If Zach Saar's play reminds you of a linebacker, you can probably thank his father Brad, a reserve at the position on Penn State's 1982 national championship football team. Fortunately for Guy Gadowsky, the son chose a different game but applies the same mentality to it, as he'll provide the sort of earth-moving down-low presence that will pay dividends not fully captured by statistics, although he's also proven adept at scoring dirty goals. Saar, along with Jonathan Milley, is the biggest of a not-small group of PSU forwards, and while he bounced around a lot during his USHL career - from Chicago to Des Moines to Muskegon in the last two years - there's an important commonality to both of his trades. Each time, the organization seeking Saar was attempting to load up for a run to either make the playoffs or to compete for a title. In other words, smart hockey people recognize that guys like him help teams win.
Career Statistics (2010-12 with USHL Chicago Steel, 2011-13 with USHL Des Moines Buccaneers, 2012-13 with USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks):
Yeah "Penn State Holds NCAA Attendance Mark" kind of caught my attention when this one came across.
In its first year as an NCAA program, Penn State actually set the mark for the highest-percentage of seats filled. Before moving over to the state-of-the-art 6,000-seat Pegula Ice Arena (above) next season, the Nittany Lions call Greenberg Ice Pavilion and its 1,400-seat capacity home. Despite the seating limitations, Penn State sold out every home game and averaged over 120% attendance.
In the NCAA records, PSU is given nine home games - two against AIC, Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville, and one against Buffalo State, Neumann and Robert Morris. Seven of the nine ended up as Ice Pavilion sellouts of 1,300 in a building that never has the same capacity listed in two different places. The Tuesday night Neumann game was just under a sellout at 1,071. The last one? The 5,389-person crowd in Wilkes-Barre against AIC on October 13th. Divide something like that against the Ice Pavilion's capacity (instead of counting Wilkes-Barre's 8,050 capacity for hockey for that game), and you end up with 128.1 percent capacity over the season.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the potential fan base for PSU hockey - that Wilkes-Barre game, as well as those in Hershey, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh chief among them. It seems kind of silly to pump ourselves over something like a falsely-calculated "attendance mark."
Guy Gadowsky's name comes up in this coach-of-the-year discussion - then is fairly quickly dismissed for vague reasons ("I don't know if it'll gain a lot of traction"). Why? Find me one person who, before the season started, thought Penn State would even be competitive with major-conference programs - I'm an unapologetic homer, and I didn't think that - let alone actually beat four of them. With all due respect to guys like Rand Pecknold and Bob Motzko, who have done amazing things this season, there's really no argument in my mind. People thought Penn State would be a whipping boy for years, perhaps forever. Penn State surged well past "whipping boy" in its first year.
2014 commit Bo Pellah doesn't know Bill Murray. But is really into Taylor Swift. If I didn't secretly (not anymore, eh?) plow through two TayTay albums on every single road trip, I'd say something about how horrible that is. Regardless, a quick and highly entertaining interview - I always love anything that shakes players out of the hockeybot mindset in public.
Hey look, you guys - Big Ten championship trophy. The conference isn't noted for commissioning quality designs, but I really like this one, as it looks like a bunch of skate blades and a puck. Kinda. Well done. Also, according to a photo tossed on Facebook by UNO message board MavPuck.com, we may have a Big Ten Tournament logo as well. Good times.
Allow me to be the last to tell you that legendary Boston University coach Jack Parker is retiring at the end of the year after 40 seasons, 894 wins (and still counting for now), three national championships, boatloads of NHLers (including Mike Grier, a nephew of PSU football legend Rosey Grier) and a bunch of other impressiveness. When I first got into college hockey, BU was my favorite NCAA program, and while it probably wasn't any longer by September 16, 2010 (the last day before PSU was in that category), I've always generally rooted for the Terriers except against a handful of schools, with Parker being a huge reason why.
There's been a lot written about Parker's "complicated" legacy in light of the last couple of years of off-ice issues. Kind of reminds me of another coach, different sport, more familiar to readers of a Penn State blog. I believe history, ultimately, will be kind to both, but we'll see.
Going to go take a shower after linking something written by Ryan Lambert. Be right back.
First off, congratulations to Minot State on the ACHA Division 1 title, as they beat Lindenwood 9-5 in the championship game in Bensenville, IL on Wednesday. The Beavers had developed a reputation as tournament flameout kings over the years, but I like their program, so I'm happy to see that one buried. Second off, "octant?" Never change, ACHA.
The three ACHA opponents of Penn State (Arizona State, Oklahoma and Ohio) all saw their seasons end in disappointment at nationals, with the eventual champs taking out both the Sooners (in overtime in the quarterfinals) and the Bobcats (in the semifinals). ASU fell to Lindenwood in the other semifinal. A team that beat Penn State this year wasn't even the second-best team in the ACHA, as things turned out. ACHA hockey is good hockey, people.
The NCAA Division III opponents of the Nittany Lions are also done with their seasons, by the way. Buffalo State wound up 13-12-2 overall with a loss to Oswego in the SUNYAC semifinals. Fredonia was 7-16-3 overall and lost to the Bengals in the SUNYAC quarterfinals (the two teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league standings). Neumann was the best of the three at 19-6-3. The Knights won the ECAC West tournament with a 3-0 victory over Manhattanville but missed out on an NCAA tournament at-large bid, becoming one of those rare teams to end their season with a win.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, congratulations to Mercyhurst, which recovered from last season's blip (a tournament championship game loss to Robert Morris) to continue their quest to win everything ever in the CHA. MU topped Syracuse in the final on Saturday, after the Orange took out RIT (which ended Penn State's season, of course) 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris 2-1 in the other semifinal.
The Lakers were also the only one of Penn State's opponents this season to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament, and they'll open with Cornell on Saturday.
Went with Matt Mendelson for the photo, because Cara Mendelson is not an enemy you want to have
A couple of quick player profiles from the USHL franchise including one men's signee (Saar) and one women's team sibling (Mendelson). Toss in incoming RPI transfer Pat Koudys, and yeah, I'll admit that the Jacks are my favorite team in the league, at least right now.
Remember when Alabama-Huntsville played at the Ice Pavilion a month ago and head coach Kurt Kleinendorst let it slip that the Chargers were returning next year in one of his postgamers? Looks like that's off, thanks (probably) to the fact that the WCHA was able to accommodate the no-longer-independent school with a full conference schedule a year earlier than planned.
Speaking of UAH, March 5th was the 30th anniversary of an epic national club championship game between the Chargers and Penn State. Here's a fantastic look at it from the FoTYT down south including, for the first time that I've seen, a full box score of the game.
This news is a couple weeks old, but the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH, the site of the 2006 ACHA D1 Showcase and 2007 national championships, is closing in May. For whatever it may be worth, it hosted the Icers' last-ever ACHA championship game appearance, which capped a run of ten in a row as well. Somewhere, former Oakland forward Will McMahon, who scored four times and added an assist in the Grizzlies' 5-1 win over the Icers in that title game, is crying.
And finally... here, once more, are your ACHA Women's Division 2 national runners-up. Thanks again for the ride, guys.
Front row (left to right): Mandy Mortach, Ashton Schaffer, Mary Kate Tonetti, Nina Elia, Tara Soukup. Middle row (left to right): Allie Rothman, Katie Vaughan, Carly Szyszko, Devon Fisk, Jackie Saideh. Back row (left to right): Associate Head Coach Tom Vaughan, Taylor Nyman, Georgia Foulds, Elizabeth Denis, Sarah Eisenhut, Head Coach Patrick Fung.
Penn State signee Mark Yanis and commit Zach Saar were two of the 40 players selected to participate in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The game, which showcases players eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, will take place January 24 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, MI.
Yanis, a big, physical defenseman, plays for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL. Included among his three goals this season is a tally against the Indiana Ice on December 28th that forced overtime after the Jacks were in a 2-0 hole entering the third period. More notably, though, Yanis is known as a shutdown guy. That's what got him listed as a B skater on NHL Central Scouting's Players to Watch Tracker back in October (a B rating translates to potential mid-round draft consideration). Central Scouting's mid-term rankings are due out later this month, which should provide more clarity as to how scouts view him.
Saar was actually draft eligible in 2011 as well. In the final Central Scouting rankings though, he was listed 132nd among North American skaters and was not selected. The towering second-year USHLer has 23 career points in 55 games. That all came with the Chicago Steel, which traded Saar to Des Moines earlier this week for Denver commit Ray Pigozzi, who was also selected to the game. Saar's father is Brad Saar, a reserve linebacker on Penn State's 1982 national champion football team. While Yanis will be on campus this fall, Saar isn't scheduled until 2013 (although he could still be bumped up to next year, depending on circumstances).
This is actually the first time the USHL has participated in a game like this, a fact that drew the expected quotes from key figures.
“We’re proud to be able to provide such a great night and stage for some of our young stars,” said USHL President and Commissioner Skip Prince. “It’s also a credit not just to the players, but the education-based American development model we celebrate in the USHL – that is, that you can remain NCAA-eligible, play Division I college hockey, and fulfill the dream of playing in the National Hockey League.”
"The prospect game is a positive addition by the USHL as it presents a unique and valuable opportunity for NHL scouts to view these elite USHL players as they showcase their abilities," said Dan Marr, Director of NHL Central Scouting.
By the way, the 2012 NHL Entry Draft will be in Pittsburgh on June 22nd and 23rd. In the 2011 draft, 28 players who had played in the USHL in 2010-2011 were selected. So here's hoping Saar and Yanis both show well on the 24th.
Speed is a vital element of Guy Gadowsky's system. So, apparently, is size. Zach Saar, a forward who stands 6'5" and weighs 200 pounds is Gadowsky's newest commit, according to the website of the USHL, where Saar presently plays with the Chicago Steel.
Zach Saar
Right Wing
Chicago Steel (USHL)
6'5", 200 pounds
Plainwell, MI
DOB 6/22/1993
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
------------------------------------------------------------- 2009-10 Little Caesars Mdgt. 38 11 12 23 52 2010-11 Chicago Steel USHL 32 4 6 10 38 2011-12 Chicago Steel USHL 15 6 3 9 18
Saar joins Jon Milley (6'4", 220), Casey Bailey (6'3", 195), and Kenny Brooks (6'2", 195) as a jumbo-sized recruit at forward. And physicality is in his blood.
Zach's father, Brad Saar, was a reserve linebacker on Penn State's 1982 national championship football team before finishing his collegiate career at Ball State. And while he didn't push his son towards PSU (or, uh, Ball State), he wasn't disappointed that his son will end up there. Said Zach:
"My father was thrilled when I gave him the news. He didn’t put any pressure on any of my college options, but when I told him over the phone that Penn State was the one, I could hear the excitement in his voice."
He continued:
"I loved the campus, but the coaches were the reason I committed. Penn State was one of the first schools to talk with me and I got the opportunity to do an official visit earlier this year. The players were great and the people in the community were all very nice. To cap it off, University Park is a very beautiful place."
"I felt I couldn’t go wrong with Penn State, especially getting to compete in what will be one of the top conferences in college hockey. On my visit they showed me the blueprints of the new arena and it is going to be unbelievably impressive."
In Saar's first USHL season, 2010-2011, a wrist injury limited him to 32 games, but so far this year he's stepped up in a big way - including beginning the season with a pair of two-goal games in the team's first three. Of course, it's one thing for me to say he can score goals, but quite another for me to show you (28 seconds in).
He was the 40th overall pick by the Steel in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft out of the Little Caesars program, which counts Mike Modano, Doug Weight and John Vanbiesbrouck among its alumni.
