Commit Cycle: September 12 (Men)

Welcome back to Commit Cycle, the bi-weekly(-ish) look at Penn State's committed players and how they're doing with their present teams. The USHL is well into its preseason, while BCHL teams have actually played a couple of regular season games, so let's jump in.

Chase Berger

Forward
Tri-City Storm (USHL)
6'0", 190 pounds
St. Louis, MO
Class of 2015
DOB 11/14/1994

Date	Opponent	Score	G	A	Pts.	PIM
9/7	vs. Des Moines (ex)	L 1-4	-	-	-	-	Box Score
9/11	vs. Fargo (ex)	L 2-4	0	0	0	0	Box Score

Berger has made it into a couple Storm games before as a call-up from the team's affiliate list, but the 2011 Tri-City draft pick made his preseason debut as a full-time team member in a loss to Fargo at the USHL Fall Classic West in Sioux City, IA... for the game, he was a -1 and fired three shots on goal.

---

Kevin Kerr

Defenseman
Tri-City Storm (USHL)
5'11", 175 pounds
Bensalem, PA
Class of 2015
DOB 2/9/1996

Date	Opponent	Score	G	A	Pts.	PIM
9/7	vs. Des Moines (ex)	L 1-4	0	0	0	0	Box Score
9/11	vs. Fargo (ex)	L 2-4	0	0	0	0	Box Score

Like Berger, the seventh overall pick in the 2012 USHL Futures Draft has played for Tri-City before but is making his full-time move to the USHL this season... the Storm plays another game at the Fall Classic West this afternoon before closing out preseason with three more games against Des Moines, Lincoln and Omaha... the regular schedule opens September 28th with a home game against the Stars.

---

Alec Marsh

Forward
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
5'10", 175 pounds
Bridgewater, NJ
Class of 2015
DOB 11/28/1995

Date	Opponent	Score	G	A	Pts.	PIM
9/6	vs. Sioux Falls (ex)	L 4-5	-	-	-	-	Box Score
9/7	vs. Waterloo (ex)	L 0-4	-	-	-	-	Box Score
9/8	vs. Youngstown (ex)	W 5-3	-	-	-	-	Box Score
9/10	vs. Dubuque (ex)	W 5-3	-	-	-	-	Box Score

Big things are expected of Marsh in his second USHL season, but he's off to a non-existent start after missing the first four preseason games with Cedar Rapids, possibly due to an undisclosed injury.

---

Bo Pellah

Defenseman
Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
6'0", 160 pounds
New Westminster, BC
Class of 2014
DOB 5/25/1995

Date	Opponent	Score	G	A	Pts.	PIM
9/6	vs. Cedar Rapids (ex)	W 5-4	0	0	0	0	Box Score
9/7	vs. Youngstown (ex)	L 2-3	0	0	0	2	Box Score
9/8	vs. Muskegon (ex)	W 5-3	-	-	-	-	Box Score
9/11	vs. Omaha (ex)	W 4-3	0	0	0	0	Box Score

Pellah has left his native British Columbia and will give the USHL a shot before heading to Penn State, with the Sioux Falls Stampede... so far, he's held up very well, earning a good chunk of ice time in a a variety of situations, and he was also a +1 in each of the two wins involving his participation.

---

James Robinson

Forward
Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
6'1", 180 pounds
Cochrane, AB
Class of 2014
DOB 4/9/1994

Date	Opponent	Score	G	A	Pts.	PIM
9/6	vs. Trail	W 4-3	0	0	0	0	Box Score
9/8	vs. Merritt	W 1-0	0	0	0	0	Box Score

The BCHL does not offer detail on its exhibition results, but the Rivermen went 3-1-0 in its preseason schedule... Robinson contributed an opening-goal assist by driving the net against Coquitlam on August 25th and later added a similarly-dirty goal... he scored the 1-0 goal on August 31st against Powell River... the games that count began with a pair of tight Langley wins at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack.

Marsh, Berger, Kerr Make USHL Fall Rosters

2015 recruit Alec Marsh is looking for a follow-up to a solid rookie season in Cedar Rapids

Penn State commits Alec Marsh, Chase Berger and Kevin Kerr have all been asked to fall training camps by their respective USHL squads, including the Tri-City Storm (Berger and Kerr) and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (Marsh).

Last week's invitations were extended following tryout camps held May 30th through June 2nd (Cedar Rapids) and June 19th through 21st (Tri-City). Teams don't tend to be very sharing concerning the happenings at those camps, although the Storm did provide several updates - notably including the fact that Berger scored twice in three games played by his Maroon Team, then added a goal and an assist in one of the all-star games to close things out. Obviously, the others played pretty well too.

Marsh is a veteran player, as he played 40 games for the RoughRiders last season alongside PSU freshman David Goodwin, scoring four times among his 11 points while seeing his ice time increase as the year proceeded. One-time Tri-City draft picks Kerr and Berger played primarily for their high school and midget major teams, although both have received the odd call-up from the affiliate list, as the two played a combined nine games for the Storm in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.

The road isn't quite finished yet. This cutdown was designed for compliance with the USHL's July 10th roster limit of 30 players plus 18 affiliate list players. By the time the season starts, both teams will have to trim further, to 23 on the active roster and 18 affiliate listers. Preseason camps begin in August, with the regular season opening in late September.

While nothing is certain yet, it appears likely that all of Penn State's remaining commits - Bo Pellah, James Robinson and A.J. Greer - will spend 2013-2014 with their 2012-2013 teams, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL), Langley Rivermen (BCHL) and Kimball Union Academy (New England prep), respectively. Greer, who was picked by the Des Moines Buccaneers in Phase 2 of the USHL Draft back in May, is on that team's affiliate list. The Bucs have not put out a roster announcement yet, and while it wouldn't be surprising to see Greer at fall camp, his making the team this season would fall into that category.

Elsewhere, notables surviving USHL tryout camps included Matt Mendelson, a returning player with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the brother of Nittany Lion women's player Cara Mendelson. Fellow Pittsburgh Hornets product Matt Miller, the long-time boyfriend of the women's team's Stephanie Walkom, is vying for a spot on the Youngstown Phantoms.

Three Stars: October 15-21

Penn State's mastadonic win over RIT Saturday night boosted the Nittany Lions in the meaningless early-season PWR. Photo: Omar Phillips/USCHO

3. Another Great Night in Hockey Valley
(statecollege.com)

Do I put Joe Battista's column in the top three every single week? Sure seems like it. But why wouldn't I?

2. Shaw brings multiple aspects to women's hockey squad
(The Daily Collegian)

I've been very impressed with the work of both the men's and women's writers at the Collegian so far this season, including this feature on freshman women's forward Birdie Shaw.

So how does someone get to be known as "Birdie?"

Shaw was born Samantha Shaw but never went by that name. Shaw said her brother struggled to pronounce her name and it came out something like “Manta-bird.” Her father picked it up and kept referring to her as Birdie since she was three months old.

Is it just me or do a ridiculous number of sports nicknames start with a sibling mispronunciation?

1. Men’s Division I PairWise Rankings
(USCHO)

Eventually, when it's needed (or when I'm less lazy about it), I'm going to write a post explaining the PairWise Rankings (often called PWR) for Penn Staters who are either new to college hockey or only familiar with the ACHA's coaches poll as a method for national championship tournament selection.

The essential knowledge, for now, is that PWR is an objective means used to award NCAA Tournament at-large bids. It takes every team in the country with an RPI over .500 (called Teams Under Consideration or TUC in PWR parlance) and compares them to each other in four different categories: RPI, record against other TUCs, record against common opponents and head-to-head record. The number of comparisons won by each team are then counted up, and the TUCs are then ranked in that order. Here's how that process stood after the games of this past weekend:

Luckily, DIII games don't count towards PWR.

Penn State won 19 comparisons of the 25 possible (there are 26 total TUCs, I'm not showing all of them) to rank seventh in the country. So the Nittany Lions would be in the 16-team NCAA Tournament if the teams were picked right now.

As with many statistically-based endeavors, the PairWise relies on a sufficient volume of data, which simply doesn't exist at this point of the season. Basically, don't take it too seriously - and taking it at all seriously is "too" seriously - it's just for fun right now. But it is fun, so first star to that.

Best of the Rest

Three Rivers Classic
(consolenergycenter.com)

Well, the Three Rivers Classic has a logo. It's black and gold yellow and incorporates a bridge. Didn't see that coming.

Diaper Line Reunites In Dallas
(usahockey.com)

PSU hockey dad Ed Olczyk was formally inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last Monday, as you probably know by now. He was joined at the ceremony by Dave Jensen, his linemate on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team and yep, another PSU hockey dad. The third member of the line was a guy named Pat LaFontaine.

Nittany Lion goalie Matt Skoff talks about historic first game for Penn State
(Stack the Pads)

A quick Q-and-A with Matt Skoff regarding his experience starting the first game of the NCAA era.

New chapter for Tiger hockey begins with construction of Gene Polisseni Center
(rit.edu)

I've mentioned it a few times already, but one more (with renderings) won't hurt: RIT officially broke ground on their new arena on Friday afternoon, the day before playing (and losing to!) Penn State in their homecoming game. The Polisseni Center will open for the 2014-2015 season, cost $35 million and hold 4,150 fans.

UNO to seek $10 million from city, 'others' toward cost of arena
(Omaha World-Herald)

Meanwhile, UNO looks like they want in on the arena party as well, although they're still way back in the "get the money straightened out" phase of the process.

NCAA Reduces Nic Kerdiles' One-Year Suspension to 30% of Season
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

I stopped caring about this story at some point last week, but just to close the book on it (since it received an entry in each of the last couple Three Stars posts), Nic Kerdiles' season-long suspension handed down by the NCAA was reduced to 10 games on appeal. He's most likely staying at Wisconsin, as opposed to jumping to the WHL. Oh, and the issue may not have been the blurry photos of Kerdiles holding Sheetz coffee BioSteel tweeted by agent Ian Pulver, it might have been Pulver's paying for Kerdiles' hotel room at the NHL Entry Draft.

Could Nebraska Start a B1G Hockey Team?
(Corn Nation)

Nebraska's SBNation site generated a lot of buzz last week with this roundtable discussion on the possibility of the Huskers starting a DI hockey program which would, of course, play in the Big Ten. Spoiler alert: if you're looking for definitive answers, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for as thorough of an exploration as you'll ever see on the issue, then click through.

In my opinion, Nebraska will get NCAA hockey eventually, but among Big Tenners, I think Ohio State, Indiana and Illinois are ahead of the Huskers in line.

UPDATE: I'm told Ohio State actually has a DI team already. Sorry for the confusion.



Dylan McLaughlin Goal vs Green Bay- October 13, 2012
(YouTube)

2015 Penn State commit Alec Marsh assisted on this ridiculous goal (he's the center who kicks it wide to McLaughlin), which made SportsCenter's Top 10. SportsCenter, not SportsCentre, so you know it's legit.

Frozen Four 2014: Philly one step closer to also hosting D3 college championship
(Broad Street Hockey)

We're very, very close to making what I'll call the Weekend of Face-Melting Awesomeness (DIII and DI national championships at the same site on the same weekend) official. Philadelphia, as a face-meltingly awesome city, is appropriately in line to host the inaugural edition.

Bucs Forward Commits to St. Lawrence University
(ushl.com)

Fortunately, PSU recruiting misses haven't come up too often to the best of my knowledge. However Michael Marnell, a forward with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers who has two points in six games so far this year (as a 17-year-old, it should be said), committed to St. Lawence last week after considering the Nittany Lions.



You Can Play - Miami University Hockey
(YouTube)

Know what would make my year? If Penn State joined numerous other hockey teams in producing a video in support of the You Can Play Project, which promotes acceptance of gay athletes in sports.

Thanks for reading
(Inside College Hockey)

Finally, Sunday night was a sad one for college hockey's internet presence, as Inside College Hockey - commonly called INCH - announced that it was shutting down full-time operations after ten years. The move, while unfortunate, was not particularly surprising. The site had struggled to produce fresh, consistent content for the last couple seasons, to the point where referring to the "Big Three" college hockey sites (as was generally done, with USCHO and College Hockey News being the other two) had become a little generous to INCH. Still, at its peak, the site was unsurpassed in quality, and its podcast was essential for college hockey aficionados.

The writers have set up a new site - inchwriters.com - which will continue to be updated with some content, although "posts (and podcasts) there may be sporadic, at least relative to what you’re accustomed to [on INCH]."

Three Stars: June 25-July 1

3. PSU Men's Hockey: Charter a bus from University Park, PA to Wilkes-Barre, PA on 10/13/2012
(change.org)

Generally, I'm happy with the inaugural men's schedule, or at least understanding of the realities that led to things like six ACHA games. One place where I'm displeased, though, is that October 13th game with AIC in Wilkes-Barre. That weekend should have been the culmination of a week-long celebration of Penn State NCAA hockey at University Park (not-so-subtle hint to get the Blue-White weekend carnival in for it, or at least sell funnel cakes outside the rink...yum), with the men playing their first-ever games Friday and Saturday, and the women playing their first home games Saturday and Sunday against Syracuse. Instead, they decided to break that up to go market chasing - which is fine in most cases - on a weekend I felt should have been left alone. Not only that, but they moved the first women's home game from Saturday afternoon to Saturday night, making it impossible to watch both even with teleportation powers.

Chartering a bus to get PSU students and local fans two and a half hours up the road would be a step back in the right direction. While not ideal, it's something the university ought to do to give the community back one of a very limited number of DI home games.

2. Alec Marsh Player Bio
(usahockey.com)

2015 forward commit Alec Marsh did quite well for himself at the prestigious USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp in Rochester, NY last week. In six games, he put up a goal and five assists to help his Gold Team to the title via a 3-2-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall record, including a 4-2 championship game win over the Columbia Team. Marsh's six points tied for the team lead and for sixth among everyone at the camp.

1. Olczyk brothers working hard to impress at Hurricanes camp
(examiner.com)

In yet another little milestone for the program, Tommy Olczyk became Penn State's first-ever NHL Development Camp invitee. He (along with brother Eddie, of UMass) participated in the Carolina Hurricanes' version - a conditioning camp - last week. I had planned on just linking the invitee list with some kind of "see, it really happened" comment, but Examiner.com stepped in with a nice article, so thanks for that.

The AP also stepped in with a write-up (carried on NHL.com as well), which is nice if you want to see Olczyk in a white jersey. The Examiner had firstsies though, so they get the official honor.

I suppose this makes up for the origins of this particular NHL franchise. No wait, it doesn't. I hate Canes owner Peter Karmanos even more than I hate North Dakota. Thankfully, the world of horribly-animated GIFs offers an outlet:

Best of the Rest



Anthony Walsh 2011-12 highlights
(YouTube)

According to his father, Edina (MN) High School forward Anthony Walsh is visiting Penn State this week. Check out the video and tell me you wouldn't love watching a guy who lives in beast mode in blue and white. Walsh has gotten hot as of late, both on the ice and in terms of his stock. He put up nine points in three Section 2AA playoff games to lead the section in scoring, then followed up the Hornets' season-ending state tournament loss with an impressive run of showcases, drawing the interest of both the Nittany Lions and Bowling Green in the process. Walsh, who just finished his junior year at Edina, will be attending camp at PSU in July and is presently trying to catch on with a USHL team for next season.

Maturi hoped Penn State would join CCHA
(PucKato)

The money quote from outgoing Minnesota AD Joel Maturi:

"I'm disappointed (the WCHA) broke up," he said, speaking to members of the Minnesota Associated Press Sports Association during its annual meeting in Minneapolis. "I would have liked to see it stay. My initial hope was Penn State would go to the CCHA. ... I think things would have been fine."

Me too, bud. Admittedly, my opinion is mostly borne of selfish concerns (as is his, I suppose, just different ones): I think the Big Ten, and the programs it contains, is a brutal situation for a new program. The CCHA offered more shades of grey and a more even distribution of the rungs on the latter. In the Big Ten, PSU will have to be above average just to avoid the cellar and probably one of the top 10 teams in the country just to finish in the top half of the conference. That's pretty daunting. The CCHA certainly offered top programs as well, including a couple of the same ones, but decidedly more opportunity to make progress in the standings without beating one of those programs.

It's all moot now, though. Time to move ahead with the hand we have.

New Jerseys
(The Munn Minute)

I really wasn't a fan of Michigan State's standardization of their athletic uniforms a couple years ago, because I think it's okay for individual teams to have their unique traditions, within university branding guidelines. When I did a concept Penn State hockey jersey, someone asked me how I could dare to put surnames on a PSU jersey. Simply put, I view the absence of names as a "Penn State football" thing, not a "Penn State" thing. In fact, Penn State basketball had names on jerseys for quite a while (with removal only in recent years), and non-revenue sports rarely include names, regardless of the school. The Icers, of course, had names - oversized ones, to boot - most of the time from roughly 1990 to the present, although they were removed from the blue jerseys for whatever reason over the last several years.

Anyway, one of those quirks lost in MSU's school-wide redesign was hockey's script writing, which is now back in the form of alternate jerseys. I elected to use the standard jerseys for the picture here, since that's what they'll likely wear against the Lions (still feels weird typing that) on January 25th and 26th. The major change in that department: the words "Michigan State" and the player's number have been eliminated from the front of the green jerseys in favor of the spartan helmet to match the whites.

Pittsburgh Becoming a College Hockey Hotbed
(penguins.nhl.com)

Dickie Dunn wrote this, it's gotta be true! Well, okay, Dickie Dunn didn't write it. But everyone else is, so I'm inclined to believe it anyway.

@Jonathan_Milley
(Twitter)

A few months ago, when Rob Lowe started a rumor about American-style footballer Peyton Manning's impending retirement, I was appalled. Not at Lowe, but at the large number of hockey players on Twitter saying, essentially, "who the hell is Rob Lowe?" I get that you guys weren't yet born during the Brat Pack's heyday, but Dean MFing Youngblood. Figure it out. Jon Milley gets it, you should too.

Ohio to continue rivalry with Penn State in 2012-13
(The Post)

Here's some early OU perspective on what might be the final, final chapter of the greatest rivalry in ACHA history.

[OU coach Dan] Morris said there is a possibility the Nittany Lions will stay on their schedule, but continuation of the rivalry is not favorable

"Now that there's Big Ten hockey and it’s on their agenda, (nonconference scheduling) might become a talking point," he said. "It's something we'd like to continue, but it’s something where we'll see."

NCAA teams generally play exhibition games against CIS (basically, the Canadian university version of the NCAA) schools every year, so in that vein, I'd love to keep an annual game with the Bobcats. The problem, though, is that ACHA opponents always count against the NCAA's 34-game limit, and a once-per-season exemption can be used for exhibition games against CIS teams. Since it makes little sense to treat CIS and ACHA teams differently, I'd like to see a similar exemption for ACHA teams. Not just for the sake of PSU-Ohio, but in order to help grow the ACHA.

I don't have Dan Morris on the phone right now to clarify, but reading between the lines of his quote, he seems to think that the large number of out-of-conference games in the world of six-team leagues might keep the door open a crack. However, because the ACHA doesn't exactly hold a position of power with regard to scheduling (or game exemption rules), and because surely PSU would rather not play an ACHA team against the 34 if at all possible, my advice is to enjoy the games against the Bobcats like they're the last ones you'll ever see.

Three Stars: June 18-24

3. New York Islanders Business Directory
(newyorkislanders.com)

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a press release on this, but...

Matt Bertani, who served as an Icers assistant from 2005-2008, is the new video coach for the New York Islanders. Quite an impressive career track, to say the least. He left PSU to assist with the Islanders' AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he remained until now (surviving a head coaching change in the process, which shows a good deal of organizational faith). He's a dyed-in-the-wool ACHA guy, as he played with Mercyhurst's club team and he also developed some pretty diverse experience as a youth hockey coach prior to coming to PSU.

Actually, it's a meteoric rise and a great comeback story - you may recall that Bertani was nearly killed in a men's league game last year while suffering a broken neck in a collision. Congratulations Matt!

2. Gadowsky adds a pair of forwards
(Lions247)

Meet Alec Marsh and Chase Berger - at the moment, PSU's entire 2015 recruiting class.

1. Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 counts
(The Daily Collegian)

I hope that this isn't taken as minimizing the trauma of those who came into physical contact with Jerry Sandusky and who then stood as his accusers, but we were all his victims. The justice system has done what it could with him - he'll likely spend the rest of his life as the worst type of person one can be in prison - and for that I'm glad. I just wish it could give us back what we've lost in transit to this point.

This story will likely fade from the national media's consciousness now, although the appeals, the civil suits, the Freeh report that already smells like a sham designed to pin this all on "football culture" (whatever that means), the hopeful unmasking of all in Penn State administration who kept what I suspect was a "well-known secret" at the highest levels of university governance...all of those things make this an awkward sort of semi-closure. They will keep picking at the scabs and delaying the already imperfect healing process. The good news? We are Penn State. Emphasis on "we," because Penn Staters, collectively, are what makes Penn State great. Keep excelling at whatever it is you do in life. Live the last verse of the alma mater. Do it while wearing a PSU shirt, if possible. Take the hits you'll undoubtedly receive for doing so, but keep moving forward.

We are Penn State, and we will eventually take our university back.

PS. I'm absolutely stunned that more people haven't pointed out that Sandusky is one of the jokers in the unlicensed Penn State Football Heroes playing card decks sold at PSU retail outlets for several years. The actual cards simply have footballs in the top left and bottom right corners, so I took some artistic license there.

Best of the Rest

Pride of Pegula Store
(cafepress.com)

Dooooo itttttttt.... you know you're going to want to white something out at a hockey game at some point. Pictured: my likely first purchase.

Penn State back in play for Army hockey
(recordonline.com)

The October 26th game at Army is one of my favorites this year. The Black Knights are one of just three currently-active Division I programs played by Penn State's original 1940-1947 varsity team, and the only one on this year's schedule (Cornell and Colgate are the others). I'm glad that fact hasn't gotten lost.

Penn State will play on Oct. 26 at Tate Rink, the first visit by the Nittany Lions to West Point since 1947. The school dropped varsity hockey after that season and has competed as a club program in recent years. Penn State will compete as a Division I independent this season and join the new Big Ten conference in 2013-14.

"Recent years?" Makes it sound as if the Icers started up in 2004. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, NCAA Sanctions and the “Death Penalty”
(Victory Bell Rings)

Included because it brings up an interesting idea, forwarded mostly by people who hate Penn State: could the NCAA sanction PSU to the stone age? While anything is possible, I don't believe they will, because the simple fact is that none of what happened affected the on-field product in any way. When the NCAA speaks of "lack of institutional control," it's in the context of breaking NCAA rules, which are in place (generally) to ensure fairness in the realm of athletics (that's what the first "A" is for, after all). I question whether the NCAA has the jurisdiction to punish PSU for this. I also question why this story gets coverage from ESPN, but that's a different rant.

Even if the NCAA wants to bring penalties on Penn State athletics, where do they begin? As I said, this is not a football crime, regardless of how it has been portrayed. If a penalty comes, it has to be big. It has to be everybody from women’s basketball, to wrestling to baseball and fencing. A hockey team that doesn’t yet exist would be penalized. Will the NCAA punish hundreds of athletes because of the wrong-doings of an administration? Has there ever been an NCAA punishment that didn’t involve a single athlete committing a single infraction?

Yeah, basically.

Click to enlarge.

Under Construction for the Pegula Ice Arena!
(I admit)

An updated PIA photo from a likely, yet not, source - a PSU Undergraduate Admissions blog.

Penn State Ice Pavilion Tickets
(StubHub)

Every once in a while, I come across a little reminder of big-time status that blows my mind. This is one of those, even though there aren't any tickets up yet.

Western Pennsylvania nets notable status in hockey world
RMU hockey basks in ’Burgh spotlight
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

With the NHL Entry Draft in the Steel City Friday and Saturday, local media did not disappoint with the easily-predicted "yay Pittsburgh hockey!" articles. But hey, good PA hockey is good for Penn State. And Robert Morris. So yay, indeed.

Signs point to Federal league in Williamsport
(Shooting for the Show)

Closer to the other end of the commonwealth, it looks as if Williamsport might be getting a taste of our favorite sport.



Connecticut jumping to Hockey East, to 18 scholarships for 2014-15 season
(USCHO)

The headline more or less says it all. Hockey East finally has their 12th team, and hopefully UConn will prove worthy of it because a successful big school in a big conference is good for college hockey. They're adding the full 18 scholarships (up from zero) and will play home conference games at the XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center, also formerly the home of the Hartford Whalers. So yeah, I'm dropping some Pat Verbeek on you.

And just because I haven't done this in a while, here's how the conferences stack up, beginning in 2014. The only change from 2013 to 2014 will be the Huskies' arrival in Hockey East from Atlantic Hockey.

Big Ten (6): Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Wisconsin.

NCHC (8): Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Western Michigan.

Hockey East (12): Boston College, Boston University, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Massachusetts-Lowell, Merrimack, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Providence, Vermont.

ECAC (12): Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Quinnipiac, RPI, St. Lawrence, Union, Yale.

WCHA (9): Alaska, Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan

Atlantic Hockey (11): Air Force, American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart.

Still Screwed, But Hoping the WCHA Has Mercy (1): Alabama-Huntsville.

Don't bother memorizing it, I'm sure it will change before 2014 in some way.

Just Three Proposals for Prime Canalside Site
(Buffalo Rising)

Sounds like TPegs might finally be looking to shut Canisius up. Yeah, I thought their begging for a handout was a little gauche - and before you accuse me of hypocrisy, Pegula actually has a connection to Penn State and initiated the discussion with the school. So there. Anyway...

Sources said the Sabres are proposing a multi-rink facility, with a themed sports bar/restaurant to be developed by Delaware North Cos. for the block. The rinks would be used as a practice facility for the team as well as the home base for some of the area's collegiate hockey teams. It would also host amateur and youth tournaments.

According to Business First, the Sabres/Delaware North project also includes a hotel component, parking for 1,000 cars, and retail along both Main and Perry streets. There would be two rinks, one with spectator seating for a couple of hundred, the other with up to 1,500.

That's actually smaller than the rink of Division III Buffalo State, where the Griffs currently play. Then again, they drew 626 fans per game last year, fourth worst in DI, so I think they'll be okay.

Title IX at 40
(Philadelphia Inquirer)

Finally, happy birthday to Title IX - a landmark not only for female athletes, but for everyone who believes in equality.

RoughRiders Pick Marsh in USHL Draft

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders selected 2015 forward commit Alec Marsh in the 15th round of the USHL Entry Draft Tuesday evening. The Bridgewater, NJ native went in the 217th slot, although due to to the league's draft format, he was actually the 112th player off the board.

Marsh is the second Penn State commit to be picked by the USHL this month, as 2014 defenseman Kevin Kerr was tabbed by the Tri-City Storm in the USHL Futures Draft on May 1st. This year, the Entry Draft is open to all players with birth years from 1992 through 1997, while the Futures Draft was reserved for the top 1996 birth years.

With the Tier III Junior B New Jersey Rockets last season, Marsh was half of a dynamic duo with linemate Ryan Hitchcock, a 2014 Yale commit who will join the U.S. National Team Development Program this season. Each cracked the century mark in points over all competitions, although it was Marsh who tied for the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League's scoring lead with 79 points in 35 games. The pair also helped the Rockets to the USA Hockey Tier III national championships this past season.

“He is a natural goal scorer,” said Rockets assistant coach, and strength and conditioning coordinator Tony Samms [of Marsh]. You don’t teach that skill. Combine that with the little bit of edge that he plays with on the ice and an amazing off-ice work ethic, and Alec really has some special moments ahead.”

If he ends up with the Riders - he's stated a desire to play in the USHL in the past - he'll be joining a team that could use some special moments. While Cedar Rapids went 27-21-12 to finish fifth in the USHL Eastern Conference last year, they were swept out of the playoffs by Youngstown in the first round. They're hoping that an 11-player draft class, headed by 16th overall pick Judd Peterson (a Minnesota high school product committed to St. Cloud State for 2013) will help change that.

The USHL, of course, is a major developmental league for college hockey. Twelve members of Penn State's 2012-2013 roster spent time in the league, including junior defenseman Nate Jensen with the RoughRiders in 2008-2009. Of the nine known Penn State commits for 2013 and beyond, three have played full seasons in the league, while three others (Marsh, Kerr and 2011 Storm Entry Draft pick Chase Berger) have been drafted by the league.

Futures Draft

Marsh and his New Jersey Rockets team won the MJHL championship and competed at Tier III nationals.

Penn State now has a recruiting class of 2015, as New Jersey's Alec Marsh became the first to commit to PSU for that year on March 29th.

Alec Marsh

Forward
New Jersey Rockets (MetJHL)
5'10", 165 pounds
Bridgewater, NJ
DOB 11/1995

EliteProspects.com

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------------------------------------
2009-10  New Jersey Colonials   Bntm   36   21   37   58   88
2010-11  New Jersey Colonials   Mdgt   20    8   13   21   36
2011-12  New Jersey Rockets     AtJHL   4    0    0    0    2
2011-12  New Jersey Rockets     MetJHL 35   36   43   79   79

Let's start, as we usually do, with the press release.

“This was the reward for all of the work Alec put in for the season,” commented New Jersey Rockets Head Coach and Director of Player Development Bob Thornton. “From the first game this year, Alec has been an integral part of the Rockets offense and we expect big things from Alec at Penn State.”

“I’m excited to be a part of a new program,” said Marsh.  “This has been a great year for both myself and the team and I hope that it continues. I’d like to thank the entire Rockets organization for getting to this point in my career. I’m excited to be a Nittany Lion.”

Most recently, the Rockets competed at the USA Hockey Tier III national championships from March 30th through April 1st in Rochester, MN. While they won their first game, 2-1 over the South Oregon Spartans, they departed the tournament after subsequent losses to the Missoula Maulers and the Rochester Ice Hawks.

New Jersey earned its spot at nationals by winning the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League's Keegan Cup final on March 18th over the Long Island Royals by a 4-3 count. Marsh had a goal and an assist in that game, as well as a hat trick in the championship weekend's opening win, 7-3 over the Hartford Junior Wolfpack.

“Getting off to a good start was vital,” said Thornton. “Getting four points [over the course of the weekend] would guarantee a spot for us in the finals and a trip to Nationals and Marsh, as he has done all year long, got us off to a great start.”

Following a loss to Long Island and a tie against Central Penn, the Rockets gained a rematch with the Royals and rallied from a 2-0 hole to take the title with four third-period goals.

Marsh was certainly no small part of the Rockets' success this season. In 35 league games, he put up 79 points to tie for the scoring crown (for what it's worth, he played two fewer games than his co-winner) and take rookie of the year honors. He had at least three points in six consecutive games from November 27th through December 16th and burned the New York Saints for a season-high five in a 12-0 romp on February 27th. He developed instant chemistry with linemate Ryan Hitchcock, a 2014 Yale commit who will play for the U.S. National Team Development Program next season - in fact, both Marsh and Hitchcock cracked the century mark in points over the Rockets' full schedule (MJHL league games plus showcases, exhibitions, etc.). In some cases, one great player can carry a lesser-skilled linemate, but that's definitely not the case here.

“He is a natural goal scorer,” said Rockets assistant coach, and strength and conditioning coordinator Tony Samms. You don’t teach that skill. Combine that with the little bit of edge that he plays with on the ice and an amazing off-ice work ethic, and Alec really has some special moments ahead.”

U.S. Hockey Report offered this assessment at the Junior Bruins Shootout last September:

Always around the puck. Seems to have a knack for scoring goals. Good stick and vision. Scored the OT winner on a penalty shot in the U19 semi-finals.

So he scores goals, eh? Good thing the team with the most of those wins.

Prior to 2011-2012, Marsh was with the New Jersey Colonials organization, and he also played for Seton Hall Prep, his high school. He made the move to the Rockets, essentially, for increased exposure.

“In spite of Alec being on the ice and enjoying the high school playing experience, there was something missing,” said Greg Marsh, Alec’s father. “In spite of playing good competition, there were hardly any scouts at the Seton Hall games. Scouts were coming to watch the travel tournaments and showcases and, upon review at the end of the season, in order for Alec to advance onto higher playing levels, we needed to go the junior route. … We received such high recommendations from other players and coaches that Coach Thornton and the Rockets were the place for Alec to be and, nearly a year later, the results speak for themselves.”

They certainly do. One tremendous season and one accepted NCAA Division I offer later, all that's left is for Marsh to continue to progress (he's mentioned the USHL as a possible future location for that progression) - and for us to wait through another three hockey seasons for his services.