3RC Matchups, Times Confirmed

For the second straight season, and as verified by the websites of both Robert Morris and Bowling Green, Penn State will open the 2013 Three Rivers Classic at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center against RMU. The Nittany Lions and Colonials will play on Friday, December 27th at 7:35 p.m., a game preceded by Boston College versus Bowling Green at 4:35 p.m. Saturday, December 28th will see the losers of the two Friday contests square off for third place at 4:35 p.m., with the championship game at 7:35 p.m.

The return of the holiday tournament, its dates and participating teams were all confirmed a long time ago, of course. However, the scheduling specifics had, until recently, remained unknown.

That Penn State is guaranteed to play Robert Morris is rather unsurprising, as it is part of a continuing push to cultivate a rivalry between two of Pennsylvania's three NCAA Division I programs. To this point, RMU has the upper hand in the series, thanks to their 3-2 triumph at the Ice Pavilion on December 15th of last season, followed two weeks later by a 6-0 whitewashing at the inaugural Three Rivers Classic. There was, however, redemption for PSU on the second day of the showcase - a 5-4 victory over Ohio State in the third-place game, a signature moment of the blue and white's inaugural NCAA season.

In the championship game, the Colonials eked out a 1-0 win over perennial power Miami to take the title and RMU goalie Eric Levine completed an unreal weekend of back-to-back shutouts involving a total of 99 saves to render the tournament MVP award academic. Beyond Levine and his team, the Three Rivers Classic was also noted for its attendance, as 22,460 tickets were sold over the two days.

Two of the Nittany Lions' three opponents at the 2013 Classic appear elsewhere on the schedule as well. PSU will travel to RMU on Friday, November 1st, while Boston College is slated to visit Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, January 25th.

Boston College, UMass-Lowell Highlight Men's Slate

Lethal John Gaudreau and Boston College visit Pegula Ice Arena on January 25, 2014.

The Penn State NCAA men's program has announced its full schedule for 2013-2014, the season notable for PSU's entry into both the Big Ten and Pegula Ice Arena.

Date	Time	Opponent	Location
Fri. Oct. 11	8:00 p.m.	Army	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Oct. 18	TBD	Air Force	Cadet Ice Arena // Colorado Springs, CO
Sat. Oct. 19	TBD	Air Force	Cadet Ice Arena // Colorado Springs, CO
Fri. Oct. 25	7:00 p.m.	RIT	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Oct. 26	5:00 p.m.	Vermont	Wells Fargo Center // Philadelphia, PA
Fri. Nov. 1	7:05 p.m.	Robert Morris	84 Lumber Arena // Neville Twp., PA
Fri. Nov. 8	7:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Thu. Nov. 14	7:00 p.m.	UMass-Lowell	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Nov. 15	7:00 p.m.	UMass-Lowell	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Nov. 30	7:00 p.m.	Union	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Dec. 1	7:00 p.m.	Union	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Dec. 6	TBD	at Wisconsin*	Kohl Center // Madison, WI
Sat. Dec. 7	TBD	at Wisconsin*	Kohl Center // Madison, WI
Fri. Dec. 27	TBD	Three Rivers Classic (RMU, BC, BG)	Consol Energy Center // Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 28	TBD	Three Rivers Classic (RMU, BC, BG)	Consol Energy Center // Pittsburgh, PA
Sun. Jan. 12	TBD	Minnesota*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Mon. Jan. 13	TBD	Minnesota*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Jan. 17	TBD	at Michigan State*	Munn Ice Arena // East Lansing, MI
Sat. Jan. 18	TBD	at Michigan State*	Munn Ice Arena // East Lansing, MI
Sat. Jan. 25	7:00 p.m.	Boston College	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Jan. 31	TBD	at Ohio State*	Value City Arena // Columbus, OH
Sat. Feb. 1	TBD	at Ohio State*	Value City Arena // Columbus, OH
Fri. Feb. 7	TBD	Michigan*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 8	TBD	Michigan*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Feb. 14	TBD	Michigan State*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 15	TBD	Michigan State*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Feb. 21	TBD	at Michigan*	Yost Ice Arena // Ann Arbor, MI
Sat. Feb. 22	TBD	at Michigan*	Yost Ice Arena // Ann Arbor, MI
Fri. Feb. 28	TBD	at Minnesota*	Mariucci Arena // Minneapolis, MN
Sat. Mar. 1	TBD	at Minnesota*	Mariucci Arena // Minneapolis, MN
Fri. Mar. 7	TBD	Wisconsin*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Mar. 8	TBD	Wisconsin*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri. Mar. 14	TBD	Ohio State*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Mar. 15	TBD	Ohio State*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA

The Big Ten Tournament will take place March 20th through 22nd at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. On the opening day of the playoffs, the bottom four teams in the final league standings will pair off as third vs. sixth and fourth vs. fifth for a single-elimination first round. The two winners will then meet the top two seeds for the semifinals on the second day of the tournament, followed by the championship game Saturday night.

Start times for the Big Ten games, as well as the television schedule, will be released at a later date.

Obligatory Guy Gadowsky press release quote:

"We've put together a challenging non-conference schedule with several marquee games. Together with a competitive Big Ten slate and trips to both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, our fans will have the opportunity to watch some outstanding hockey whether at Pegula Ice Arena or on the road. It will be an exciting season as we enter our first year in the Big Ten Conference in a brand-new facility."

Mostly due to the late release date of PSU's schedule relative to others and the previous unveiling of the entire Big Ten schedule, no fewer than 29 of the 34 games had already been 100 percent locked in prior to this announcement. In order to avoid repeating myself while still conveying pertinent information, here are a bunch of old posts covering those contests from the time they were discovered.

2013-14 Big Ten Schedule Released
Army Will Open Pegula Ice Arena
RIT Rematch Set For October 25
Philly Phollow-Up
RMU Away Match Set for November 1st
PSU to Host Sacred Heart in November
Union Series Confirmed, Schedule Shaping Up
BC, BG Sign On For 2013 Pittsburgh Invitational

So really, the news here is mostly about five games. And one of those stands out above the rest.

With no disrespect meant to other historical giants, there's an ebb and flow to greatness, a rise and fall (in a purely relative sense) in stature among the elite. And right now, at this moment in history, the "best program in the nation" argument begins and ends with the Boston College Eagles. BC, of course, is led by Jerry York, who became the all-time winningest coach in NCAA hockey history last season. York started out at Clarkson and won a national championship (in 1984) at Bowling Green, but his legend really exploded after returning to his alma mater in 1994. Witness...

Reminder: I'm talking about this program because they're visiting Pegula Ice Arena on January 25, 2014, roughly seven months from now. Pardon my French, but holy crap. Guess we'll know where we stand, eh?

Last season was a bit of an off year for the Eagles since they didn't win a Hockey East championship of some kind (only the fifth time that's happened since 1997-1998) and didn't win an NCAA Tournament game after qualifying for the 14th time in the last 16 years. Rough go.

In terms of personnel, BC loses some key pieces from last season - workhorse goalie/Pittsburgh native Parker Milner, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney up front - but as usual, there's plenty of talent to spare. Electrifying junior Johnny Gaudreau is among those expected to return. Gaudreau was Team USA's leading goal scorer (7) in its gold medal run at the 2013 World Junior Championships and was named a tournament all-star. The 5'6" Carney's Point, NJ native's collegiate exploits include status as a Hobey Baker Award hat trick finalist as well as first-team All-American selection last season (thanks largely to his being the national leader in points per game), and Hockey East and Beanpot MVP honors in 2011-2012. Basically, the 2011 Calgary Flames draft pick is quite good.

UMass-Lowell goalie Connor Hellebuyck, a force of nature in the biggest of games

UMass-Lowell is a compelling measuring stick as well, and it has to be said that for all of Boston College's recent success, the River Hawks actually had a better team last year. Behind a stifling defense backed by freshman goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (1.37 goals against average, 0.952 save percentage), Lowell was 28-11-2 overall. Although UML won the Hockey East regular season title with a 16-9-2 record, they still were able to kick things up another gear in the postseason - first by taking the league tournament (and ending the career of legendary Boston University coach Jack Parker with a championship game shutout), then by knocking off Wisconsin and New Hampshire in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh. Eventual national champ Yale needed overtime to take down the former Division II power by a 3-2 score. Other than 16-goal scorer Riley Wetmore, a senior last year, and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, who signed with the Buffalo Sabres following the loss to Yale, UML returns every key player.

Air Force returns to the schedule for the away half of a scheduling agreement initiated last season. I suppose it's quite telling that the Falcons have become a bit of an afterthought after being the easy highlight of the 2012-2013 home slate, but here we are... although AFA head coach Frank Serratore is not amused.

The Falcons, despite a winning 17-13-7 record, suffered a bit of a down year for a program that had qualified for five of the previous six NCAA Tournaments. Outstanding goalie Jason Torf will return from the team that split a series at the Ice Pavilion last November, so their more immediate concern will be ducking hits to the nation's sixth-best offense from the losses of Kyle De Laurell, Stephen Carew and John Kruse.

Three Stars: May 20-26

Jerry York and his program, which has won three of the last six national titles, may be visiting PIA

3. 2013 NHL Draft Rankings – War Room May Edition (Round 4: 90-120)
(The Hockey Writers)

It's not all that common to find people with the knowledge and guts to rank NHL Entry Draft prospects beyond the first round, so full marks to THW for taking on that task. They have Eamon McAdam listed 113th ahead of the June 30th event, and also quoted a certain Penn State hockey blog in discussing him.

Yeah, okay, they misspelled my last name and put this site's URL down as "ThankYouTerryBlogspot.ca," but hey, at least the link works.

McAdam will be in Toronto for the NHL Scouting Combine all this week as he attempts to maximize his draft position.

2. Special look inside PSU's new hockey arena
(WJAC)

The latest best look at the Pegula Ice Arena came from WJAC last week.

One quick news item buried in the moving pictures: all 18 men's scholarships are fully endowed, according to Joe Battista. Put that together with the arena being completely paid off, ticket sales proceeding well and Big Ten Network money (even if it isn't $2 million), and I'm pretty confident in my admittedly revised opinion of Penn State hockey's finances.

1. The Hottest Ticket in Town is Going Fast! Get Them While You Can!
(statecollege.com)

I'm not sure why StateCollege.com compromises itself as a news gathering and reporting entity to let Battista write what is essentially a weekly advertisement for Penn State hockey, but I'm glad that they do.

The non-conference schedule features a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four! While I can’t tell you dates or exact teams, I will whet your appetite and toss you a hint on a featured game that will take place in Pegula Ice Arena this season. Think recent National Championship team from New England that Penn Stater’s will surely pack the arena to see as we “jump in to the deep end of the pool” in just year two of our NCAA College Hockey timeline.

Wow, okay.

Just to get the less surprising part of that out of the way, "a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four" could probably be considered more fuel for the fire that is the UMass-Lowell rumor, as the RiverHawks made it to Pittsburgh back in April. Vermont (which made the Frozen Four in 2009), RIT (2010), Union (2012) and Three Rivers Classic participant Boston College (2010 and 2012) have also participated in the season's final weekend within the last five years. Toss in conference opponents Wisconsin (2010), Michigan (2011) and Minnesota (2012), and that's an impressive collection of eight different Frozen Four teams of the 18 different programs qualifying since 2009.

On top of that, we have a home "game" against a "recent national championship team from New England." Recent is subjective, of course, but since 2000, the only winners from New England are Boston College (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012), Boston University (2009) and Yale (2013). Right off the top, we can chop BU from the list, as the Terriers have released a schedule that does not include Penn State. It's probably not Yale either, as the Ivy League schools limit themselves to a 29-game schedule and according to USCHO's 2013-14 Schedule Thread, the Bulldogs have 31 games (two are exemptions) already in for the coming year - although it should be noted that the Bulldogs haven't officially published anything yet.

So... Boston College. The Eagles haven't released their schedule either, but The Boston College Hockey Blog has most of it pieced together. However, there are only 33 games on BCHB's list, one under the non-Ivy limit of 34. So given Battista's parameters and what we know of the other teams fitting them, I have to think that BC is it. Jerry York's program has been the class of college hockey over the last decade, and Penn State could play them twice in year two. Deep end, here we come.

Just to sweep up before leaving, Battista also mentioned that the PIA opener against Army on October 11th against Army will be nationally televised and that season ticket deposits now top 3,400.

PS. The scheduling mentioned in this entry adds up to 13 non-conference games which, when adding in the 20 Big Ten contests, still puts Penn State one under 34. So there may be a surprise yet to come.

Best of the Rest

PSU hockey arena beginning to look like hockey arena
(Broad Street Hockey)

I want to preface this by saying that, issues with Black Shoe Diaries' Bill DiFilippo aside, I'm a huge fan of the SB Nation network. I consider myself an avid reader of five of its blogs and a frequent-ish reader of at least three others, Broad Street Hockey included. Both BSD and BSH have been very good to this blog in the past. I really like Travis Hughes as well, and consider him among the most intelligent and level-headed hockey writers out there today. He's generally a PSU-friendly guy, as demonstrated by the fact that this post exists. All of that said... WTF guy?

Philadelphia will host the 2014 Frozen Four. Chances of Penn State making it are very, very slim with what's expected to be another weak out-of-conference schedule and a very tough in-conference slate.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, here's what we know about the out-of-conference schedule: one game against Army to open the PIA, the game against Vermont in Philly, a Three Rivers Classic including Boston College (although I have to think that PSU will open against Robert Morris again as the powers that be try to cultivate that rivalry, with BC and Bowling Green in the other first-day game), an away series against Air Force, a game at RMU, a home series against Union and one PIA game against RIT. The rumor mill includes three possible home games against Boston College and UMass-Lowell, as noted above.

Is that appreciably different than Wisconsin's non-league schedule? The Badgers will play (all two-game series, unless noted) Northern Michigan, at Boston College (1), at Boston University (1), Lake Superior State, at Miami, Colorado College, Alabama-Huntsville and the biggest joke in college hockey right now, known to some as Alaska-Anchorage.

What about Ohio State? They have (again, two-game series unless noted) Miami (1), at Miami (1), Bowling Green (1), at Bowling Green (1), Robert Morris (1), at Robert Morris (1), Minnesota-Duluth, Niagara, Canisius and Mercyhurst. I'm biased, but I happen to think PSU's slate is significantly better.

Long story short, Penn State scheduled well enough that there's really no rational justification for saying that the Nittany Lions have "another weak out-of-conference schedule."

Oh yeah... the link also includes a couple of pretty cool GIFs of the PIA progress from beginning to now (which were actually the centerpiece of the thing, until an throwaway comment at the end set me off).

URI: No interest in varsity hockey
(Rhode Island Public Radio)

Confirming what I sort of suspected all along but didn't want to say out loud, Rhode Island's reported efforts at varsity hockey are apparently not taking place on an official level.

URI officials have no interest in upgrading the current program from club status to a varsity sport in either men’s or women’s hockey, says URI sports information director Mike Lepray. "We’re not pursuing adding either men’s or women’s hockey to varsity status."

St. Anselm, your move.

St. Anselm hockey eyes Division I
(New Hampshire Union Leader)

If the last article didn't erase all doubt concerning the most likely elevation candidate, this one will, with Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America commissioner Bob DeGregorio even admitting that the Hawks are the clubhouse leaders.

Chambers & O'Brien Pairing Highlights 17th Annual CVC Golf Tournament, May 31
(gopsusports.com)

Guy Gadowsky and Josh Brandwene will both play in Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer golf tournament on Friday. BUT WHO CARES OMG BILL O'BRIEN AND PAT CHAMBERS!!!

Yeah, I'm turning into "bitter hockey guy who resents that football and basketball get more attention," after swearing I wouldn't. If I ever start dropping "pointyball" and "bouncyball" (occasionally "squeakball") with regularity, you'll know that I'm all the way gone.

Stampede Name Head Coach to Lead the 2013-14 Campaign!
(The Junior Hockey News)

Now-former Ice Lions coach Matt Morrow won't be the only guy with Penn State ties coaching in the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League in 2013-2014. Gary Gill, who oversaw Penn State Berks' elevation to ACHA Division 1 in 2007-2008 after serving as an assistant in 2006-2007, is the new head coach of the Cheyenne Stampede. Gill departed Berks after just one season in charge, but thanks in part to his efforts the team saw immediate success at the D1 level, qualifying for the ACHA national championships in 2009.

Creek Lewis will look to move to 4-0 in his career against UMBC on December 8th

2013-14 Schedule
(umbcicehockey.com)

Speaking of the Ice Lions, we now know two of their games for the coming season, thanks to MACHA rival Maryland-Balitmore County putting out their schedule. The Retrievers will visit Pegula Ice Arena on Sunday, December 8th, with PSU hitting crab country on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Matchups between the two powers of ACHA Division 2's Southeast Region are always tremendous, so if you want to get out to see the Ice Lions, you could make a worse call than December 8th.

Other things revealed through the UMBC schedule: the MACHA playoffs will take place over the February 14-16, 2014 weekend, the ACHA's Southeast Regionals follow on the 22nd and 23rd, while the ACHA National Tournament (March 21-25, 2014) has been awarded to Marlborough, MA. Furthermore the MACHA, which lost East Carolina and Monmouth from its ranks after last season, appears as if it is dropping its divisional structure and operating as a single and stacked ten-team circuit (PSU, UMBC, Rider, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Rowan, St. Joseph's, Liberty, Delaware, Temple), with each team playing its nine opponents once at home and once on the road.

Brandywine Ice Hockey Honored at All Sports Banquet
(psubrandywineathletics.com)

PSU Brandywine's 25th annual all-sports banquet, which featured University Park athletic director Dave Joyner as a guest speaker, had some representation from the only commonwealth campus hockey team to qualify for ACHA Division 3 regionals last season: Drew Haber, Andrew Hieber, Francis Fourney and Joe Naselli were each recognized for their DVCHC all-conference selections.

@LetsPlay_Hockey
(Twitter)

Duluth East (MN) High School product Meirs Moore, a defenseman with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, committed to RPI last week after previously expressing interest in Penn State.

RIT's Ali Binnington: good at playing goalie, not an idiot

RIT women's hockey raises $5,939.86 to help "CURE Childhood Cancer"

Women's hockey goaltender Ali Binnington earns 2013 Co-SIDA/Capital One Academic All-Region honor
(ritathletics.com)

Congratulations to the Tigers, a CHA rival of the Nittany Lion women, on the nearly $6,000 generated by their Skate for the Cure event in February (the check was only recently presented to the target organization, which is why this is news now) as well as to goaltender Ali Binnington on becoming RIT's first academic all-region selection of their women's Division I era.

NCHC commissioner Scherr says link to European job ‘premature’
(USCHO)

Let's close this out by taking a second to laugh at the dustiest conference in the nation, which may end up needing to hire a second commissioner before its inaugural season.

Done? Okay, now back to figuring out whether "CBS Sports Network" is a real channel or something they made up.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament III

Welcome to TYT's third annual "I'm a Penn State fan. Who should I root for in the NCAA Tournament?" post. To reiterate the rules: this post is not about prediction, serious analysis, or even personal preference (although that does creep into play on occasion). It's simply an attempt to rank the four schools in each of the four NCAA Tournament regions in terms of their relationship to PSU. Sometimes it involves past events, sometimes it involves future implications. Sometimes there's not a ton to go on, and I'll usually drop those schools somewhere in the middle. But if Penn State is your only concern, this is how I think your rooting interests should play out.

Until Penn State has a direct reason (ie. participation) to care about the NCAA Tournament, I'll defer to others for the hardcore stuff. Western College Hockey Blog, for example, has fantastic previews of each region (East, Northeast, Midwest, West), and I encourage you to go over there for further reading.

The winners of each region, of course, will congregate at the Frozen Four, hosted this year by Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center and Robert Morris University on April 11th (semifinals) and 13th (championship game). It's actually the first of consecutive Frozen Fours to be held in the Keystone State, as 2014's edition will head across the commonwealth to Philadelphia.

Finally, before we get started, here are the tournament brackets (interactive and PDF) from NCAA.com.

East Region (Providence, RI)

1. Quinnipiac vs. 4. Canisius, Saturday 5:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. Boston College vs. 3. Union, Saturday 9:00 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Sunday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Union. It seems almost crazy now, given what happened subsequently, but I was absolutely pumped by PSU's competitive losses in Schenectady back in November (2-0 and 4-1, with empty-netters in both games). That was at a time when I didn't honestly see a major-conference win coming in NCAA Year One, and suffice it to say, I think Penn State would have a shot at being more than "competitive" today. In last year's version of this post, while discussing the Dutchmen, I said: "It would be pretty cool if the Dutchmen carried something like a Frozen Four appearance from this season into next season's games with the Nittany Lions." And yes, it was. With Union rumored to be making a trip to Pegula Ice Arena next season, I'm saying it again.

2. Canisius. The two Atlantic Hockey teams in the tournament this year both get a bump due to the fact that Penn State was an honorary member of the conference in 2012-2013, going 5-8-0 against AIC, RIT, Air Force, Sacred Heart, Army, Holy Cross, Robert Morris and Connecticut - there's nothing at all wrong with wanting to see the champion of the AHA tournament do well under those circumstances, even if they are up against it with an opening game against top overall seed Quinnipiac. The Golden Griffins also get points for a previous series with the Icers, back when the school played in NCAA Division III. PSU went 2-6-0 in those games, spanning from 1981 until 1995.

3. Quinnipiac. In a weaker region for Penn State interests (see: Midwest), the Bobcats may very well have been number one, due to my new blood bias (hey, we're new blood too, after all). For the little it may be worth now, QU's home TD Bank Sports Center was part of the legendary "get ideas for the PIA" arena tour taken by Penn State leadership, and is generally credited with influencing the "steep as code allows" (finish your drink!) nature of our nearly-complete student section.

4. Boston College. Eef. If you really want to see Boston College win anything (again), go away. If you're still here, it does need to be said that BC's one saving grace is the Eagles' three Pittsburgh natives: starting goalie Parker Milner, stud defenseman Patrick Wey, and freshman blueliner Travis Jeke. Diminutive superstar Johnny Gaudreau, the leading scorer both for BC and for Team USA's gold medal winning entry at this year's World Junior Championships, gets an honorable mention as a Philadelphia-area New Jersey native who played for Team Comcast. The three PA natives are tied with UMass-Lowell's batch as a tournament high.

Northeast Region (Manchester, NH)

1. UMass-Lowell vs. 4. Wisconsin, Friday 4:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. New Hampshire vs. 3. Denver, Friday 8:00 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Wisconsin. Do I really need to explain this one?

In its first NCAA season, Penn State beat a team that is participating in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that the Badgers are also a Big Ten school, and yeah, "rah-rah, go conference," almost seems like an afterthought next to that. Feel free to extrapolate and call UW the overall top seed - I'll be rooting for them against anyone in the field. Could you imagine if Penn State ended up beating the eventual national champions?

2. UMass-Lowell. Things significantly drop off from a Penn State standpoint after the obvious Wisconsin call, but the aforementioned three Pennsylvanians (defenseman Joe Houk of Richboro, goaltender Brian Robbins of Scotrun, forward Terrance Wallin of Yardley) and the new blood factor give the River Hawks the edge over UNH. Lowell, a former Division II superpower that elevated to DI in 1984, has been thoroughly average since then, but has now made consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and won its first Hockey East tournament title on Saturday by ending Jack Parker's legendary career at Boston University. New blood is fun until it gets annoying (see Union, with Quinnipiac setting a land speed record on the way there), and Lowell isn't annoying yet.

3. New Hampshire. If the Wildcats were to take the whole thing, I wouldn't complain. The school, quite accurately dubbed the University of No Hardware by detractors, is always there - UNH has been to 18 of the last 22 NCAA Tournaments and a streak of ten consecutive was snapped last year - but never wins, and is quite possibly the most storied program in college hockey without a national championship. There's not much on either side of the ledger from a Penn State/Pennsylvania perspective though, other than gigantic (6'6", 225 pounds) defenseman Eric Knodel, a West Chester native and a Toronto draft pick. He was selected when Brian Burke was still the Leafs' GM, although that probably goes without saying.

4. Denver. The Pios have always been sort of a nothing team to me. There's no disrespect intended in that statement, DU's obviously one of the most successful programs in college hockey, I just have literally no feelings positively or negatively about them. What drops them to the bottom of the region, then? They're joining the NCHC next year. I get the feeling that Big Ten-NCHC in hockey is going to be like Big Ten-SEC in football for years to come, or at least until the entire conference structure gets reshuffled again. Except hopefully, the Big Ten will be the better conference at hockey.

Midwest Region (Toledo, OH)

1. Notre Dame vs. 4. St. Cloud, Saturday 1:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. Miami vs. 3. Minnesota State, Saturday 5:00 p.m., ESPN3
Regional Final, Sunday 4:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Notre Dame. It's not an easy call in a region that's absolutely brutal for Penn State interests, but I've always been fond of the fact that once upon a time, the Icers played Notre Dame. The Irish temporarily removed varsity status from its hockey program for a single season, 1983-1984, and scheduled a series in Johnstown against eventual club national champion PSU, with ND taking three points from the weekend. The next season, with Lefty Smith's gang back in the NCAA, the Icers went to South Bend and were swept. Notably, Notre Dame was Joe Battista's second choice of college - try that alternate history on for size, you won't like it - and PSU brass has a good relationship with the school, so you can probably count on the teams meeting at some point. ND's Compton Family Ice Arena was a key influence on the Pegula Ice Arena design as well.

No shame in having the second-nicest arena in college hockey

2. Minnesota State. The Screaming Eagles Mavericks could be considered one of the victims of Penn State's entry into NCAA hockey, as next season they'll be going from the WCHA, the toughest conference in college hockey, to... the WCHA, the fifth-toughest conference in college hockey. Normally, I'd point out that under the new setup, teams like Minnesota State, Lake Superior State and Bowling Green might actually have a better shot at an NCAA bid since one of the WCHA "leftover" teams are guaranteed to go via the autobid, but MSU obviously didn't need that to get in this year, so... uhhh... sorry?

3. Miami. I've generally been fond of the RedHawks, as a relative newcomer to NCAA Division I hockey that is now firmly established in the "club" of national powers (in other words, saying Miami is going to be good or is going to win something no longer receives a sneer in response, as it has for PSU, although the Nittany Lions' 2012-2013 results certainly shut a few people up). Eight straight tournament appearances with two Frozen Fours and one almost-championship will tend to do that. From a 1978 start date, the then-Redskins first made NCAAs in 1993, before things really took off once head coach Enrico Blasi's tenure began in 1999. MU does receive some credit for participation in the Three Rivers Classic this season, although they managed to duck PSU, but... there's that NCHC thing rearing its ugly head again. Without it, Miami is first or second in the region. With it, they're third.

4. St. Cloud State. In the recent past, and in consideration of the fact that former Icers coach Morris Kurtz was a 27-year athletic director at SCSU, the Huskies would almost certainly be somewhere other than last. However, Kurtz retired last June, and... NCHC. Ew.

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

1. Minnesota vs. 4. Yale, Friday 2:00 p.m., ESPNU
2. North Dakota vs. 3. Niagara, Friday 5:30 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 4:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Minnesota. With the end of Michigan's 22-year tournament streak this year and the low seed given to Wisconsin (although many are pegging the Badgers as a dark horse, given the 10 wins in 12 tear that got them into this thing), stacked Minnesota has to be considered the favorite to represent the Big Ten deep into NCAAs, and Penn Staters should act accordingly. Since the announcement of the conference's formation, haters have had loads of ammo, thanks to frequently-underperforming programs, as judged by their traditional standards. In 2011, Michigan was the only Big Ten school to qualify for the tournament, although their run to overtime of the national championship game helped alleviate the issue. Last year, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota all made it, but only the Gophers managed to win an NCAA Tournament game, two actually, before falling to eventual national champion Boston College in the Frozen Four semifinals. Until the Badgers' late run this season, things once again looked pretty bad for the Big Ten, particularly with usual powers Michigan and Michigan State slumping - but a Gophers national championship leading into Big Ten play next year would help the league's credibility immeasurably.

Bonus reason: Gophers forward Tom Serratore and PSU captain Tommy Olczyk are close friends

2. Niagara. Niagara is a team from mid-major league Atlantic Hockey and received an at-large bid. Not supporting that is un-American, or something. As mentioned under the Canisius entry, AHA teams get extra credit this season due to PSU's 13 games against the conference - it would be nice if the Nittany Lions' competition, or at least the teams that beat that competition to win the AHA regular season (Niagara) and playoff (Canisius) titles, ends up looking good.

3. Yale. The Bulldogs, along with New Hampshire and arguably UMass-Lowell and Minnesota State, stand out as a more or less completely neutral team from a Penn State standpoint. Don't root for them against Minnesota of course, but should Yale stun the Gophs, feel free to pull for them against North Dakota. You could even support them against Niagara, given the lack of truly compelling reasons to support the Purps, if you're a huge fan of junior forward Jesse Root, a Pittsburgh native who is fifth on the team in scoring with 20 points this year.

4. North Dakota. ...and in what's become an annual tradition, the Sioux bring up the rear due to what I'm calling the Eric Burton rule. I'm not sure that I have to elaborate at this point, but if I'm wrong, get at me in the comments. Because it will never stop being funny, here's what happens when the Sioux get eliminated (for those unfamiliar with the context, Michigan's Scooter Vaughan just scored an empty-netter to clinch victory for the Wolverines in the 2011 Frozen Four semifinals):

Three Stars: November 19-25

2014 defense commit Bo Pellah is getting a serious look from NHL scouts.

3. Gadowsky Lands 2013 Transfer
(Lions 247)

Recent commit Eric Scheid, an Alaska-Anchorage transfer, gets the Andrew Dzurita treatment. Your money quote:

“I expect us to really surprise some people. I think a lot of people have been writing Penn State off to not be competitive for the first couple of years, but people don’t understand how easy it is for Penn State to recruit with their facilities and coaching staff. With the guys they have now, I think next year we’re going to make a big jump and turn a lot of heads.”

2. Union-Penn State postgame report
(Schenectady Daily Gazette)

I don't normally include recap-ish stuff in Three Stars, but I'm making an exception as a way to give a stick tap to Ken Schott, who covers Union hockey and is easily the hardest-working opponent beat writer I've encountered this season. He made my life ridiculously easy this past weekend with his in-game updates and with his postgame content (including players and coaches from both sides).

This is Schott's blog post about Sunday's PSU-Union game. Be sure to read it, watch the linked videos, and give him a follow on Twitter as well, you won't be disappointed when doing any of those things.

1. 14 BCHLers, plus one alum, listed in latest Central Scouting rankings
(bchl.ca)

Halifax's Fucale tops Central Scouting's list of goalies
(nhl.com)

In 2011 and 2012, Penn State sort of flirted with the NHL Entry Draft in the form of Luke Juha and Mark Yanis, both of whom were considered at different points of the process but ultimately passed over. However, it's starting to look more and more likely that PSU will finally have a player drafted (while associated with the school, apologies to Max Gardiner) in 2014, with Eamon McAdam and Bo Pellah standing as the top two candidates for the distinction of being the first.

The latest evidence: the listing of both Pellah and McAdam in the NHL Central Scouting Service preliminary rankings. McAdam was named the USHL's best goaltending prospect, while Pellah received a C rating, which loosely translates to fourth, fifth or sixth round consideration.

McAdam was also named one of five draft-eligible goalies worthy of first or second round consideration by The Pipeline Show.

Best of the Rest

What If? BC To The Big Ten: A Hockey Perspective
(BC Interruption)

With the Big Ten drastically lowering its standards to chase television sets of late... hey, why not Boston College? Added bonus:

While joining the Big Ten would put BC in a stable football conference and make the athletics department more secure financially, it would be absolutely catastrophic for the hockey program and would effectively destroy BC hockey as we know it.

Get on the phone, Jim Delany.

Wildcats vs Buckeyes (in Paint)
(Deadly Nuts)

Deadly Nuts is absolutely one of my favorite blogs because it's sort of what I wish I could be if I was a) funnier and b) less inhibited. Oh, and c) could recap hockey games using MS Paint. Seriously, take a look at this post covering OSU's sweep of Northern Michigan two weekends ago, it's unreal.

Duxbury's Amie Varano commits to play ice hockey at Sacred Heart
(wickedlocal.com)

A recruiting miss for the women, as Varano considered the Nittany Lions, along with DIII schools Norwich, Castleton State and the University of New England. And picked Sacred Heart, which would be my last choice of the group.

New hoop event at NHTI will replace Jacob's Bridge
(unionleader.com)

Here's some insight on a possible St. Anselm move to NCAA Division I for both men's and women's hockey - and why it may be more likely now than nine years ago, when a previous batch of serious rumors hit. St. Anselm's women would likely join Penn State in College Hockey America, should DI status become a reality.

@MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

Former Icers player and coach and long-time sponsor and booster Mark Horgas found a couple quality teammates at the rink last Monday night in the form of women's players Jill Holdcroft (left) and Kendra Rasmussen (right).

Daily Dish: Should USA Hockey's Dave Ogrean Resign?
(juniorhockey.com)

This column calls for a high-ranking official in an organization to resign because he allegedly didn't do enough to stop abuse. Never heard of anything like this happening before, that's for sure.

What do I think? I don't know, ask USA Hockey fanboy Chris Peters what he thinks. Then I'll take the opposite position, because he's probably wrong.

Huntsville’s biggest concern is off ice
(Omaha World Herald)

I like to toss something in about Alabama-Huntsville once in a while, just because. This one's a nice update on their present status, which is...

In January, the WCHA is expected to discuss whether to extend an invitation to Alabama-Huntsville to join the league.

“Without a conference, it’s going to be difficult to keep the program, without a doubt,” Chargers coach Kurt Kleinendorst said. “I don’t think the WCHA is looking at it that way — the WCHA needs to do what’s best for the conference. But I think Huntsville has a lot to offer. I don’t see the downside.”

It goes without saying by now, but best of luck to our brothers in non-varsity origins. UAH visits the Ice Pavilion on February 8th and 9th.

Hockey withdrawal
(hockeybuzz.com)

I started the year by watching the Rochester Americans, and that lasted for awhile, but it's just not the same. It's not NHL hockey. It's not the Buffalo Sabres. I also covered the Buffalo State men's hockey team and that was very intense, especially in the season opener when they defeated Penn State, but still, after some time, it didn't make up for NHL hockey.

What's "NHL hockey?"

BC, BG Sign On For 2013 Pittsburgh Invitational

Jerry York and his boys do this quite frequently - and there's a good chance they'll play Penn State in 2013.

While the inaugural edition of the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational is still more than four months away, we now know the participating teams for the second PCHI, scheduled tentatively for late December, 2013.

The Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune is reporting that their hometown school will join Penn State and Robert Morris, as well as defending national champion Boston College, for next year's event at the Consol Energy Center.

Miami and Ohio State are certainly exciting draws for the brand-new tournament this season, but pulling Boston College is on a whole new level. The Eagles are considered by most to be the beginning and end of the "best program of the last 15 years" argument. And for good reason. Jerry York's juggernaut has appeared in ten Frozen Fours since 1998, including national titles in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012. BC also has 15 regular season or playoff Hockey East titles in that time, as well as six Beanpot titles (for those new to this, the Beanpot is a four-team tournament contested by BC, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern each year, and believe me when I say the Boston-area college hockey community considers it to be a big deal).

Bowling Green, under coach Chris Bergeron, is attempting to bounce back from the near-death experience the program had during the 2008-2009 season. The Falcons have been a perennial doormat for quite a while - in fact, during BC's run of excellence, BG has not even posted a winning record. Still, increased investment from alumni has led to much-needed upgrades at their home BGSU Ice Arena, and Bergeron's experience in helping Enrico Blasi build Miami into a national power has already paid dividends. He's improved the Falcons' win total in each of his first two seasons, and last season, he led the team to an upset of eventual national runner-up Ferris State in the CCHA tournament. That series win advanced the Falcons to the CCHA semifinals at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena for the first time since 2001.

In 2013-2014, when this tournament will be played, Bowling Green will move from the dying CCHA to a new-look WCHA missing several power programs that will bolt to the Big Ten or NCHC at that time. Notably, BG will end up as the only team to play in the CCHA for each season of its existence (Ohio - yes, that Ohio - Ohio State and Saint Louis were the other charter members, but OSU left the conference from 1973-1975).

As the Sentinel-Tribune points out, BG has a couple of interesting tie-ins to their possible opposition and to the PCHI's home arena. York, of course, left the Falcons program for Chestnut Hill in 1994, but not before he led his previous employer to the only national championship won by an Ohio school, in 1984. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the Consol Energy Center's regular tenants, are coached by Dan Bylsma, who is assisted by Todd Reirden. Both are former Bowling Green players and assistant coaches.

One other interesting detail in the Sentinel-Tribune article:

Bergeron said it hasn’t been decided if the event will be played in a true tournament format with semifinal, consolation and championship games or if the pairings for each day will be determined in advance.

Admittedly, there are a few different ways to interpret that statement, but it could certainly be taken to mean that the format for this year's tournament hasn't been finalized as of yet either. While the idea of having some kind of championship to play for - even if it's just a four-team holiday tournament, it's likely all PSU would have this year - is appealing, there certainly are other considerations in play. NCAA tournament at-large bid contenders Miami and Ohio State want to maximize the pairwise yield from the tournament. Robert Morris wants to maximize attendance which, from their perspective, probably means a matchup with the Nittany Lions. PSU would undoubtedly love a shot at future Big Ten rival OSU. Given those realities and others, pre-arranged pairings might actually be best for all four teams.

Gadowsky Pipes Up

Guy Gadowsky, who was in Edmonton to watch his son Mac play in the Brick Invitational (a highly-regarded tournament for squirt-aged players played in a mall, which is awesome and reminds me of the Hartford Whalers), popped into the studio for the first hour of The Pipeline Show Saturday afternoon.

The Pipeline Show is a radio program broadcast on TEAM 1260 in Alberta's capital, but because of its depth, quality, and content is go-to listening for junior and college hockey aficionados across North America.

The full audio of Gadowsky's appearance is available here: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 (all links are directly to MP3 files).

If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, I've transcribed some highlights below. Since this post is heavily based on third-party quotes, I'll do you guys a favor and skip overuse of the usual indent/italicize thing and instead set up Gadowsky's quotes with my comments, which are in italics for differentiation purposes.

Mac, by the way, went 1-2-3 - a W-L-T record, not me counting something - as a forward on the Connecticut Yankees and missed out on the Brick Invitational's playoff rounds. He scored a power play goal to open the scoring in one of those three ties, 2-2 against the BC Junior Canucks. And just because everyone loves kids playing hockey, here's Mac in his team's Habs-inspired unis:

Anyway, here are some of Mac's dad's significant quotes.

It didn't take long for TPS host Guy Flaming to ask about The Scandal. I didn't transcribe Flaming's questions in most cases, but felt it was important to here: 'Has everything that’s transpired over the last year with the football program affected what you do with the hockey program?'

"No. I think there’s questions – as soon as it broke, there certainly were questions, and rightly so, parents called and had questions about it. Once it was established – Mr. Pegula was great. He came out and said, ‘look, I believe 100 percent in Penn State and what they do, and I am more committed than ever to have the best college hockey facility, I’m committed to that.’ In fact, he stepped up and added more money, and his commitment is fantastic. And I think once that was made public, nothing else was brought up."

They moved on to discussion of the highlights of the 2012-2013 schedule. Gadowsky, not surprisingly, singled out the Big Ten opponents.

"We are eligible for the NCAA tournament because we play over 20 NCAA [Division I] games. We play a couple of Big Ten schools. We go to Michigan State, we go to Wisconsin, so that’s going to be a tremendous experience for our young team and what it’s going to be like in the Big Ten…we’re [also] going around the state to a bunch of neutral site games to expand the brand."

Speaking of the Big Ten...

"I know for sure there’s been three other Big Ten schools that have contacted our administration and are very curious as to how [the transition to NCAA hockey] happened and what they needed to do. The reality is that the prerequisite to that is that you get a Mr. Pegula or Pegula family that’s going to give 100-odd million dollars. Those guys aren’t hanging off trees. So that’s the prerequisite and that’s hard to find. But I do think there’s a lot of interest – if they can get it done, I know there are Big Ten schools that would love to be a part of it."

Another schedule highlight is the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational. The future of the first-year tournament was touched on, and included a name drop of a certain current national champion interested in future participation.

"This is something, I think it’s going to be an annual event. I don’t know if Ohio State’s going to be in it every year, I don’t know that, or if Miami of Ohio is. I think that they want to celebrate hockey in the area, obviously right now with Penn State coming in, and in the future I think Boston College wants to come down, so I think they are going to switch a few teams. But we’re looking at making it an annual event."

Unfortunately, he didn't let the pairings for this year's tournament slip. He reviewed several players on the first PSU NCAA team, including what I believe are his first public comments on a couple of the incoming players beyond the standard one-line press release quotes. First, Reed Linaker:

"[He] was with St. Albert for a while before he got traded to Brooks. I think he put up 81 points as an 18-year-old in the AJ[HL], and had a lot of interest from a lot of other schools, including other Big Ten schools. He had a very good year, and had a knee injury, and he’s had a tough year this year but still, Brooks thought enough of him that they tried to do everything they could to get him for the push at the end. So he’s a guy that puts up points, he plays a gritty game. He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays a gritty game and has a great head. He’s got a great offensive mind."

Nobody has said even an average word about David Glen, according to Gadowsky.

David Glen:

"David Glen, captain of probably the most successful AJ team of the past few years, he’s just a heart and soul guy. Everybody you talk to that knows this guy, they love him. Nobody’s said a bad word about him. Nobody’s said an average word about him. It’s always been what a tremendous character guy [he is], you watch him play, he’s got skills, he’s a good hockey player, but he just has that intangible. You just look at him, you know he’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and that’s what he’s all about."

Tommy Olczyk:

"He’s a guy who loves Penn State, knows what it’s about, wants to play in the Big Ten and realized it was a great opportunity to get in the first year on the ground floor to establish himself, and he did exactly that…he had a great year [last year]. He shoots the puck really well obviously. He’s pretty cerebral in the game, obviously his dad’s a great hockey guy, and he certainly has that mind. He scored a lot of goals at the club level, I’m hoping it translates, but I don’t know, I’ll find out along with you. But I do know he’s a great kid, he’s a 4.0 student, he’s a leader, he does things the right way, and he’s fantastic for our program."

Max Gardiner:

"College hockey is very strong…the pace of the game, the size of the men, you have guys that go to college at 20 years old, so they’re 24-year-old men that have been lifting weights for four years with great strength coaches. It’s a league [where] it’s not so easy to jump in right away, and I think he went right out of high school to Minnesota, and probably wasn’t ready. That’s not a knock on him, that happens to a lot of people, and he’s a third-round NHL draft choice. But he went back to the USHL, matured a little bit, had a good year, and we expect big things out of him. I think he’s got great legs for a big guy and has a good head."

He called the goaltending situation a three-way battle at this point and talked about two of those three, Matt Skoff and P.J. Musico, in greater detail.

"It’s a battle. We expect one of the guys – the freshman coming in is Matt Skoff, and he played for Sioux City. I think he had the most wins in the past three years in the USHL of anybody…he’s a guy with a ton of experience. He’s a Pennsylvania guy, he loves Penn State, we expect big things out of him. You can YouTube him, he’s gotten the odd brawl. I love the guy. He’s a great guy, he’s an excellent student, and I think he’s going to do a great job for us."

"I like guys like [Musico]. He’s an older guy, he’s traveled around a bit. He played on the east coast, he played a little bit in the USHL, he played up in Flin Flon, he’s a weathered guy, I like goaltenders like that. And he’s a heck of an athlete. He’s a great surfer, great at whatever he does."

Gadowsky touched on the differences between recruiting at Penn State and at Princeton a couple times, and I've combined those quotes here.

"Every program has their positives and negatives, and I think you have to look at that and sell that, so every time you move, you’re sort of recruiting a different athlete. Obviously, Princeton had extreme academic standards that we had to abide by. Penn State’s a great school, it’s an excellent academic institution as well, but we’re probably going for maybe a little different – a guy that doesn’t need the SAT scores that we needed at Princeton."

"We did have [competition with major junior] at Alaska, and probably less so at Princeton, because the athletes that come to Princeton are committed to going to the very top academic institutions to begin with. And we’ve already seen [CHL competition] at Penn State…it’s two great options for hockey players, and they figure out which one’s best for them."

Princeton's academic standards didn't stop Gadowsky and staff from getting guys like Taylor Fedun
on campus...no pressure though.

In a conversation about former Wisconsin one-and-done Kyle Turris, Gadowsky was asked if players who jump ship before graduation are bad for college hockey.

"I don’t think so. I think any time you get a year of education for an individual is a lot better than none. Obviously for the individual programs, they’d love to have a player like Kyle there for four years. But we understand that that’s not always going to happen. We still want to have great people – if they’re great people and great players, we want them in our program. If they can be as successful as Kyle in the NHL, I think that’s a positive."

There's something else that's a little different from Princeton, I suppose. Gadowsky's time on the air ended with a question about how he'll measure success this season.

“We’re really still trying to build a foundation, and the things that we hold important to us – in terms of how we represent ourselves, how we are in the weight room, and what kind of feeling we get, not only results, but how we’re committed to the classroom. One of the things you go to college hockey for is not just for hockey. [It’s] to expand yourself as a person, not only in academics, but as a person as a whole. If we can build a foundation where we have that environment that people want to come to our program, to graduate really quality people, you’re going to have a great education, a great hockey experience, you’re going to be developed as an athlete in the weight room…if we can establish a foundation for those things, we’re going to be a success.”

Previous to that though, he did call the Big Ten games this season a measuring stick.

"[Putting the Big Ten teams towards the end of the schedule] was a change. I think our first one was initially going to be in November, I didn’t think that was fair, so I’m glad to have them at the end. It will tell us where we’re at. Regardless, we have a ton of work to do, but it’ll give us an idea of where we’re at right now."

The "Major Program" Fallacy

This post is not about Penn State. Yet it is.

I'll start at the beginning. On Friday, following their acceptance of Hockey East's invitation to become the 12th team in the league, the University of Connecticut hosted what's been called a "celebratory event" at Hartford's XL Center. It had all the trappings of a pep rally, including predictions of success from people probably not qualified to make such predictions. Just to single a couple out, here's Connecticut Senate Republican Leader John McKinney:

"Not to put too much pressure on coach (Bruce) Marshall, but it won't be long until the next Jonathan Quick (Hamden, Conn., native - Massachusetts) or Max Pacioretty (New Canaan, Conn. - Michigan) or Cam Atkinson (Avon, Conn. - Boston College) aren't going to BC or Michigan or UMass. They'll be going to UConn and we'll be winning plenty of hockey games."

...and UConn President Susan Herbst:

"We plan on being a major force in collegiate ice hockey. Joining Hockey East is an unbelievable honor for us. I wrote a letter to the other league presidents and told them we're going to bring a lot of excitement and a lot of fans and we'll see them on the ice."

Right off the top, I have to admit that I found UConn's event a little gauche at first. I've sincerely never heard of hosting a "party" to celebrate a conference move (beyond the standard press conference, of course), and there's been enough moving done over the last couple years that I feel like I'm working with a decent sample size. That said, I'm glad they're excited, because as I've said, a strong Huskies program is good for college hockey. Yes, they have some growing to do, but it's nothing that can't be accomplished with commitment and hard work. Given that going from zero to 18 scholarships is not cheap, they deserve the benefit of the doubt in that regard. Great, story over.

Or is it? See, for whatever reason, the backlash to the UConn event has been swift and harsh. Take, for example, this post from Boston College blog BC Interruption. In reacting to McKinney's quote above, they wrote:

And this is based on... what, exactly? Some fun game you played in your head where UConn was suddenly this really attractive school for hockey recruits? This is one of those things that just smacks of ignorance. You have no idea what in the hell you're talking about, do you, Senate Republican Leader John McKinney? Some secretary just slapped this on your list of crap to do today and you were like, okay sweet. That's exactly what happened, isn't it?

These kids playing hockey in Connecticut aren't dumb. They have been living hockey for the last dozen years. They know college hockey. They know the top schools. You think just because "hey, UConn has a team!" all these top recruits are going to flock to UConn, instead of the top hockey schools in the country?

Really, BC Interruption? It's a pep rally. Things get said. Often, those things are outlandish. Pep rallies are exempt from "normal" rules for that reason. Guarantees of victory, for example, often happen at pep rallies before big games. Yet they're never reported, and if the team in question wins, the person making the promise doesn't achieve Mark Messier status. Regardless, I'm not sure why the clear best program in the country over the last decade or so cares about it in the slightest. So easy there, hero.

Why do fans of this program care - at all - about lowly UConn?

That second paragraph sounds awfully familiar, though.

I think it's funny how some in the PSU fan base seem to think that they are just going to start a hockey program and start competing with the big boys of the college hockey, these are the same in the sport that have had programs for a very long time.

Ah, there it is. That November 2010 quote is from TYT BFF Eric Burton, aka NDGoon of Goon's World, aka guy who shouts "OMG PAGEVIEWS!!!" in response to any and all criticism of his typically fallacious thought processes (unfortunately, he left the quote as a comment on a different blog which has since gone out of business, so you'll just have to trust me).

For the life of me, I can't figure out what drives supporters of two of the historic giants of college hockey to go out of their way to attempt to put new or newly recommitted programs like Penn State and UConn in their place. I suppose the first answer that jumps to mind is "insecurity," but why? I mean, they're great, we suck, end of story, right? What's their issue? We're rightfully excited to be a part of the big time? Why is that any of their concern? I suppose if hockey's entering a new world of big schools and big TV money, that might work out better for PSU and UConn than for a North Dakota, Denver or Minnesota-Duluth. But I don't think anything like that is imminent, and I'm guessing they don't either.

I'll leave it to them to explain their motives if they wish. But in the meantime, let's look at the substance of their claims: the idea that "top hockey school" is an inflexible label and that having programs "for a very long time" is a competitive advantage that can't be overcome.

Colorado College and Michigan are both interesting cases. They were arguably the two best programs in the early years of the NCAA's sanctioning of hockey. Michigan won the very first NCAA title in 1948 and added six more by 1964. CC won in 1950 and 1957 and were always in contention for the first decade of the NCAA championships.

Behold.

A funny thing happened, though. In spite of all that success, both programs fell off the map. Michigan had 25 rough years between their 1964 championship and 1989, six seasons into Red Berenson's tenure. The Tigers topped that, enduring 35 seasons of brutality that even Guy Gadowsky and his sick flow couldn't halt (he played at CC from 1985-1989) and nearly seeing their program end amidst the demolition of the Broadmoor World Arena in 1994.

Yet after literally decades of mediocrity (or worse), both programs bounced back. CC ripped off 10 NCAA tournament appearances in a 12-year stretch from 1993-2006. Michigan has done even better, as they currently own an unreal 22-year streak of NCAA appearances, which includes a pair of national titles. Both are accepted as national powers despite their long periods without success.

Also accepted as national powers: Maine and Miami. The Black Bears started up in 1977 and within 22 years owned a pair of national titles. Miami, established in 1978, was awful into the 1990s until George Gwozdecky started to rebuild the program and Enrico Blasi finished the job. Northern Michigan was born in 1976 and won a national title in 1991. Lake Superior State has never been a particularly successful program other than between 1984 and 1996, but found three national titles under Frank Anzalone and Jeff Jackson. Bowling Green started in 1969, was the 1984 national champion, and following Jerry York's departure to Boston College (which endured six straight losing seasons before and just after his arrival, by the way) in 1994 began a long descent that nearly ended with the program's termination a couple years ago. Notre Dame actually dropped to club hockey during BG's championship season yet was coveted by just about every conference during the CCHA's dismemberment, eventually preceding UConn into Hockey East.

Banners don't skate, nor can they save your program from being cut.

Let's get one thing straight: the landscape changes. It's a highly-competitive sport, and if your skates dull for even an instant, you're in trouble with plenty of programs working hard to take your spot on the mountain. Being good now doesn't guarantee being good ten years from now. Being bad now doesn't guarantee being bad ten years from now. Sure, it may be a predictor, but inertia can be and often is overcome, in both directions. And being around forever? Princeton's been playing hockey since 1901. Gadowsky coached there for seven years and led the Tigers to two of their three NCAA tournament appearances. Ever. Brown is the third-oldest program out there and has been Division I since there's been a DI. Anyone betting on them in a hypothetical matchup with Union, which has been in DI since 1991, at the moment?

I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Yes, there are also programs like UMass and Minnesota State, which haven't really done much of anything since elevating to DI in 1993 and 1996, respectively. But a very good proportion have. Some programs generally stay on top, some generally stay on the bottom. But that's a guideline, not a law. Penn State's starting on the bottom and UConn's "starting" close to the bottom, but that doesn't mean they'll be there forever. I'm not promising that either will be successful, because it's by no means an easy process, but I am promising that they're not precluded from the possibility of it.

So there it is. If you're interested in more, I took a closer look at the last five programs to go from nothing to DI (UNO, Miami, Maine, Northern Michigan and Alaska-Anchorage) and how they compare to Penn State in a two parter (Part I, Part II) back before anyone read this blog.