Counting Crow

Kelsey Crow (19 white) battles in front of now-PSU sophomore Paige Jahnke (17 black)

Minnetonka (MN) High School's girls hockey program has announced that junior defender Kelsey Crow has committed to Penn State for 2015.

Kelsey Crow

Defender
Minnetonka (MN) HS
5'6" // Deephaven, MN
DOB 10/27/1996

MNgirlshockeyhub.com Minnetonka page

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2011-12	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	4	10	14	2
2012-13	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	5	8	13	2
2013-14	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	-	-	-	-	-

Given that Minnetonka produced current freshmen Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman, as well as 2014 commit Hannah Ehresmann, the Skippers dynastic program needs little introduction at this point. Each of the last three seasons in Minnesota big-school girls hockey has ended the same way: with the Skippers mobbing a trophy. Bowman and Petersen were central to those teams as top scorers and Ehresmann was a key contributor as a backup goalie who played good minutes during the regular season, but Crow certainly played an important role to the last two title winners as well.

Her 13 points over the course of the 2012-2013 season were fourth among Skippers blueliners, although it's important to note that two of the three ahead of her were all-everythings Sydney Baldwin and Sydney Morin, who have both been national U18 team selections and are headed to powers Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, respectively. The third was RPI freshman Hannah Behounek. Crow, as a sophomore, was the youngest of the four - Behounek and Morin were seniors last year, while Baldwin was a junior. They pump out some players at that school, don't they?

Crow (19) and Laura Bowman (16) sandwich Amy Petersen, after the latter scored against BSM

Two of her five goals came in a February 1st win at Chaska/Chanhassen, but really, her offense is a bonus. Above all, Crow reads as an intelligent defender who will lock things down in front of Ehresmann, Celine Whitlinger, Daniela Paniccia or whoever else is fortunate enough to play goal with her on the ice. Said Skippers coach Eric Johnson:

"As a sophomore this season, Kelsey Crow had the decision-making ability of a senior. She had a great work ethic on and off the ice and really takes care of the defensive zone."

Other scouting reports have also generally been positive, including from Amateur Hockey Report:

A strong skater and defensive presence. Displayed an ability to rifle out crisp and accurate passes. She needs to work on building a softer touch with the puck – most targeted recipients of her passing had a hard time corralling them due to the brute force she put behind them.

Crow was invited to the USA Hockey U18 Player Development Camp back in July, and was also at Select 16s in 2012 and Select 15s in 2011. Outside of hockey, Crow is a track star, and her efforts helped Minnetonka to a sectional title in the spring, including on a 4x100 relay team that missed the state meet by four tenths of a second.

Her commitment continues a major push by Penn State's coaching staff to grab some of the best players on the best high school teams in Minnesota. The trend started with Paige Jahnke (Roseville) and Kendra Rasmussen (Sartell/Sauk Rapids) in 2012, then exploded this year with Petersen, Bowman and Sarah Nielsen (Edina). It shows no signs of slowing up with Ehresmann, Christi Vetter (Lakeville North), Caitlin Reilly (Benilde-St. Margaret's) and Bella Sutton (Mounds View) heading to PSU next season, and now with Crow on board for 2015 as well.

PSU Wrestles Myllari From OHL

Following quickly after the pledge of Scott Conway last week, Penn State has landed another recruit: Kris Myllari.

Kris Myllari

Defenseman
Kanata Stallions (CCHL)
6'2", 185 pounds
Kanata, ON
DOB 2/5/1997

EliteProspects.com

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2010-11	Ottawa Senators AAA	BMin.	27	3	6	9	24
2011-12	Ottawa Senators AAA	Bntm.	27	7	16	23	16
2012-13	Ottawa Senators AAA	MMin.	29	7	18	25	30
2012-13	Ottawa Senators AAA	Mdgt.	1	1	0	1	0
2013-14	Kanata Stallions	CCHL	7	0	3	3	2

Myllari's commitment breaks some new ground for the Nittany Lions program: he's the first 1997 birth year on board, and partly as a result, he's (tentatively) the first member of the 2016 recruiting class. He will play this season with the Kanata Stallions of the Junior A CCHL, the league that produced sophomore forward Jonathan Milley.

There's plenty of evidence that the left-handed shot is a pretty solid get. According to Over The Boards:

---

A scout who had been filling us in on Ontario prospects for our October [list of top uncommitted players] noted the following about the 2nd round OHL draft pick: "Very good skater who plays with the poise and presence of a veteran - even as a 16 year-old [CCHL] rookie. Can play in all situations and makes great puck decisions. Smart and solid in his own zone, has a good stick and isn’t afraid to play physical. I would think he’s a top 4 guy at Penn State, growing into the top pair as he develops."

---

Myllari, as well as father Roy Myllari, also have opinions of that nature:

---

"My vision, moving the puck and having it on my stick," said Kris when asked to characterize his game.

"I’m hoping to fill out a lot more. The strength side of my game will come around as I continue to get older and bigger."

Roy Myllari said his son is an offensive defenceman by nature but can play it both ways.

"He had a good season last year for sure, both offensively and logging big minutes," Roy Myllari said.

---

As stated in the first quote, he was a second-round pick (34th overall) by the major junior OHL's Kingston Frontenacs back in April. Given the lofty status of his selection, along with a bit of personal history, Myllari seemed destined to join the Frontenacs at some point. Roy was a Memorial Cup champion in 1984 with the storied Ottawa 67's, and he also played with Frontenacs GM/NHL legend Doug Gilmour on the Cornwall Royals. Suffice it to say that the younger Myllari is familiar with the benefits of that route. As a cherry on top, his sister attends Queens University in Kingston.

Nevertheless, Myllari's college commitment indicates that, for now, the Frontenacs are not in the cards. It doesn't seem as if Penn State was a decision made on a whim - in fact, he attended the OHL team's camp in late August and, along with his parents, had extensive discussions with management on how he fit into their plans. Ultimately, Myllari reported to Kanata rather than attempt to survive as a depth defenseman with Kingston in order to keep both options open. At some recent point, he swung all the way over to a preference for the NCAA, possibly due to a strong emphasis on education from his parents.

Should it come up at some point, the Youngstown Phantoms own his USHL rights, as they also drafted him, in the eighth round back in the spring.

Did I mention that he's a solid get? Myllari came up with the Ottawa Senators AAA program and won the Ontario East Minor Midget championship last season, and he was also a selection to the Ottawa District Hockey Association representatives that won the OHL Gold Cup against the best U16 players from across Ontario. Let's keep the train of positive scouting reports rolling as well:

---

Gregg Kennedy, Myllari's coach the past two seasons, said the defenceman is aware of the kind of off-ice dedication needed to get to the next level.

He said Myllari displays great leadership qualities and has the respect of his fellow players and the coaching staff -- part of the reason he was named captain.

"He's the leader on and off the ice for these guys and has been for years," said Kennedy.

Kennedy compared Myllari to Wade Redden and Alex Pietrangelo because of his strong skating and his ability to play well on both sides of the puck.

---

Could Myllari still jump to major junior at some point? Absolutely. At the risk of sounding repetitive (or obvious) but in the interest of promoting understanding for those new to NCAA hockey, it's always out there until a player ages out - even for a guy like Eamon McAdam, who signed a letter of intent and made it to campus could theoretically sign with the OHL's London Knights at any point. The fact that he was drafted highly by an OHL team more or less shows that they're not going to let him get away without a fight. And it's a long way until 2016.

Nevertheless, let's set that aside for now and celebrate the fact that Penn State has added another potential building block set to arrive at a time when the Nittany Lions may arrive as a national contender.

Conway, Son of British Legend, Joins 2014 Class

Scott Conway with the NAHL's Texas Tornado last season

Numerous sources have reported that Indiana Ice (USHL) forward Scott Conway has committed to Penn State for the fall of 2014.

Scott Conway

Forward
Indiana Ice (USHL)
5'11", 172 pounds
Guildford, Great Britain
DOB 1/9/1995

EliteProspects.com

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2009-10	Belle Tire U16	MMin.	30	15	10	25	18
2010-11	Victory Honda U18	MMaj.	33	17	18	35	62
2011-12	Victory Honda U18	T1EHL	40	20	18	38	50
2012-13	Texas Tornado	NAHL	57	18	36	54	96
2013-14	Indiana Ice	USHL	-	-	-	-	-

Conway has one of the more interesting backstories of any Penn State recruit so far. His father, Kevin Conway, is a native of Sault Ste. Marie, ON who, after a major junior career with the hometown Greyhounds and a couple of seasons in the old International Hockey League, went overseas to play in England in the mid-1980s.

Over the next two decades, the elder Conway established himself as a legend of British hockey. In 1985-1986, he set the BHL Premier League goal scoring record (129... in 35 games) with the Ayr Bruins and later won second-division player of the year honors in 1987-1988 after a 148-goal, 252-point season (...in 29 games) with the Telford Tigers. He's best associated, however, with the Basingstoke Bison - formerly named the Beavers as well - where he played from 1991 until 1998. In that time, Conway helped the club gain premier league and superleague promotion while finishing as the Bisons' all-time leading scorer with 950 points. The team retired his number 10 in 2005 (since PSU-British hockey connections aren't exactly common, the fact that Icers alumnus Curtiss Patrick played for Basingstoke in 2008-2009 is probably worth a quick mention here).

Kevin Conway's shirt is sacred in Basingstoke, England

Conway made 58 appearances for the Great Britain national squad, including five years at the IIHF World Championships. He pushed Team GB to promotions in consecutive years (1992 and 1993), eventually playing in the top division of the tournament in 1994. In 2005, Conway was voted to the British ice hockey hall of fame.

Thanks to ties between Kevin Conway and Fred Perlini, a 1980 Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick who also wound up doing pretty well for himself over in England, Perlini's son Brett is a cousin of Scott Conway. Brett Perlini enjoyed a standout career at Michigan State that concluded in 2012 and was a 2010 NHL Entry Draft selection of the Anaheim Ducks.

Moving over to Scott, the 1995 birth year spent his formative years in England while Kevin was still playing (Scott holds dual citizenship in that country and Canada). Father actually coached son on youth teams before Scott came back across the pond to advance his career in 2009. He did so with a couple of pretty good organizations in the Detroit area - Belle Tire and Victory Honda.

With the latter in the Tier 1 Elite league in 2011-2012, Conway was tied for 24th in the circuit with 38 points in 40 games. His stat line was almost identical to fellow commit Chase Berger, who was 19-19-38 that year (Berger is two months older than Conway, making it pretty much apples to apples).

He was chosen in the 2012 NAHL draft by the Texas Tornados and moved on to play there last season. The left-handed shot was fourth on the team in scoring and second in assists as Texas went 36-22-2 in the regular season, then contributed four goals and an assist in six playoff games as the team advanced to the second round before losing to eventual Robertson Cup champion Amarillo.

Conway was the NAHL South Division's player of the week twice, once in November 2012 when he scored two goals and eight points with a +7 rating in four games. The other honor came in January, thanks to a six-point weekend and a +5. He was named to the league's all-rookie second team at the conclusion of the year.

Said Tornado head coach Tony Curtale last season:

"Scott is one of many young players we have on the roster who have really developed nicely in a short period of time and will be a good future NCAA Division I player. For being only 17-years-old, he sees the ice very well and has the ability to make great passes and find the open man."

And also...

"Scott has really worked hard to get where he is right now and is very creative with the puck. However, as good as he has been offensively, it is because he pays attention to both ends of the ice and he is a very good, all-around two-way player."

Vision? Hard worker? Two way player? Where have we seen that before in one of these posts? I mean, besides all of them.

The USHL's Indiana franchise was impressed enough to pick him seventh overall in the 2013 USHL Entry Draft, and he'll play this season with the Ice before heading to Penn State.

While some - like Jeff Cox, he of the two-second inflexible opinion - have already pegged Conway as a second or third liner at PSU, I think it's particularly important to take a wait-and-see approach with this one. Coming from England, he had a pretty obvious developmental disadvantage early on, but he's grown pretty significantly each season in North America and may have a higher ceiling than can be established solely from his leagues, teams and stats. Even if he doesn't, Guy Gadowsky has added an outstanding every-game player who will contribute both scoring punch and defense to the forward unit.

Three Stars: August 19-25

3. Beantown Classic – Scouting the Forwards
(Over The Boards)

Forward A.J. Greer, a Nittany Lions commit scheduled for 2015 entry, participated in the highly-regarded Beantown Classic showcase from August 10th through 14th. And did quite well for himself - OTB rated him the number two forward there and had this to say:

Greer started strong here and never let up. Consistently created chances and used his outrageously long reach to score a number of creative goals including a wrap-around and a full-reach fake that got one of the better goalies here to bite just enough for Greer to bury in the ensuing opening. Surprisingly deceptive and will only get better. Would like to see more snarl from the forward but he did show a mean streak here at times. Youngest player in the pro division but finished second in overall scoring.

Just one guy's opinion? Au contraire, mes amis. USHR tabbed Greer the number two forward in the pro division (1996 birth years and older, in case you're wondering).

AJ Greer, late ’96 F, KUA (#11 Bombers) – 6’4”. The youngest player in the pro division, the Penn State recruit is not even draft-eligible until 2015. A power forward in the making.

We got ourselves a pretty good one here, guys.

2. Preseason Previews: PSU Still Too Many Unknowns
(B1G Ice Hockey)

The Big Ten Hockey Blog predicts that PSU will finish last in the conference, largely due to the unknown quantity of conference play for the young program.

I'm not going to say too much about it here, because I'm still contemplating writing a full post in response (I did fire off a few points in the comments over there if you're interested). However, I think relegating the Nittany Lions to the basement out of hand because the other league teams "have been doing it for decades" is a mistake. Banners don't skate, as the saying goes, and I sincerely cannot identify a single reason to say that Penn State is any worse than Ohio State or Michigan State right now. Given the whole 2-1-0 situation against that pair in 2012-2013 with eight pure ACHA players on the roster, there is reason to see it the other way around.

1. Penn State breaks in new Pegula Ice Arena ice sheet
(Western College Hockey Blog)

For the record and on Thursday, Joe Battista, Guy Gadowsky, Josh Brandwene and their families were the first to go for a skate at Pegula Ice Arena. Evidence of the happenings comes from Battista's Twitter, the men's team's Instagram (twice), and the women's team's Instagram (again, twice).

Most coverage of the ice's initiation focused exclusively on Gadowsky, which is understandable to a degree, as the men's team is the one that draws the eyeballs. But also a mistake, because it meant whiffing on a story like this:

(Belated) happy anniversary guys! The next 21 go pretty fast, from what I hear.

Best of the Rest

@Fung_er
(Twitter)

It certainly took a while, but the Women's Ice Hockey Club's Mary Kate Tonetti finally has her ACHA Women's Division 2 Off-Ice MVP award after being named its winner back in March.

York City Ice Arena to Host CHE Playoffs
(psuwihc.com)

Sticking with the ACHA women, some pretty great hockey will be coming to York on February 22nd and 23rd in the form of the College Hockey East playoffs. The four teams that make up this season's inaugural edition of CHE (PSU, West Chester, California (PA) and Delaware) were half of the field at the 2013 ACHA WD2 National Tournament, including both championship game participants.

Charles Vance McCullough
(Centre Daily Times)

Here's the obituary for Vance McCullough, the long-time head of Penn State's club sports who passed away unexpectedly last Monday at age 69.

Vance was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams. His legacy includes the Men's and Ladies Icers Hockey teams, as well as the nationally recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Hey wait, that sounds awfully familiar...

McCullough was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams, but for the recognition and the existence of scholarships. His legacy included not only the Icers and later the Lady Icers, but continues today through the success of the Ice Lions and Women's Ice Hockey Club, as well as Penn State's nationally-recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Flattered, Koch Funeral Home guy who wrote the obit.

Top 5 Big Ten Off-Season Stories
(Western College Hockey Blog)

PSU doesn't even register in this rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond a mention of the school's first NHL draft picks, with stories like the Illinois rumors and Ohio State's post-Osiecki meltdown collecting the attention. The crazy thing? PSU doesn't really deserve to register in a rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond the draft picks and maybe Pegula Ice Arena's completion.

Basically, Penn State's program has finally reached sort of an awkward milestone: it's more or less completely normal.

Other than new program-type stuff, making offseason news is bad roughly 92 percent of the time. So here's to never, ever appearing in one of those types of posts again.

@OhioState_MHKY
(Twitter)

Ohio State has new alternate jerseys (above), and suddenly, I want to go get Taco Bell.

Although they include a few striping modifications, they're essentially a white adaptation of the jerseys the Buckeyes wore for the Frozen Diamond Faceoff, a January 15, 2012 outdoor game against Michigan in Cleveland.

Just made you smarter than your friends on a completely useless topic. You're welcome.

In other OSU news, the team named its leadership group last week, headlined by captain Curtis Gedig.

Pittsburgh-born Saad savors his day with Stanley Cup
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Brandon Saad, the brother of former Nittany Icer George who became the first Pittsburgh born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup in June, got his customary time with sport's most iconic trophy on Thursday.

Penn State Athletics Announces National Anthem Performer Auditions for 2013-14 Year
(gopsusports.com)

Karen Newman, Lauren Hart, Jim Cornelison, Jeff Jimerson, Rene Rancourt... anthem singers can become legends to their team's fans in hockey. If you think you're up to it, September 5th is a date you should circle.

Bennett takes his hockey show to the Lone Star State
(Foster's Daily Democrat)

Luke Bennett, a Rochester, NH-native forward who recently signed with Corpus Christi in the NAHL, is interested in Penn State. But not that interested.

Bennett has grown to like the western brand of hockey.

“I like the style,” Bennett said. “It’s a little different. It’s faster with less fights (than East Coast hockey). I’m a skill guy, not a fighter. I’m 165 (pounds). I’m not throwing around too much.”

Bennett plans to use his time in Texas to expand his game and draw D-I college attention. He mentioned schools like Western Michigan, Penn State and UMass-Lowell, but adds that in his heart he wants to stay in the west.

Construction Webcam
(rit.edu)

Last week, structural steel went up on RIT's Gene Polisseni Center. The 4,500-seat arena, which will replace PIA as NCAA Division I's newest hockey venue, is scheduled to open in time for next season. The Nittany Lion women, of course, will play there each year as part of the CHA schedule.

Despite the lost distinction for Penn State, it actually is quite fun watching someone else's dream building materialize. And if you still have the urge to hate, just remember that Polisseni Center broke ground during RIT's homecoming last October - a weekend that was spoiled (for Tigers faithful) by the PSU men and their big win in Rochester.

@GopherHockey
(Twitter)

A quick bit of setup: Minnesota fans have been very vocally opposed to the Big Ten's "intrusion" into the hockey bubble because they'll miss their big games against Bemidji State and Mankato State Minnesota State-Mankato Minnesota State in the WCHA, or something like that. Furthermore, despite his pair of national titles, four Frozen Fours and seven conference regular season or playoff championships, they aren't exactly thrilled with their coach, Don Lucia, either. Because they're the State of Hockey, as they're more than happy to remind you, and if they don't win everything ever, THINGS WILL EXPLODE.

So with all of that out there and from a Penn State perspective, you can understand why the photo above, of Lucia (left) presenting Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany with a Gophers jersey, could be considered quite entertaining.

@TYTBlog
(Twitter)

A quick, shameless self-link to share some news for the Twitter-free among you:

Confirmed: Rodney Martin will return as PA announcer for the inaugural Pegula Ice Arena season. Fantastic news.

Really could not imagine things any other way.

Three Stars: August 12-18

3. 150 Miles for a Cure...
(Bike MS)

Women's assistant Casey McCullion is once again participating in the 150-mile-long Bike MS City to Shore ride to fight multiple sclerosis, which takes place this year on September 28th and 29th. I'll let her do the talking from here:

I've registered for Bike MS because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed, including my friend from Holy Cross (and riding buddy) who lives with MS every day. I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Just as I did last year, I am dedicating my ride to him and hope that he will be able to join me (even if it's just for a few training rides)! Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

She's only $205 away from her fundraising goal... just saying. If you listened to me last time and donated, thank you. If not, please consider it if you're able.

2. @B1GHockey
(Twitter)

Confirming earlier reports, the Big Ten has officially announced its hockey media day:

The site of media day will be Xcel Energy Center which, of course, will also host the inaugural Big Ten tournament from March 20th through 22nd. According to Let's Play Hockey, the event will be held from 9:00 a.m. until noon local time, so 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the eastern time zone. Interestingly, the NCHC has scheduled its media day elsewhere in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis' Target Center, to be specific) on the same date, in an overlapping window, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. local. Have fun with that one, actual journalists.

Media day should, in theory, be an interesting glimpse into the type of coverage Penn State can expect from its conference rivals and even its own outlets. However, considering the geographic isolation of the site, the low return on investment for those making the trip from any distance and the nature of PSU hockey coverage to this point, it could wind up being a bunch of Minnesota and Wisconsin writers asking Gadowsky about Pegula Ice Arena. Ain't no such thing as bad publicity, but I'm not expecting to learn anything.

Nittany Lions players involved? Your guess is as good as mine, but one has to think that the letter-bearers (Tommy Olczyk, Nate Jensen and David Glen) are leading candidates, with former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Minnetonka High School product Max Gardiner also receiving strong consideration. Supposedly - I feel like I saw this somewhere, but can't remember where - just one player per team will attend.

1. @D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

Hey, why not?

Best of the Rest

Flames' hockey to don new jerseys for 2013-14 season
(liberty.edu)

Liberty, the Women's Ice Hockey Club's season-opening opponent on September 27th and 28th, is debuting new uniforms this year. They're nothing spectacular, although they are consistent across all five Flames hockey teams (there's your trivia for the week - LU is the only school to have a team in all five ACHA divisions). The only exception to the previous sentence: the D2 women, D2 men and D3 men will wear the wordmark across the chest (as shown above) while the D1 men and D1 women will have the school's new logo front and center:

Tri-City Storm
(Facebook)

What's Kenny Brooks been up to lately? Glad you asked, because the Tri-City Storm, his junior team, caught up with him recently for a quick interview.

Waterloo Black Hawks’ Coach On Islanders’ 2013 Picks
(CBS New York)

I haven't been at this New York Islanders thing long, but WFAN's Daniel Friedman is easily my favorite guy covering the team to this point. He was one of the only people offering anything of substance from the team's development camp last month and now, he's scored an interview with P.K. O'Handley, who coached two 2013 Isles draft picks - Eamon McAdam and Taylor Cammarata - with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks last year.

O'Handley, unfortunately, fell a little flat on his end, giving mostly useless replies. Compare McAdam to an NHL goalie? "He’s a big mobile goalie. I think you could make a comparison to quite a few." How did he stack up in the rotation with Cal Petersen last season? "McAdam was the veteran. It was a unique situation with two draft-eligible goalies. I thought McAdam was good and was rewarded by being drafted." Keep up the good work Mr. Friedman, all you can do is ask the questions.

NTDP Defenseman McAvoy Commits to Boston University
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Long Island native Charlie McAvoy, recently picked for the National Team Development Program U17s, visited Penn State at one point but has opted for Boston University. The 1997-born offensive defenseman will likely join the Terriers in 2015.

UNO hockey trio accused of starting fight with racial slurs
(Omaha World-Herald)

Fun fact: Nebraska-Omaha used to be my favorite NCAA Division I program. So, uh, thanks again Terry.

The essentials of this story (file it all under "allegedly" so I don't have to insert the word in every sentence): On August 3rd, Maverick players Matt White, Alex Simonson and Preston Hodge were involved in a racially-charged altercation outside of an Omaha bar with "a small group of African-Americans" that began with "racial slurs and epithets." Hodge then began pushing a man named Lamar Triplett (who is black, but apparently was not part of the original group and was just walking through the wrong place at the wrong time), and Triplett responded by Derek Boogaarding him. White also threw a punch at Triplett and missed, while Simonson stepped in with the bar parking lot fight equivalent of face washing - shoving other members of Triplett's party.

UNO reacted swiftly, dismissing White and Hodge from the team and revoking their scholarships. Hodge, a freshman defenseman, had yet to suit up for the Mavs, but White is a particularly tough blow to the team as a co-captain and close to a point-per-game player for his career. Senior defenseman Simonson, apparently the least involved of the three, has been suspended pending further investigation. Court appearances for all three and Triplett on their disorderly conduct citations are scheduled for September.

@MiHockeyNow
(Twitter)

Michigan coach Red Berenson, for the record, is 73 years old. The photo above was taken at UM's alumni game a couple weeks ago.

NCHC to Use Shootout in Regular Season Contests
(NCHC)

I'd love to make fun of the fact that the NCHC will be using shootouts, but the Big Ten is using them too, so that's off.

Honestly though, it's not the worst thing ever in my opinion. Shootout games will count as ties for national purposes, most notably, the PairWise Rankings and NCAA Tournament selection, with the extra points awarded to shootout winners only applying towards the conference standings. I suppose that opens the door for someone to win a regular season title over someone else due to being better at shootouts, but how often will that actually happen? The price might be worth having a winner and a loser for every game, as artificial as it may be.

In other, more anticlimactic NCHC news, the new conference has officially been recognized and awarded a tournament autobid by the NCAA.

At World Junior camp, Big Ten had a big representation
(USCHO)

Nine of the 31 players surviving to the end of the recent World Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY go to Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin. That bodes well for the size of the Big Ten's delegation to Team USA for this season's World Junior Championships.

Details announced about Frozen Frontier hockey event
(WHEC)

CHA rival RIT is the latest college program to get in on outdoor hockey, as the Tiger women will play Clarkson at Rochester's Frontier Field (normally home to the Rochester Red Wings of minor league baseball) on December 14th. RIT's men, who also play Penn State in 2013-2014, will cap the doubleheader against Niagara that evening.

An AHL game between the Terry Pegula-owned Rochester Americans and the Lake Erie Monsters on December 13th is both the launch point and the centerpiece of the ten-day Frozen Frontier festival.

Penn State Ranks 19th in Merchandise Royalties
(Onward State)

PSU's Collegiate Licensing Company merch ranking is 19th this year. That's down from 12th last year, but all things considered, not too bad. Now if only the idiots out there could stop celebrating the drop because they think it scores points in their crusade against Rodney Erickson and the Board of Trustees.

I'll be honest: I'm not ready for this anyway

Maryland's move to Big Ten at a cost of tens of millions
(CBS Sports)

Can we all agree to stop dropping Maryland as a potential NCAA hockey candidate for a while? They're bleeding, rather profusely. Even accounting for the Big Ten's rather large checks soon to be headed their way, it's going to take them a bit to get to the point where hockey will even be on the table.

Anything's possible with a billionaire in your corner? I suppose, but at the same time, Penn State's athletic department was completely healthy and turning a profit in 2010. If 2013 Maryland fell into $102 million, they would probably want to do something other than build a hockey rink with it. Just saying.

Code of Conduct Violation Grounds KSU for 2013-14
(HockeyYall.com)

Back in 2005, Georgia school Kennesaw State almost had NCAA Division I hockey. Seriously. However, there's quite a bit of distance between then and now, as the still-ACHA Division 3 Owls have been suspended for the 2013-2014 season due to "misbehavior involving alcohol" at the D3 national tournament last season.

Wisconsin Recruit Dvorak to Sign with London of OHL
(Western College Hockey Blog)

As far as I can tell, it's sort of against the college hockey code to laugh when major junior poaches a recruit from a rival - it's a problem we all face together, and your school could easily be next. Nevertheless... hahahahahaha.

The recruit in question here is ex-future Wisconsin Badger Christian Dvorak. He's a 1996-born, 2014 NHL Draft eligible who played midget major for the Chicago Mission AAA last year. Instead of going to UDubs in 2014 as originally planned, Dvorak will sign with the OHL's London Knights (incidentally, the team that holds Eamon McAdam's CHL rights) and leave the Badgers extremely shorthanded at forward. Which is fine by me, since PSU might have needed Thomas Welsh to defend against him.

Pegula Ice Arena - Interior
(oxblue.com)

Let's close this out with a quick check on the first-ever ice building process at the arena, which began on Friday.

Workers have been on the floor each day since then as well, resulting in the above photo from 11:28 Sunday night. With a couple layers down, the familiar white color will follow early this week, with more layers and markings after that. And then, in a couple days, a playing surface for hockey games. Cool.

Reilly, Sutton Continue Minnesota-to-PSU Parade

Continuing a mission to bring the top players from the top high school programs in Minnesota to Penn State, Josh Brandwene and his staff have landed rising seniors Caitlin Reilly from Benilde-St. Margaret's and Bella Sutton from Mounds View.

Reilly announced her pledge on Twitter...

...while Sutton's was shared through a congratulatory tweet from now-fellow PSU recruit Christi Vetter.

Caitlin Reilly

Forward
Benilde-St. Margaret's (MN) HS
5'5" // Chanhassen, MN
DOB 9/4/1995

MNgirlshockeyhub.com BSM page

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2009-10	Breck High School	MN-HS	30	12	13	25	14
2010-11	Benilde-St. Margaret's HS	MN-HS	27	18	27	45	12
2011-12	Benilde-St. Margaret's HS	MN-HS	28	19	12	31	10
2012-13	Benilde-St. Margaret's HS	MN-HS	28	28	33	61	20

Reilly exploded in her junior year at BSM, with her 57 regular-season points tying her for 17th in the state. She, along with linemates Kelly Pannek (eighth in state scoring) and Brittany Wheeler (16th), was a matchup headache for coaches across Minnesota.

As one might expect with that kind of firepower, the Red Knights didn't play in a ton of competitive hockey games during a North Suburban League title-winning 25-3-0 campaign. One of the rare exceptions: Minnetonka.

While few have done much to slow down the Tonka truck recently, BSM has come as close to dethroning the three-time defending champs as anyone. In 2012-2013, the Skippers and Knights passed the state's top ranking back and forth, with BSM taking charge after a 3-0 win on December 18, 2012 that saw a late Reilly insurance goal. Minnetonka - led by PSU freshmen Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman, of course - got payback ten days later by handing the Red Knights a 2-1 defeat. Although Reilly scored early in the third period of the Section 6AA championship game to give her team a 2-0 lead, Minnetonka stormed back with three late goals in a 4:02 span to steal the rubber match on the way to state title number three.

It was the third straight time that the Skippers ended Benilde's season in the sectional final on the way to a state title. Suffice it to say that Reilly and her teammates aren't upset about the fact that much of their nemesis' core is now safely in college.

In 2012-2013 matches that weren't as tightly contested, Reilly put up a pair of five-point outings (at St. Louis Park on December 15, 2012, at Spring Lake Park on January 5th) as well as a six-point game on January 15th against Chisago Lakes.

Despite playing for the powerful Red Knights for the past three years, she came closest to a state title as an eighth grader on a Breck High School squad that advanced to the Minnesota small-school championship game before falling to Warroad. Reilly was sixth on the team in scoring.

Reilly, among many other honors, attended the USA Hockey Select 17, Select 16 and Select 15 Player Development Camps and was an all-state honorable mention last year. Her family has a decided Big Ten flavor to it: she is the sister of Minnesota men's players Connor, Ryan and Mike Reilly (a trio that, incidentally, teamed up with PSU's Curtis Loik on the 2011-2012 RBC Cup-winning Penticton Vees) as well as of Shannon, who played for the Ohio State women from 2007-2011. Father Mike is a former player at Colorado College and Minnesota who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1977.

---

Bella Sutton carries through center in a 2012 Minnesota AA quarterfinal match against Edina

Bella Sutton

Defender
Mounds View (MN) HS
Height unknown // Mounds View, MN
DOB 1996

MNgirlshockeyhub.com Mounds View page

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2009-10	Mounds View High School	MN-HS	16	1	6	7	0
2010-11	Mounds View High School	MN-HS	25	5	15	20	10
2011-12	Mounds View High School	MN-HS	30	12	23	35	18
2012-13	Mounds View High School	MN-HS	28	14	23	37	18

Sutton, like Reilly, comes highly decorated. She was on the all-state team and also attended the USA Hockey Select U18 and Select 16 Player Development Camps. Her point total last season, despite playing defense, placed her among the top 100 scorers in Minnesota, joining Nittany Lions Petersen and Bowman, as well as commits Vetter and Reilly (freshman Sarah Nielsen missed 100th place by two points).

She also has the unfortunate similarity of an outstanding junior season (her Mounds View Mustangs went 24-2-2 overall) cut off in the sectional championship game, in Sutton's case through an upset at the hands of rival Irondale.

Before that though, Mounds View plowed just about everyone, with Sutton's elite-level offense from the back end playing a huge role. She had an early season stretch of seven consecutive multi-point games (and 10 in 11), then later put up a goal and three assists in a January 22nd win at Cretin-Derham Hall. But don't sell her leadership as a junior captain short either. The Mustangs started the campaign on an 11-game winning streak, but it was snapped with an unexpected tie against White Bear Lake on December 22, 2012. Sutton had no trouble setting things right:

"We did not come ready to play," [she said afterwards]. "It was the first day of winter break, and I don't think we came in with the right mentality. We didn't bring our heart and character."

Enough said. Mounds View went on another 11-game streak from there.

Sutton's leadership on the ice has been especially important, as her team went through three coaching staffs over her sophomore and junior seasons. Often, that kind of turnover can spell disaster, but she deserves a share of the credit for the fact that it didn't. And about that offense (she's number 10 in white)...



Mounds View made it one step further in 2011-2012 - to the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul - but lost to Edina in the quarterfinals with Nielsen potting the winner. Sutton had a career-high five points (on a goal and four assists) in a blowout of East Ridge on December 20, 2011.

The state tournament berth, the school's first since 1999, came off of a pair of less successful seasons: 11-15-0 in 2010-2011 and 13-10-2 in 2009-2010, when Sutton was in eighth grade.

Three Stars: July 8-14

3. Mayers pledge $50,000 to support Smeal Trading Room
(Penn State News)

In addition to the headlining $50,000 for the Smeal College of Business' Rogers Family Trading Room, former Icer Bill Mayer along with his wife Cynthia (both 1985 graduates), recently donated $12,500 to the men's hockey program.

Both Bill and Cynthia were multi-sport athletes at PSU - the former was on the varsity lacrosse team in addition to hockey, while the latter played field hockey and softball.

2. One-on-One with Mike Williamson
(Dustin's Cafe)

Freshman defenseman Mike Williamson dropped by the studios of radio station CJLD in his hometown of Leduc, AB for a great interview primarily discussing the NHL Draft and Canucks Development Camp (which was still ahead of him at the time), but also touching on his future at Penn State and his past in Spruce Grove.

Possibly the only thing wrong with it: after Williamson cited fellow Spruce Grove Saints-to-Nittany Lions Dylan Richard and David Glen as people who will help his transition to college, the interviewer threw in Reed Linaker as another former AJHLer on the roster. Whoops.

1. TAKE A LOOK! An Updated, Inside Look at Pegula Arena
(WTAJ)

First, I'd like to get a quick beef out of the way with Penn State media: I wish they'd be more engaged in hockey. It seems like every story outside of a couple outlets (the Collegian immediately comes to mind as an exception) is either a) something the athletic department handed out or b) an OMG ARENA! hit, which is about the easiest thing in the world to crank out if you need to fill a couple minutes. It would be nice to see someone get a bit proactive, as Onward State recently did when they smoked everyone on the PSU football in Ireland story. Where's that initiative for hockey?

WTAJ is the one local TV station that has been, for the most part, on top of hockey throughout, so they deserve credit for that. And this story with "an updated, inside look" at Pegula Ice Arena is well done, although I expected more behind-the-scenes stuff and not just shots of the seating bowl and main lobby until the last ten seconds.

Also... "As steep as code allows." Finish your drink!

Best of the Rest

Dylan Richard is part of the Spruce Grove-to-Penn State pipeline

Saints hockey program continues to breed success
(Spruce Grove Examiner)

A nice look at the highly-successful and aforementioned Spruce Grove Saints program that has produced current Nittany Lions Williamson, Richard and Glen, and also had two players selected in the NHL Entry Draft last month (Williamson and defense partner Carson Soucy, taken by the Minnesota Wild in the fifth round).

Ice Dogs' Geoff Beauparlant to coach Brown Bears
(juniorhockey.com)

Former Icers goaltender Geoff Beauparlant (a 2002 graduate) has continued his ascension in the coaching world with his hiring as the new head coach of the NAHL's Kenai River Brown Bears in Soldotna, AK. Since 2010, he had been an assistant with the league's Fairbanks franchise.

Beauparlant was 27-2-1 during his college playing career, primarily as a backup to John Sixt, Mark Scally and Scott Graham, and won ACHA National Titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Eagan's Nick Wolff to take physical hockey style overseas
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

While recruit Kevin Kerr recently missed out on selection for the U.S. Under-18 squad for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament next month, it's at least possible that PSU ends up with someone from the team anyway - bruising Eagan (MN) High School defenseman Nick Wolff.

Wolff hopes to play college hockey sometime down the road and has already taken unofficial visits to Miami (Ohio), Ohio State and Penn State. But his plans for now call for first staying at home and finishing high school with his family and friends.

Some junior hockey after high school seems likely for Wolff. He will be eligible for the 2014 NHL draft next June.

Because of his size, work ethic, rapid development and recent exposure, Taylor believes Wolff will garner 'a ton' of Division I interest this season.

NCAA 2013 draft review
(Hockey's Future)

Here's a densely-packed look at how collegians nationally fared in the NHL Entry Draft, including a paragraph's worth of a nod to the history made at Penn State.

Me getting to drop a Habs jersey on TYT is one positive to Michael McCarron going pro

WMU hockey freshman Michael McCarron will play for London Knights and forgo college career
(mlive.com)

College hockey's draft presence took a big hit when Michigan State Cornell Western Michigan commit Michael McCarron, the only potential NCAA player selected in the first round, decided to pass on school and go pro. The National Team Development Program product signed an entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens and will play for the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights this season.

WMU hockey coach Andy Murray says release of Garrett Haar came after academic problems, 'issues of integrity'
(mlive.com)

Bad news came in twos for WMU, as the day after losing McCarron, the Broncos dumped junior defenseman Garrett Haar from the program. Head coach Andy Murray, who had already placed Haar on suspension for the fall semester due to academics, explained...

“First of all, I want to say we tried real hard with Garrett to help him,” Murray said. “We gave him every bit of academic assistance we could, including having people walk him to class, tutors and everything we could do, but you have to be committed to it and unfortunately he wasn’t.

“There were issues of integrity between the coaches and his teammates that were not at an acceptable level.”

Ouch. Haar claimed, via Twitter and included in the link above, that leaving was his decision. His comment preceded Murray's statement, so I'm guessing that he was taking a chance at saving face while assuming, incorrectly, that the school would remain silent on the story. He's apparently not the brightest guy in the world, so those things will happen.

Incidentally, Haar was a 2011 seventh-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals and was at the team's development camp with PSU's Patrick Koudys while all of this was going down.

List of college hockey players at NHL Development Camps
(Western College Hockey Blog)

We already know about the Penn State Five, but who else represented college hockey in an NHL development camp this summer? Unofficially, Michigan led the Big Ten with 15 players, followed by Minnesota (14), Wisconsin (12), Ohio State (10) and Michigan State (8). Don't panic over the difference between their numbers and ours - the list includes alumni, and PSU's a bit shorthanded in that area for obvious reasons.

Know Your Enemy: Minnesota
(Without a Peer)

I'm not even going to try writing a Minnesota preview this season. Thanks to the FoTYTs at RPI blog Without a Peer, I can just shoot out the link to this one again, since it deftly blends the past into the present as I like to do it, except better.

Kelly Seward: B-lo to the show

Flaunting their skills for Old Glory
(Buffalo News)

Nittany Lion freshman Kelly Seward is merely one player produced by a rapidly expanding women's hockey scene in Western New York, with the charge led in large part by Seward's Buffalo Bisons program.

Pittsburgh Penguins continue to drive local hockey participation upward
(City of Champions)

A bit south of Buffalo, the present growth trend of USA Hockey-registered players in western Pennsylvania - often called The Crosby Effect, after Sidney of course - has continued for an eighth straight year. Impressively, the western half of the commonwealth, despite being at a fairly substantial population disadvantage to the east, accounts for more than 13,000 of the roughly 30,000 Keystone Staters who play hockey.

Pennsylvania, which was frequently beaked as "not a hockey state" back when Penn State announced its NCAA transition plans, has the fifth-most registered players in the nation.

Corbett Named Head Coach
(uahhockey.com)

I'm not sure how Alabama-Huntsville continues to land quality coaches given the program's still-lingering uncertainties, but they've pulled it off once again in the form of now-former Air Force assistant Mike Corbett, a much better Corbett than the one we got stuck with.

"Mike Corbett has spent the last decade recruiting elite young men to the United States Air Force Academy and winning championships," said UAH Director of Athletics Dr. E.J. Brophy. "We are very confident that he is the man to lead Charger Hockey into the prestigious WCHA and back to winning on a consistent basis here at UAH."

Former coach Kurt Kleinendorst, who left the program suddenly and after only one season back in May to return to the professional ranks, can now sleep at night I suppose.

@MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

Let's close this out with a shot of the community rink at Pegula Ice Arena, because it's a vitally important part of the facility that always gets the short end of the stick.

Three Stars: July 1-7

3. 2013 NHL Draft Has Definite 'Penn State' Flavor
(statecollege.com)

What has two thumbs and got to hang with Terry Pegula in the Sabres' suite during the NHL Entry Draft? Joe Battista! That one doesn't really work in the third person and in writing, does it?

Anyway, here is JoeBa's perspective on the day, as well as a few words about the schedule, ticketing (we're up to 4,100 season ticket deposits as seat selection is set to get underway in just over a week) and things like that.

2. College Hockey Recruiting: Penn State
(Over The Boards)

OTB editor Jasper Kozak-Miller, trust me, knows his stuff. So when he has a generally positive opinion of Penn State's recruiting for this season and beyond, you should probably listen to him. And his sources. Especially his sources.

1. Q&A with Men's Hockey Freshman Eamon McAdam
(YouTube)

Ready for this beast of a Three Stars entry? You better be.

Penn State held a media event last Tuesday to give the local press the material to pump out some coverage of PSU's NHL draft picks. Eamon McAdam was there, as was assistant coach Keith Fisher, while Mike Williamson spoke via telephone from his home in Leduc, AB.

The leading link is a video interview with McAdam conducted by Penn State Athletic Communications that day. And precisely as they planned, a wave of stories from most of the usual suspects followed shortly after.

Draft A Good Sign For PSU Hockey (WTAJ)
McAdam, Williamson reflect on being drafted (The Daily Collegian)
McAdam surprised but elated about becoming an Islander (The Morning Call)
McAdam and Williamson Ready for Next Chapter of NHL Journey (StateCollege.com)
McAdam, Williamson savoring interest from NHL (Centre Daily Times)
McAdam, Williamson react to being selected in NHL Draft (PennLive)

Since we're already here, let's use the opportunity to clean up a few things I've seen on the draft picks not covered elsewhere.

First, a couple of Penn State blogs and their "general" draft posts:

NHL Draft: Incoming Penn Staters McAdam, Williamson Selected (Black Shoe Diaries)
Two Penn State Hockey Players Selected In NHL Entry Draft (Victory Bell Rings)

In the specific-to-McAdam department, we have:

The Waterloo Connection (New York Islanders)
Scouting Report: Eamon McAdam (IslesNation)
Isles Trade Nino, Fill Pipeline At NHL Draft (CBS New York)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, East (Hockey Prospectus)

Williamson has really received the short end of the stick so far, in terms of media coverage - it's staggering how much less attention one gets simply by not showing up at the draft. No glam shots, no video interview on Canucks.com, no quotes in outside articles, etc. He can hardly be blamed for not flying most of the way across North America when he wasn't the near-lock McAdam was to be chosen, but regardless, it would be nice to see a bit more on him. Here are the two things I did find:

Vancouver Canucks 2013 draft review (Hockey's Future)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, West (Hockey Prospectus)

It's disappointing how formulaic a lot of these reviews of draft picks are, even for some of the top players... check the league, check the goals and assists, check the measurements, render a superficial judgment concerning player type, ability and ceiling. I promise that nobody who has actually seen Williamson play, and I watched several of the Spruce Grove Saints' playoff games in the spring, is calling him an "off-the-board" selection (or worse, in other places). I'll concede that he's a project in terms of pro potential - and let's be honest, everyone outside of the first half of the first round is to some degree - but he won't be a wasted pick.

Best of the Rest

Rick DiPietro in a nutshell. Really do feel for the guy though...

Tim Thomas: From The Bunker To Barclays?
(The Hockey Writers)

Okay, we're not quite done playing out the NHL string yet, sorry about that. Hey, it was overwhelmingly the biggest thing this week, what do you want from me?

Although McAdam is a few years out from plying his trade in Uniondale Brooklyn, I can't help but be riveted by the Islanders' current goaltending situation. It wasn't a terrible week to feel that way either, because it's been a ride.

First, Rick DiPietro, the former Boston University star and top overall pick in the 2000 draft, was finally bought out of his contract by the team, ending an excruciating 13-year saga that made history for mostly the wrong reasons (his groundbreaking-at-the-time 15-year deal signed in 2006, and his freakishly long list of injuries that made the contract a point of ridicule chief among those). That left the team, temporarily, without a certified NHL goalie - Evgeni Nabokov, the primary guy last season, and Tim Thomas, who the team acquired in February despite the fact that he was in the middle of sitting out the 2012-2013 season, were both unrestricted free agents. Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson are well regarded and on call, but the two have played a combined 25 NHL games.

Thomas complicated things by kicking the tires on a possible comeback just before free agency opened up on Friday. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is of questionable value (he's 39 and just took a year off, after all) and likely with no loyalty to the Islanders, as he never played a home game in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. But... hey, you never know. GM Garth Snow, though, passed on waiting for Thomas and instead signed Nabokov to a one-year contract. So the Isles will have a goalie for the coming season, although things are hardly settled for the long term.

Top 10 Prospects 2013: Organizational Rankings
(Hockey Prospectus)

No Penn Staters are mentioned by name in this ranking of each NHL team's prospect group current through the just-completed draft, but for what it's worth, the Islanders are 2nd, Washington is 11th, Vancouver is 20th, and St. Louis is dead last in 30th. Is this a case where it's good, for our purposes, to be bad? Does Max Gardiner have some advantage that McAdam doesn't? Eh... play well and those things tend to take care of themselves.

Quick note: You're not alone, the title confuses me too. Author Corey Pronman considers all 30 NHL teams, and while he doesn't name more than ten pipeliners in any one entry (that would be kind of obnoxious, given the length of each blurb), it seems clear to me that he's judging the entire developmental pool of each organization.

If nothing else, in the last week I learned this week that I'm glad I'm not an NHL blogger - they have roughly 30 times more stuff to read to keep up on things than I do. Let's transition back to college stuff through the common interest of the draft.

Big Ten sees plenty of firsts in New Jersey
(Western College Hockey Blog)

The National Team Development Program's J.T. Compher, headed for Michigan in the fall, became the first NHL draft pick for the Big Ten, as the Buffalo Sabres scooped him up with the 35th overall pick.

Also of note: thirteen Big Ten players were selected in all. The Wolverines led with five, Minnesota had four, while PSU and Wisconsin both checked in with two. Yep, second-year NCAA program Penn State did as well as Michigan State, Ohio State (both were skunked, if you're not so good with math) and Wisconsin put together. I don't hate it.

@DanRubin12
(Twitter)

Then again, was Compher actually the first Big Ten player picked, or does that remain on the table for next year? Technically, Michigan was still a member of the CCHA (and Penn State was technically still an independent) on June 30th, the date of the draft.

Midnight on July 1st is the magic time each year when NCAA conference changes across the board become official. But don't worry, nothing happened prior to that to turn the Big Ten hockey tattoo you got the day after the national championship game into a terrible idea.

So officially: Welcome to college hockey, Big Ten! And rest in peace CCHA, I was always a fan and will forever be grateful for the slightly damaged Danny DeKeyser all-conference award I purchased while you were cleaning out the offices.

The CCHA was once home to varsity hockey at ACHA schools Ohio and Kent State.

Penn State Hockey-Summer News Roundup
(Victory Bell Rings)

If you've been in the basement since February, Mary Clarke has you covered with a rundown of the offseason for the men's team so far.

Townsend athlete plays ice hockey for Penn State
(Middletown Transcript)

I'm an unapologetic Emily Laurenzi fan, so it's great to see her get a quick look in the papers near her hometown.

Pegula Ice Arena Exterior Photos (July 5, 2013)
(Facebook)

With most photo updates of late focusing on the PIA interior after the exterior stopped looking drastically different all the time, it's nice to step back outside to see that the thing is done enough for trees to have been planted around the perimeter.

Pegula Ice Arena at night 
(YouTube)

Know what nobody thought to do until now? Take PIA photos at night with the main lobby lit up. And put them in a video with the beginning of Aerosmith's Dream On playing. Add people and you pretty much have game night.



Jean Stothert backs $6 million for UNO arena
(Omaha World-Herald)

Now that Pegula Ice Arena is about to open, it doesn't really matter that Penn State could have already been playing NCAA hockey for about 15 years, had ice capability not been cut from the Bryce Jordan Center during its construction. But what if...

The case of UNO, which drew 7,233 fans per game in the 16,680-seat CenturyLink Center last season, seems pretty well on point in that department. The Mavericks started up in 1997 (just after the BJC's completion), and following six years in the multi-purpose Omaha Civic Auditorium - a venue perhaps most famous for Lloyd Bentsen's "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" blast in 1988 - moved into their larger multi-purpose current home. And for almost that entire time, they've still been pushing for their own hockey-only facility sort of like the one about to fire up on University Drive.

In our alternate reality where PSU plays at the Jordan Center, does the whole $102 million donation thing even happen, when it wouldn't be needed for varsity hockey? Hey, sometimes things work out for the best.

Anyway, back to the point, things are inching forward in Omaha as the cash-strapped city is still in for $6 million of site improvements in anticipation of the proposed $76 million arena.

Josh Fenton named head of NCHC, CC's conference
(Colorado Springs Gazette)

If Las Vegas actually cared about the NCHC, I'm guessing that the odds on new commissioner Josh Fenton outlasting his predecessor would be pretty good. Said predecessor, Jim Scherr, was on the job for all of 18 months and left to become the chief operating officer of the 2015 European Games prior to the NCHC playing any games (or, technically and as noted above, having any teams).