Ice Lions Announce Challenging 2013-14 Schedule

Taylor Vincent was PSU's second-leading goal scorer as a freshman last season

The ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions have posted the team's 2013-2014 schedule, notable as the lid lifter in Pegula Ice Arena. But it's also notable for its brutality. Consider:

• Two in-season tournaments are on tap, including the ACHA Showcase in October and Navy's storied Crab Pot in February. At the former, PSU will face Michigan State, the defending national champion, as well as Grand Valley State, the D2 runners-up in each of the last two seasons (GVSU ended the Ice Lions' season on the way to the 2012 finals). Penn State, in the form of the Icers, is a four-time Crab Pot champion (1982, 1985-1987).
• As in the case of the Women's Ice Hockey Club, which has to play a couple home games in Altoona this season, the Ice Lions were victimized by an ice time crunch at PIA and will only play 11 home games. Thought we were supposed to be done with that type of thing now.
• A reshuffled Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association once again promises to provide some of the stiffest conference competition in the ACHA, with Maryland-Baltimore County, Virginia Tech and Rowan typically among the contenders.
• Out of the MACHA, one highlight is a November road trip to New York University and William Paterson, both perennially strong programs.
• Eight games against ACHA D1 competition are on the docket. Those opponents include Indiana (PA), Washington & Jefferson, Lehigh, Towson and Penn State Berks. Should PSU play host Navy on the Crab Pot's second day, the number will jump to nine.

Could that last bullet predict an eventual move to the top division? While the Ice Lions have always challenged themselves in scheduling, eight (or nine) is an abnormally high number of D1 games - over 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, Penn State played in a combined five such contests. Should a jump be in the cards, an ECHA that includes the Berks campus team as well 2013-2014 opponents Lehigh, Towson and Navy and 2011-2012 opponent Drexel would seem to be a logical conference fit.

Regardless of that blind speculation, D2 is the team's home this season as PSU attempts a first-ever national title by building off of appearances at the ACHA National Tournament in each of the last two seasons. With returning stars like Creek Lewis and Brandon Russo - both of whom have been named All-Americans before - leading the way, Penn State was 27-6-1 a year ago and won the MACHA North Division title. However, a loss to eventual semifinalist Illinois State during the group stage at nationals crippled the team's chances for advancement.

In addition to the schedule, the Ice Lions also announced tryout information, with off-ice meetings on August 27th (returning players) and 29th (new players) preceding the on-ice evaluation from September 3rd through 6th. The Ice Pavilion will host tryouts, as they take place before personnel officially moves in to Pegula Ice Arena.

Here's the full slate, with an asterisk marking MACHA games:

Date	Time	Opponent	Location
9/27	7:35 p.m.	Indiana (PA) (D1)	S&T Bank Arena // Indiana, PA
9/28	3:15 p.m.	Indiana (PA) (D1)	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
10/4	10:15 p.m.	St. Joseph's*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
10/5	3:15 p.m.	Temple*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
ACHA Showcase, October 11th-13th
10/11	9:30 p.m.	SIU-Edwardsville	Kalamazoo, MI
10/12	7:00 p.m.	Michigan State	Kalamazoo, MI
10/13	1:00 p.m.	Grand Valley State	Kalamazoo, MI
10/18	10:15 p.m.	Rider*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
10/26	10:15 p.m.	Monmouth*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
10/27	TBD	Wash. & Jeff. (D1)	Ice Mine // Connellsville, PA
11/2	4:45 p.m.	Delaware*	Rust Arena // Newark, DE
11/3	TBD	Temple*	Flyers Skate Zone NE // Philadelphia, PA
11/8	8:30 p.m.	New York	Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers // New York, NY
11/9	2:15 p.m.	William Paterson	Ice Vault Arena // Wayne, NJ
11/15	7:45 p.m.	Lehigh (D1)	Steel Ice Center // Bethlehem, PA
11/16	1:00 p.m.	Lehigh (D1)	Steel Ice Center // Bethlehem, PA
11/17	2:00 p.m.	Wash. & Jeff. (D1)	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
12/6	9:00 p.m.	Delaware*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
12/8	5:00 p.m.	UMBC*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
12/13	8:30 p.m.	Rider*	Loucks Ice Center // Lawrenceville, NJ
12/14	8:15 p.m.	Rowan*	Hollydell Ice Arena // Sewell, NJ
1/10	8:00 p.m.	Liberty*	LaHaye Ice Center // Lynchburg, VA
1/11	7:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech*	Roanoke Civic Center // Roanoke, VA
1/17	9:00 p.m.	Rowan*	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
1/18	2:00 p.m.	Boston Univ.	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
1/19	7:00 p.m.	Boston Univ.	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
1/25	TBD	Monmouth*	Jersey Shore Arena // Wall Twp., NJ
2/1	4:30 p.m.	UMBC*	Reisterstown Sportsplex // Reisterstown, MD
2/2	5:20 p.m.	St. Joseph's*	The Skatium // Havertown, PA
Navy Crab Pot Tournament, February 7th-8th
2/7	4:30 p.m.	Towson (D1)	McMullen Hockey Arena // Annapolis, MD
2/8	TBD	Navy (D1)/Maryland	McMullen Hockey Arena // Annapolis, MD
2/9	2:00 p.m.	PSU Berks (D1)	Body Zone // Wyomissing, PA
MACHA Playoffs, February 14th-16th
2/14	TBD	First Round	TBD
2/15	TBD	Semifinals	TBD
2/16	TBD	Finals	TBD
ACHA National Tournament, March 21st-25th
3/21	TBD	Round Robin	New England Sports Ctr. // Marlborough, MA
3/22	TBD	Round Robin	New England Sports Ctr. // Marlborough, MA
3/23	TBD	Round Robin	New England Sports Ctr. // Marlborough, MA
3/24	TBD	Semifinals	New England Sports Ctr. // Marlborough, MA
3/25	TBD	Finals	New England Sports Ctr. // Marlborough, MA

Three Stars: August 12-18

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

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

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

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

2. @B1GHockey
(Twitter)

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

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

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

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

1. @D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

Hey, why not?

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

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

Tri-City Storm
(Facebook)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@MiHockeyNow
(Twitter)

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

NCHC to Use Shootout in Regular Season Contests
(NCHC)

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

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

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

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

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

Details announced about Frozen Frontier hockey event
(WHEC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pegula Ice Arena - Interior
(oxblue.com)

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

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

Three Stars: March 4-11

3. College Hockey Roundup: UMass-Lowell owns Hockey East; Penn State Holds NCAA Attendance Mark
(Flyers Faithful)

Yeah "Penn State Holds NCAA Attendance Mark" kind of caught my attention when this one came across.

In its first year as an NCAA program, Penn State actually set the mark for the highest-percentage of seats filled. Before moving over to the state-of-the-art 6,000-seat Pegula Ice Arena (above) next season, the Nittany Lions call Greenberg Ice Pavilion and its 1,400-seat capacity home. Despite the seating limitations, Penn State sold out every home game and averaged over 120% attendance.

In the NCAA records, PSU is given nine home games - two against AIC, Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville, and one against Buffalo State, Neumann and Robert Morris. Seven of the nine ended up as Ice Pavilion sellouts of 1,300 in a building that never has the same capacity listed in two different places. The Tuesday night Neumann game was just under a sellout at 1,071. The last one? The 5,389-person crowd in Wilkes-Barre against AIC on October 13th. Divide something like that against the Ice Pavilion's capacity (instead of counting Wilkes-Barre's 8,050 capacity for hockey for that game), and you end up with 128.1 percent capacity over the season.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the potential fan base for PSU hockey - that Wilkes-Barre game, as well as those in Hershey, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh chief among them. It seems kind of silly to pump ourselves over something like a falsely-calculated "attendance mark."

2. TMQ: Assessing the candidates for coach of the year
(USCHO)

Guy Gadowsky's name comes up in this coach-of-the-year discussion - then is fairly quickly dismissed for vague reasons ("I don't know if it'll gain a lot of traction"). Why? Find me one person who, before the season started, thought Penn State would even be competitive with major-conference programs - I'm an unapologetic homer, and I didn't think that - let alone actually beat four of them. With all due respect to guys like Rand Pecknold and Bob Motzko, who have done amazing things this season, there's really no argument in my mind. People thought Penn State would be a whipping boy for years, perhaps forever. Penn State surged well past "whipping boy" in its first year.

1. Rapid Fire 37 - Bo Pellah
(YouTube)

2014 commit Bo Pellah doesn't know Bill Murray. But is really into Taylor Swift. If I didn't secretly (not anymore, eh?) plow through two TayTay albums on every single road trip, I'd say something about how horrible that is. Regardless, a quick and highly entertaining interview - I always love anything that shakes players out of the hockeybot mindset in public.

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@SeanTFrazier
(Twitter)

Hey look, you guys - Big Ten championship trophy. The conference isn't noted for commissioning quality designs, but I really like this one, as it looks like a bunch of skate blades and a puck. Kinda. Well done. Also, according to a photo tossed on Facebook by UNO message board MavPuck.com, we may have a Big Ten Tournament logo as well. Good times.

Jack Parker and the complicated legacy left behind at Boston University
(Puck Daddy)

Allow me to be the last to tell you that legendary Boston University coach Jack Parker is retiring at the end of the year after 40 seasons, 894 wins (and still counting for now), three national championships, boatloads of NHLers (including Mike Grier, a nephew of PSU football legend Rosey Grier) and a bunch of other impressiveness. When I first got into college hockey, BU was my favorite NCAA program, and while it probably wasn't any longer by September 16, 2010 (the last day before PSU was in that category), I've always generally rooted for the Terriers except against a handful of schools, with Parker being a huge reason why.

There's been a lot written about Parker's "complicated" legacy in light of the last couple of years of off-ice issues. Kind of reminds me of another coach, different sport, more familiar to readers of a Penn State blog. I believe history, ultimately, will be kind to both, but we'll see.

Going to go take a shower after linking something written by Ryan Lambert. Be right back.

High octant offense powers Minot State to first National Championship
(achahockey.org)

First off, congratulations to Minot State on the ACHA Division 1 title, as they beat Lindenwood 9-5 in the championship game in Bensenville, IL on Wednesday. The Beavers had developed a reputation as tournament flameout kings over the years, but I like their program, so I'm happy to see that one buried. Second off, "octant?" Never change, ACHA.

The three ACHA opponents of Penn State (Arizona State, Oklahoma and Ohio) all saw their seasons end in disappointment at nationals, with the eventual champs taking out both the Sooners (in overtime in the quarterfinals) and the Bobcats (in the semifinals). ASU fell to Lindenwood in the other semifinal. A team that beat Penn State this year wasn't even the second-best team in the ACHA, as things turned out. ACHA hockey is good hockey, people.

The NCAA Division III opponents of the Nittany Lions are also done with their seasons, by the way. Buffalo State wound up 13-12-2 overall with a loss to Oswego in the SUNYAC semifinals. Fredonia was 7-16-3 overall and lost to the Bengals in the SUNYAC quarterfinals (the two teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league standings). Neumann was the best of the three at 19-6-3. The Knights won the ECAC West tournament with a 3-0 victory over Manhattanville but missed out on an NCAA tournament at-large bid, becoming one of those rare teams to end their season with a win.

Mercyhurst defeats Syracuse 4-1 to win the 2013 CHA Championship
(chawomenshockey.com)

Meanwhile, on the women's side, congratulations to Mercyhurst, which recovered from last season's blip (a tournament championship game loss to Robert Morris) to continue their quest to win everything ever in the CHA. MU topped Syracuse in the final on Saturday, after the Orange took out RIT (which ended Penn State's season, of course) 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris 2-1 in the other semifinal.

The Lakers were also the only one of Penn State's opponents this season to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament, and they'll open with Cornell on Saturday.

Went with Matt Mendelson for the photo, because Cara Mendelson is not an enemy you want to have

In the Locker Room - Matt Mendelson
In the Locker Room - Zach Saar
(Muskegon Lumberjacks)

A couple of quick player profiles from the USHL franchise including one men's signee (Saar) and one women's team sibling (Mendelson). Toss in incoming RPI transfer Pat Koudys, and yeah, I'll admit that the Jacks are my favorite team in the league, at least right now.

Stork Commits To Ohio State
(youngstownphantoms.com)

Forward Luke Stork, a Pittsburgh native, visited Penn State but according to Phantoms coach Anthony Noreen:

“He had a lot of options but Ohio State was his No. 1 choice from Day One and I’m glad it worked out for both sides.”

So basically, he's wrong.

PS. I picked the one article I found about it that didn't use the word "delivers" in some way. You're welcome.

UAH releases 2013-14 hockey schedule; opens home slate with Bemidji State
(al.com)

Remember when Alabama-Huntsville played at the Ice Pavilion a month ago and head coach Kurt Kleinendorst let it slip that the Chargers were returning next year in one of his postgamers? Looks like that's off, thanks (probably) to the fact that the WCHA was able to accommodate the no-longer-independent school with a full conference schedule a year earlier than planned.

Today in Charger Hockey History: 1983 National Club Championship
(uahhockey.com)

Speaking of UAH, March 5th was the 30th anniversary of an epic national club championship game between the Chargers and Penn State. Here's a fantastic look at it from the FoTYT down south including, for the first time that I've seen, a full box score of the game.

Ice Zone to close for good May 15
(Youngstown Vindicator)

This news is a couple weeks old, but the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH, the site of the 2006 ACHA D1 Showcase and 2007 national championships, is closing in May. For whatever it may be worth, it hosted the Icers' last-ever ACHA championship game appearance, which capped a run of ten in a row as well. Somewhere, former Oakland forward Will McMahon, who scored four times and added an assist in the Grizzlies' 5-1 win over the Icers in that title game, is crying.

---

And finally... here, once more, are your ACHA Women's Division 2 national runners-up. Thanks again for the ride, guys.

Front row (left to right): Mandy Mortach, Ashton Schaffer, Mary Kate Tonetti, Nina Elia, Tara Soukup. Middle row (left to right): Allie Rothman, Katie Vaughan, Carly Szyszko, Devon Fisk, Jackie Saideh. Back row (left to right): Associate Head Coach Tom Vaughan, Taylor Nyman, Georgia Foulds, Elizabeth Denis, Sarah Eisenhut, Head Coach Patrick Fung.

Three Stars: September 3-9

The student section will now be located right here in Section A.

3. 2013 Draft Hopeful Thomas Welsh Decommits From Penn State
(The Hockey Writers)

I'm not going to linger on Thomas Welsh too much (after this, I'll probably only mention his future plans, when known, in this space, then move on), but here's a take on his decommitment.

Also, North Dakota fans are now going after our leftovers. The balance of power already shifting! All hail the era of college hockey domination by schools that...aren't North Dakota!

2. Meet #33 Madison Smiddy
(YouTube)

The women's team continued their jersey-number-based countdown of "meet" videos last week with Smiddy (selected to lead this entry for her Lady Icer status), Brooke Meyer and Celine Whitlinger.

If I'm doing my math (well, counting) correctly, expect to see Katie Murphy, Taylor Gross, Birdie Shaw, Jenna Welch, Sarah Wilkie and Emily Laurenzi here next week.

1. Student Men's Hockey Tickets to Go on Sale Wednesday, Sept. 12
(gopsusports.com)

The basics: Student tickets will go on sale at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Each student will only be allowed to purchase one five-game package (for $20) at that time. Should tickets remain after Wednesday, students can then purchase additional packages on Thursday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

There wasn't really an ideal way to deal with the space crunch at the Ice Pavilion, so I respect what administration is attempting here. Essentially, instead of (an estimated) 250 students with full-season plans, there will be (an estimated) 750 students with five-game plans. The fact is, in growing a fan base, the die-hards sometimes have to give way for the sake of numbers, and that's the call being made this case. The plans, as with the grown-up plans, are sliced up equitably - one includes the opener, while the other two include a game against Air Force, the only NCAA tournament team from last season to visit.

If you're a student and reading this, other than from your phone while camped at the BJC...what are you doing? Go. Now. Don't even bother with the rest of the post.

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There was totally room for both of them on there...wait, got something in my eye, be right back.

@TaylorGross24
(Twitter)

The women's team, as remarkably cohesive as it already is despite 19 newcomers, is not without drama. Consider the battle being waged primarily between junior forward Taylor Gross and assistant coach Casey McCullion over whether Titanic will be played on the bus to Vermont for the season-opening series October 6th and 7th.

Gross: Titanic on DVD combo pack coming out on Monday!!! #bustrip

McCullion: We are not watching a movie about a sinking ship on the way to VT #AssistantCoachesVeto

Gross: Casey!!!!! Coach already cleared it! It is a great movie and a tear jerker. #it'shappening

At last check, Gross was continuing to push for it, while also insisting (in the linked tweet) that if she has to, she'll watch it on her computer, but that it's definitely getting watched. While it's hardly my place to bag on a movie that made $84 billion and has like 38 Academy Awards along with naked Kate Winslet, I'm not sure that I want the captain of the women's team crying on the way to the first NCAA DI game in program history either.

Positives to Titanic? Well, you'd only need to pack one movie for the trip I guess, since it's like 10 hours long and has like 10 more hours of bonus features on the newly-released combo pack.

2012-13 College Hockey America Women's Hockey Preview
(Bleacher Report)

The Nittany Lions are picked sixth of six here, which is admittedly hard to argue as one of the two new-to-DI programs in the league (the other, RIT, was the DIII national champ last year). But in a moment of unintentional comedy only Bleacher Report can provide, their logic for the slotting was, uhhh...

From a roster standpoint, there are only two Canadians on the squad, and that will add to the obstacles of an inaugural season.

So, yeah, no pressure, Katie Zinn and Nicole Paniccia, but you'd better be freaking awesome. I mean, you have to beat the nineteen Canadians on first-place pick Robert Morris. By yourselves, since Americans suck at hockey.

Sorry Angela, you were good, just not Canadian good.

Above the 49: NCAA hockey on the horizon in Canada?
(The Sports Network)

In a story surprising only for how quickly it came up - and maybe not even for that - officials at Burnaby, BC's Simon Fraser University are "openly pondering the possibility of the school competing in NCAA Division I hockey sometime in the near future." I don't know how openly they're pondering, since this column doesn't produce any quotes from school officials, but that's what it says.

SFU, of course, recently became the first school outside of the U.S. to gain admission to the NCAA, although it does not presently sponsor varsity hockey.

Hockey lockout could freeze NBC's sports momentum
(Chicago Tribune)

A quick nugget buried in an article about how NBC Sports is sweating the NHL lockout:

"In the event of a labor stoppage, we are preparing a selection of replacement programming that includes soccer, boxing, original programming, and college football, basketball and hockey," [NBC Sports spokesperson Chris] McCloskey said.

If you're a Notre Dame fan, you have to be pumped about that. If you're not...meh.

Sabres owner sparks development in Buffalo
(The State Journal)

Since last week was pretty light, we'll hit Terry Pegula's coming ice rinks-retail-hotel colossus in Buffalo for a second Three Stars in a row. You'd be hard pressed to find an article more complimentary of TPegs than this one - I'm not even sure Joe Battista can top it.

Former BU defenseman Max Nicastro who, it should be said, had his charges dropped in June.

Report of the Men’s Ice Hockey Task Force
(bu.edu)

Last Wednesday, Boston University's Men's Ice Hockey Task Force, commissioned by the school in the aftermath of sexual assault charges to former Terriers Max Nicastro and Corey Trivino, released its report. The money line from the group's conclusions, in my opinion anyway, is:

Our assessment has shown that a culture of sexual entitlement exists among some players on the men’s ice hockey team, stemming in part from their elevated social status on campus. This culture of sexual entitlement, as evidenced by frequent sexual encounters with women absent an emotional relationship or on-going commitment, can also involve unprotected sex.

Hockey players enjoy an "elevated social status" and get laid a lot without dating, possibly at parties with alcohol? First time around a hockey team, guys?

Without getting into a whole thing about the role of sports in society, suffice it to say that the issue is not unique to BU or to hockey. Nor are the observations concerning preferential treatment in admissions, less-than-rigorous courseloads or insulation from the larger student body. It sincerely is not my intention to give BU a whitewash, but I do think it's a mistake to consider them a bad actor. They're an average actor, although one with the good sense to evaluate itself following a couple of incidents with similar fact patterns. Tip of the hat to those programs - and they are out there - who do better than average. Hopefully BU can join them at some point on the back of the task force's recommendations.

By the way, if you're not interested in the full report, here's the nuts-and-bolts news story from College Hockey News.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament II

Welcome to TYT's second annual "I'm a Penn State fan. Who should I root for in the NCAA tournament?" post (here's last year's version). To reiterate the rules, since I don't really expect you to click the link: this post is not about prediction, serious analysis, or even personal preference. It's simply an attempt to rank the four schools in each region 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. Chris Peters, through his blog The United States of Hockey, is doing fantastic in-depth previews of each region (East, Northeast, Midwest - the West is coming tomorrow), and I encourage you to go over there for further reading.

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

East Region (Bridgeport, CT)

Union vs. Michigan State, Friday 3:00 p.m., ESPNU
Miami vs. UMass-Lowell, Friday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Michigan State. I tend to be conflicted when it comes to the whole "root for your conference" thing. On one hand, it's nice to have a positive public perception of your team's league. On the other, you have to recruit against these guys. The good news is that we're not talking about college football. Part of the genius of the PairWise Rankings used in our sport of choice is the tangible benefit of your opponents' success, something that goes well beyond getting some nice words from a talking head on ESPN. It doesn't start benefiting Penn State now (it will as early as next season, when PSU plays the Spartans), but we might as well get in the habit now.

2. Union. Hey, speaking of teams (most likely) on our schedule! Sure, like I just said, there's no direct benefit of Union's success here to Penn State. Still, 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. Even more cool, naturally, would be if PSU could beat a team like that.

3. UMass-Lowell. The River Hawks get the third-place nod based on their pair of Pennsylvania natives, backup goalie Brian Robbins (Scotrun) and freshman forward Terrence Wallin (Yardley), a solid contributor. UML is one of three tournament teams with multiple Keystone Staters on the roster, and each gets a boost since what's good for PA hockey will generally be good for PSU. Also, Lowell went from 5-25-4 last season to the NCAA tournament this season, so not enjoying their success makes you un-American. Or something like that.

4. Miami. It was a tough decision to stick the RedHawks on the bottom, but since the Pegula Ice Arena is now under construction, those rink visits taken by PSU administration over a year ago seem a little less important. Besides, from what we know (or have inferred, anyway), Steve Cady wasn't as influential on Joe Battista and crew as, say, Notre Dame's new barn.

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA)

Boston College vs. Air Force, Saturday 4:00 p.m., ESPNU
MN-Duluth vs. Maine, Saturday 7:30 p.m., FSN North+
Regional Final, Sunday 8:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Air Force. There are numerous reasons to go with the Falcons. For starters, they join Union and Michigan State as the only teams in the tournament known to be on PSU's schedule next year. Once upon a time, former Icers Bobby Pate and Mike Carrano transferred from Air Force. And, of course, who doesn't love an underdog? From a practical standpoint, it seems like rattling the existing college hockey power structure would be beneficial to a new program in some way that I can't articulate.

2. Maine. The Black Bears are not an obvious choice on the surface, but they might be worth Penn State's support for the simple reason that they, too, were once new in town. Maine hockey began in 1977 (extremely recent by some programs' standards), and in their 16th season they were 42-1-2 and national champions. Consider, too, that the 1992-1993 season came in their ninth season of Hockey East play after starting out with a stretch of independent seasons - in other words, PSU's timeline might be a little accelerated compared to theirs. Maine is also one of the three teams with two Pennsylvanians - York's Dan Sullivan, their starting goalie, and sophomore forward Jon Swavely from Reading. If nothing else, hope they do it for Joe Wunderler, who has had a rough go of things since running into Chris Hansen.

I hate that I can't reference To Catch A Predator without it being a little awkward now. Damn you, Jerry Sandusky.

3. Minnesota-Duluth. As mentioned, I've devalued the fabled arena visits - which were highly influential last year, look how far we've come! - somewhat, but in a tight race for the third spot, things like that prove important, as does the fact that senior goalie Kenny Reiter, a Pittsburgh native, could be the single most important Pennsylvanian in the tournament. Finally, of course, UMD gets a little bump as a thank you to Scott Sandelin for staying put (I've made no secret of the fact that I would have been extremely disappointed with his hiring at Penn State).

PS. I won't hold it against you if you drop UMD below Boston College, in light of this.

4. Boston College. The Eagles are the final team with two Pennsylvanians, one of which is starting goalie Parker Milner - like Reiter, a Pittsburgh native. PA, especially the western part, certainly puts out a ton of goalies, doesn't it? However, they don't really have anything on either side of the ledger beyond that. Plus, it's Boston College. Gross. I'm glad they got stuck in a stacked region for PSU interests.

Midwest Region (Green Bay, WI)

Ferris State vs. Denver, Friday 5:30 p.m., Altitude
Michigan vs. Cornell, Friday 9:00 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 9:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Michigan. After the not-yet-existing Big Ten took shots from all corners last year for only getting Michigan into the show, the Wolverines represented their future conference quite well by advancing all the way to overtime of the national championship game. On the way, they beat current WCHAers/future NCHCers Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College and North Dakota before falling to another, Minnesota-Duluth, in that final. Another run like that would be just dandy from a Penn State perspective. And who knows, maybe it will lead to more hilariousness like this:

2. Cornell. Trivia time: Name the only three still-active, still-varsity programs the 1939-1947 Penn State varsity played. Answer: Army, Colgate and Cornell. An 8-1 loss at Ithaca on February 5, 1944 was the result against the Big Red back in those days. In the present day, PSU and CU have at least held discussions aimed at giving the Nittany Lions a shot at correcting that losing series history. Those two things are good enough for the second slot in a region significantly thinner than the Northeast.

3. Ferris State. FSU is more or less the story of the tournament, and a likely favorite team for anyone who doesn't have other allegiances. Mired in mediocrity seemingly since forever (except 2002-2003), relegated to a new-and-diminished WCHA and with zero NHL draft picks on the team, the Bulldogs have emerged with a vengeance this season, to the tune of 23-11-5 and even topping the polls for a couple weeks in February. Still, this is a post purely about Penn State interests, so that's only good for a tiebreaker over...

4. Denver. Last year, I placed the Pioneers at the bottom of their region because I didn't want George Gwozdecky to drive his asking price up. Seriously. This year, I'm just doing it because there's no good reason not to. Once upon a time, when the Icers still ruled the ACHA, DU tried to schedule them (the plan was eventually blown up over the fact that PSU would have counted against their game limit). While I do give them credit for attempting to give out the opportunity, that and 50 cents will get you...I don't know, a newspaper? Who reads newspapers anymore?

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

North Dakota vs. W. Michigan, Saturday 1:30 p.m., FSN North
Minn. vs. Boston U., Saturday 5:05 p.m., FSN North+, NESN
Regional Final, Sunday 5:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Minnesota. The last of three future Big Ten schools in the tournament already has a direct connection with Penn State through Max Gardiner, the former Gopher who returned to the USHL this season and will join the Nittany Lions next year.

2. Boston University. Battista was on a visit here (receiving a tour of Agganis Arena from none other than Mike Eruzione) on the day he received his text message confirmation of Terry Pegula's donation. The place must be good luck. Or something.

3. Western Michigan. Last year, here's what I wrote about the Broncos:

Don't we kind of owe it to society to wish the best for one of those weaker CCHA schools we're supposedly killing off with the whole Big Ten thing? Plus, like Union and Merrimack, they're a nice story - they haven't been to this show since 1996 and came oh so close to their first conference title of any kind before falling to Miami in the CCHA title game.

This year? Not so much. Since that post, they found a conference home in the Big Ten's archnemesis, the NCHC. After losing coach Jeff Blashill to the Detroit Red Wings, they hired failed NHL coach Andy Murray. And they kept winning. It's a short road from scrappy and beloved underdog to kind of annoying, isn't it? Of course, none of this really has anything to do with Penn State, so they join Ferris State as maybe the only completely neutral teams in the tournament.

4. North Dakota. The Flickertails (one of them anyway) hate Penn State. Fine by me, I hate them too. And just because it annoys someone who supports them, here's the legendary "We Are - Penn State Hockey!" video.

Three Stars: February 20-26

3. Pegula Ice Arena Construction - Feb. 22
(YouTube)

Here's a quick look at the PIA site as it appeared last Wednesday, on day three of blasting. You're welcome for my linking directly to YouTube and bypassing Tony Mancuso.

2. Icers' Jensen inspired by his mom's cancer
(The Daily Collegian)

Simply put, a must read from Christine Newby on defenseman Nate Jensen's motivation to become involved with THON - his mother.

1. Icers Primer: The ACHA Tournament (Part 1, Part 2)
(Black Shoe Diaries)

IcersGuy is in the midst of a fantastic ACHA national championship tournament preview over on BSD. The first installment of the TYT version drops tomorrow, but while you're waiting, read the first two parts of his. And make sure you check back over there on Thursday for the conclusion to the trilogy.

Best of the Rest

Paul Kelly will now find a new banner to hang behind him.

College Hockey Inc. needs quick rebound
(Shooting for the Show)

Unquestionably, the biggest story in college hockey last week was the sudden resignation of Paul Kelly from his post as head of College Hockey Inc. amidst whispers that he and the college hockey conference commissioners (who formed CHI and hired Kelly) had drastically different views about the direction of the organization. Here's reaction from a blog that you need to be reading, if you aren't already. Also be sure to follow SftS's proprietor on Twitter.

[Quick note: CHI hired Nate Ewell to replace Kelly on an interim basis subsequent to this post's publishing.]

Paul Kelly Explains Surprise Resignation, What May Come Next
(The United States of Hockey)

Another great blog scored an exclusive with Kelly. Riveting stuff that helps illustrate a growing rift between the business people and the hockey people.

Pegula Ice Arena construction ahead of schedule
(WJAC)

A "meh" article typical of anyone who tries to cover something they don't on a regular basis, but beneath the banality lies this gem:

Blasting at the construction site, near the intersection of University Drive and Curtin Road, started this week and portions of the steel structure could start going up as early as Blue-White weekend this spring.

Wait, Blue-White weekend? In light of this news, I'm hoping that the athletic department's marketing people are working on a name other than the "groundbreaking ceremony" scheduled for April 20th. Erection ceremony? Sorry, had to. I'm still 12 on the inside.

Cassel, 10 seniors prepare for final home game as Illini hockey faces EMU
(Daily Illini)

Best wishes to Illini coach Chad Cassel in retirement (following the national tournament, of course). If every program was run like Illinois, the ACHA would be a much better place.

Amsoil Arena newbies hope to test UMD
(Duluth News Tribune)

Alex Iafallo: good hockey player, horrible at choosing a college.

Fargo (N.D.) Force left winger Alex Iafallo of Eden, N.Y., made an oral commitment last week to attend UMD, probably in 2013-14.

Iafallo, 18, is 6-feet-0 and 170 pounds, and in his first U.S. Hockey League season. He has 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points in 47 games. Last season he played Tier I midget hockey for the Buffalo Regals, and had 36 points in 39 games. He’s noted as a good skater and has been on Fargo’s No. 2 line with Gabe Guertler and Dave Gust.

Iafallo made two unofficial visits to UMD and said he had a difficult choice after also making trips to Nebraska-Omaha, Michigan State and Penn State.

“I’ve wanted to play in Division I and I knew UMD was a great hockey school. After seeing Duluth and the school, it felt more like home and is a great fit for me,” said Iafallo, whose home is a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.

Where Will the Big Ten Stack Up in Hockey Conferences?
(B1G Ice Hockey)

Good question. And make sure you read the comments, especially the third one.

BU's Nicastro Suspended After Arrest
BU Task Force Has Parker's Blessing
(College Hockey News)

A big, fat "no comment" is my position on stories like this until further notice.

Congratulations to the powers that be at Nebraska for having roughly 12 tons more foresight than those at Penn State circa 1995 - yep, they're putting ice in their new multipurpose arena, which is set to open in September 2013.

Minnesota's Lucia Calls Husker Hockey a "Natural" 
(Corn Nation)

For the second week in a row, we close with an SB Nation blog's post about the possibility of an unconventional school adding an NCAA hockey program, although this one seems much more plausible than the Kansas pipe dream. And hey, Nebraska's in the Big Ten now. I keep forgetting that, even though it's coming up on two years since their admission.

Pegula Center Speculation: Agganis Arena

This is the first edition of a feature in which I take a quick look at rinks known to have been visited by some combination of Joe Battista, Terry Pegula and Tim Curley, in order to possibly get some sort of insight into Penn State's future facility. Okay, we probably won't get any insight, because who knows for sure what the power brokers are thinking, what input the to-be-determined architect might have, etc. Basically, I'm an arena geek who is having trouble waiting 3.5 years for our building. This was originally to be a monthly-ish feature, but given the news that we're going to have an architect selected next month, I'll probably pound these out more frequently. No point in the feature after we already know what the Pegula Center's going to look like, after all. Random Wednesday work for you? Great, glad to hear it.

Stop #1 is Boston University's Agganis Arena, now famous as the location visited by Battista when he received the text confirming Pegula's donation. First, the essential facts:

Opened: January 3, 2005
Cost: $225 million (includes entire John Hancock Student Village, which also contains housing and a rec center)
Capacity: 6,221 for hockey (in PSU's neighborhood)
Official Site

In news that won't apply to us, BU's women still have to play at the older facility, Walter Brown Arena. Ouch. In news that might, BU does an outstanding job booking the facility for events other than BU men's hockey games, both with ice (2009 Women's Frozen Four) and without (numerous concerts and basketball games) despite being in a large city with lots of venue competition.

Here's a look at the interior:

My legal department tells me that this is public domain. However, my legal department is Wikipedia.

I'll go ahead and say it: even though this is the first in the series, this is probably my favorite seating bowl. In my opinion, there's no need to over-complicate things in an arena this size with multiple tiers, unusual luxury box locations and things like that. A single level around the ice surface with a ring of suites around the top is the way to go. You can almost picture the seats in blue, a chipmunk at center ice and some ACHA banners on the far end. It might be worth pointing out that the (very) preliminary sketch of the interior of the Pegula Center looked to have a very similar layout for the main rink (bottom of the page). Then again, it probably isn't worth pointing out, as things can obviously change.

Even the exterior of the arena doesn't look like something that would be out of place among PSU's new-ish venues, including Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, the Bryce Jordan Center and the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility.

Obviously, I want the Pegula Center to be uniquely Penn State, but if it borrowed heavily from Agganis Arena, I would not be at all upset. If I have a complaint about it, it's that it seems kind of sterile. Some brickwork or some other form of manufactured new-old ambience wouldn't kill the place.