCAA Division I hockey program, and that they had raised $15 million of the $37 million that they thought they needed. As it turns out, that press conference was a miserable failure because, according the school, they now have...$15 million (but hey, they made a lot of cold calls and even know what they'll pay their head coach).

NCHC: Staying At 8; Sets Stage for Notre Dame to Hockey East
(College Hockey News)

Yesterday afternoon, the NCHC announced seemingly out of the blue that it will start Year One of Armageddon (2013-2014) with eight teams - the ones they already have. So no Notre Dame. The best guess is that ND-NCHC talks reached an unbreakable impasse over television rights, and the NCHC wanted to steal all of the thunder, own the story, spin it in a way favorable to them, however you want to say it.

With the Domers already ruling out independence, it appears they may be headed to Hockey East with seemingly no other options left on the table - in fact they'll "likely" have a Wednesday announcement, presumably for that reason. Which starts a whole new series of questions: Will HEA add another school to get back to an even number? Who? And what will the ECAC (the likely target) do in reaction? Finally, and most importantly, will this ever stop? (College Hockey News answers these questions yes, RPI, add RIT and yes, respectively).

2011 9th Annual Men's Division 1 Showcase
(achahockey.org)

I'm really glad Penn State isn't in the D1 showcase this year. Participation might have meant me having to look at this logo again.

Three Stars: September 12-18

3. Despite traffic woes, PSU hockey rink gets nod
(Centre Daily Times)

A mundane, yet vital, precursor to the February groundbreaking for the Pegula Ice Arena is now completed as the College Township council approved the area's development plan. Next up? State College borough and Penn State Board of Trustees approval of said plan.

I'll save you from having to read the whole article. You're welcome.

While Township Council members expressed concern about traffic volume near the new Pegula Ice Arena, they unanimously approved the development plans Thursday.

Though a traffic impact study showed adding right turn lanes at the University/ Curtin intersection would not help traffic volumes, council members still thought traffic there will be a problem.

“In most cases, we’re not adding right-turn volume, we’re adding through volume,” said Jason Stimmel, of McCormick Taylor, the firm that conducted the traffic study. “Those through movements block vehicles from getting into the right turn lane.”

Councilman Dan Klees also had concern about those who direct traffic not having enough training to handle the increased volume, particularly when multiple sporting events could take place the same day.

“I’m just concerned that it isn’t always obvious, as a consumer and a municipal official, that it’s being done to the highest level, given the responsibility we’re entrusting with some people who are only part-time,” he said.

2. Week in Review
(View From the Booth)

Steve Penstone hits Guy Gadowsky and Nate Jensen as he continues to plow through seemingly the entire Icers roster before the season even starts.

1. 2011-12 Ice Lions Roster
(psuicelions.com)

The ACHA D2 team released its roster this past week, and lo and behold, some familiar names were included: Joe Zitarelli, Mac Winchester, Matt Venoit and Creek Lewis. The first two, of course, were vital role players last year in a season where poor depth would have meant missing nationals for the first time ever in the ACHA era. Venoit and Lewis are guys who had a lot of success in the AtJHL and are probably hungry to prove something after not making it through Icers tryouts. It's probably not crazy to predict big things for an Ice Lions team that was on the cusp of nationals last year.

Josh Hand's squad began its season with a 21-1 trashing of Susquehanna on Saturday - so far, so good.

Best of the Rest

Icers working on power play
(The Daily Collegian)

Who would've ever guessed that a USHL player and a DI transfer would be the two defensemen cited as looking good on the power play?

Joe Battista: A Hat Trick of a Weekend in Hockey Valley
(statecollege.com)

A Joe Battista column about hockey is pretty much an automatic include, but this one was better than most, particularly if you're interested in any of former assistant coach Matt Bertani, The Namesake's tennis-playing daughter, or how JoeBa spent the day of the PSU-Alabama football game.



Journeys - Joe Battista
(YouTube)

Speaking of Mr. Battista, here's something random on which I stumbled. It was posted on YouTube by the PSU Innovation Park account and is one of...

...a collection of interviews with people -- from the unknown to the well-known -- who reflect upon life's journey as a progressive act that can have no predefined conclusion or result. With such understanding, they reflect on the importance of embracing change, hardship, failure, love, and courage.

JoeBa's contribution is the story about how he learned that the Icers were losing their rink - Ice Pavilion the First - three days after he arrived on campus, but how that unexpectedly ended up as a positive event in his life.

Citizens Bank Park may host Icers
(The Daily Collegian)

Call me crazy, say I'm reading way too much into things (usually true on both counts), but check out Battista's quotes in this one. It sounds like this whole thing is a lot closer to off than on right now.

This is the ACHA...
(achahockey.org)

The ACHA appears to be firing back at the NAIH with...a brochure.

@Sportsbeat960
(Twitter)

Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...can't get fooled again. I'll believe it when there's an announcement.

...by the way, don't rule out the Big Ten just yet.