Three Stars: September 16-22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. @achamensd1
(Twitter)

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

Best of the Rest

Pretty please?

@rinsana11
(Twitter)

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

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

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

Yeeeeeeahhhh...

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

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

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

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

@HockeyValley
(Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

Now it's a Penn State hockey rink

@PegulaIceArena
(Twitter)

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

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

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

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

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

Random Big Ten preview? Sure. On Penn State:

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

Okay.

Minnesota Leads Big Ten Recruiting Class
(College Hockey News)

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

USHL Alumni Voices: Tommy Olczyk
(USHL)

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

Matt Skoff: Flyers prospect?

Ranking the Flyers’ prospects: Goaltenders
(Flyers Faithful)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Playing shorthanded: How club hockey works
(Daily Illini)

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

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

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

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

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

Tommy Vannelli leaves Minnesota program
(Western College Hockey Blog)

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

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

JoeBa and HeidiBa shut 'er down

@BattistaJoseph
(Twitter)

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

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

Great memories, indeed.

One Year Later: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos

Last July, inspired by the NHL development camp invites received by Nittany Lions David Thompson and Tommy Olczyk, I wrote a post called "Breakout Past: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos." Thompson and Olczyk were included, of course, with the rest of the list filled out by grainy, low-quality black-and-whites of players like Don Coyne and Alon Eizenman scanned from ten-year-old media guides. That's not a knock on those players or the Icers, of course - Mark Scally playing in a pair of NHL exhibition games for the Penguins in 2000 is still the gold standard for "Penn State to the show" as far as I'm concerned - but it did indicate a clear dichotomy of players from PSU's most successful period of ACHA hockey around the turn of the century and the very beginnings of NCAA-level talent at the school, with remarkably little in between. It admittedly felt a bit forced.

It's staggering how far things have progressed in a year. No, it's not all the way there yet. The list doesn't include any active NHLers, and scouring the internet for a couple days just to find not-that-great photos of a couple players (thanks for nothing, Flyers) or none at all of another (thanks for literally nothing, Canucks) seems a little south of the big time. Still, things are moving forward at a fantastic rate.

Just to be thorough, let's start with Olczyk and Thompson.

The most obvious progress has been in the form of Penn State's NHL Entry Draft picks.

[Note: Max Gardiner committed to Penn State in January 2012 and had been drafted by that point, but he wasn't included in last year's post because he hadn't been photographed playing hockey in his Blues jersey.]

Mike, if you want to pop on a Canucks jersey, selfie up, and send it over, I'd be more than happy to update this post.

This month, Koudys, McAdam and Williamson all attended development camps held by the teams owning their NHL rights (Gardiner's team, the St. Louis Blues, does not hold an on-ice camp, although they do bring prospects in for off-ice instruction). They were joined by a pair of teammates invited as free agents, similar to Olczyk and Thompson last year: Matt Skoff with the Flyers and Casey Bailey with the Bruins.

Where will the Penn State-NHL connection sit one year from today? Can't wait to find out.

Nittany Lions Close NHL Development Camps

With the last-to-start, last-to-finish Boston Bruins concluding on-ice activities at their development camp on Sunday, here's a look at how things proceeded for each of the five Penn Staters - draft picks Eamon McAdam (Islanders), Mike Williamson (Canucks) and Patrick Koudys (Capitals), along with free agent invites Casey Bailey (Bruins) and Matt Skoff (Flyers) - who received a crash course in life as an NHLer over the past week.

I'd like to think that part of my value lies in my ability (well, willingness, it doesn't really require talent) to sift through things, pull out the essentials, eliminate the duplication of information, and save you guys from the trouble. With that in mind and under the assumption that you know how to find out who the Capitals' second-line center will be this season or how guys like 2013 top-15 picks Ryan Pulock and Sam Morin looked at their respective camps if you care, the plan here is to limit things to direct coverage and discussion of the PSU guys.

However, I also included links to daily summary articles for each team (even when not discussing our specific interest), just to give an idea of the activities of everyone at the camps, Nittany Lions included. Unfortunately, not all teams updated every single day - or at all - beyond one-on-one interview videos and player-based features well past this post's scope, and there was a ton of variance in how much of the off-ice agenda was shared. Other than what is listed, most camps participated in team-building exercises in the evening, with excursions to see the local baseball team probably the most popular of those.

One more thing before getting started: the first rule of being an obsessive "I need to know everything" blogger is that there's always more out there than is possible for one human to locate. If you know of something I missed (quality photos of Skoff and/or Williamson playing hockey in NHL jerseys would be particularly helpful), let me know in the comments and I'll be more than happy to share, with full credit, of course.

Anyway, here we go...

Vancouver Canucks

Mike Williamson

• On the first full day of camp, July 8th, the Canucks posted a video of drills with Williamson making a cameo (number 71). He's not doing much other than standing there and listening to a coach, but hey, it's something.
• Following the Grouse Grind - a climb up Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver - on July 10th, a brief interview with Williamson was posted on Canucks.com. He said that camp so far was "really good... it's been great so far, and it's good to meet the guys." Williamson then described himself as a defenseman who tries to be physical while moving the puck as quickly and efficiently as possible and also said that his goals for the week involved gauging the team's expectations and the work that needs to be put in to succeed on the highest levels.
• Later that day, the prospects visited the BC Children's Hospital, where Williamson was photographed with Nicole, a six-year-old fighting kidney disease (he's the one leaning on the top of the bed). A few other shots of Williamson on the trip were captured by the Vancouver Sun, including the one above (he's the furthest right) with four-year-old heart patient Mady Keefe.
• At the conclusion of camp, Williamson expressed his gratitude on Twitter:

Sunday, July 7th: Fitness testing, on-ice drills and measurements
Monday, July 8th: Skills testing, MMA training, yoga, scrimmage
Tuesday, July 9th: Skill development, weight training, dragon boat races, cooking class
Wednesday, July 10th: Grouse Grind, visit to BC Children's Hospital
Thursday, July 11th: Open scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Four-on-four scrimmage, exit meetings

In addition to the regular recaps, Canucks.com also produced live blogs on several days that did a good job integrating their social media presence: July 8 // July 9 // July 10.

---

Washington Capitals

Patrick Koudys

• According to Caps blog The Peerless Prognosticator, Koudys spent July 9th's session partnered with Madison Bowey, Washington's 53rd overall pick on June 30th. The Manitoba native has spent the last two full seasons with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and in 2012-2013 put up 30 points in 69 games. Bowey spoke with the media that day, but shockingly nobody asked him about his development camp d-partner.
• On July 10th, Koudys again was paired up with Bowey for the camp's first scrimmage. However, their Team Red was waxed by Team White 7-3, with video of most of the game's goals available here. On the 3-1 goal beginning 19 seconds in, Koudys allows his man into a good scoring position, although it's unclear if he got a stick on the shot as it came through.
• Team White dominated Team Red for the second time in a row on July 11th, winning that day's scrimmage 4-0. Koudys was again paired with Bowey, and the two were caught napping on White's second goal, scored by Riley Barber (Bowey more so than Koudys). All four goals were captured on video this time around.
• The third scrimmage went to Red, 7-3 (video of all goals here). Koudys appeared - it's not always easy to read numbers on the video, but I believe it's him - to make a careless giveaway on a pass up the middle to lead to White's first goal (seemingly verified by this tweet), and he was in the box for Chandler Stephenson's shorthanded effort to make the score 5-2.
• I would like to make it clear that videos showing only a game's goals tend to not be very flattering to defensive defensemen, and that Koudys likely played much better than what the previous three points indicate.
• Red completed the turnaround with a 6-4 win in the camp-closing scrimmage on July 13th (first period, second period, third period, highlights). Koudys played a steady game from the back end partnering occasionally with Bowey, but mostly with 2013 seventh-round pick Tyler Lewington. On the game's opening goal, Koudys was able to start the rush by knocking a bad D-to-D pass that could have ended in disaster loose at the defensive line for Stephenson to advance with speed, and he was also effective when pinching. Primarily though, he was true to type as a stay-at-home guy who made smart plays under pressure and wasn't afraid to stand people up both entering and exiting zones. He was victimized on the goal that made the score 3-2 for White by a fluky bounce off the post that allowed his man to pound it home and was occasionally drawn out high in the zone, but he made up for any missteps with a couple of outstanding shifts on consecutive penalty kills with his team hanging on to a late one-goal lead.

The Capitals' official updates were largely on video and unfortunately offered little insight regarding the camp's off-ice actvities. So instead, here is The Peerless Prognosicator on three of the six days.

Monday, July 8th: On-ice testing, practices
Tuesday, July 9th: Practices
Wednesday, July 10th: Practices, scrimmage
Thursday, July 11th: Practices, scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Practices, scrimmage
Saturday, July 13th: Scrimmage

---

Philadelphia Flyers

Matt Skoff

• Prior to camp beginning, Stack the Pads covered Skoff's invitation.
• On July 10th, the Flyers prospects participated in their annual Trial on the Isle, a unique development camp tradition that involves a day of participation in beach-based competition and community service events in Stone Harbor, NJ. Skoff's four-man team included 2011 fourth-round draft pick Marcel Noebels, Colorado College defenseman Eamonn McDermott and Erie Otters (OHL) forward Stephen Harper.
• Skoff, thanks to his backwards Penn State hat, was pretty easy to spot in photos and video at Trial on the Isle, including a group shot with him right in the middle taken before things got underway - and it looks like he's bulked up a bit. He also makes a cameo in an Instagram video of the players approaching the beach and elsewhere (see media at the link in the last bullet).
• While it probably wasn't the producer's intent, Skoff is fairly prominently featured in this camp highlight video as he faced shots during drills from some of the team's top prospects. He's the goalie with the dark mask and mostly white pads with the small oval near the top, or number 70 on the rare occasions you can see his back.
• Although he looked to be doing well in the video, there's at least a bit of anecdotal evidence of the opposite, specifically, mentions of players like Morin and Petr Straka scoring quality goals on him. It does need to be said, though, that a free agent invite like Skoff is only newsworthy to Flyers people when he's getting beat by their draft picks/prospects, so we'd be unlikely to hear of more positive exploits.
• Behance.net grabbed the best action shot of Skoff I managed to find.
• Like Williamson, Skoff delivered a wrap-up tweet when it was over, and also gave some insight regarding his apparent beef situation:

The Flyers media relations staff, for the most part, was pretty terrible in their reporting about camp (beyond Trial on the Isle), partly because their attention was ripped away from it by the introduction of free agent signings and former coach Fred Shero's election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. As a result, I relied on TheHockeyGuys.net for July 7th, 8th and 11th. Beyond the official site's July 10th recap, which I did use, they also came through with a nice feature explaining the goals of Philadelphia's camp, and how they differed from previous scrimmage-heavy years.

Sunday, July 7th: Testing, light drills
Monday, July 8th: Practices with position groups separated, light afternoon skate
Tuesday, July 9th: Two on-ice sessions
Wednesday, July 10th: Trial on the Isle
Thursday, July 11th: Practice, grocery shopping and cooking class, camp break

---

Boston Bruins

Casey Bailey

• Any information at all on free agent invites can be considered a bonus, as obviously, the team, media and fans are much more focused on their draft picks (and usually just the high ones - even guys like Koudys and Williamson tend to be afterthoughts). Fortunately Hockey's Future poster Alicat provided a nugget from July 13th's session - and a positive one to boot: "Good hands and is an excellent passer. Has some speed. He, [Seth] Griffith and [Anton] Blidh had one rush where they went tick-tack-toe and scored on [Zane] Gothberg. Very reminiscent of [the Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton line]'s passing on odd man rushes."
• HF's DKH called Bailey "noticeable" in a brief collection of end-of-camp thoughts. Encouraging stuff to see, particularly when, as mentioned, the average Bruins observer had little incentive to care about him.
• Besides the picture above, which originated with the Bruins' Twitter account, he was also photographed by Puck Sage while shooting on goalie prospect/famous hockey family member Malcolm Subban.
• During Monday's team-building activities on Thompson Island, Bailey (blindfolded, bottom left) was included in an Instagram collage of a climb up an alpine tower.

Wednesday, July 10th: Practice, testing, social media training
Thursday, July 11th: Skills drills, full practice, cooking class
Friday, July 12th (1, 2, 3): Practices, community service activities
Saturday, July 13th: Running/fitness testing, practices, scrimmages, nutrition class
Sunday, July 14th: Practices
Monday, July 15th: Team building exercises, camp break

---

New York Islanders

Eamon McAdam

• The team posted an Instagram video of what they called McAdam's "first drill in an Islanders jersey" on July 9th, the opening day of their camp. Kid can move laterally, which is probably good for a goalie.
• That same day, WFAN's Daniel Friedman asked him about the first thing he noticed when stepping on the ice. The answer: "How strong everybody is. Everyone's bigger, faster, stronger than anything I've ever experienced." (1, 2)
• On July 10th, Friedman mentioned McAdam as a practice standout, and followed up after the close of camp with some impressions: "He was sharp throughout the week. The thing I noticed about him was how fast he moved across the crease and his knack for being square to the shooter... At times, he was a little too aggressive and he certainly has what to work on, but McAdam looked good. Refreshingly, he looked nothing like his pre-draft stats suggested he would. He made a handful of quality saves during the scrimmage, including some fairly tough ones."
• He stopped 28 of 33 shots and took the loss in the open-to-the-public Orange vs. Blue scrimmage on July 11th and was outstanding in the skills competition that followed the game (covered in a separate post). Another opinion on his play there, from This Is Islander Country: "I liked what I saw from Eamon McAdam in net. He gave up a soft goal or two, but the kid is only 18. He played the angles well and moved pretty well laterally in the net. Made a handful of nice saves too. Needs to work on his rebound control a bit, but he definitely looks like a solid goalie prospect."
• Newsday's photo gallery of the event included a great McAdam shot (above).
• All departures are not created equal:

Tuesday, July 9th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Wednesday, July 10th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Thursday, July 11th: Morning skate, Orange vs. Blue Scrimmage/Skills Competition
Friday, July 12th: Practices, camp break

Skoff Invited to Flyers Prospect Camp

Sophomore goaltender Matthew Skoff will attend the Philadelphia Flyers Development Camp, held July 8th through 11th, as a free agent invitee the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Skoff joins Casey Bailey, who was invited to Boston Bruins camp, as a Penn Stater invited to a development camp this summer as a free agent. Tommy Olczyk and David Thompson attended the camps of the Hurricanes and Flyers, respectively, last summer.

The announcement is pretty brief beyond the roster itself, so let's work the entire thing in here:

The Philadelphia Flyers today announced their 31-player roster for their 2013 Development Camp, which begins on Monday, July 8 at The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ.

The camp consists of on-ice sessions from 8:30 – 10 AM and 2:00 – 2:30 PM on Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th, and from 10:00 – 11:30 AM and 2:00 – 2:30 PM on Thursday the 11th. All on-ice sessions are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, July 10, the camp will shift to Stone Harbor, NJ for the annual Trial On The Isle, a day of conditioning and team activities that begins on the 96th St. beach at 9 AM. The day includes a team autograph signing for fans at Stone Harbor Elementary School from 1:15 to 2:45 and a beach volleyball tournament among the players that fans can watch beginning at 3pm.

If you're a Penn Stater in the Jerseydelphia area, I'd encourage you to attend, as it seems like a good time and an opportunity to get closer to things than is normally the case.

And, of course, you would get to support Skoff. The former Sioux City Musketeer and one-time Ohio State signee was a huge part of the Nittany Lions' surprising level of competitiveness as a first-year NCAA program in 2012-2013. After an early rotation with P.J. Musico, he finished the campaign as PSU's starter and with robust stats: a 9-8-0 record, a 2.48 goals against average and a 0.921 save percentage. He was at his best in the team's big wins, including 36 saves against Ohio State, 34 against Vermont and 42 against Wisconsin.

Philly Phollow-Up

A sellout crowd awaits the opening draw between Penn State and Vermont on January 19th

Penn State will once again play Vermont at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on October 26th at 7:05 p.m., news that leaked during the Philadelphia Flyers' home game against the New York Islanders Thursday night.

The leak took the form of advertising tickets for the event, as they go on sale Monday (that's this coming Monday, April 29th) at 10:00 a.m., and will be available through ComcastTIX.

A stick tap is in order for Philly native and Schenectady Daily Gazette writer Ken Schott, the first media personality to report the news on any sort of formal level.

The game, as mentioned by Schott, is a carbon copy of one played January 19th where, in front of sellout crowd of 19,529, the Nittany Lions topped the Catamounts 4-2. Goals from Taylor Holstrom, newly-minted alternate captain David Glen and Justin Kirchhevel pushed PSU to a 3-0 lead midway through regulation. Those tallies, along with another by Casey Bailey in the third period and Matt Skoff's 34 saves, were enough for the victory in what was dubbed the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. If you feel like reliving that night - and why wouldn't you? - here's TYT's coverage of what ultimately became just one of several high-profile wins during Penn State's inaugural NCAA season:

M: Penn State 4 vs. Vermont 2
1/19 Postgame: Guy Gadowsky, Justin Kirchhevel, Matthew Skoff
Penn State-Vermont Photo Gallery

PSU's triumph contributed to a five-game losing streak for UVM, which went on to finish 11-19-6 after losing to Boston College in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

The involvement of the Catamounts, a program with little obvious connection to Philadelphia, in the Wells Fargo Center game is largely the result of people of power and influence understanding how to pull strings. UVM defenseman Nick Luukko, who will be a junior during the coming season, is the son of Peter Luukko, the president of Comcast Spectacor. Comcast, among other things, owns both the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, Nick was a fifth-round draft pick of the Flyers in 2010 (I wonder how that one came to pass), so hopefully he goes pro after 2013-2014, opening the door for a program people actually want to see to play PSU in south Philly.

That said, last season's tilt was a fun event that moved a lot of tickets in spite of the opponent, and the replay in October will likely live up to the original.

Penn State's full schedule will likely be officially revealed within the next six weeks, although including Vermont, 30 games have become known through alternative sources. Army will open the Pegula Ice Arena on October 11th, and the Nittany Lions will once again participate in the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh on December 27th and 28th, facing some combination of Robert Morris, Boston College and Bowling Green. The Big Ten Tournament, involving all six conference teams, will be played in St. Paul from March 20th through 22nd, and league opponents Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin will play the Nittany Lions four times each during the regular season, twice at home and twice on the road. Two-game series against Union (home) and Air Force (away) will highlight the out-of-conference slate, along with single games against RIT (home) and Robert Morris (away).

UPDATE 4/26 2:45 P.M.: An email received from the Flyers Friday morning offers further confirmation of the game, and of the fact that the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff name and logo will once again be used.

Three Stars: January 14-20

3. Tess Weaver enjoying ice time at Penn State
(Daily American)

Oh hey, feature story on Tess Weaver to lead things off. I actually didn't know it existed until I went to assemble this post because it didn't get pushed through to my phone for some reason, so that was a nice surprise.

2. Ice Hockey Recap: Of Facepalms and Philadelphia
(Black Shoe Diaries)

One reason I love IcersGuy recaps: he always makes some connection that I miss. Here's the latest one:

What we learned from tonight is that Taylor Holstrom and Justin Kirchhevel like to play in the city of Brotherly Love. Both players tallied goals in the Winter Classic game against Neumann last season, and they would both light the lamp against Vermont in this game.

Didn't even think to check on that. Clearly, my mind has lost its keen edge. And clearly, TBS runs way too many Big Bang Theory commercials.

1. UAH Hockey Accepts Invite to Join WCHA
(uahchargers.com)

I normally reserve the top three slots for items directly connected to Penn State, but this is a worthy exception. Congratulations to all associated with Charger hockey on what is widely viewed as a program-saving outcome.

Worth mentioning: The PSU/Big Ten-triggered realignment still hasn't killed anyone. And it played a huge role in UAH's new lease. Chew on that, haters.

Best of the Rest

@e_scheid39 (1, 2)
(Twitter)

Know who my least favorite PSU recruit is? Eric Scheid.

Homophobic slurs? F reading and school? What a fine representative of our academic institution we've pulled. Someone inform this joke that he's not at Alaska-Anchorage anymore. We're better than this, period.

NCAA rules overhaul alters recruiting picture for college hockey coaches
(USCHO)

While not necessarily something that drastically affects the lives of you and I, for those charged with recruiting college hockey players, life has gotten a little easier. The NCAA has removed some recruiting restrictions, notably ones related to methods of communication and the number of coaches on the road at one time.

The changes come as part of a drive toward “reducing the volume of unenforceable and inconsequential rules that fail to support the NCAA’s enduring values,” according to the proposals.

College Hockey News also observed that the rules will be more restrictive in at least one way, as coaches are now prevented from scouting opponents in person unless their team is participating in the same event.

Why would "Rocky" not go to the school that offers the best chance for games in Philly?

Hard knocks pay off for Joe Gambardella in United States Hockey League
(silive.com)

Falls product Muto to attend NU
(Niagara Gazette)

Sticking with a recruiting theme, here are a couple who got away. One is Joe Gambardella, a teammate of PSU signee Zach Saar. He's headed to Lowell, which is really unfortunate, because...

Take the week after Christmas, when Gambardella, the leading scorer for the United States Hockey League's Des Moines Buccaneers, was hit in the face with a deflected puck. The disc struck him under his half-shield, broke his left cheek, sinus and orbital bones and caused a deep cut that required 22 stitches. After getting sewn back together, Gambardella went back out and finished the game.

"The way I like to look at it is, it's like a 'Rocky' story," Gambardella said of his rise in hockey world. He waited a beat, and delivered the punch line.

"And now," he cracked, "I look like Rocky."

The other is Jared Muto, who plays for Sioux Falls in the USHL and claimed a PSU offer but will attend Niagara.

“Location was a big thing for me,” Muto said. “I’ve been doing the whole traveling, dorming thing in the USHL, so I’m looking forward to moving back home. … My dad’s side of the family has never seen me play. We’re all really excited that I’m coming back.”

Never went to an Icers game.

As athletics boosters' bucks roll in, questions arise
(Philadelphia Inquirer)

An interesting both-sides-of-the-coin look at huge-money college athletics boosters, including T. Boone Pickens, Phil Knight, Kevin Plank and our very own Terry Pegula. Well, it's probably interesting, it lost me with the lede...

Just 28 months ago, ice hockey was a successful but obscure club sport at Penn State. Its players shared ice time with broomball teams and its arena held slightly more than 1,000 fans, which hardly mattered since few ever came to hockey games.

Frank Fitzpatrick: No Frank Seravalli, that's for sure.

Penn State Hockey Gear
(PSU Sports Blog by Lions Pride)

Penn State hockey gear? Penn State hockey gear.

Into the woods: After getting lost, I built a cabin
(Broad Street Hockey)

Finally, shoutout to Geoffrey Detweiler of BSH, who is hanging up his Ctrl key and retiring from doing the site's link posts. His reasons are well respected in this corner, especially in the midst of all the #HockeyIsBack ridiculousness (hockey never left, the NHL did), and worth a read.

Why am I linking it? Because BSH is literally the number three source of all-time pageviews for this site, due mostly to Detweiler. Thanks bud. And try not to go too crazy keeping up with the perpetual circus that is Chelsea FC.

Penn State-Vermont Photo Gallery

Photos from Saturday's trip to Philadelphia for Penn State's 4-2 win over Vermont at the Wells Fargo Center in the inaugural Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. Click any photo to enlarge.

Since I stayed in University City, on Saturday afternoon I walked over to the Class of 1923 Arena, the former home of the University of Pennsylvania's defunct NCAA Division I program. My intent was just to take a couple photos, but I stumbled on an ACHA Division 1 game between host Drexel and John Carroll and watched it until I had to head down to South Philly.

Here's the Drexel bench, the losing side by a 5-4 score.

When all else fails, take a picture of the outside of a giant arena.

Much like in Pittsburgh, the path traveled by media went past the Zamboni entrance, and much like in Pittsburgh, I snuck a photo at ice level.

This Flyers equipment guy looks like he knows he's in for a long night.

Here's Philadelphia defenseman Nicklas Grossman being interviewed following the Penguins' 3-1 win over the Flyers in the NHL season opener that preceded PSU-Vermont.

Largely because Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center is 14 years newer than its Philadelphia counterpart, the media accommodations weren't quite as luxurious. Still, Wells Fargo Center has a legit snack nook.

If I didn't see it for myself, it wouldn't have believed it...

The opening faceoff, before a sellout crowd of 19,529. Pretty incredible, especially if you're familiar with the "girlfriends and parents" gatherings of some of PSU's former ACHA opponents (see the attendance for former Icers ESCHL rival Drexel, above, as one example).

Finally, Guy Gadowsky after the game - we didn't get the press room this time around, but I can report that Ke$ha's Die Young was blasting out of the Nittany Lions' locker room, just behind Daily Collegian writer Rob Greissinger's head.

Three Stars: December 31-January 6

3. How Stuff Works - College Hockey Edition, Part 4: More About That Junior Hockey Thing
(Black Shoe Diaries)

IcerGuy's latest foray into the "explain college hockey to the uninitiated Penn State masses" series. Also, see:

Part 1: Varsity (NCAA) vs. Club (ACHA) Hockey
Part 2: NCAA D1 Conference Breakdown
Part 3: NCAA and Junior Hockey

2. When will the season start?
(philly.com)

Ready for some melt-your-face-off awesomeness? Check out what Flyers beat writer Frank Seravalli, the brother of former Icers forward Nick Seravalli, posted Sunday:

The NHL will play either a 48-game or 50-game season... with a 48-game schedule, the Flyers would likely begin - as previously reported - at home on Jan. 19 with a nationally televised rivalry game against Pittsburgh at 1 o’clock. (Penn State plays Vermont at 7:30 in men’s hockey at the Wells Fargo Center).

Ummm... wow. So you have what (for my money) is the NHL's best rivalry, featuring the two Pennsylvania teams, in the loooong-awaited NHL season opener, leading into Penn State hockey that evening in the same building, in what was already a fairly high-profile game for the Nittany Lions. And while the on-the-fly efforts to boot up the NHL season represent an evolving story at this point, as of Sunday night, indications were that the 48-game season will be the option taken.

Yeah, I can probably forget about getting a credential for PSU-UVM.

1. @PennStateMHKY
(Twitter)

This is just damn cool - the first NCAA men's team with Penn State hockey pioneer John Dufford.

Best of the Rest

Guy Gadowsky updated the media on his team's status at the halfway point of the season.

Nittany Lions on target halfway through first season
(Centre Daily Times)

This is precisely the sort of filler article that doesn't make Three Stars in a busier week, but since this wasn't a particularly prolific period... and I suppose it's nice to take a step back at the midpoint of the season for some reflection at the calendar flip. Here's Guy Gadowsky, in that vein:

“Overall we’re very happy with the general direction of where we’re going. We’re happy with the leadership of the team. That’s probably the most important thing this year — that they’re taking very seriously and setting standards, the foundation, they’re taking seriously.”

The Man Who Saved Penn State Football
(Onward State)

It isn't really a hockey story, and rumors that hit late Sunday night - if true - may throw the entire thing into jeopardy... but as I'm sure you know by now, none other than Terry Pegula reportedly kicked in $1.3 million towards PSU football coach's Bill O'Brien's 2013 salary. The move, of course, was part of an effort to retain O'Brien, who flirted with the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles last week. Quoting Onward State:

The “Thank You Terry” blog was so named because of Pegula’s $102 million gift to bring Division-1 hockey to Happy Valley. The $1.3 million Terry Pegula promised yesterday is only about one percent of that total, but in the end, it might turn out to be an even bigger reason to say thanks.

I categorically disagree, but hey, shoutout from someone huge, followed by loads of new readers. Shots on me.

UPDATE 9:28 A.M.: In a Monday morning press conference, O'Brien denied the entire thing, directly stating that he did not receive a $1.3 million raise from Pegula. That doesn't definitively mean that it didn't happen, but with O'Brien standing as the only supposedly involved party to speak on the matter, the burden of proof has certainly shifted back to the rumor mongers.

Podcasts
(psuhockeyandbaseballtalk.blogspot.com)

FoTYT Ross Insana tried his hand at a podcast heavy on PSU hockey content, and it's a quality listen. Meanwhile, I'm jealous of anyone who likes the sound of their own voice enough to do something like that.

R.J. Umberger would totally play at Penn State if that was an option in his day.

Umberger raves about hockey’s growth in Pennsylvania
(ProHockeyTalk)

Pittsburgh native and Ohio State alumnus R.J. Umberger (who also helped the Buckeyes as a volunteer assistant during the NHL lockout) is impressed with hockey's growth in Pennsylvania.

“It has been special to see how things have changed, and I loved seeing the enthusiasm for the college games this week [at the Three Rivers Classic],” Umberger said.

He singled out how the sport is growing in Pittsburgh, in particular.

“This was a great week for Pittsburgh hockey,” Umberger said. “Having Penn State around is going to make it even better. Things are looking up for hockey in this city.”

UAH 11, Vanderbilt 0
(uahhockey.com)

For the third time this season, NCAA Division I Huntsville - starved as always for home dates - took on an ACHA Division 3 opponent. And for the third time this season, it went about how most would expect.

Actually, a much more interesting measuring stick situation will come this weekend, when ACHA D1 Oklahoma plays two in the Von Braun Center. Between those games, the Sooners' two at the Ice Pavilion on February 15th and 16th, and their 4-3 overtime loss to the CIS' University of British Columbia on December 29th, OU should prove to be quite helpful in assessing the ACHA's place in the college hockey pecking order this season.

Breakout Past: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos

Two weeks ago, Tommy Olczyk became the first Penn Stater to participate in an NHL development camp, and he was joined in that distinction this week by 2013 commit Dave Thompson with the Philadelphia Flyers. In their honor, here are the notable occasions when PSU hockey players have donned jerseys of teams in the world's best hockey league. I ranked them, because ranking things is fun.

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2013 defense commit Dave Thompson and fellow camp invitee Justin Hamonic wait to get in on a drill while 16-year NHL defenseman Derian Hatcher (windsuit) observes. Photo: Wes Fieldcamp

6. Dave Thompson
Philadelphia Flyers, 2012

Thompson - a Flyers fan and a Glen Mills, PA native - is presently at Philly's prospect camp, which began Monday and runs through Sunday in Voorhees, NJ. He'll rejoin the BCHL's Chilliwack Chiefs this coming season, then begin with the Nittany Lions in the 2013-2014 season that will also feature the debut of both the Pegula Ice Arena and the Big Ten.

It's really nothing on Thompson that he's sixth here, because it's no stretch to say that he'll end up as the best player of the bunch. It's nothing on the Flyers either (put down your knives), because if I was going on how much I like the teams, I'd definitely put Carolina last (I was a Whalers fan as a kid until they moved). Thompson's sixth simply because, unlike the others in this post, he has yet to play a game at PSU.

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5. Alon Eizenman
Pittsburgh Penguins, 2001

Eizenman's look at Penguins camp was a precursor to a successful pro career, although not in North America. From 2001 through 2007, he played for Tours and Courbevoie in France (where he was a point-per-game player) and Bat Yam and Haifa in Israel. The highlight of his pro career, however, was when he led Israel to the IIHF Division II World Championships gold medal in 2005 while skating on a line with brothers Oren and Erez. Eizenman received his J.D. in 2007 and is now a practicing attorney in his hometown of Toronto. He became one of just nine people ever voted to the ACHA Hall of Fame in April.

Left to right: Eizenmans Erez, Oren and Alon

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4. Ed Bursich, Mike Pietrangelo and Don Coyne
Pittsburgh Penguins, 1999

This trio was a vital chunk of the 1997-1998 PSU team that ended a string of near misses with an ACHA national championship and subsequently followed Rob Keegan (below) as invitees to Penguins camp. All three survived for the full two weeks, but afterwards Coyne and Bursich were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's AHL camp while Pietrangelo was released in spite of his sharing a last name with Pens legend Frank Pietrangelo. He and Coyne ended up spending a couple seasons each in the AA-level minors.

Interestingly, the trio had a reunion of sorts with the doomed Valley Forge Freedom in the doomed MAHL in 2007-2008. Coyne and Pietrangelo (as well as former Icers Chris Puscian and Tom Westfall) were part of the Freedom's last-ever win, 8-4 over Wooster on February 2nd, 2008. Bursich teamed up with Westfall (the one PSU mainstay on that team) and played in a 14-4 loss to Indiana on December 29, 2007 in which former Icers Justin Depretis and Teague Willits-Kelley opposed him. Depretis had four goals and three assists in that one, by the way.

I guess I need to drop the Coyne-Jaromir Jagr photo in here too. Not the last mention Jagr gets in this post, by the way.

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3. Rob Keegan
Pittsburgh Penguins, 1996

Keegan, who scored 274 points as an Icer, won the Bob Johnson Award (formerly given to the ACHA player who "demonstrates exceptional hockey abilitiy and achievement, leadership, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm for the game") as a senior and became the first Icer ever invited to an NHL training camp. From the Icers' 1996-1997 program:

In his first intrasquad game he was lined up against NHL all-star Jaromir Jagr for most of the game. "You can't get caught watching him," Keegan said. "He's tough to cover and you've just got to do the best you can with him." ... When asked about his experience at training camp, Rob responded, "This is a dream come true for anyone who has ever played the game. Regardless of where I end up playing, it was a great learning experience and I had a lot of fun."

"Where I end up playing" turned out to be a very brief career with the CHL's Macon Whoopee in 1996-1997.

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2. Tommy Olczyk
Carolina Hurricanes, 2012

Olczyk, a PSU sophomore who attended Carolina's conditioning camp last week, is set apart by his involvement with a non-Pennsylvania team. The Penguins campers on this list, ostensibly at least (since I don't have any insider knowledge), were helped by Joe Battista's strong connection to the organization. Sure, being an Olczyk probably helps get your foot in the door in most places, but don't tell that to Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller, who was impressed with the demeanor of both Olczyk and brother Eddie, a UMass senior who was also at the camp.

“There’s a maturity level there that they’ve been used to and knowing the pro hockey mentality – they’ve been around it probably since they were kids in the dressing rooms,” [he] said ... "It’s familiar to them – they know how to train, how to be a professional – you watch them on the ice – you can see that from the experience that they’ve had.”

Olczyk (along with Thompson) is also notable for the fact that his story isn't finished yet, a fact not lost on Olczyk.

“I just want to put myself on the radar,” [he] stated. “Just coming in here and making an impression, that’s my biggest goal here."

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Mark Scally receives congratulations from former Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparitis following
Pittsburgh's 3-2 preseason win over Columbus on September 15, 2000.

1. Mark Scally
Pittsburgh Penguins, 2000

Until further notice, Scally holds the title based on his playing in actual, for realsies NHL exhibition games. That came about largely because of the bizarre state of Pens goaltending at the time. Long-time netminder Tom Barrasso had begun to falter and was shipped off at the 2000 trade deadline. Jean-Sebastien Aubin, the apparent successor, held out during that training camp (for the now-quaint amount of $700,000, as it turned out). A series of injuries to other contenders left Sebastien Caron as the most accomplished goalie in camp and opened the door for guys like Scally and former RPI star Joel Laing to make an impact.

I ran down Scally's pair of preseason games in more depth almost exactly one year ago, but the short version is that he stopped 16 of 17 in relief against the then-new Columbus Blue Jackets, earning credit for a 3-2 win on September 15th. On September 23rd Scally started, but was beat by Milan Hejduk, Ray Bourque and Adam Deadmarsh on the power play before giving way to Laing halfway through an eventual 5-2 loss to Colorado in Hershey. He was sent down before that game even ended, but followed that setback with a six-season pro career.

Here's the best/only action shot of Scally in net for the Pens. Unfortunately, it's tiny. And it might be of his goal against in the Columbus game.