Vaughan to Play Second WUG for Team USA

USA Hockey announced Wednesday that senior Women's Ice Hockey Club goaltender Katie Vaughan will play for Team USA at the upcoming Winter World University Games, which will be held December 10th through 21st in Trentino, Italy.

She was one of 17 named to what USA Hockey is calling a "preliminary roster," with more players to be added later this month.

Last season, en route to second-team All-ACHA Tournament and ACHA All-American honorable mention honors, Vaughan posted sparkling stats: an 8-4-0 record with a 1.40 goals against average, a 0.943 save percentage, and a shutout in helping to lead Penn State to the ACHA Division 2 national championship game. She spent her first two years at PSU with the ACHA Division 1 Lady Icers program, where she notably backstopped the team's 3-2 overtime upset of NCAA Division I Sacred Heart on January 14th, 2012. So far in 2013-2014, she has a perfect stat line, thanks to two shutout periods against Liberty in September 27th's season opener.

Vaughan also played for Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Erzurum, Turkey, the first time USA Hockey sent a women's team to the tournament. Alongside fellow Lady Icers Heather Rossi, Lindsay Reihl and Denise Rohlik, she went 2-1-0 in four games, including a 1.81 goals against average and a shutout to help the Americans to fourth place. Vaughan is one of just two returning members of that team, as she's joined by Robert Morris (IL) forward Ramey Weaver in that category.

Team USA, it was previously announced, will be led by long-time Penn State hockey coach Mo Stroemel, who has served as director of operations for the NCAA women's team, as both an assistant and a head coach with the Lady Icers and the ACHA Men's Division 2 Ice Lions, and also as an assistant with the ACHA Men's Division 1 Icers. He was the head coach of the 2011 U.S. World University Games entry as well. Stroemel will be assisted by Rob Blackburn and Kristen Wright, the head coaches at Michigan and Colorado, respectively.

There are other Penn State connections to the WUG as well. Massachusetts defender Paige Harrington, who played for the Lady Icers in 2011-2012 before transferring, is on the women's preliminary roster. Former Icers head (2006-2011) and assistant (1997-1999, 2001-2006) coach Scott Balboni will lead the men's team at the tournament.

Here is the schedule Stroemel, Vaughan, Harrington and the U.S. women's team face, with all games being played in a 1,672-seat rink in Pergine Valsugana, a municipality within the province of Trentino in northern Italy. All times are Eastern.

December 10th vs. Russia, 10:00 a.m.
December 12th vs. Great Britain, 6:00 a.m.
December 13th vs. Japan, 2:00 p.m.
December 15th vs. Canada, 2:00 p.m.
December 16th vs. Spain, 2:00 p.m.
December 18th vs. Semifinals, TBD
December 20th vs. Championship/Third Place, TBD

Dawes Named Women's Director of Ops

Penn State has a new director of operations for the women's team: Alex Dawes, who comes with an incredibly stout resume - from Vermont and NCAA Division III Utica - particularly for a guy who just graduated college in 2012.

Dawes replaces Mo Stroemel, who has accepted a position teaching one of his other passions, theater arts, at Penn State Altoona. Stroemel, it needs to be said, was integral in the NCAA transition of the women's team. In the three seasons since the fateful Pegula donation announcement he served as Lady Icers head coach in 2010-2011, Josh Brandwene's assistant in 2011-2012, and finally, in his hockey operations role last season. The long-time and underappreciated part of Penn State hockey's success will be heard from again, as he's set to reprise his 2011 role as coach of the U.S. Women's World University Games team in December.

Flipping back to Dawes, here's PSU's introductory press release:

---

Penn State women's hockey head coach Josh Brandwene announced on Wednesday that Alex Dawes, formerly of Utica College, will take over Director of Operations duties for the 2013-14 season. Dawes, a 2012 graduate of Utica, served as director of operations / student assistant coach of the Pioneer men's team since 2009 and will begin his stint with Penn State on July 29.

"I am very pleased to welcome Alex to the Penn State Hockey family," Brandwene said. "He is organized, articulate, and clearly understands the vital role that hockey operations plays in the success of our program. His passion for the game is evident - and his experience at two successful programs will enable him to step in and contribute immediately. I am excited to have Alex on our team."

"I'm very excited to become a part of the great athletics tradition at Penn State," said Dawes. "I am eager to get started and honored to have an opportunity to join this already great staff. This is a great time to be a member of the Penn State family and I'm thrilled to be here."

Dawes replaces Mo Stroemel, who accepted an offer from Penn State Altoona as an academic instructor in the theatre arts department.

"Mo's operations work in the first year of our program was outstanding, and I'm thankful for his service and dedication," Brandwene added. "Theater has been a life-long passion for Mo and we wish him well in this exciting new opportunity."

Dawes primarily oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Utica men's team and helped develop video breakdowns. Additionally, Dawes assisted in Utica's recruiting efforts and the team's expenditures. During his time at UC, the Pioneers improved every season, going 8-14-4 in 2009-10 to a 21-6-1 record last year en route the NCAA Division III Semifinals.

While at Utica, Dawes also played a part in the college's fundraising effort. Prior to Utica, Dawes spent his freshman year, 2008-09, at Vermont as a student video coordinator and director of hockey operations. That year, the Catamounts reached the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 1996 as he created all video breakdowns and was responsible for logistical and physical operations.

The second-year Nittany Lions will take to the ice on Oct. 4 at Vermont's Gutterson Fieldhouse for a two-game series. Following a two-game series at Quinnipiac, Penn State opens $90 million Pegula Ice Arena on Oct. 18-19 against Union. That series begins an eight-game home stand in the state-of-the-art building. The youth-laden Nittany Lions went 7-26-2 last season, but return 24 letterwinners, 98.6 percent of their scoring and the entire goaltending corps. Additionally, Penn State added four highly touted recruits to bolster the Nittany Lion effort.

Balboni, Stroemel to Lead WUG Teams

Scott Balboni

Former Icers head coach Scott Balboni and current NCAA women's director of hockey operations Mo Stroemel have been selected to lead the 2013 World University Games men's and women's hockey teams, respectively, USA Hockey announced Wednesday afternoon. The bi-annual event will take place December 11th through 21st in Trentino, Italy and, as has been the case since 2001, the American entries will be stocked with ACHA players.

Both men have extensive backgrounds with Penn State hockey. Balboni, a lieutenant for Joe Battista from 1997-1999 and 2002-2006 (periods that include the Icers' 1998 and 2003 ACHA national championship teams), took over as head coach when Battista stepped aside to - as we know now - focus on landing nine-figure donations. The former Hockey East champion defenseman at Providence put together a 149-33-9 record from 2006-2011, including an ACHA championship game appearance, an ACHA Coach of the Year award (both in 2007) and six ESCHL regular season or playoff championships. He was inducted into the Penn State Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mo Stroemel

Stroemel has been involved with PSU hockey in one form or another since 1994, always going wherever needed and doing a fantastic job. He was an assistant coach (1994-1997) and the head coach (1997-2004) of the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions during their formative years and built them into a national power through a 131-62-11 record and an appearance in the 2004 D2 semifinals. He then served as an assistant with the Icers from 2004-2007 and head coach of the Lady Icers from 2007-2011 before Josh Brandwene's hire as the first NCAA women's head coach moved him to an assistant coach's role in 2011-2012 and then to his present position.

Penn State has been well represented at the World University Games over the last dozen years of ACHA participation. Balboni was an assistant coach on both the seventh-place 2009 men's team and the sixth-place outfit in 2011, while Stroemel reprises his role as the head coach of the first-ever U.S. women's WUG team, which finished fourth in 2011. Battista, now PSU's associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey operations, was Team USA's head coach in 2003, where he was assisted by Brandwene (then the head coach with the Delaware men's team). Men's Director of Hockey Operations Billy Downey was a player on that 2003 team, which finished 11th in Tarvisio, Italy. Current NCAA men's senior Eric Steinour was a forward on the 2011 team, while NCAA women's senior Lindsay Reihl played defense on the 2011 women's team.

Katie Vaughan

Notably, ACHA women's goalie Katie Vaughan, now a junior, was also on the 2011 team as a freshman. In the tournament, she appeared in four games with a 2-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, a sparkling 1.81 goals against average, a 0.857 save percentage, and a shutout of host Turkey. With the selection of Stroemel, her coach at the 2011 WUG and also with the Lady Icers of course, Vaughan would seem a likely candidate to become the third Penn State player to appear in two World University Games, following former Icers Josh Mandel and Lukas DeLorenzo.

Here's a complete list of Penn State's World University Games player and coach participation, as of today.

2001 in Zakopane, Poland: Mandel, Mike Blevins, Scott Curry, Greg Held
2003 in Tarvisio, Italy: Downey, Mandel, Curtiss Patrick, Neal Price, Battista (head coach)
2005 in Innsbruck, Austria: Eric Harbaugh, Kevin Jaeger, Joe Maglaque
2007 in Torino, Italy: DeLorenzo, Frank Berry, Keith Jordan, Michael McMullen
2009 in Harbin, China: DeLorenzo, Jamie Zimmel, Balboni (assistant coach)
2011 in Erzurum, Turkey (men): Steinour, Tim O'Brien, Balboni (assistant coach)
2011 in Erzurum, Turkey (women): Vaughan, Reihl, Heather Rossi, Denise Rohlik, Stroemel (head coach)
2013 in Trentino, Italy (men): Balboni (head coach)
2013 in Trentino, Italy (women): Stroemel (head coach)

PSU and Lindenwood: Two of the Same?

Freshman goalie Nicole Hensley, a former teammate of PSU defender Jeanette Bateman, has been arguably the most important player while under constant pressure for 0-10-0 Lindenwood this season.

In this inaugural Division I season, the Nittany Lion women (4-7-1, 0-5-1 CHA) aren't likely to find a better way to measure their progress as a first-year program than in the four scheduled games against Lindenwood, the first two of which are tonight at 8:00 p.m. and tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, MO.

The reason is obvious, and probably already known to most of you. But for those who may be unfamiliar, LU made a transition identical to the one now underway at PSU just one year ago. The Lady Lions - like their male counterparts - were an ACHA juggernaut, winning national championships in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. LU faced the Lady Icers six times during their shared ACHA tenure and won each contest, including one at the 2007 ACHA national championships. Nittany Lion seniors Lindsay Reihl and Kate Christoffersen played in each of the other five including the most recent, a 2-1 loss at the Ice Pavilion on October 3, 2010 that saw 54 saves from current ACHA women's team goalie Katie Vaughan.

Though Lindenwood may have started from a higher ACHA plane, Penn State had a sizable advantage through its transition process - specifically the amount of time to prepare for the move. PSU, of course, made its elevation announcement on September 17, 2010 and played its first NCAA Division I game on October 6th. Lindenwood made its announcement six months later, on March 25, 2011, and played its first DI game one year earlier, on September 23, 2011 (they chose to make their debut at Wisconsin, which is either brave or stupid, depending on your outlook). Six months simply isn't enough time to make a full transition, which is possibly reflected by the fact that Penn State already has more wins against DI competition than LU by a 4-2 count. A quality series from PSU this weekend to go with another at the Ice Pavilion on February 8th and 9th would reinforce the idea that Josh Brandwene, his staff and the team have done a phenomenal job getting things off the ground - even to the point where they've passed programs with a head start.

The games, additionally, are a chance for to solidify a position in the CHA standings, as PSU is a point up on the Lions thanks to a tie with RIT on October 26th, but sixth-place Lindenwood has a whopping four games in hand (technically, a sweep would boost Penn State all the way to second place, as both RIT and Robert Morris are playing non-conference games this weekend, although both the Tigers and Colonials would have several in hand as well).

Senior captain Brett Lobreau, who already has a 5-0-0 career record against Penn State (including two goals and an assist), leads the Lady Lions defense.

Here's the thing, though: Lindenwood likely sees things the same way, as an opportunity to collect wins against a first-year program following a brutal start to this season, and indeed their entire NCAA DI existence. LU, as mentioned, made the move from ACHA to NCAA last season and struggled mightily. They ended up 11-21-0, but 2-18-0 against other DI teams, beating only Sacred Heart (and SHU went from December 17, 2008 through October 19, 2012 between wins against DI opponents... I won't mention the game that ended that run, though).

This year, the Lady Lions are 0-10-0 (0-2-0 CHA), though it needs to be said that LU has upgraded quite significantly from last year's transitional schedule, part of which included joining the CHA along with PSU and RIT. The opponents so far: Ohio State, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State on the road, Wisconsin and Mercyhurst at home. Yikes. Not surprisingly, playing a bunch of national powers and schools from the nation's best conference - both, in Wisconsin's case - has led to a bunch of unflattering statistics.

Lindenwood allows 5.5 goals and 53.2 shots per game while scoring a mere 0.9 on 21.7 shots. The Lady Lions have yet to score a third-period goal this season and have spent exactly 19 minutes, 32 seconds with the lead. The team's top scorer is Alison Wickenheiser, who has three points on a goal and two assists (Allysson Arcibal and Lyndsay Kirkham hold the runner-up slots with a pair of goals each). Freshman goaltender Nicole Hensley, actually one of the team's bright spots so far, has not faced fewer than 41 pucks in any game that she's started and finished.

Does any of that matter, particularly in light of LU's schedule? No, not really. The only statistic that matters, as the cliche goes, is two, the number of wins possible from the weekend. For Lindenwood, two would represent a possible turning point in their DI history. For Penn State, two would simply represent another few milestones (first CHA wins and sweep, first road sweep, a proven measure of growth against another new NCAA program, etc.).

In light of those contrasting statements, maybe measurement isn't necessary after all.

Thanks to (clockwise, from top left) Lindsay Reihl, Erica Wynn, Mo Stroemel, Vince O'Mara, Allysson Arcibal and Samantha Redick, this weekend will be an informal 2011 World University Games reunion.

There are always connections between teams in the tightly-knit hockey community, but Penn State and Lindenwood seem to have an inordinate amount of them. Consider:

• Junior defender Chelsea Witwicke was two years ahead of Paige Jahnke at Roseville High School. The two won the Minnesota state AA championship together in Witwicke's senior year of 2009-2010. Witwicke started her college career at Niagara but transferred to LU when the Purple Eagles dropped women's hockey after last season.
• Junior forward Jocelyn Slattery played with Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch at Connecticut from 2010 through 2012 (2011 in the case of Gross).
• Junior forward Arcibal, senior forward Erica Wynn and junior forward Samantha Redick all played with Reihl on Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Erzurum, Turkey. The four helped the U.S.' first-ever WUG women's entry to a fourth-place finish. By the way, director of hockey ops/video coach Mo Stroemel coached the team and was assisted by LU head coach Vince O'Mara.
• Freshman goalie Nicole Hensley and freshman defender Chloe Williams played with Jeanette Bateman with the Colorado Select program.
• Freshman defender Rachel Weich played with Emily Laurenzi at National Sports Academy.

I just named 15 of the 50 rostered players in the game (30 percent) on a pretty superficial flyover. Win or lose, I suppose the good news is that the teams can probably have an incident-free pizza party afterwards.

Stroemel Reassigned, Out as Associate Coach

Stroemel (left) is moving to a third job in the last three years.

Mo Stroemel, the man who quite possibly has filled as many roles as anyone else in the history of Penn State hockey, will add yet another to the list: director of hockey operations and video coach for the women's program. He has been removed from his previous role of associate coach.

Stroemel joined former Boston University star Gina Kearns on Josh Brandwene's Lady Icers staff in 2011-2012, after serving as head coach of the program from 2007-2011. He interviewed to be the first head coach of the NCAA Division I women's program and lost out to Brandwene but was retained on staff.

Following those events last June, Stroemel indicated to The Daily Collegian's Christine Newby that he was grateful to stay involved with the program in any capacity, an outlook that hopefully has not changed.

“I think the university is behind me, and they are going to find a role for me at this point. I appreciate that. I think they’re willing to recognize the role that I had in getting us to where we’re at, at this point.

“I think it’s an honor and a privilege to be allowed to continue on with the program in some manner.”

Prior to his tenure as head coach of the Lady Icers, he was an Icers assistant under both Joe Battista and Scott Balboni from 2004-2007 and also spent ten years (1994-2004) as an assistant and head coach with the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions (for more detail on Stroemel's resume, check out Head Coach Candidate: Mo Stroemel, a post that examined his worthiness of the position that eventually went to Brandwene).

Here's the job posting for Stroemel's replacement:

Click to enlarge.

The remainder of the post is pure speculation, just to be unambiguous about things.

The emphasis on goaltending requested by the posting, as well as Stroemel's new title, may indicate some shifting of responsibilities elsewhere in PSU hockey as well. Director of Hockey Operations Bill Downey, for example, is no longer listed on the women's roster and, while he probably retains oversight over both programs, he may begin spending more of his time on the men's program. Additionally, Josh Hand has been a goaltending consultant for both men's and women's programs, but his duties as head coach of the Ice Lions significantly limit his availability in that capacity.

One also has to wonder about the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to this move occurring now. It's curious that administration would make a point of building a staff to lead the program through a final ACHA season and get a running start into NCAA competition, only to make a significant change after year one. Was Stroemel forced on Brandwene and the two just couldn't make the previous arrangement work? Considering the relatively small number of pre-2011 Lady Icers expected to make the NCAA roster (my estimate: 2-3), was Stroemel only kept as top lieutenant for continuity with those he had coached previously, becoming expendable once they graduated?

Whatever the case, it's an unfortunate turn of events for a guy who has served PSU hockey quite capably for a lot of years, and who sacrificed diverse non-hockey interests (his position in the School of Theatre as one example) to fully commit to the women's NCAA program.

Three Stars: August 29-September 4

3. Penn State Women's Ice Hockey - Gina Kearns Interview
(YouTube)

My first offseason of doing this blog wasn't really worthy of the dread I felt in approaching it. Conference realignment, recruiting and a general overreaction to the smallest, most inconseqential detail kept me pretty occupied. Until this week, which was a pretty decent facsimilie of what I had feared.

So, in addition to this post being shorter than usual, I decided to go a little unconventional and give all three slots to the GoPSUSports interviews with the women's coaching staff. First up is Kearns, a particularly savvy hire in light of the fact that she's been there before, as a player on Boston University's first women's team.

2. Penn State Women's Ice Hockey - Mo Stroemel Interview
(YouTube)

Stroemel is truly one of the unsung heroes in Penn State hockey, so it's pretty satisfying to watch him get a short song (haha get it?) as he talks a little about where he's been recruiting, the changes going from club to varsity and what this all means to him personally.

1. Penn State Women's Ice Hockey - Josh Brandwene Interview
(YouTube)

Brandwene is a lot like Guy Gadowsky in that you can't listen to him talk without being excited about the program he coaches. One thing that crossed my mind while watching this: was he considered for the Icers job when Joe Battista stepped aside? That would've thrown quite a wrench into the course of history, like if Marty McFly bagged his mom.

Best of the Rest

Family Time
(View From the Booth)

Steve Penstone chronicles a golf trip to Ireland and Scotland by several former Icers (including current Icer Rich O'Brien's father Rick). Someday I'll get to the bottom of hockey's inextricable connection with golf.

Letter From Coach Hand
(psuicelions.com)

The ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions finally have a website worthy of the program, and Josh Hand helps to introduce it with a little bit of a personal mission statement. Especially when considering the possibility of familar faces on the roster, the Ice Lions will be getting a boost in recognition from this corner this season.

Cataruzolo Joins Harvard as Director of Hockey Operations
(ecachockey.com)

Bill Downey's replacement carries a nice track record from his time at NCAA Division III Trinity College.

[David] Cataruzolo guided Trinity to a high level of success over 14 years, including the last four as head coach. He led the Bantams to a 58-39-8 overall record, four consecutive postseason bids and an NCAA Division III quarterfinal appearance in 2008. Prior to taking over as head coach, he served six seasons as associate head coach and three more as recruiting coordinator and graduate fellow.

Since joining the men’s hockey staff in 1998, Cataruzolo helped Trinity qualify for 11 consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournaments, two league titles, three trips to the NCAA Division III tournament and an NCAA semifinal appearance in 2005. Three Trinity players were named to the American Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-America team in Cataruzolo’s final six years in Hartford.

NHL watches as colleges wage war with Canadian junior hockey
(The Sporting News)

The latest "best piece ever written on the NCAA-CHL war" takes a particular focus on the allegations of under-the-table payments to potential major junior prospects using the NHL's money.

New blog title under consideration: "Skip Prince is a Boss."

An Open Letter From the USHL
(The Pipeline Show)

Count USHL President/Commissioner Skip Prince among those who is tired of taking shots from up north and elected to give a few back. This one's a must-read, no excuses, and I don't say that very often.

Linkorama
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Chris Dilks at WCHB does the same sort of link dump post that I'm doing right now, except his is way better and more focused. For this one, he gathered all the principals in the NCAA/USHL/CHL battle royale this week, in case you're interested in more reading on the issue.

WCHA is sport's 'caretaker'
(PucKato)

Minnesota State writer Shane Frederick observes that even though the conference realignment is, for the most part, settled, some vital questions are still hanging out there.

Brandwene Adds Stroemel, Kearns to Women's Staff

Women's head coach Josh Brandwene announced today that Mo Stroemel and Gina Kearns have joined his coaching staff.

The tapping of Stroemel, the now-former Lady Icers boss who will serve in the lead role as associate head coach, comes with little surprise. Shortly after Brandwene beat him out for the NCAA squad's head coaching job, it became known that Stroemel would remain with the program in an unspecified position. Given his background, it wasn't a massive violation of logic to assume that the position would ultimately be that of an assistant coach.

Here's the press release quote from Brandwene:

"I have known Mo for 15 years as a colleague and friend, and I am grateful to have him on board. He has been a consistently positive influence on Penn State Hockey for almost two decades, and his passion for and commitment to Penn State Hockey will be instrumental in our success."

One can't help but feel good for Stroemel, who has faithfully served Penn State hockey wherever needed for going on 20 years. TYT has already gone into his career in Head Coach Candidate: Mo Stroemel, so if you're looking for the biographicals, I'll direct you there.

Kearns is the newcomer to Penn State, and she brings an impressive resume with her, largely as one of the top players in the history of Boston University's six-year-old program.

In her four seasons (2005-2009), she finished among the team's top three scorers every single year, and her career totals of 52 goals and 50 assists meant that the Norwood, PA native departed as the leading scorer in program history. Her statistics were built up, in part, by 27 multi-point games, and she was at her best in tight situations - among her 52 goals were six shorties and 11 game-winning tallies. Kearns was also a leader, in the form of a three-year captain who never missed a game.

I'll leave it to BU's bio to address her career prior to lighting up Walter Brown Arena.

Graduated from Interboro High School in Prospect Park, Pa., where she was a senior captain of the boys' varsity ice hockey team during the 2004-05 season ... Played for the Princeton Tiger Lilies of the Mid-Atlantic Women's Hockey Association in 2004-2005 and totaled 121 points (81 goals, 40 assists) in 51 games ... As an assistant captain, led the Tiger Lilies to the bronze medal at the 2005 USA Hockey Girls' 19 & Under National Championship ... Captained the Philadelphia Little Flyers of the MAWHL in 2003-04 and tallied 146 points (92 goals, 54 assists) in 53 games ... Received the Presidents Award for Educational Excellence, the Interboro High School Faculty Award and was a member of the National Honor Society.

Incidentally, former Lady Icers star Jessica Waldron played for that Princeton Tiger Lilies team as well. Kearns and Waldron also teamed up to win the 2004 Summer Keystone State Games tournament, with Kearns taking home the outstanding amateur athlete award.

The 2005 USA Hockey girls 19U bronze medal winners. Kearns is right in the middle with pretty much just her head visible, and the Penn State shirt is the giveaway with Waldron.

I can't say that it's surprising when someone with more Cs than Minnesota has lakes (sorry about that one) gets into coaching. Kearns did exactly that, as the only full-time assistant with the Division III Neumann University Knights, in Aston, PA, from 2009-2011.

In her final season at Neumann, Kearns and head coach Casey Handrahan helped the team to a 16-7-4 mark, which included a ten-game unbeaten streak at the end of the season, halted only by a 2-1 loss to Plattsburgh in the ECAC West semifinals. 2009-2010 saw the Knights finish a level 12-12-1 under Matthew Kennedy.

Here are Brandwene's thoughts on Kearns:

"I am incredibly excited to welcome Gina to the Penn State Hockey family. Gina's experience as a player in the first four years of a brand new college program, her outstanding leadership ability and coaching experience make her a terrific addition. She will be a fantastic role model for the women in our program."

Undoubtedly a great hire. TYT welcomes Gina Kearns to Penn State and congratulates Mo Stroemel on his position being solidified!

Head Coach Candidate: Mo Stroemel

Second in a series taking uninformed, uneducated guesses at the candidates to become the first head coach of Penn State's NCAA women's team. Previously: Mercyhurst coach Mike Sisti.

When I started this series on the men's side, I led off with Icers coach Scott Balboni. I suppose that it's now safe to admit that I did so mostly as a courtesy. I knew he wasn't going to be the guy and I'm sure he knew he wasn't going to be the guy too.

However this post, about Lady Icers coach Mo Stroemel, isn't the same thing. If the administration's goal is a splashy hire, or someone with proven success at the highest levels of NCAA women's hockey, he's obviously not going to be the guy. However, if you want a well-coached team that wins games, headed by a loyal Penn Stater, you could do a lot worse. And because Stroemel, uniquely among candidates, comes from a club background, he'll be able to do all of that efficiently - which may prove an important factor in all of this.

The West Chester native who played defenseman in high school tried out for the Icers in 1976, but didn't make it, and at one point gave up playing hockey altogether for 13 years. But as we all know, it's pretty much impossible to stay away from hockey forever. He re-entered the game through adult leagues in the late 1980s, then made his triumphant return to PSU as a member of the faculty. It didn't take very long for him to sign on as an assistant with the ACHA Men's Division 2 Ice Lions, a post he held from 1994 through 1997 before assuming the team's head coaching job. In Stroemel's final season as an assistant, the Ice Lions finished in the runner-up spot at the ACHA National Tournament, Penn State's best finish ever.

Stroemel was the Ice Lions head coach through 2004, and the nutshell version of his tenure reads as follows:

While coaching the Ice Lions, Stroemel piled up a 131-62-11 record, led his team to four national tournament berths, a final four appearance, and claimed the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 ACHA Men's Division 2 Northeast Region Coach of the Year awards.

That final four appearance came in his final season of 2003-2004, where forward Ryan Tocicki and goalie Dan Koletsky helped PSU roll through Miami (OH), Colorado State and Central Michigan before a 1-0 overtime heartbreaker against New York University eliminated them in the semifinals.

I think Stroemel's level of success with an ACHA D2 program is quite impressive in light of a couple facts:

1. ACHA Division 2 is dominated by schools like Life University, Davenport (when they were in D2) and Grand Valley State (the current champ), where the teams are the highest level of hockey played on campus. In fact, to date, Penn State is the only D2 program in history to play for a national championship while an ACHA D1 program also existed at the school (a few others have done so with an NCAA Division I program taking away the attention, but at the same time, there's no competition for players in that scenario).
2. Division 2 has, depending on the year, roughly three or four times as many teams as Division 1, yet only 16 make the national tournament (others are eliminated in four regional tournaments). So four trips to nationals in seven seasons is outstanding in my view.

He moved from the Ice Lions to assisting with the Division 1 Icers for three seasons, 2004-2007, spanning both the Battista and Balboni regimes. I'm going to assume some knowledge on your part there and just quickly point out PSU's record of 85-22-5 with Stroemel as an assistant, as well as the fact that the Icers played for the ACHA national championship in each of those seasons.

Following Penn State's 2007 title game loss to Oakland, Stroemel flipped over to the women's side, and he recently completed his fourth season behind the Lady Icers' bench. It was in this present position where he's shown some ability to build. In his first two years, PSU was 15-34-0, far off the pace the Lady Icers had established as one of the solid programs in women's Division 1.

By Stroemel's third year, however, things started to click. Penn State went 12-13-1 in 2009-2010, and gained the No. 7 ranking at the end of the regular season - good enough for the Lady Icers' first trip to nationals since 2007. And while things didn't go quite as planned there, the program's foundation had been re-set.

One only needs to recall this past season to see Stroemel's expertise in play. While on the surface 11-14-2 and missing the ACHA National Tournament looks like a step back, I'd argue that not completely bottoming out was a tremendous achievement in many respects. Consider:

• While only one senior was lost from 2009-2010, that senior was Alicia Lepore - not only PSU's leading scorer, but the individual responsible for 26 percent of the Lady Icers' goals.
• The Lady Icers were still extremely young last season, with only two seniors.
• The team suffered a rash of concussions during the last three weekends of the season, with Kate Christoffersen, Amanda Yost and Abby Miller all going down. Christoffersen's concussion ended her career.
• And of course, Stroemel and four of his key players were selected to compete with the first women's hockey team sent to the World University Games by USA Hockey. Notably, those four players included both of PSU's goalies during a crucial time of the season.

Still, Stroemel and Pat Fung (who took over bench duties while the head coach was in Turkey) guided the team to an 8-4-0 fall semester record, and PSU remained solidly in the national championship picture until an inexcusable snub put them out of the tournament. Meanwhile Stroemel, goalies Heather Rossi and Katie Vaughan, defender Lindsay Reihl and forward Denise Rohlik helped Team USA finish fourth at the WUG - the highest finish ever at the event, by either the men or women, since USA Hockey re-opened its participation in 2001.

Allie Rothman was Penn State's leading scorer among defenders as a freshman last season. She's one member of an extremely young team hoping to make the jump in 2012.

While all of this sounds pretty solid, there's one major issue with Stroemel that I don't think I've had to raise with any other HCC post: he has substantial interests outside of hockey. For example, he's a faculty member in Penn State's School of Theatre, specializing in technical theatre. Here's his resume in that area:

MFA and BA from Penn State. Technical Director for more than fifty productions over the last fifteen years. Production Stage Manager, Stage Manager, Technical Director South Jersey Regional Theatre; Propsmaster, Claridge Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City; Technical Theatre Specialist at Penn State; Guest Lecturer, Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ. Set design for Take Note, WPSX-TV. Local crew for National Tours of Les Miserables, CATS, and Sesame Street Live; Ongoing design and technical consultation with local high schools, businesses and other organizations. Member USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology), SETC (Southeastern Theatre Conference).

It's one thing if that's it. It's quite another when...

More specifically:

Stroemel has been writing and performing for over twenty years. Based in Central Pennsylvania, he has appeared in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Nashville, New York, Atlantic City, Florida and London. His songs connect with people of all ages and his personable and easy-going style make his live appearances fun and intimate.

Mo currently performs as a solo act and as a bass player with the Family Brew (formerly the Phyrst Phamly), a house band with a 40 year tradition at the Brewery in State College, PA.

He has performed at festivals including The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and The People's Choice Festival.

He's independently released a couple albums as well, which draws from influences like Bob Dylan, Slaid Cleaves and Townes Van Zandt.

Maybe I'm wrong (I certainly have been before), but that doesn't sound like the type of passion you scale back for the demands of coaching at the NCAA level.

Women's World University Games Preview

USA Hockey is sending a team to compete on the women's side of the World University Games for the first time in 2011, and much like on the men's side, the ACHA will be supplying the players for the team - including four Penn Staters. They'll be coached by another, Lady Icers head coach Mo Stroemel, and will fight with five other countries for the gold medal.

The Team

Penn State fans should have an especially high degree of familiarity with the team's goaltending, as both Heather Rossi and Katie Vaughan ply their trade at the Ice Pavilion. In this case, familiarity definitely does not breed contempt, as the tandem has been the strength of the Lady Icers all season. You needn't go any further than Rossi's 48 saves on 51 shots in a huge 4-3 win at Rhode Island on October 23rd. Even in defeat, the pair shines - see Rossi's 50 saves and Vaughan's 40 saves in tight losses to No. 1 Lindenwood early this season for reference.

Rossi (left) and Vaughan (right). It's pretty safe to say that there are more rubber streaks on their home whites than I can count.

Vaughan told her hometown paper last month that she's excited for the trip for more than just the hockey.

"I love to travel and to go to new places," she said. "So I'm super excited to go to Turkey. I was told that if I go, there's a museum I have to see and I definitely hope we get to go to the hot springs."

In front of the two PSU goalies will be another Penn Stater, sophomore defender Lindsay Reihl. She's the youngest member of a highly-experienced backline that includes some of the ACHA's best, including Lindenwood's Shea Crawford, a second team All-American last season, teammate Nicole Konsdorf and Michigan State's Christina Young.

Defender Reihl, forward Rohlik, head coach Stroemel.

While the team has a distinctly defensive feel (in contrast to the men's side), they should be able to hold their own on the scoresheet as well. To that point, I present Robert Morris (IL)'s Ramey Weaver, who has a video game-like 33 goals and 72 points in 21 games played - both numbers are good enough to rank in the top three of women's Division 1 among teammates who, unfortunately, are Canadian. Michigan State's Charlotte Hoium (23 goals, 16 assists), Grand Valley State's Ashley Rumsey (24 goals, 14 assists) and Shelby Kucharski (21 goals, 13 assists) and Michigan's Emily Nelson (18 goals, 13 assists) also rank among the top ten scorers. Lady Icer Denise Rohlik adds depth to this group.

The Rest of the Field

Canada, Finland, United States, Slovakia, Great Britain and Turkey are the six teams competing in Erzurum.

Unlike on the men's side, the women's tournament is not split into pools. The six participating countries play a round robin schedule, after which the top four advance to the semifinals.

While this is the first year of US participation, women's hockey actually made its WUG debut in 2009 in Harbin, China. Team Canada defeated the hosts for the gold medal, while Finland took the bronze. With China not participating in this year's tournament, Canada has to be considered the clear favorite. I'll let Canadian Interuniversity Sport tell the story on our neighbors to the north.

Five players return from the 2009 championship squad including rearguards Carly Hill of McGill and Kelsey Webster of York, as well as forwards Andrea Ironside of Wilfrid Laurier, Mariève Provost of Moncton and Courtney Unruh of York.

Provost was one of Canada’s most prolific scorers two years ago finishing the seven-game tournament with four goals and three assists for seven points. Unruh tallied five points (4-1-5) including the game-winning goal in the title match against China.

“I like our mix of returning players and newcomers. It’s critical at the international level to have experience on your side, to have leadership in order to bring the team together in challenging situations,” [head coach Les] Lawton commented. “We think we have the best in CIS women’s hockey. That was our goal from day one.”

Defending the Canadian net will be a pair of fifth-year goaltenders, Brock’s Beth Clause and Laurier’s Liz Knox.

After Canada, Finland obviously has to be considered a contender as well. Team USA is sort of a wild card in the competition - the deficit between Canada, the US, and the rest of the world in women's hockey has been well documented, but will that apply here? My guess is that the Americans will represent well, and there's a great chance of the women finishing higher than the men, but I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach before I go penciling in a US-Canada gold medal game.

Konsdorf, for her part, told the Saginaw News that she's taking a measured, yet optimistic approach to expectations.

“[Our goal is] obviously, to win,” she said. “But to place in the bracket would be awesome.”

The Schedule

Full competition schedule here.

Here are Team USA's games, again, a nice reminder of why I love competitions on the other side of the world so much - the men get me at work, the women when I'm supposed to be sleeping.  

Group Play

Thursday, January 27 vs. Slovakia, 2:30 a.m.

Friday, January 28 vs. Turkey, 4:00 a.m.

Sunday, January 30 vs. Finland, 8:00 a.m.

Monday, January 31 vs. Slovakia, 4:00 a.m.

Wednesday, February 2 vs. Great Britain, 5:30 a.m.

Medal Round

Friday, February 4 - Semifinals

Saturday, February 5 - 5th place game/Gold and Bronze Medal games