Breakout Past: Battista Scouts The Cyclones

At the conclusion of a 19-6-3 1989-1990 regular season, Joe Battista's third as Icers coach, Penn State entered the 1990 National Invitational Tournament in Athens, OH as an uncharacteristically heavy underdog. PSU was the sixth seed (of eight), and also faced a pool including host Ohio, a 24-1-0 team that hadn't lost at home in three years. No big deal. John Gray's 49 saves included a shutout of the Bobcats over the final 40 minutes and John Ioia's power play goal was the winner in a 5-3 victory on March 1, 1990, following a 6-5 win over Arizona in the tournament's opener.

Beating OU clinched first place in the Icers' four-team group and a berth in the championship game, so PSU mailed it in the next day and lost 7-1 to Wisconsin-Whitewater. It wasn't time off for Battista though, as he scouted an Iowa State-North Dakota State game in the opposite group that determined the other participant in March 3rd's final. Via Special Collections at the Penn State University Libraries, here are the notes he took during the game. Click to enlarge.

One thing seems pretty clear: Battista viewed ISU as a spent team. Before the first intermission, he observed that they "slowed considerably in [the] 2nd half of [the] period. In the latter stages of the second period, he wrote "both teams appear very tired," and by the beginning of the third period, he believed that NDSU "has more left," that the Cyclones' "goalie is tired" and that one of Iowa State's forward lines is "out of gas."

A lot of that may have had to do with how ISU coach Al Murdoch had the team playing. Other notes on his team pointed out their aggressive forecheck, quick transitions, and individualistic tendencies, along with the fact that the game at hand was played with a lot of pace, requiring quick changes. Battista didn't seem to be a fan of the Cyclones' blueliners, classified as big and slow, fond of taking chances, and able to be beat with speed, as happened on a late first-period goal by the Bison. Towards the end of the game, and spanning the columns for both teams, Battista wrote that PSU's opponent "will subconsciously lighten up knowing OU is out."

So... what to do with all of that knowledge? Easy. Apply it to your last-minute coaching before Penn State battled the Cyclones for the national championship.

It's simple to find where Battista incorporated his ISU-NDSU observations:

• "Subconsciously they may let down after their win over NDSU. Also because they're not playing OU."
• "Will they have enough left after yesterday? Third game in three days for their goalie - tired!"
• "Change quickly, keep them off balance."

And here's one for fans of the Miracle on Ice:

• "This is our 'Finland' game. We already beat the Russians now we have to finish what we came to do!"

At the very top of the page, Battista reminds himself to get a letter from "Paul," meaning former Icers faculty advisor Dr. Paul Cohen. Here is that letter.

The legwork ultimately proved successful, of course, as Andy McLaughlin scored with just over three minutes remaining to boost Penn State over the Cyclones 4-3. Midge Hutchison, Chris Cervellero and Jim Adams also scored, while Gray made another 35 stops. Afterwards, what PSU's head coach told The Daily Collegian should be obvious to anyone who has read this far.

"Iowa State was a better hockey team on paper," Battista said. "We knew they were tired though from their Friday night game against North Dakota State."

I'd argue that, in fact, Penn State was the better hockey team on paper, provided that the paper comes from a standard-issue legal pad.

Three Stars: June 3-9

3. Forty Players Invited to 2013 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp
(usahockey.com)

The buildup to the selection of Team USA for the 2014 World Junior Championships is officially underway, as USA Hockey has picked 40 skaters for its August evaluation camp. From there, roughly 25 will be invited to training camp in December, with a few more being trimmed ahead of the event, which begins December 26, 2013 in Malmo, Sweden. Not surprisingly, given the talent flowing through the program and that Don Lucia will be the head coach of the team, five Minnesota Golden Gophers (Brady Skjei, Mike Brodzinski, Tommy Vannelli, Hudson Fasching and Taylor Cammarata) received invites.

When I see Brodzinski's name, I automatically think of Eamon McAdam, so what of the goalies? Well, they're still TBD. A bunch of them - McAdam included - are in Ann Arbor, MI right now (Sunday through Tuesday, to be precise) battling for invites to the evaluation camp. Those making the cut will be announced at the conclusion of the mini-camp.

2. Penn State's hockey team builds toward inaugural Big Ten season
(PennLive)

Often, I'm condescending towards stories built for a general audience. Not this one. Guy Gadowsky video, Pegula Ice Arena photo gallery, exploration of an underutilized angle with strength coach Robert McLean extensively quoted. Outstanding work, Mr. Leone. I'll even give bonus points for not automatically jumping on Tommy Olczyk for the player quotes. Read and enjoy, we're almost there.

1. Idea of hockey game at Beaver Stadium being considered?
(WJAC)

The big story this week, of course, was WJAC's confirmation that Penn State officials have discussed Beaver Stadium hockey. I've hesitated to talk about it because...

1. This is news? How is anyone actually surprised? Penn State would almost have to be trying for it not to have come up on some level by this point.
2. I'm roughly 98 percent sure that discussion of Beaver Stadium hockey had already been publicly confirmed. At the very least, athletic department employees Gadowsky and Bill O'Brien openly talked about it at the 2012 Coaches Caravan, and I believe that I've heard the hypothetical Joe Battista laid out for WJAC before, either on or off the record.
3. "Considered" is quite a few steps from "it's done."

But I suppose it's time to get this out of the way. To begin sorting through it, here's what Battista said.

"What will probably happen eventually is that we'll play Penn State-Notre Dame, Penn State-Boston College, Penn State-Michigan, and then we'll also have Flyers-Penguins, Penguins-Sabres, Sabres-Flyers."

"Probably," "eventually," several possibilities for games being thrown around... yeah, sounds imminent.

The idea of the NHL's Winter Classic stacked on top of major college games is not unprecedented - the now-annual Frozen Fenway college event got its start in the aftermath of the Boston Bruins' 2010 Winter Classic victory over the Flyers, and numerous lower-profile college games (Penn State-Neumann on January 4, 2012, to name one) have also piggybacked on the NHL-installed ice. Now that the pros have decided to play something like 30 outdoor games per year, that would seem to open even more possibilities.

The WJAC report was complemented by the official men's hockey Twitter dipping its toe into the water and unintentionally showing that the idea may be a bit undercooked. In response to the question "What do you think of an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium?" it got...

Ouch. Maybe we should park this one until people are excited enough about Nittany Lions hockey to think of it ahead of the NHL when the Nittany Lions' Twitter asks a hockey question. Or until PSU gets a mention in more than three of the roughly six zillion news articles and blog posts on the topic this past week (seriously, even Black Shoe Diaries is fixated on the Pens-Flyers side to the story while the Penn State blog ignores the idea of a Penn State team's potential involvement). The downside to having a huge stadium is that a crowd of 80,000 is a success for most places but a failure for University Park. We're going to need a massive amount of excitement for the college game too, and right now, nobody seems to care about Penn State playing outside.

And maybe it's a pipe dream, but as a matter of principle, I'd love for the Nittany Lions to not have to be an undercard to an NHL game. Big Ten rivals Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin have all managed to hold highly-successful outdoor hockey games in their school football stadia without swimming in someone's wake, and my hope is that PSU is able to do the same. In fact, my preference is that the PSU and NHL games take place in different seasons (yeah, good luck with that one, I know).

Enterprising journalists have confirmed that yes, people have talked about Beaver Stadium hockey, at least the NHL version of it, both in the eastern...

The Flyers have had preliminary discussions about playing a regular-season game at Penn State's Beaver Stadium against their archrivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, club president Peter Luukko confirmed Wednesday.

"We have spoken to the Pens and the league about expressing our combined interest," Luukko said. "Not sure if next year is a possibility. Penn State is very interested."

...and western...

"It would be great for Pennsylvania hockey," Penguins CEO David Morehouse said Friday.

The talks have been between Morehouse and Flyers president Peter Luukko, who confirmed them to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Luukko told the Inquirer that Penn State is "very interested" in being the site of such a game.

...halves of the commonwealth, and that PSU has been involved with those discussions on some level. Cool. Now don't blow it by letting the Sabres break up a potentially epic installment of the NHL's best rivalry (Terry Pegula, contrary to popular belief, bought an arena and some scholarships, not our souls) or by letting Luukko somehow cram his kid's team (Vermont) down our throats one more time on the NCAA side of things.

I'm hardly an outdoor game hater, and have made my position clear on one of the other occasions this came up. I just think we need to pump the brakes a bit. Everything is still very obviously in the earliest of stages, and the soonest this will realistically happen is 2014-2015. Beyond the things mentioned at that link, you're crazy if you think PSU will sacrifice an inaugural-season Pegula Ice Arena game, especially with no marginal benefit to doing outdoor hockey this year versus next year. Even a date 18 months from now assumes a positive resolution of things like the idea of 100,000 people parked in an icy mud pit (grass parking areas mixed with wintry precipitation) and the timing of Beaver Stadium's winterization.

We'll give Dan Vecellio and BSD the last word.

Battista told me that no formal talks with any teams had taken place from Penn State's end and that no commitments to any groups (teams, owners, etc.) had been made. The school was still in the exploratory phase and still researching whether a game at the stadium is even feasible considering parking and "winterizing" the stadium like they do every year as had been reported before. So, don't put too much stock into these stories just yet.

Yeah, that.

Best of the Rest

Kate Christoffersen before (left) and after (right) running a marathon

Lake Placid Marathon & Half Marathon
(coolrunning.com)

Kate Christoffersen, the Lady Icers original who played her senior year as an NCAA Nittany Lion in 2012-2013, ran a marathon on Sunday. Hey, if you have what it takes inside to come back from a career-ending concussion, why not?

She actually did quite well too. From start line to finish line, she only required 3:48:02, or 3:48:20 when measuring from the starting gun (the latter is the actual time used to rank the runners, which seems silly in this day and age). That was good for 85th place of the 327 runners overall, or sixth among females between 20 and 29 years old.

Save the Date: Summer Social
(psuboston.org)

If you're in Boston on June 29th and want to hang out with Battista and/or hear him speak (he's quite good at both of those things, trust me), here's your chance. Advance tickets are $40 for members of the Greater Boston Chapter of the alumni association, $45 for non-members, and $50 at the door.

Big Ten continues to expand its horizons and Purdue needs to catch up
(The Exponent)

Sometimes I forget that Purdue is in the Big Ten. Way to matter at things that aren't engineering, Purdue. Anyway, they're still broke and not adding sports like hockey or lacrosse, if you needed that.

Sidney Crosby’s sister carving her own hockey path in goal
(The Globe and Mail)

The headline says it all... Sidney Crosby's sister Taylor is a pretty well-regarded goalie, one good enough to get invites to Hockey Canada U18 camps. She's entering her senior year at Shattuck-St. Mary's, where she posted a 2.04 goals against average and a 0.924 save percentage last season.

Hey Taylor, if you're looking at colleges, I can name one fairly close to your brother's team... geez, wouldn't that be something?

Admit it: for a split second, you thought about Laura Bowman doing the Happy Gilmore swing

2013 State Golf Tournament Qualifiers
(mshsl.org)

Laura Bowman is a Minnesota Ms. Hockey semifinalist by winter and a Minnesota state golf tournament qualifier by spring. She's okay at sports.

The Minnetonka High School senior emerged as one of five individual qualifiers from Section 6AAA and will compete for the AAA (the largest division) state title on Tuesday and Wednesday at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids, MN. For the "small world" file: on day one, she'll be playing with Lakeville North's Brianna Vetter, the younger sister of 2014 commit Christi Vetter.

Amy Petersen, Bowman's long-time linemate and a fellow incoming PSU freshman, also doesn't suck at golf, as she finished 29th at last year's state tournament.

Koelmel Named President of HARBORcenter
(Tumblr)

After Pegula's Buffalo hotel/restaurant/ice rink project hyped a "major announcement" that many (guilty) assumed was the long-awaited "Canisius will play its home games here" unveiling, they instead introduced John Koelmel as the facility's president. Koelmel is a former CEO of First Niagara Financial Group, the entity which happens to have its name on the arena in which Pegula's Buffalo Sabres play. Moving on...

Rocha Named Academic All-America
(goarmysports.com)

Cheyne Rocha, a senior defenseman at Army last season, was one of just two men's hockey players nationally to be named first-team Academic All-America. As mentioned here numerous times before, he is also the son of former Icers assistant coach Larry Rocha and Penn State lacrosse legend Candace Finn Rocha. They did an okay job raising him.

Rocha, who commissioned as a second lieutenant two weeks ago and posted a 4.20 grade-point average, is the first Army hockey player to earn the national academic honor as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He registered the highest grade point average of the 15 first-team choices.

Rocha, who won the Senior CLASS Award for ice hockey, was a Rhodes Scholar finalist and is a three-time Atlantic hockey Association Academic All-Star. The 2013-14 team has not yet been announced.

A native of Rye, N.H., Rocha missed just two games this season when he interviewed for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. In addition to play as a defenseman, he was instrumental in starting the House of Blues, an awareness campaign for prostate cancer. He is also active with the Special Olympics and Neighborhood Knights, a group of hockey players who perform community service in and around West Point.

An engineering management major, Rocha will enter the Engineers branch of the U.S. Army and begin his service in Fort Carson, Colo.

Alaska-Anchorage down to finalists for second time in coaching search
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Sure enough, despite the ouster of athletic director Steve Cobb, Alaska-Anchorage's gongshow of a head coaching search is marching forward. Even more surprisingly, they found five people who want easily the worst job in Division I right now.

@hockeyjcu
(Twitter)

John Carroll, a university in suburban Cleveland for those who don't know, has won the bid to host the ACHA Men's Division 1 National Championships in 2015. It will be the fifth time that the tournament has been held in the state of Ohio since 2003, and the fourth go for the Buckeye State in a nine-year stretch back to 2007.

This coming season's D1 tournament will be in Newark, DE, while D2 is in Marlborough, MA. The D2 men will head to Salt Lake City in 2015, and the D1 and D2 women join the D1 men at UDelly in 2014.

The Blue Streaks previously hosted D1's best in 2009, a tournament which saw the Icers bounced in the semifinals by Illinois (the Illini went on to lose the championship game to Lindenwood) but not before PSU earned nationals bragging rights over Ohio for all eternity. That year's tournament was probably best remembered, however, for the Zamboni exhaust incident that forced the evacuation of the rink, sent 100 people to the hospital (as a precaution, nobody to the best of my knowledge was seriously affected) and forced a couple games to be suspended and completed the next day, including one involving Penn State Berks. Hopefully they got that checked out at some point in the last few years.

Three Stars: April 29-May 5

Scott Wilson, a 2011 Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, may lead his River Hawks into the PIA in the fall

3. Ryan Patrick Named Pegula Ice Arena Hockey Director
(gopsusports.com)

Former Icer Ryan Patrick is the new Hockey Director for Pegula Ice Arena.

Patrick will oversee and implement all aspects of the community's youth, student and adult hockey programs. He will manage the facility's learn to skate and play hockey programs, the youth amateur hockey program and the student and adult hockey leagues. In addition, Patrick will coordinate and organize youth hockey tournaments and high-level independent travel teams.

Patrick, who graduated in 2003, is the son of long-time NHL executive and Miracle on Ice assistant coach Craig Patrick, the brother of former Icers captain and 1999 graduate C.J. Patrick and the cousin of Curtiss Patrick, class of 2004, another former Icer who enjoyed a five-season career in professional hockey. Carrying that family tree a little bit further, Ryan's great-grandfather was Lester Patrick, who has a major trophy named for him and formerly an NHL division as well. Craig, Lester, grandfather Lynn, and great great uncle Frank (Lester's brother) are all in the Hockey Hall of Fame, while those four in addition to great uncle Muzz Patrick (Lynn's brother) have all won the Stanley Cup in some capacity. That's... uhhh... quite a legacy.

That stuff aside, maybe the most striking element to this, at least for me, is how it drives home the idea that a Pegula Ice Arena story no longer automatically equates to a Penn State hockey story, something that initially crossed my mind when that Sara Evans skating show was announced (and the reason this news didn't get a stand-alone post). Basically, that just means that the building is closer than ever to opening.

2. Penn State Selects XOS Digital for Hockey Technology
(PRWeb)

Slow news week when the coaches' video system is your second star? Yeah, pretty much. Still, it's important, and sounds pretty damn cool to boot.

XOS Digital designed both the men’s and women’s hockey video rooms as a one-stop video production center. Once complete, the facility’s video rooms will be fully equipped with edit stations and remote control systems for capturing video directly from the camera systems installed throughout the arena. The control system enables staff to capture HD practice and game footage from these cameras directly into XOS Thunder HD editing system for in-depth analysis.

The XOS Thunder HD platform enables the Nittany Lions to access all game preparation, including video analysis, reports, diagrams and other player development applications from a single interface.

With full audiovisual integration, the Nittany Lions are able to utilize new technologies that provide workflow automation between video editing systems, content distribution and coaching tools. The entire coaching staff will now be able to easily acquire, manage, distribute and display content throughout the facility including the varsity locker rooms, conference rooms, recruiting lounge, team lounge and coaches offices.

“How well we perform is a direct correlation to how well we prepare,” said Head Coach [Guy] Gadowsky. “It’s important to have the right resources and technology to ensure our preparation is efficient and effective. Individual player development is also critical to the team’s success, and our student athletes will be able to utilize these systems to propel them toward their goal of playing in the NHL. We are excited to enlist XOS Digital’s expertise for this project.”

1. 2013 / 2014 PSU Hockey Schedule?
(Blue White Illustrated)

It's just a message board rumor right now, but if BWI poster VaNtyLion is to be believed, 2013 Hockey East Champion and Frozen Four participant UMass-Lowell will be visiting the Pegula Ice Arena this coming season - obviously an instant highlight of the schedule.

Assessing credibility... well, the guy does sound like he knows what he's talking about for the most part. At the very least, he pays close attention, as he is aware of the Three Rivers Classic, the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff, RIT and Army. Issues? He has Air Force making a "return trip" to PSU when that series will be in Colorado Springs after the teams played at the Ice Pavilion back in November. Also, he states that Connecticut will be in town after January's series in Storrs, but tweets from Huskies hockey voice Will Moran laying out his team's non-conference schedule (1, 2) don't include PSU. It's entirely possible that UConn will visit PSU in 2014-2015 to reciprocate, though - one thing I've learned in doing this is that leaked information is never perfect. The only people who have every piece to the puzzle are the decision makers, and I'm pretty sure VaNtyLion isn't Billy Downey.

Verdict: Thumbs up, I buy it.

Speaking of scheduling things, Union beat writer Ken Schott "fully expects" the Dutchmen's already-known series at PSU to take place over Thanksgiving weekend. Makes sense I guess, since the 2012-2013 games at Union were also over Thanksgiving weekend.

Best of the Rest

Allie Rothman, Katie Vaughan, Carly Szyszko and Mary Kate Tonetti will lead the WIHC in 2013-14

2013-14 Executive Board Elected
(psuwihc.com)

Before parting ways for the summer, the Women's Ice Hockey Club elected its 2013-2014 officers, including Allie Rothman (president), Katie Vaughan (vice president), Carly Szyszko (treasurer) and Mary Kate Tonetti (secretary). Trust me when I say that no organization on campus has a better leadership group.

Wisconsin set for 10 home series during 2013-14 men's hockey campaign
(uwbadgers.com)

Want to know for sure who Wisconsin is playing? Here you go. No dates of course, as the Big Ten's entire schedule, when ready, will likely be released as one giant ball of... something. In other words, we're probably not going to know the dates of any of PSU's conference games before they're on GoPSUSports.com.

PSU looking to extend hockey fan base into area
(Williamsport Sun-Gazette)

This is a poorly written and researched (Penn State didn't play a single home game last year? Really?) article, but leave it to Joe Battista to say something to make me include it.

Aside from the monetary gift provided from the Pegulas, Battista said that they have raised an additional $10 million in private donations.

That's a new number, at least as far as I've seen, one that meets that "additional fundraising" goal set way back when the Pegula donation was first announced. Nice.

Former Penn State assistant athletic director Mark Sherburne hired by Lock Haven University
(PennLive)

It's really old news by now (I meant to throw it in last week and forgot), but long-time Penn State athletic department lieutenant Mark Sherburne has been hired as the new athletic director at Lock Haven. Sherburne, of course, spent ten days as PSU's acting AD during the initial fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal in November, 2011, after his former boss, Tim Curley, went on leave while under investigation for his role in the mess. He returned to his previous post as an assistant AD once the Board of Trustees decided that one of their own - Dave Joyner, who controversially moved directly from the board to the AD office - was better for the job, and was abruptly fired a few months later for withholding documents related to Curley.

And yes, that story is still bizarre, even more than one year later.

NCAA bans hashtagged fields, having solved all other problems
(SB Nation)

While my impression is that the vast majority of you are supportive of my covering the ACHA teams at some expense to the NCAA teams (because while it's not a pure zero sum game, it's close to one - any time I spend on the ACHA teams could be spent on the NCAA teams, hypothetically), I do get the sense that at least a few wonder why I bother. Well this, combined with things like that stinkbomb at North Carolina, offers at least a partial explanation, if you needed one. Really, NCAA? Hashtag legislation? Stick to exploiting student-athletes for billions of dollars, you're better at that.

Anyway, guess we won't be getting #OneTeam in Gretzky's Office at the PIA.

Vulcans hockey is back in good standing

Cal U will begin drug testing hockey players
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Cal (PA), after suspending their entire hockey program - including two men's teams and one women's team - over a massive pot bust involving two now-former players a couple weeks ago, has now restored everything back to normal, but with required drug testing for all players. Seems sensible to me.

The Vulcans' top men's team plays at the ACHA Division 3 level and in College Hockey East with Penn State-Altoona and Penn State-Behrend. The women's team, which competes in ACHA Division 2, was Penn State's first-ever opponent back in October and will join a new conference with the WIHC for next season. Both qualified for their respective ACHA national championship tournaments in 2012-2013.

Utah awarded 2015 ACHA National Championships
(universityofutahhockey.com)

At the ACHA annual meetings on Saturday in Naples, FL (which, as always, coincided with the American Hockey Coaches Association meetings), Utah was awarded the 2015 ACHA Division 2 national tournament, which will be played in Salt Lake City. Provided the Ice Lions don't win their first-ever national title this coming season, they'll win it there, book it.

The 2014 D2 tournament is likely headed to Ashburn, VA after the Northeast Region failed to produce a bid during its turn in the four-year cycle. That hasn't been officially announced, however, and is probably still subject to change.

The women's D2 tournament (as well as those for men's and women's D1) will be in Newark, DE this coming season.

News from 2013 ACHA Annual Meeting
(ouhockey.com)

Penn State is now out of the ACHA D1 game of course, but this can still be filed under "interesting to know:" the top men's division will no longer utilize the controversial coaches poll for rankings and will now rely on computers. Hooray for that.

Also, while the format of the national championships will remain the same, the scheduling will be different. The second round, which involves playing from 16 teams down to eight, will now be spread over two days, and the day off between the quarterfinals and semifinals has been eliminated. The end result is that the tournament (which will run from Thursday-Tuesday instead of Friday-Wednesday) will never have more than four games on any one day. That re-opens the possibility of hosting by facilities with only one sheet of ice, something that hadn't been possible since the tournament expanded from 12 teams to 16 in 2005.

Examining the Big Ten Network and College Hockey
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Possibly the biggest story of the last week was the report that each of the six Big Ten hockey schools will receive an extra $2 million per year from the Big Ten Network, in addition to the rather large annual haul all 12 (soon to be 14) member universities receive.

Undoubtedly, most who follow the Big Ten closely are aware of why BTN has been so profitable since its 2007 launch - its insistence on being carried on basic cable within the conference's footprint and the escalated subscriber rates in those states that make adding schools in large TV markets a smart idea. Still, this is a nice primer for those unfamiliar, and it takes things a step further by looking at the implications of the $2 million windfall (again, it should be said, if true) and even argues that we may be near the ceiling of all of this.

Time to drop college hockey's gentlemen's agreement?
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Should college hockey coaches back off of a potential recruit after he verbally commits elsewhere or continue to go full Urban Meyer on him? Here's one well-thought-out and discussion-provoking opinion.

Seriously, thanks again, UConn

Ex-Niagara coach MacKenzie to guide UConn women
(Buffalo News)

Chris MacKenzie will attempt to correct Connecticut's women's program after the ouster of Heather Linstad, as the Huskies have devolved into a dumpster fire over the last few years. One that proved quite beneficial for Penn State, in case you've never seen UConn transfers Nicole Paniccia, Taylor Gross and Jenna Welch play.

MacKenzie coached the women's team at Niagara, his alma mater, from 2009 until 2011. The Purple Eagles, of course, would have been one of the Nittany Lions' conference rivals in College Hockey America had NU not chopped the program in 2012.

USA Hockey takes preemptive strike at scandal
(UPI)

USA Hockey has a shiny new zero-tolerance program for abuse, called SafeSport. And Executive Director Dave Ogrean would like you to know that...

"The catalyst for it is absolutely and admittedly a byproduct of the horror of what took place at Penn State University with the football program and Jerry Sandusky."

Is that right? You sure it wasn't something strikingly similar to that, but slightly closer to home?

On Monday January 24th, 2011 USA Hockey's Executive Director Dave Ogrean received a very disturbing email from the parent of a member describing the extremely deviant sexual behavior of Massachusetts Maple Leafs coach Anthony DeSilva. Instead of following through and contacting local law enforcement authorities, Ogrean and USA Hockey allowed a sexual predator to fall through the cracks.

I realize that Penn State is going to be cited as an example of administrative failure by too many people to count for a very long time (in fact, I recently had to write a case study on the Sandusky reaction in one of my grad school classes, which was obviously rather difficult). I accept that much as the bed made on my behalf by others. What I do not accept is a hypocritical attempt to blame the Penn State bogeyman by someone who, when presented with nearly identical circumstances, apparently did little differently.

Basically, nice try, douchebag.

33 Seasons, 33 Games (Part II)

In order to bid a fond farewell to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, the orange barn Penn State hockey called home from January 16, 1981 until February 16, 2013, here is the second half of a subjective opinion of the top 33 games in the building's history. The significance of the number 33, of course, is that the rink hosted 33 seasons of games. "33 Seasons, 33 Games (Part I)" covered numbers 17 through 33, while this one hits the top 16.

Unfortunately, due mostly to lack of documentation concerning Lady Icers and Ice Lions games, this list only includes contests from the Icers-to-NCAA men lineage, with sincerest apologies to all involved in the many fantastic Ice Pavilion games not involving the Icers or Nittany Lion men.

This post will also serve the secondary purpose of launching TYT into its offseason series of history-themed posts, dubbed "Breakout Past" during a period where I had to come up with a really lame title (preferably including a pun) for everything. Look for those each Thursday, starting next week.

16. Penn State 5, Towson 4 - January 22, 2005. In what would turn out to be the Icers' final championship of the Nittany Lion Invitational - a tournament created the season after the Ice Pavilion's opening - scrappy Towson played the Icers extremely tough until Brett Wilson's power play goal with 16 seconds left propelled PSU to victory. Wilson's heroics were only necessary because of three bad calls related to goals, including two apparent Icers scores that were waved off in the second period, the latter of which was a Teague Willits-Kelley effort that was ruled a goal by the referee on the play, setting off the horn... only to be overturned by a linesman 60 feet away. The brutal officiating included the other end of the ice, as the Tigers' Erik Dixon tied the game at 4-4 with 3:33 remaining despite the fact that the net behind goalie Paul Mammola was off the pegs for at least ten seconds prior to the puck's entry.

15. Penn State 4, Central Oklahoma 3 (OT) - October 15, 2010. Arguably, the 2009-2010 Icers were the best team of the Scott Balboni era, so when Jonathon Cannizzo scored late in the first overtime to eliminate PSU from championship contention by a 2-1 score in the 2010 ACHA quarterfinals after the Icers led 1-0 until just 89 seconds remained in regulation, it was quite a blow. While a regular-season win in the following campaign wasn't a full measure of revenge, it was still quite satisfying, especially after the Bronchos' Donald Geary forced overtime 23 seconds away from a Penn State win, perhaps inspiring a couple of "here we go again" eyerolls within the Greenberg throng. George Saad ensured that any similarities to the previous heartbreak ended there by making a fantastic play in overtime to take the puck off of the boards, work to the front, and score. In what - at best - is a footnote to history, the Icers' second home game following the NCAA elevation announcement was a primary motivator of the creation of this blog.

George Saad (center) celebrates his OT winner against UCO

14. Buffalo State 5, Penn State 4 - March 14, 1992. Two weeks after PSU failed to win the first-ever ACHA national championship on home ice (see number 8), the ICHL regular season champions - who went 14-1-1 in league play, the best record in ICHL history - were stunned by Buffalo State in the conference tournament opener. Chris Kruger, Bob Kowalski and Regis Marrale all scored in the third period for the Bengals, who survived a controversial finish to their win. Dave Murphy sniped in the last minute to cut the BSC lead to 5-4, then appeared to tie the game with one second remaining, a goal negated by a ruling that the Bengals had intentionally dislodged the net beforehand. The Icers were awarded a penalty shot, but ICHL MVP Andy McLaughlin was denied by goaltender Chris Economou, who would go on to win tournament MVP honors while leading his team to a championship game loss to Niagara College.

13. Penn State 3, Towson 1 - January 22, 2000. In one of the all-time great performances by a visiting goaltender at the Ice Pavilion, Towson's Derek Rabold stopped 52 of the 54 Icers shots he faced to win NLIT MVP honors, despite his team's loss in the championship game. Prior to Loren Remetta's empty-netter, heavily-favored PSU (which scored 12 on 84 shots against Rutgers the day before) only cracked Rabold twice - once with Jamie Weston's slap shot, and on the winner, a spectacular end-to-end play that saw Weston feed Neal Price at center to catch the Tigers in a line change. Price motored down the left side, then connected with Joe McArdle, who one-timed it home from the right circle.

12. Penn State 4, Hobart 3 - November 29, 1995. While games against NCAA Division III teams later became close to a 50-50 proposition, they were something a little south of that 18 years ago. That fact, combined with a 6-5 overtime win by the Statesmen during the 1994-1995 season, made this triumph noteworthy, even if it didn't directly count for ACHA positioning. The Icers faced second-period deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 before goals by Brian Rolli, Steve Hajek and Don Coyne over a 4:30 stretch late in the period put PSU ahead for good, including insurance against Hobart's extra-attacker answer with time winding down. "The loss to them last year left a bitter taste in our mouths," goaltender Jeff Crispino said, "so this win means a lot."

11. Penn State 6, Kent State 5 (OT) - February 17, 1984. Throughout the 1980s, Kent State - which sponsored an NCAA Division I program from 1986 until 1994 - was one of the Icers' toughest regular opponents. In 1983-1984, despite PSU's eventually winning the national club championship, the Golden Flashes won three of the four games between the two, and nearly took the fourth. Penn State trailed 5-3 late in regulation, but Art McQuillan scored on a backhander with 3:51 remaining to trim the deficit to 5-4, and Brad Rush tied the game roughly two minutes later off of Lynn Sipe's setup. Greg Powers then deflected a Glenn Cawood shot past Adam Brinker for the OT winner. "We've been in overtime before," Powers said, "and me, Art [McQuillan] and Clark [Dexter] go full force in overtime. We were pressing and getting our shots - you could tell it was gonna come. I told everyone on the bench, 'You don't have to warm up, because we're going to score.'"

10. Iowa State 5, Penn State 3 - January 23, 1999. In a preview of the infamous 1999 ACHA national championship game won by "vacated," the Icers and Cyclones met in the NLIT championship game, and the teams ranked first and second in the ACHA for the entire 1998-1999 season put on a show worthy of the pollsters' esteem. After Darren Anderson (one of the stars of "vacated's" title run, as it would turn out) gave ISU a 2-0 advantage on a 3-on-0 rush, Penn State answered three times to gain the lead in the third period: Jason Zivkovic on the power play, Rob Shaner's rebound putback and C.J. Patrick's slapper. The Cyclones, however, had their own rally against a shaky John Sixt with John Strama and Brian Paolello putting ISU back ahead, and Jeff Smith added an empty-netter.

Jamie Hettema scored in the first game at the Ice Pavilion

9. Penn State 6, Upsala 5 - January 16, 1981. A contest generally only remembered for the Ice Pavilion's opening and for the crowd of 1,450 that stood as the building's record for its first nine years was also a fantastic game in and of itself. Matt Glass became the first of many Icers to fill the net beneath Section E, but he was answered by the Vikings with just 45 seconds left in the opening period. Glass' second, along with tallies by Glenn DeStefano, Rush and Jamie Hettema gave PSU a seemingly-safe 5-2 lead late into the third period, before Upsala managed to score three times in the last 120 seconds of the game. DeStefano, however, also scored late and goaltender Jim Pollock shut the door just in time for the Icers to escape with a win that wasn't finalized until 1:00 a.m.

8. Iowa State 5, Michigan-Dearborn 3 - February 29, 1992. The only non-Penn State game on the list qualifies due to its heavy significance as the first championship game in ACHA history, and still the only national title won by the man, long-time ISU coach Al Murdoch, who ended up with his name on the trophy given to the ACHA's last team standing. The Icers were denied home-ice glory that year by Dearborn, as the Wolves bombed PSU 8-5 to earn their way into the final. Incidentally, the captain of that 1991-1992 Iowa State team was Bill Ward, who is now the girls hockey coach at National Sports Academy, the alma mater of current PSU women's team forward Emily Laurenzi.

7. Niagara College 6, Penn State 5 (2OT) - March 12, 1988. In an ICHL semifinal matchup, Knights goaltender Jim Darling made 40 saves - eventually winning tournament MVP honors and leading the Welland, ON-based school to the championship - in beating the Icers. Penn State held a 5-2 lead at one point, but were unable to avoid ICHL elimination at the hands of Niagara for the third season in a row (including another 6-5 double-overtimer two years prior to this game). Payback would be sweet, and it would come the next season when PSU beat the favored Knights 5-3 on the way to the title (see number 3).

6. Penn State 4, Canton 3 (OT) - January 14, 1984. The SUNY school, then known as the Northmen, took an early 1-0 lead on a Mike Jones clapper 1:55 in, and were on the verge of running a flat PSU team out of the rink but for a series of shots ringing off posts and missing gaping nets. Even with puck luck seemingly on their side, Penn State still faced a 3-1 deficit entering the third period, but a Powers putback of a Sipe rebound, following a Jim Yablecki goal, brought the Icers back to even midway through the frame. Yablecki then won the game, and the championship of the third NLIT, 2:35 into overtime with a wrister off left wing. The goal almost never happened, as PSU survived a near-miss by Canton just six seconds into extra time: "The guy came breaking in on a 3-on-2," goaltender John Davis said. "He passed it right in front, and as he came by, he just took my skates right out from under me. They just shot it and I stopped it from the back of the net. The puck has to be completely over. I didn't think it was, it was close though."

Casey Bailey (18) scored PSU's first NCAA goal at the Ice Pavilion

5. American International 3, Penn State 2 (OT) - October 12, 2012. Without a doubt the only game that made the list based on the pre-game warmup, and the chills I (and undoubtedly others) got watching PSU get ready for an actual, honest-to-goodness NCAA Division I men's hockey game after decades of almosts and what-ifs. Nittany Lions hockey will see greater heights than an overtime loss to perennial doormat AIC, a result made possible by Ben Meisner's 61 saves and Jon Puskar's winner, but there will only be one first, and only one time experiencing the unique feelings it inspired.

4. Penn State 4, Oklahoma 3 (OT) - February 4, 2012. The Icers' aura of ACHA invincibility in the final season before making the NCAA jump had already been smashed by Delaware and Central Oklahoma by the time Oklahoma came to town late in the season, but after Shane Vordran capitalized twice on misplayed pucks by goaltender Matt Madrazo to give the Sooners a commanding 3-0 third-period edge, a palpable new height of concern among Penn Staters was reached. And promptly rendered moot by Justin Kirchhevel's two goals in the last five minutes of regulation sandwiching one by Taylor Holstrom. Saad was once again large in overtime, putting back a rebound of an Eric Steinour shot to cause the old barn to explode. "I've been here for a lot of great wins over the years," Joe Battista said. "This will go down as one of the greatest comebacks ever in this building." Third best, to be precise (the Icers never trailed in one of the top three games).

3. Penn State 8, Buffalo 6 - March 12, 1989. No less of an authority than Battista considers this game, for the ICHL tournament championship, the launching point for the success enjoyed by his program in the years that followed. The Icers, who had struggled in the conference since joining in 1985, took the unorthodox step of skipping the club national championships that season to focus on success in the ICHL playoffs after a fourth-place finish in the regular season standings (in those days, nationals preceded the ICHL tournament). The move paid off, although it certainly wasn't easy. Facing a 4-2 deficit entering the third period, PSU quickly tied the game, just as quickly fell behind by two once more at 6-4, then took advantage of a rare full two minutes of 3-on-3 hockey to once again pull even. John Ioia's rebound goal on a 2-on-1 with Lance Riddile at the 17:10 mark put the Icers ahead for good, with Brian Stevenson adding an empty-netter. Current women's head coach Josh Brandwene scored twice for Penn State on his way to the program's scoring record for defensemen.

1 and 2. Penn State 4, Ohio 3 (OT) and Penn State 4, Ohio 3 (OT) - October 29 and 30, 2004. I mean really... could it be anything else? Essentially, take circumstances similar to that UCO game in number 15, add in the fact that the previous season's national tournament loss was in the championship game (as opposed to the quarterfinals), the juice of the best rivalry the ACHA has ever seen and a sellout crowd wearing white t-shirts, then multiply it by two. Michael McMullen scored the winner in Friday's game by cutting to the middle off left wing and putting back his own rebound, a goal that completed a rally from a 2-0 deficit with 10:33 to play. Kevin Jaeger was the hero the next night when he finished a hat trick on a breakaway resulting from Mike Carrano's lob over the Bobcat defense.

A Day at NCAA Regionals

A few reflections on a day spent in Toledo, OH for the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional first round on Saturday...

For someone more used to the determination of an ACHA national champion than to the similar process of the NCAA, and in the interest of informing other Penn Staters, it may help to start with a few differences between the two, because ACHA National Tournaments are in fact significantly different than what we'll eventually see in NCAA Division I. First off, there's the number of teams - in the opening two days of the ACHA Division 1 championships, attendees cross paths with 20 different teams in the same ice facility, while in the NCAA, there are never more than four teams at any one site, which doesn't really offer nearly as much in terms of the sheer spectacle (I mean really, it's two games one day, one game the next day... as someone used to eight hockey games in one day on two adjacent sheets at ACHAs, big deal).

The second major difference is closeness. With the ACHA, it's not at all uncommon to mingle with teams watching other games from the stands or leaning up against the glass, while at NCAAs, teams maintain that degree of separation that comes in big-time professional or college arenas. Additionally, in the ACHA, people are sort of taken aback by the presence of "pure" fans or media - really, people in attendance who don't have a relative on the team and aren't part of a team's staff aren't all that common, even at nationals (at the recent ACHA women's tournament, I had issues getting a complimentary tournament pass, largely because the idea of someone like me independently covering the tournament was completely off the map for the event's staff).

I'm not trying to pass qualitative judgment on those differences here. They just are.

That last difference - the presence of fans - is something quite unique in NCAA hockey, particularly at the Frozen Four.

I attended the 2010 Frozen Four, and made a fairly egregious rookie mistake: I wore an RIT shirt, as they were my favorite team in Detroit that year. Long story short, despite an ignored up-front explanation of my status as a Penn State alumnus, I ended up spending most of the Tigers' blowout loss to Wisconsin talking about RIT to four bottled New Hampshire fans in front of me. How many people go there? What are its most competitive majors? I broke down and faked knowledge of my "alma mater" well enough to satisfy them, then wore an Icers jersey when I returned for the championship game two days later. Lesson learned. You don't pick a "tournament team" in NCAA hockey - it should probably be noted that UNH wasn't in the Frozen Four that year, yet four guys in head-to-toe Wildcat gear made sure the school was represented there.

Regionals are the same way, on a much smaller scale. In Toledo, Miami and Notre Dame had the best numbers, as one would expect due to proximity, while Minnesota State and St. Cloud State were much less represented, but certainly present. Host Bowling Green had a few fans there, as did Ohio State (with hockey-specific gear, so I'm reasonably confident that they weren't merely a few of the Walmart Buckeyes that dominate the state, not to mention the fact that they would have had to skip OSU's basketball team in that NCAA Tournament to be there). Relatively close Michigan had a few, and numerous other schools had singles, including every remaining Big Ten school - my hoodie and some serial killer-looking guy in a 2010 Capital One Bowl t-shirt took up for PSU.

No, there weren't 20 teams there, but in a way, there were even more than that. And that makes it a blast. Even when they're drunk and think you went to some other school, it's fun interacting with fans from around the country who you wouldn't ever meet but for the NCAA Tournament. This time around, I sat next to a Miami fan who, it has to be said, knew next to nothing about hockey, but was as passionate about it as anyone I've ever seen, in talking during the game, belting out the school fight song (which I believe uses the phrase "love and honor" about 72 times) and participating in all of the usual chants (including "it's all your fault" at the opposing goalie after an empty-netter, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me). I didn't want to root for the RedHawks against Minnesota State, but enthusiasm is contagious, as is often said. That same Miami fan was going hard for St. Cloud State over Notre Dame, and got exactly what she wished for, at least until the Huskies throttled the RedHawks the next day to represent the region in the Frozen Four.

St. Cloud State (red) crushed top seed Notre Dame, then Miami, to reach the Frozen Four

The present NCAA Tournament format, which divides 16 teams into four regions, with the four regional winners meeting at the Frozen Four, is frequently criticized, largely because of punchline-worthy attendance numbers. In other words, there are fans there, they represent many different schools proudly, there just aren't enough of them. Toledo's first-round attendance was 2,988 in a building seating 7,389, the second-lowest number of the four regionals. The West Region in Grand Rapids, MI brought up the rear with 2,289 in 10,834-seat Van Andel Arena. The East and Northeast Regions were much better with 6,253 (of 11,940) in Providence, RI and 8,049 (of 9,852) in Manchester, NH.

The hockey is great, it's entertaining to attend, the atmosphere can be fun... so what's the problem? Why doesn't the draw of the NCAA hockey regionals measure up to, say, the NCAA basketball tournament, or even the Frozen Four (that 2010 event had 37,592 at Ford Field's championship game, a record draw for an indoor hockey game)?

Interestingly enough, I recently attended a segment of the basketball tournament as well, the second and third-round sub-regional in Auburn Hills, MI, which I believe can offer some insight, as there's no perceived attendance issue there. Notably...

• Despite the immense popularity of the NCAA basketball tournament in our society - it's probably the U.S.' second-biggest sporting event behind the Super Bowl - the second-round games were not sold out. Thursday afternoon's Session 1 (Michigan State-Valparaiso and Memphis-St. Mary's) drew 18,863 to the 22,076-seat Palace, while the evening Session 2 (Michigan-South Dakota State and Akron-VCU) pulled 19,829.
• Each session had the benefit of one of the two most popular schools in a major metropolitan area. Without that, the numbers take a significant hit. None of the six other teams there had significantly greater support in their corner than Miami and Notre Dame in hockey. In fact, each school was only allotted 550 tickets for their "official" contingent, and it was extremely uncommon to see fans from the "other six" outside of their designated sections.
• Don't overlook the "major metropolitan area" part of that last bullet. Stunningly, the Detroit area is able to pull more casually-interested locals than the Toledo area (while the two cities are very close to each other, it's still not a drive generally made on a whim).
• There were eight teams represented there - while the two sessions are separate tickets, tons of fans paid for both. That crossover is something that hockey doesn't get, with each regional just half the size of a basketball sub-regional.

One frequently proposed solution to hockey's attendance woes is to move the tournament back to campus sites, a position recently advocated by my buddy Eric Burton.

It’s that time a year again, Division I college hockey soon will be taking center stage in the NCAA regionals playing in half empty arenas, in venues in cities across the USA.

It’s a yearly occurrence for college hockey, because we can’t have any more regionals on campus. God forbid, we can’t have playoff games in rowdy arenas stuffed with rabid fans.

The NCAA wants regional games played in arenas posing as quite emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of the regional being held at “neutral” sites.

[In]essence, yearly, the NCAA is giving the eastern teams in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament home games. It’s no wonder they don’t want to move the regionals back on campus. Why should they? They might have to play a Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver at their home arena. We can’t have that, they might not have an easier path to the Frozen Four.

That strikes me as shortsighted and driven by self-interest with a healthy dose of paranoia (why does the NCAA favor eastern teams... oh right, because his team isn't an eastern team.), particularly as long as the volatile PairWise Rankings are used to determine things. Under PWR, flipping a game result or two can turn the entire seeding on its ear, and that's not a decisive enough "win" in my opinion to take the step of forcing a deserving team to play a road game in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament isn't a conference, where two teams played a full, generally identical round robin schedule and one had a better record than the other, it's "hey, if that game between two teams not in the tournament back in November had gone the other way and your opponent was a Team Under Consideration, we'd be playing at your barn instead of ours... I'm sure you'll find it hilarious later."

I believe instead that hockey should take a few lessons from basketball, which seems a fairly obvious exercise. Limit things to an East and a West Regional. Invite eight teams from each to a major-city neutral site for four games on day one, and two more on day two. Both day two winners advance to the Frozen Four. Continue the practice of placing teams to maximize attendance, because again, the idea of "bracket integrity" seems like a silly concept, given the fragility of PWR.

As long as the two host cities aren't Boston and St. Paul every year (I'm thinking something like Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit in the west, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh in the east, with sites furthest from the Frozen Four preferred on a year-to-year basis to keep this thing accessible), I think it's a great concept. Neutral sites keep the integrity of the competition and hockey's status as a big-time sport worthy of the distinction intact. Major cities provide a destination experience that Toledo and even campus sites just can't. The system also maintains that co-mingling of people from all over college hockey, what makes this whole thing unique and worth preserving - I have no doubt that campus sites would deter visiting fans and neutrals from attending, even if seats are allocated evenly.

But whatever solutions may or may not be down the road, I actually don't think the present system is all that broken. The NCAA clearly doesn't have too much issue with the attendance, or they'd change things. And I had a good experience as a neutral fan. Did I see the Miami fanbase in its full glory, as I would down at Goggin? No, but the NCAA Tournament experience isn't about that, nor should it be. I can't wait to attend one where I have a strong rooting interest.

Three Stars: March 18-24

3. All-Session Tickets for Inaugural Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament On Sale March 25
(bigten.org)

Here's a timely reminder of the fact that tournament passes for the first Big Ten men's hockey tournament, at St. Paul, MN's Xcel Energy Center March 20-22, 2014, go on sale today at 11:00 a.m. The tickets are available through Ticketmaster and range from $80-$160 (for five games). All six conference schools will participate, so if you're a Penn Stater, please buy 'em up so that there are at least ten non-Minnesota fans in the arena.

2. Women's ice hockey club takes second at ACHA national tournament
(Daily Collegian)

Keep writing about the Women's Ice Hockey Club and I'll keep putting them right here. Or in the first spot. Good to see publications with more than 50 views per article like the Collegian and Onward State give the ladies some well-deserved pub.

1. Penn State Hockey 2013-14 Season Tickets Now Available!
(YouTube)

Kinda had to be this, didn't it?

Best of the Rest

2013 Men's Division 2 National Champions
(achahockey.org)

I admittedly dropped coverage of the ACHA Division 2 National Tournament after the Ice Lions were eliminated in the group stage, but just to complete the picture...

Michigan State rolled to a 6-3 victory over Grand Valley State University to once again win the ACHA Men's Division 2 National Championship. Jim Martin, MSU Head Coach won his 3rd Championship with a strong team performance. MSU led 5-0 and 6-1 before a gutsy GVSU club battled to close the final 6-3 gap.

Michigan State, along with fellow Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL) member Grand Valley State, finished with their best performance to once more sit on top of the 181 team Division.

Forward #16 Anthony Casali from Michigan State was named the National Tournament Most Valuable Player.

The Spartans, who previously claimed titles in 2005 and 2007, defeated Utah State 6-2 in one semifinal, while GVSU took down Illinois State - which won Penn State's Pool C to earn advancement - 1-0 in the other.

Mary Kate Tonetti and PSU took down defending champ UW-Stout - twice - en route to second place

Nationals DVDs Now Available
(psuwihc.com)

Speaking of ACHA nationals, DVDs of each game from the WIHC's second-place finish (as well as of the Ice Lions' three round robin games) are available through FastHockey.com. The price is a bit steep at $19.00 per game, unless considering the entertainment value. Two weeks removed from the emotion of the moment, I still consider the tournament to easily be one of the five greatest things I've witnessed involving Penn State hockey.

Bittersweet Exits From Conferences, This Time in Rinks
(New York Times)

I can't lie: After the latest batch of shamelessness from the butthurt set - "Big Ten sucks" chants and "B1G MISTAKE" banners at the WCHA Final Five (won by future Big Ten school Wisconsin over the weekend, by the way) - I'm done. Done what, you ask? Done pretending like I care about any of this supposed destruction of college hockey Penn State brought about.

Well, okay, if you're associated with a program in the "new" WCHA after being in a major conference during 2012-2013, I do sincerely feel for you. If you're a North Dakota fan who cried endlessly about the horrible Big Ten while your school was working on forming its cash grab attempt of a conference with hand-picked opponents - what really destroyed the WCHA and the Final Five as we knew it, by the way, because...STAY AWAY BEMIDJI, YOU AREN'T COMMITTED ENOUGH TO HOCKEY - then you're a giant hypocrite and deserve no sympathy.

Okay, that was almost entirely tangental to the actual article, but oh well.

Gopher Women's Hockey: Back-to-Back National Champions!
(gophersports.com)

Congratulations to Minnesota, which won the NCAA Division I women's championship to cap an incredible 41-0-0 season. In the title game Sunday, the Gophs defeated Boston University - PSU assistant Gina Kearns' alma mater - 6-3. Previous to that, BU earned its way to the final with a 4-1 win over CHA champion Mercyhurst on Friday, while Minnesota beat Boston College 3-2 in overtime in the other semifinal.

The Gophers' NCAA Division I win also completes a sweep of DI collegiate hockey, as Minnesota's ACHA women's team won its national championship on March 10th, with a 2-0 result against Liberty.

Men's and women's hockey to play first outdoor games at Rochester's Frontier Field on Dec. 14, 2013
(ritathletics.com)

The RIT women, who arguably became Penn State's biggest rival during the inaugural NCAA season, will play Clarkson in the not-nearly-as-novel-as-it-used-to-be doubleheader, while the men will battle Niagara.

It's worth noting that the AHL's Rochester Americans will also participate in what will be a ten-day celebration of hockey in Western-Central New York, which of course ties Terry Pegula to the whole thing.

Best hockey cities
(upack.com)

Just to get this out of the way up front, no, a moving company is not the definitive word on the best hockey cities in the United States. But still, five were named. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were two of them. And the blurbs under both of PA's major cities mentioned Penn State as part of the reason they made the list. I don't care if a moving company, Pitbull or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development made the list, I'm still going to be impressed by that.

...wait, that's it? I already hate this offseason.

D2 Nationals: Day 3 Roundup

Shortly before the Ice Lions closed out their Pool C schedule with a 6-1 win over Marist, Illinois State eliminated PSU and clinched advancement to the semifinals for themselves through a 3-3 tie with Weber State. WSU - just as in the Wildcats' other two nationals games - was careless with the lead, squandering an 2-0 first-period advantage, as well one of 3-2 in the third period. Allen Urbaniak tied the score on both occasions, first at 2-2 with a spectacular takeaway-snipe in the second period, then at 3-3 from Jeremy Gaddo's feed with 8:51 left in regulation. Josh Ambrosat opened the Redbirds' scoring.

The game did come fairly close to delivering the necessary help for Penn State, against long odds. Had Weber State scored in overtime, and had the Ice Lions not given up an otherwise-meaningless late power play goal in their game, PSU and ISU would have had identical records and goals for-goals against numbers - pushing the Pool C tiebreaker to fewest penalty minutes (the outcome of such a hypothetical is unknown, thanks to the ACHA's absolutely horrendous job communicating information regarding the tournament).

As it stands however, the Redbirds win the group and advance to Monday's semifinals, where they'll take on Pool A winner Grand Valley State at 5:30 p.m.

Other Sunday Scores

Pool A: Grand Valley State 6, Arizona State 0
Pool A: Northeastern 8, Maryland 0
Pool B: Michigan State 5, Miami 4 (OT)
Pool B: Connecticut 5, Colorado State 2
Pool D: Utah State 5, New Hampshire 3
Pool D: Saint Louis 7, Bowling Green 4

Final Standings
(x - team has been eliminated)

Pool A	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Grand Valley State	2	1	0	9	2	+7	4
x - Northeastern	2	1	0	13	5	+8	4
x - Arizona State	2	1	0	7	11	-4	4
x - Maryland	0	3	0	2	13	-11	0
Pool B	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Michigan State	3	0	0	13	10	+3	6
x - Connecticut	2	1	0	13	7	+6	4
x - Miami	1	2	0	8	12	-4	2
x - Colorado State	0	3	0	7	12	-5	0
Pool C	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Illinois State	2	0	1	13	6	+7	5
x - Penn State	2	1	0	13	8	+5	4
x - Weber State	1	1	1	13	16	-3	3
x - Marist	0	3	0	10	19	-9	0
Pool D	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Utah State	2	1	0	15	13	+2	4
x - New Hampshire	2	1	0	15	11	+4	4
x - Saint Louis	1	2	0	13	13	0	2
x - Bowling Green	1	2	0	14	20	-6	2

Monday Tournament Schedule

Semifinals

Grand Valley State vs. Illinois State, 5:30 p.m.
Michigan State vs. Utah State, 8:15 p.m.