PSU Seeking Fill-In For PIA Opener (Updated)

With the continued government shutdown leaving it unclear whether Army will be able to travel to Penn State on Friday to play in the first NCAA game at Pegula Ice Arena, College Hockey News' Mike McMahon is reporting that the PSU brass is sick of sitting and waiting (1, 2).

Yeeeeeah...probably a good idea at this point. The major sticking point, however, is that every Atlantic Hockey team has filled its NCAA-allowed maximum of 34 games this season. That leaves two fronts for attack:

1. Reschedule one of PSU's already-booked AHA games so as not to require another slot. Beyond Army, the Nittany Lions have home contests with Sacred Heart and RIT on tap for this year. Sacred Heart, however, is already set to play at UMass Lowell on Friday. RIT is available on Friday, but has home games on Thursday (Colgate) and Saturday (Michigan). Theoretically, if Penn State were willing to play the game on Sunday, the Pioneers would become available, as they're at home in Fairfield, CT against RPI on Saturday. One of those teams would have to play a rather painful three-game weekend, but it's certainly in the realm of possibility.
2. Pay some other team to drop one of their non-conference games to open up a scheduling slot for the opener. PSU hockey insider Mark Horgas claims that Connecticut, which swept the Nittany Lions last year in Storrs, CT, is a likely play in this category due to "key contacts" in the Huskies athletic department and UConn's present movement to grow their program. Connecticut doesn't open up until the 18th, and has road games with Minnesota State (October 18th and 19th), Boston University (November 17th) and Providence (February 11th) that could be likely candidates for "adjustment." It should be noted, of course, that UConn is just one of many options - AIC (last year's opening opponent), Canisius (Terry Pegula's other pet team), Holy Cross and Niagara are also available on Friday.

As always, stay tuned. Hopefully that's a light at the end of the tunnel we're seeing - either way, this news certainly beats monitoring Congress and Department of Defense bureaucrats.

UPDATE 10/8 7:45 A.M.: According to Buffalo Business First, Canisius has lined up as a possible replacement, thanks largely to their shared ties with Terry Pegula. Pegula, of course, is financing the presently under-construction HARBORcenter ice rink project in Buffalo, and the Golden Griffins will relocate there upon its completion next year.

“There has been some preliminary discussions,” confirmed Jason Venisky, Canisius associate director of athletics communications. “We will have to make a final decision by Wednesday.”

One interesting aspect to the story is that Canisius has applied to the NCAA for a special waiver that would allow them to add a game to their schedule without dropping one - a move that would put them over the NCAA game limit of 34. Could the NCAA wind up doing Penn State a bit of a favor to help the school pull off its varsity ice arena opener? That in and of itself would be quite a story.

The Golden Griffins, who went 19-19-5 a year ago and qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament by winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament title, are available on Friday but have to head back to the Buffalo area on Saturday for a game at Niagara.

Three Stars: September 9-15

The women's team was all smiles after moving into Pegula Ice Arena

3. Hockey Welcomes Five to 2013-14 Roster
(gogriffs.com)

As first reported here (yes, I closed my eyes and smelled myself as I was typing that), former Icers and Ice Lions defenseman Brandon Russo has transferred to Canisius, where he'll play for the Golden Griffins' NCAA team. He's now officially added to their roster.

ACHA to the show? Yeah, it's been done.

2. 2013-14 Men's Hockey Yearbook
(issuu.com)

The men's team's 2013-2014 yearbook is now online, complete with the usual trappings and the continued neglect of Icers history.

Alabama-Huntsville treats their club titles with the appropriate level of respect. The yearbook for the Lindenwood women contains all-time results for the ACHA years, ACHA records and even a full page highlighting their four national championship teams. Yearbooks for NCAA DI programs that have spent time in DII or DIII manage to highlight history from those eras.

Penn State had the most successful program in ACHA history, one that is directly responsible for Joe Battista, Terry Pegula and everything happening right now. There's no excuse.

1. The Move Into a New Home Signals New Era
(gopsusports.com)

It's old news by now, but easily the most enjoyable thing from last week - sorry student ticket line - was observing the excitement of the Penn State's hockey players as they moved into Pegula Ice Arena for the first time.

Best of the Rest

Former UConn Huskies Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch

@D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

The ex-CONNS! Hahahaha get it?

Steve Hass, the guy behind that Twitter account, had a good week on PhotoShop, also dropping in TPeg Claus in recognition of the "Christmas" celebrated by the women's team last Monday and addressed in the first star (the men's team too I suppose, although they weren't knocking out Christmas carols ahead of their move-in).

@PennStateMHKY
(Twitter)

Big Ten media day is Thursday morning in St. Paul, MN, and most conference schools have named those in their respective delegations.

Penn State: Head coach Guy Gadowsky, Tommy Olczyk, David Glen
Michigan: Head coach Red Berenson, Mac Bennett
Michigan State: Head coach Tom Anastos, Greg Wolfe, Jake Hildebrand
Ohio State: Head coach Steve Rohlik, Curtis Gedig

I haven't seen announcements from Minnesota or Wisconsin yet. Of course, the Gophers can pretty much bring the whole damn team, should they choose.

A Very Special Move-In Day at Pegula Ice Arena
(statecollege.com)

Think Joe Battista had a good perspective on the move to PIA? Yeah, probably.

@AndyJohnsonB5Q
(Twitter)

It sounds like we're (finally) about to get the long-awaited Big Ten television schedule.

Since media day is coming up on Thursday, the guess here is that it will be revealed then to give pop to Big Ten hockey's first installment of what, generally, are pretty bland events stacked with "we're excited for the season" quotes and those preseason coaches polls that everyone talks about for two days before forgetting them.

Worth a quick mention: the CHA is entering the final year of a streaming deal signed in 2011 with America One, so the arrangement for the women will be identical to last season.

Penn State Hockey Roundup – One Month to Go
(Victory Bell Rings)

I've said this before, but I'm really glad people like Mary Clarke and IcersGuy (at Black Shoe Diaries) exist, because they both excel where I fall short: at taking a step back, a deep breath and a look around. Here's a solid ICYMI from Clarke to reset things.

A Manning Texts Mauti, Bacon Talks Origins of Book
(statecollege.com)

John Bacon's new book Fourth And Long, which looks at several college football programs during the 2012 season including obviously-newsworthy Penn State, has been a discussion machine of late with the pigskin crowd.

On Thursday, Bacon spoke at PSU and revealed that Josh Brandwene actually played a small, but vital, role in delivering full access to Bill O'Brien's program:

---

"The scene was Friday, April 20," Bacon said. "I was at a lunch for the ground of the new ice rink being broken. Bill was there and I let him know that I was coming. This wasn't an ambush at all. He was there and he knew I was coming.

"There was an empty seat at his table and Josh Brandwene, the current coach for Penn State women's hockey is sitting at the table. I had known Josh from over twenty years ago when we were both coaching at a Penn State hockey camp at the old rink. And he sees me and goes "Bakes!" and I think "Thank God." Before I know it I'm spending 15-20 minutes with Bill O'Brien just kind of introducing myself.

"Later on that day I walk across the street and he asks if I want to hop on the bus to take a ride to the stadium for the walk through before the night before the spring game. And I said 'Yes.' and I was there and then went to the spring game on Saturday and that's how the whole thing started. Rather informal actually."

---

Official Online Auctions
(gopsusports.com)

Piece of history alert: With the varsity teams both receiving new jerseys this season, the old ones have started to make their way to auction, with a blue 2 (Rich O'Brien) and a white 13 (Kenny Brooks) posted right now.

Can Casey Bailey snipe his way to Hobey Baker contention?

The Big Ten's Top 5 Preseason Hobey Baker Candidates
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Sophomore forward Casey Bailey wasn't in Nate Wells' top five Big Ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, but he did score an honorable mention along with seven others. Top 13 in the league? That's not terrible - have you looked at the talent in the league lately?

Women's Hockey Names 2013-14 Captains
(lindenwoodlions.com)

Alyssa West will be Lindenwood's captain this year, while Kendra Broad and Chelsea Witwicke will serve as alternates. Witwicke is a native of Roseville, MN and was a high school teammate of PSU's Paige Jahnke, while West came up in the Little Caesars and Victory Honda programs and is therefore pretty familiar to most of the PSU Michigan Mafia (Shannon Yoxheimer, Birdie Shaw, Katie Murphy, Madison Smiddy and Jordin Pardoski).

Michigan Loses Recruit Bryson Cianfrone to OHL
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Oooooh sorry about your luck Michigan!

In all seriousness though, losing Bryson Cianfrone to major junior isn't a crippling loss for the Wolverines. Cianfrone's Ann Arbor entry had already been postponed from this year until next year and he didn't exactly set the USHL on fire in 2012-2013 (as a teammate of Nittany Lions freshman David Goodwin and commit Alec Marsh in Cedar Rapids).

"Outside the Crease" with LVC forward Klayton Garman
(Stack The Pads)

Lebanon Valley College has always been an interesting program to me, for reasons including the fact that they keep the fires burning at old Hersheypark Arena and their status as sort of an anti-Penn State that fell off a cliff in NCAA Division III before resetting as a successful ACHA team.

Anyway... here's PennLive blogger Derek Meluzio's Q-and-A with LVC forward and York, PA product Klayton Garman.

Women's Ice Hockey Club seniors Carly Szyszko, Katie Vaughan and Allie Rothman

@raVAUGHANous
(Twitter)

This is how I want to remember the Ice Pavilion: some of my favorite hockey players under yellow-orange lighting... and a pretty legit photobomb from the Zam driver.

Ice Lions' Russo Transfers to Canisius (Updated)

UPDATE 9/10 1:15 P.M.: Canisius has released its official 2013-2014 roster with Russo, who will wear number 47, included. He will sit out the first eight games of the season due to issues transferring credits from Penn State.

The original post follows.

---

Multiple sources have confirmed to TYT that star Ice Lions defenseman Brandon Russo has transferred to Canisius College, where he will join the school's NCAA Division I program in December once his release restrictions from Penn State have expired.

The move is sort of a full-circle transition for Russo. The Fairfield, CT native and Salisbury School graduate was a 2009 USHL Draft selection of the Youngstown Phantoms spent the 2010-2011 season in that league. In 14 games with the Phantoms, Russo posted a goal and seven assists to be the team's leading scorer among defensemen, but he was shipped to Indiana in a mid-season trade and finished out that campaign with the Ice. In all, he had 24 points (two goals, 22 assists) in 51 games.

Russo was one of Guy Gadowsky's earliest recruits, committing within a couple weeks of the coach's hiring in May, 2011. And, truth be told, he was easily one of the stars of the class, even with four NCAA transfers (Taylor Holstrom, Nate Jensen, Bryce Johnson and Justin Kirchhevel) and Tommy Olczyk also coming in for the final Icers season. Respected programs like Harvard, Nebraska-Omaha, Yale, Union and, yes, Princeton had all kicked the tires in spite of his 5'8" height. College Hockey Recruit Exchange called him the seventh-best prospect east of the Great Lakes in 2008, a list also including notables like former Harvard captain Danny Biega, Notre Dame's Stephen Johns and Stanley Cup champion Brandon Saad.

As a freshman, he didn't disappoint on the ice. In 20 games, he had a line of six goals and nine assists, including a tally in an ACHA National Tournament win over West Virginia while demonstrating the type of high-tempo offensive upside Gadowsky values on the blueline. Officially, he missed many of the early-season games due to injury, unofficially, there were (unconfirmed) rumors of off-ice issues. Whatever the situation, he fell out of favor with the coaching staff and was not carried over to last season's NCAA roster.

Instead, he spent 2012-2013 with the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions, becoming a vital cog on a team that returned to the D2 national championship tournament despite losing players like captain Jim Recupero and star goalie Tom Badali from the previous year. Russo was better than a point per game player during the regular season (30 in 27), including three power play goals, as Penn State won the MACHA North regular season title and finished as the Southeast Region's number two team. He was recently named a second-team ACHA D2 All-American, essentially confirming that yep, he's still a pretty good hockey player.

He'll join a Canisius program that broke new ground in 2012-2013, despite a 13-18-5 regular season record. The Golden Griffins swept RIT to close the schedule, then stormed through the Atlantic Hockey playoffs, taking down Bentley, Air Force, Niagara and Mercyhurst to secure the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. A loss to top overall seed Quinnipiac in the East Regional (but a very competitive one, as the Griffs held a 3-1 lead in the third period before allowing three unanswered) ended the run, but still, point made. Not only was it the first NCAA appearance for Canisius, but it was the first time Atlantic Hockey sent two teams to the tournament, with Niagara earning an at-large bid. With star goalie Tony Capobianco, leading scorer Kyle Gibbons, and nearly all others back, expectations are undoubtedly running high for coach Dave Smith's squad.

While Russo will never sit on the home bench at Pegula Ice Arena, in an interesting twist, he'll eventually play at another Terry Pegula-funded venue: Buffalo's HARBORcenter, which will host the Griffs upon its completion in time for the 2014-2015 season.

Seeding Tournaments: 3RC vs. Pegula Challenge

Construction is underway at HARBORcenter, adjacent to the Sabres' First Niagara Center

Last Friday, Buffalo sports blog Two in the Box (which happens to be written by ACHA Director of Public Relations Chris Ostrander) presented an idea for an in-season tournament called the Pegula Challenge (a working title). It's an interesting concept, using the Terry Pegula/Sabres-funded HARBORcenter as a tool to heighten the city's profile in college hockey through a four-team showcase played at the neighboring First Niagara Center. And, as you may have guessed, Penn State is one of 2ITB's proposed guests thanks to the Pegula connection, along with Buffalo-area schools Canisius and Niagara. Canisius, of course, will call HARBORcenter home beginning next season.

So what of the Three Rivers Classic, the Pittsburgh-based holiday tournament that has hosted PSU in each of the Nittany Lions' first two varsity seasons? It needs to be pointed out that with Penn State having 14 out-of-conference slots available until more Big Ten schools jump to NCAA Division I, there is room for both tournaments on the schedule. Boston College, just to cite one example, will play in both the Three Rivers Classic and the Beanpot this season, navigating much less breathing room to do so.

But hypothetically, because it's August, and because I don't write enough pure opinion pieces, what if both are played over the holidays and it has to be one or the other? Which do you choose?

Facility

Consol Energy Center and First Niagara Center are both, obviously, NHL facilities. Both are less than 20 years old and therefore meet some arbitrary standard of niceness (with a slight edge there going to the CEC, which is 14 years newer and possibly the best arena in the NHL right now). What swings this category for the Pegula Challenge, though, is HARBORcenter. While it wouldn't be the site of the Pegula Challenge games, I have to think that the intelligent people running the show up there would be smart enough to integrate the rink/restaurant/hotel/retail colossus as much as possible. Fan events like a skate with the players could be a part of things, or maybe even a parallel tournament involving youth teams from Buffalo (and one from PA, of course). The only limit is the imagination.

Advantage: Pegula Challenge

2013 Atlantic Hockey tournament champ Canisius is a program on the rise

Opponent Lineup

In this brave new world (for Penn State) of the PairWise Rankings, there's not really a ton of room for scheduling charity. If you want an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, you need to rack up quality wins, period. One of my bigger concerns with the Pegula Challenge, then, is that two of PSU's three possible opponents would be locked-in Atlantic Hockey teams, with the third possibly a Big Ten that the Nittany Lions would be playing anyway. Beyond its attractiveness to a school like Penn State, I'm skeptical of the Pegula Challenge's ability to grab a major PWR (and ticket) mover for that fourth team, even assuming that PSU is established as a force by the time things get going. That's not intended to be a slam on Canisius and Niagara, as both are programs with sincere aspirations and both may be on the way after making the NCAA Tournament last year. But Robert Morris also deserves to be in that category, and until those aspirations are fulfilled by one or more of the AHA teams, I'm going to side with the proven flexibility that has already landed national powers Miami and Boston College.

As a second facet to this category, the Three Rivers Classic seems to better lend itself to becoming a long-standing tradition. Last year's inaugural field was sort of an Ohio vs. Pennsylvania Beanpot, played in a major city fairly close to the border. While 2013's group has departed from that idea with BC's inclusion, there's definite potential for a connection lasting past however long Pegula owns the Sabres.

Advantage: Three Rivers Classic

10,797 tickets were sold for the 2012 Three Rivers Classic's PSU-OSU consolation game

Fan Support/Revenue

The Three Rivers Classic is a known quantity. Using a one ticket per day setup, last season's inaugural event moved 11,663 seats on day one (PSU-Robert Morris and Ohio State-Miami) followed by 10,797 on day two (PSU-OSU, RMU-MU). Root Sports Pittsburgh also gave the consolation and championship games two separate tape-delayed airings. It should be said, however, that Bowling Green and Boston College are unlikely to offer the same drawing power to 2013's edition as the RedHawks and Buckeyes did last season, and that another pair of five-figure crowds would be a pleasant surprise.

As 2ITB mentions, Buffalo previously hosted the Punch Imlach College Hockey Showcase from 1997-2003. It took on a few different formats, but generally involved both Niagara and Canisius along with a pair of "outside" teams. Occasionally, it pulled respectable crowds, as with November 11, 2000's 6,671 for a Niagara-Western Michigan, Mercyhurst-Canisius doubleheader. Most of the time though, it did not. Two years later, the Punch Imlach landed megateams North Dakota and Michigan, but only 2,981 wanted to see how the Griffs and Purps fared against the measuring sticks. A pairing of the two local schools drew 4,314 on January 11, 2002, but things bottomed out in the showcase's final year with a paltry 1,911 for Canisius and UMass-Lowell.

Buffalo is certainly an outstanding hockey market well beyond the size of the city (as is Pittsburgh), but it does have something to prove in terms of college hockey crowds, even when local schools and name programs are involved.

Advantage: Three Rivers Classic

City

As a Rust Belt native, I'm not going to say a bad word about either Buffalo or Pittsburgh. They're both my kind of place, inhabited by my kind of people. Both are underrated nationally, generally dismissed as "the hilly place with yinzers, the Steelers, the Penguins and french fry-topped sandwiches" or "the place with the wings, the snow and underachieving sports teams by Niagara Falls." But I'm not copping out with "push," that's not my style.

I'm not sure that there's a significant program exposure/recruiting edge to be gained from one site versus the other. As mentioned, both markets churn out players at impressive rates but both are already well within PSU's footprint (I suppose it's reasonable to toss a few bonus points Buffalo's way due to their being out of state though).

In terms of the fan experience, I think HARBORcenter gives Buffalo an advantage within the arena's immediate area, but the rub there is that the one "hockey-themed, upscale restaurant and bar" or even the one Marriott hotel are unlikely to be enough to accommodate everyone. That forces people out into the larger city and, in Pittsburgh's case, one of America's still-undiscovered gems. The Strip, Oakland, South Side and Station Square? All worthy destinations during the day before the games, or postgame as well. And don't forget to go up Mt. Washington and snap one of these:

Yes, this is actually my photo from when I did just that last season

Advantage: Three Rivers Classic

Extras

Terry and Kim Pegula donated $102 million to Penn State hockey to finance an arena and allow the school to jump to NCAA Division I. While Pittsburgh has more than its fair share of PSU fans and boosters, nobody from the city has donated $102 million to Penn State hockey.

Advantage: Pegula Challenge

Final Tally

The incumbent Three Rivers Classic hangs on by a 3-2 count. But then again, that last category probably counts for double or triple if push comes to shove, no?

Three Stars: July 29-August 4

3. The Pipeline Show - Season #9 Clips
(The Pipeline Show)

Much as once-and-again teammate David Glen did a couple weeks ago, freshman defenseman and Vancouver Canucks draft pick Mike Williamson was in studio with TPS for a hour on Saturday (show 1, August 3rd at the link).

2. Using HARBORcenter to attract college hockey’s best
(Two in the Box)

Buffalo sports blog Two in the Box has an interesting idea for an in-season tournament hosted by the First Niagara Center/HARBORcenter complex - and Penn State is included through its Pegula connection, along with Canisius, Niagara and a rotating fourth team (preferably from PSU's league to make the thing an Atlantic Hockey-Big Ten showdown of sorts).

My initial instinct was to say that there's no way that the Nittany Lions would do both the Three Rivers Classic and the Pegula Challenge, but as long as we have roughly 64 non-con slots to play with, why not? And if it has to be one or the other, I have a hard time believing that PSU could say no to the $102 Million Man.

1. christivetter8 (1,2)
(Instagram)

@Cmen12
(Twitter)

It was a popular week for Pegula Ice Arena visits by current players and recruits, including junior women's forward Cara Mendelson and her brother Matt, an uncommitted forward with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks (top photo). Christi Vetter, who is scheduled to hit campus next fall, also joined the party - both solo and with her sisters.

Best of the Rest

84 Lumber Arena will host the PSU men and women three times in 2013-2014

Men's and Women's Hockey Tickets Now on Sale
(rmucolonials.com)

Heads up for Pittsburgh-area Nittany Lions, or anyone who likes a good roadie: single-game tickets for the men's trip to Robert Morris on November 1st, as well as for the women's series there on February 21st and 22nd, are now on sale. I have no reason to think that the men's game won't be packed pretty tightly at the Ice Pavilion-sized 84 Lumber Arena, so you might want to jump on that now.

RIT coach Wayne Wilson receives contract extension
(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Speaking of Atlantic Hockey opponents, RIT coach Wayne Wilson has received a well-earned contract extension, through 2017. Wilson, in 15 years, has led the Tigers from Division III power to one of Division I's most respected mid-majors - including a Frozen Four appearance in 2010 that helped net him the Spencer Penrose Award as DI coach of the year.

Penn State athletic department loses two officials in Greg Myford and Brian Siegrist
(The Daily Collegian)

PSU lost two long-time athletic department employees on Friday in Greg Myford, the associate athletic director for marketing and communications and Brian Siegrist, who primarily was in charge of communications for men's basketball. Myford is leaving for a vice president position with marketing company IMG College, while Siegrist is headed to the University of South Florida to be their associate athletic director for communications.

From a hockey standpoint, Myford is the more notable of the two departures due to the department-wide scope of his job. It's likely that, as one of his last acts affecting hockey, he played a role in the decision to not retain broadcaster Steve Penstone for the 2013-2014 season.

How NHL owners can help grow the NCAA game
(The Hockey News)

It seems a bit wasteful to write an entire column when "give out money" is the essence of Ryan Kennedy's suggestion to NHL owners to help grow the NCAA game, but here you go. Of obvious interest: potential Big Ten connections between the Blackhawks and Illinois and the Capitals and Maryland are explored.

Pegula Ice Arena, July 2013
(Penn State News)

Random good-quality PIA bowl photo? Sure, why not (the version at the link is better than the one presented here, by the way)?

Penn State racks up first draft picks, and McAdam, Williamson await Big Ten baptism
(USCHO)

While this is not the best thing ever written about Eamon McAdam and Mike Williamson - their quotes are taken from a transcript of PSU's media event two days after they were drafted - it's what you're getting from what, generally, is the slowest period of the offseason if you don't have any pro signings, major junior defections or World Junior camp invites. No, I'm not in sales, why do you ask?

AU Hockey to join NCHA in 2014-2015
(aurora.edu)

It's not exactly the Fighting Illini, but Aurora University (based in the Illinois city of the same name) will be joining NCAA Division III and the NCHA for the 2014-2015 season. AU started its hockey program last year at the ACHA Division 3 level with the stated goal of NCAA status.

And yep, in case you're wondering, @USCollegeHockey had it all the way.

Jooris leaving Union for Calgary Flames
(Schenectady Daily Gazette)

Penn State's games against Union on November 30th and December 1st are now slightly less daunting thanks to the departure of Josh Jooris, who has forfeited his senior year with the Dutchmen to sign a two-way entry-level deal with the Calgary Flames. He registered 88 points in 117 collegiate games and had recently attended the Flames' development camp, apparently doing pretty well there. Jooris follows star goalie Troy Grosenick, who similarly departed Union with a year on the table to sign with the San Jose Sharks on April 8th.

Union got back on the horse a day later by announcing their solid 2013 recruiting class.

Group photo of Wisconsin's 2013 entering class

College Hockey Recruiting: Wisconsin
(Over The Boards)

OTB's look at the recruiting efforts of the various NCAA Division I programs continued last week, with the spotlight on the Badgers. UW's incoming group is headlined by Grant Besse, a forward from Benilde-St. Margaret's (MN) who was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the fifth round back in June.

Here's a link to catch up on the whole series, which has also included Penn State, Boston College and Minnesota.

Big Ten hockey teams draw well
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Minnesota (2nd, 9,950 fans per game), Wisconsin (3rd, 9,521), Michigan State (8th, 5,869) and Michigan (10th, 5,357) were all among the nation's top ten in attendance last season. Given where the bar is set and what we know about ticket sales at Pegula Ice Arena, don't be surprised to see Penn State crack the list for the coming season.

Megastar Sidney Crosby's sister helps women's hockey
(BBC)

Canadian goalie Taylor Crosby - sister of Sid, as the headline says - recently went over to the UK as part of a camp bringing players and coaches from 18 different countries together as part of an effort to grow women's hockey outside of traditional powers Canada, the U.S., Finland and Sweden. The women's game has frequently faced criticism for its lack of depth worldwide and is at risk of being kicked out of the Olympic lineup if things don't improve.

Crosby, because of her last name, got a good deal of press over the camp... but she is a remarkably mature 17-year-old who has a good shot of Cheryl Miller-ing big brother by establishing herself as a superstar in her own right. After looking it up, I see that Cheryl Miller is older than Reggie Miller. Whatever, you get my point.

End begins for North Dakota's old Ralph Engelstad Arena
(Duluth News Tribune)

Demolition of the original Ralph Engelstad Arena, home to the North Dakota Fighting Sioux from 1972-2001, is finally underway. And no, it's not at all dusty to leave a vacant ice arena sitting in the middle of your campus for 12 years, just ask UND I guess.

HARBORcenter Lands Canisius

Canisius College and HARBORcenter, Terry and Kim Pegula's $172 million twin rink, retail, hotel and restaurant complex in downtown Buffalo, have finally made it official after roughly nine months of negotiations: the Golden Griffins are moving in upon the project's completion, scheduled for September 2014.

The canned quotes from Canisius president John J. Hurley, athletic director Bill Maher and head coach Dave Smith are nearly identical (as those things tend to be), so let's stick with Smith as the guy closest to hockey.

“This is an exciting day for our hockey program. Partnering with the Buffalo Sabres in a world-class hockey facility further illustrates the commitment to Division I college hockey by Canisius. This top-notch arena will expose fans to a high level of hockey at a number of levels. It will be a tremendous resource with which to recruit, train and develop hockey players. I look forward to the day when a Western New York hockey player competes for the Buffalo Sabres after developing at the HARBORcenter.”

For the school, the agreement is a major boon, as it presently has what could be considered among the worst rink arrangements in Division I. Since 1999, the Griffs have played in Buffalo State's Ice Arena, an 1,800-seat venue on the campus of the DIII school. It's a nice enough place, but hardly ideal for any program with big-time ambition. Overall, Smith's team has seen limited success since moving to DI in 1998 with a 202-256-68 record in 16 seasons. However, Canisius won the Atlantic Hockey tournament last season to advance to the NCAA Tournament and is also looking to position itself as a leader in Buffalo's robust hockey community, with this move being a major step in that strategy.

PSU played at Canisius' current home against Buffalo State on October 19th of last year

While it's true that HARBORcenter isn't their rink either, it seems clear that Canisius, who will be the primary tenant for the complex's main 1,800-seat sheet, is receiving first-class treatment.

The Griffs, Buffalo’s only Division I hockey program, will have their own 1,300-square foot state-of-the-art locker room in addition to separate athletic training areas and access to the building’s Center of Excellence, a high-performance training facility which is designed specifically for development in the sport of hockey.

The 700,000-square foot structure will be connected to First Niagara Center by a pedestrian bridge that will span Perry Street. HARBORcenter will also feature a hockey-themed sports bar and restaurant, a full-service Marriott hotel, an 850-space parking structure and additional retail space.

As mentioned in the quote, a Marriott is included as part of the project, and two weeks ago, the contract to run it was awarded to State College-based Shaner Hotels. In other recent news, John Koelmel was named the facility's president, with former Fredonia State player Nik Fattey serving as its director of hockey (similar to the role Ryan Patrick has with Pegula Ice Arena). Fattey is expected to have a busy job - upon completion, HARBORcenter, with the Sabres' nearby First Niagara Center if needed, will likely draw numerous tournaments and showcases, both small and large. Photos of HARBORcenter's construction progress are consistently added to its official Tumblr.

A rendering of the 1,800-seat main rink at HARBORcenter

This news isn't of great direct impact to Penn State - should the Nittany Lions play in Buffalo at some point, it's hard to believe that First Niagara Center wouldn't be the site - but it can still be filed under "interesting to know." Officially, the Pegulas have now funded two separate DI venues. Only 57 to go, I suppose.

Three Stars: April 15-21

3. Sara Evans to Headline Pegula Ice Arena Show
(Onward State)

I thought about writing a stand-alone post to mark the first non-hockey event scheduled for Pegula Ice Arena, but...

1. A family-themed skating show headlined by country star Sara Evans isn't really my thing, and I'd probably do a terrible job feigning interest. No offense intended if you're excited about it.
2. Penn State basketball bloggers don't write about concerts at the Bryce Jordan Center, unless one forces the team to practice in the IM Building on crooked hoops. To the best of my knowledge, Ms. Evans and the figure skaters won't go full Bon Jovi on us.
3. Onward State covered it just fine.

That said, it's nice to see the arena serve a broader purpose than hockey (cue audio of Joe Battista saying "it will be an asset not just for hockey, but for the entire community," which he says only marginally less often than "steep as code allows" in reference to the PIA's student section). Tickets for the show, called the Musselman's Apple Sauce Family Skating Tribute, go on sale September 3rd. The event is on November 3rd at 5:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC November 24th at 4:00 p.m.

2. Sabres' owner keeps hockey comments brief
(Buffalo Business First)

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Terry Pegula-financed HarborCenter complex in Buffalo is old news - it was covered in last week's Three Stars - but James Fink of Buffalo Business First hit a pertinent angle unexplored by others, and his article wasn't on the TYT radar until after the previous post was up, so...

A Penn State alumni [eef... "alumni" is plural... hate that one] and major underwriter of its hockey program — including financing the construction of the Pegula Arena in State College, Pegula said he’d love to see the team play a local college at the HarborCenter’s main 1,800-seat arena or in First Niagara Center in the future.

Canisius has been in negotiations to move into HarborCenter, but hopefully I'm not alone in apathy towards the idea of a Golden Griffins-Nittany Lions matchup in an 1,800-seater. If it's all the same to TPegs, what about Cornell at the First Niagara Center? Less local, sure, but also much more compelling.

1. Penn State Hockey: Pegula Ice Arena construction looking "very good"
(PennLive)

Penn State gave a media tour of the Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday morning before football's Blue-White Game, and TYT continued its run as the only PSU hockey-credentialed entity to never once have been invited inside the facility. While I believe I deserve better, I've come to the realization that, for whatever reason, Battista and company are bothered by my existence and that I'll most likely have to adjust to life without access going forward. If that involves traveling to more road games next year, since I've never once had an issue getting a credential from an opponent (provided, of course, that PSU doesn't sabotage my application, as was attempted for the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff against Vermont back in January), so be it.

Anyway, as far as I've seen (as of Sunday night), the tour has only produced three puff pieces, and - based on the photos and video that were part of those - there were definitely more than three people present Saturday morning. So it's PSU's loss, I guess. I would have made it four puff pieces, and last I checked, a post to a small audience is better PR than no post to a large one.

I'm giving Greg Pickel of PennLive the "official" link, because his was the most comprehensive story, but be sure to check out the video StateCollege.com's Ben Jones took on the tour, as well as the third write-up, from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Scott Brown. Both Pickel's and Brown's articles have attached photo galleries, and Brown presents an additional item of note:

Battista said he has received season-ticket orders for 3,000 of the 5,000 seats that will be sold to the general public.

Nice.

Best of the Rest

Former Icer Josh Daley finished fourth on Wisconsin-Stevens Point in scoring

UW-Stevens Point men's hockey announces team awards
(uwsp.edu)

Someday, when I'm done being lazy, I'll do a full update on the December post covering the players who transferred away from Penn State after not making the jump from the Icers and Lady Icers to the NCAA men's and women's teams. For now, here's some news on one such player, Pittsburgh-native forward Josh Daley, who is now at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point after spending 2011-2012 with the Icers.

Daley got off to a slow start this year, thanks mostly to irregular appearances in the lineup, but came on strong over the second half of the season. He finished with eight goals and 19 points for a squad that went 15-11-1 overall, a run that culminated with his recently being named Most Improved Player at the Pointers' postseason banquet. Without a doubt, the marketing major will be considered a key part of UWSP's nucleus next year, as the team returns its top five scorers, top two defensemen and starting goaltender.

Force-Waterloo series offers glimpse into Big Ten's future
(The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead)

Perceptive Fargo Force writer Chris Murphy noted the several future Big Ten rivals participating in the USHL first-round playoff series between the Force and Waterloo Black Hawks - led 2-1 by Waterloo after a game three win Sunday afternoon - including Penn State entry Eamon McAdam. Others are Fargo's Gabe Guertler (Minnesota) and Dave Gust (Ohio State), as well as Waterloo's Justin Kloos (Minnesota), Taylor Cammarata (Minnesota) and Zach Stepan (Ohio State).

Cue Maxine Nightingale. We're right back we we started from.
(Deadly Nuts)

Undoubtedly, Gust and Stepan joined the rest of the hockey world in being shocked at Ohio State's firing of head coach Mark Osiecki last Monday. Osiecki, almost universally considered a rising star in the coaching world, seemed to have the perpetually-underachieving Buckeyes finally moving in the right direction, as noted by many over the last week, including Deadly Nuts. Some have speculated that Osiecki was let go so that OSU can hire newly-unemployed former Denver coach George Gwozdecky... but as someone who believes that coaching careers follow a rise-peak-decline curve not unlike the athletes they mentor, I'd honestly rather have Osiecki at this point. In what looks like a boring offseason on tap (compared to the last couple years anyway), the Buckeyes' coaching search will undoubtedly be one major story to watch.

For whatever it may be worth, the change in Columbus means that Guy Gadowsky will not be the newest coach in the Big Ten during the coming season.

Yep, that's a hockey house

Cal U hockey players facing drug charges
(Cal Times)

Brothers Jesse and Steven Powell, both hockey players at California (PA), were arrested last Tuesday and charged with dealing marijuana out of the hockey house at Cal (if you're not familiar with the term "hockey house," it's pretty much what you think, see above for reference). During a raid, police discovered roughly seven pounds of herb being delivered to the brothers - I believe that falls under the statutory definition of "shitload" - as well as two more pounds and $13,000 already on the premises. A preliminary hearing for the Powells will take place on Thursday.

In what could be viewed as a knee-jerk reaction, and likely because five other players lived with the Powells at the hockey house, the university responded to the arrests by suspending the operations of all three of the Vulcans' hockey teams including, as reported by CBSSports.com, the school's ACHA Division 2 women's team. Cal's women, the first-ever opponent for Penn State's ACHA D2 women back in October, spent much of the 2012-2013 season ranked first in the East Region and qualified for the ACHA National Tournament in Ashburn, VA last month. Similarly, Cal's top men's team, which plays in ACHA D3 and in the College Hockey East conference with the squads at PSU-Altoona and PSU-Behrend, finished the season as the Atlantic Region's number one team and also qualified for its ACHA championship playoffs, held in Springfield, MO March 12th through 16th.

Basically, we're talking about a quality hockey operation, and one that's never been implicated in any wrongdoing until now. Here's hoping that any investigations find that the issue was limited to the Powells - if they are, in fact, guilty of a crime, because this is America and they are innocent until proven otherwise - and that all three teams are reinstated in time for the coming season.

...but seriously, that's a lot of pot.

All-American Teams and All-Region Teams
(achahockey.org)

Congratulations to PSU-Brandywine defenseman Joe Naselli, who was named to the ACHA Division 3 All-Atlantic Region Third Team. Naselli, a senior from Media, PA, posted 13 goals and 32 points in 28 games this past season, helping Brandywine to a 19-9-0 record and a berth in the Atlantic Region tournament.

I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't follow up the previous story by mentioning that six different Cal players appear on the All-Atlantic Region teams, including goaltender Zach Stewart, who was also a first-team All-American. Additionally, Vulcans head coach Justin Berger was the Atlantic Region's coach of the year.

Penn State 2012-13 Women's Hockey banquet video
(Facebook)

If I had it to do all over again, I'd develop an aptitude for video production like Vince Chandler, who was nice enough to share the women's team's highlight video he put together for their postseason banquet.

@MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

Last Wednesday, PSU hockey insider Mark Horgas dropped the news that the Pegula Ice Arena will not, as was planned, include a stand-alone Tim Horton's location. A Subway, of all things, will now occupy the space previously set aside for the cyber cafe, although Tim Horton's coffee will still be served at concession stands.

As someone of the opinion that Tim Horton's, while good, is only held in such high esteem by the hockey world because it bears the name of a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, I'm going to drop a yawn on this development while saying that Dunkin has better food and Starbucks has better coffee. Come at me, bro.

Women's hockey announces its captains for the 2013-14 season; four players will serve in the leadership role
(ritatletics.com)

Forwards Celeste Brown and Lindsay Grigg will be the captains for CHA rival RIT next season, while defenders Melissa Bromley and Morgan Scoyne will don the A for the Tigers. The four take over for a triumvirate of graduating 2012-2013 captains: Kim Schlattman, Ariane Yokoyama and Tenecia Hiller.

Penn State, of course, returns all three of its letter-wearers in captain Taylor Gross and alternates (yes, alternates) Jenna Welch and Lindsay Reihl, so don't expect a similar announcement from the bowels of the Jordan Center anytime soon.

Plan to preserve Ice Zone fails
(Youngstown Vindicator)

And finally, a last-ditch effort to save the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH - a ridiculous scheme that attempted to sell 1,000 season tickets for the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms through families who use the rink - failed (try to contain your shock long enough to finish this post), and the facility will close for good between May 15th and early June.

The Ice Zone hosted the 2007 ACHA Division 1 National Tournament, which saw the Icers qualify for a record tenth straight championship game, only to be dismantled 5-1 by future ACHA hall-of-famer Will McMahon and Oakland. Earlier that season, the Ice Zone was the site of the 2006 ACHA Showcase, an event that also included Penn State. The Icers' final game of the showcase (following a loss to Oklahoma and a win over Minot State) was against a Weber State team featuring defenseman Aaron Dufford, the great grandson of former Nittany Lions varsity star John Dufford. With the elder Dufford in attendance, PSU topped the Wildcats 5-1.

Three Stars: April 8-14

3. @MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

Given Joe Battista's well-known affinity for Notre Dame, a PSU-ND series seemed inevitable once the Nittany Lions' NCAA program was going full blast. And sure enough...

Pegula Arena will have marquee teams visiting besides B1G Teams. Notre Dame is negotiating now w/ #PennStateMHKY for a multiyear series.

2. Surround Yourself with People Who Make You Better!
(statecollege.com)

Battista devoted his weekly column to singing the praises of new babysitter for incompetent Board of Trustees hand puppet Dave Joyner Athletic Department Special Assistant for Operations Morris Kurtz. Kurtz, a former Icers head coach with two degrees from Penn State, recently completed 27 years as the athletic director at St. Cloud State (a period that included a Division I hockey elevation and the construction of an arena) and should be a fantastic addition to PSU's leadership.

1. USA 1980 Olympic hockey captain shares story, talks about opportunity
(The Daily Collegian)

Miracle on Ice captain Mike Eruzione visited Penn State last Wednesday to speak at Eisenhower Auditorium, tour Pegula Ice Arena (leaving behind an autograph, as seen above) and pose for photo ops with the Nittany Lion men and women. During Eruzione's talk, one exchange between the former Boston University star and a PSU undergrad quickly gained legend status on Twitter and elsewhere:

In a crowd filled with United States flags and jerseys, Tyler Feldman stood up to ask Mike Eruzione the famous questions from the 2004 movie, "Miracle."

"Who do you play for?" Feldman (freshman-business administration and broadcast journalism) said.

"Tonight, I play for Penn State," Mike Eruzione, Captain of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, said.

Well played, sir.

Best of the Rest

The final 2012-2013 NCAA women's team photo, taken at Saturday night's postseason banquet

Women's Hockey Announces Team Awards
(gopsusports.com)

The women's NCAA team held their end-of-the-season banquet Saturday night, and subsequently announced the following team award winners:

Most Valuable Player: Nicole Paniccia
Unsung Heroes: Jenna Welch and Emily Laurenzi
Iron Lion (outstanding weight room performance): Birdie Shaw
Most Improved Player: Stephanie Walkom

Duluth East's Moore the News Tribune's player of the year
(Duluth News Tribune)

Here's a rare pre-commitment recruiting update, concerning Meirs Moore, a former standout defenseman at Minnesota's Duluth East High School who now plays for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers. Moore's father, Skeeter Moore, played at Minnesota-Duluth from 1983 through 1987, including with a guy named Brett Hull.

The article is behind a pay wall, but here's the juicy part concerning the younger Moore, who was actually born in Sweden while his father was playing there professionally:

Moore hopes to play at the Division I level. He grew up wanting to emulate his dad by playing at UMD. While the Bulldogs showed some interest early on, Moore’s primary Division I suitors now are Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, Penn State and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“I’m not saying that my hope of ever going (to UMD) is over because it’s not … but as the years have gone on, I’ve realized how much more there is out there,” he said.

This HarborCenter rendering is inaccurate, as it includes pedestrians in downtown Buffalo

Sabres Break Ground on HarborCenter
(Tumblr)

Terry Pegula's other ice rink, the HarborCenter complex across the street from the Sabres' home First Niagara Center in Buffalo, officially broke ground on Saturday. HarborCenter, which is scheduled to open in September 2014 and carries a price tag of $172 million, will include two NHL-sized ice sheets, a hotel, a restaurant, retail space and a parking garage. The main rink will seat 1,800 and is expected to host NCAA Division I's Canisius, which presently plays its home games on the campus of DIII Buffalo State.

Pegula: 'We'll move forward and do the right thing'
(Buffalo News)

It wasn't all sunshine and puppies for TPegs last week, as he was grilled about the state of his NHL franchise at the HarborCenter groundbreaking. At his introductory press conference after purchasing the Sabres in February 2011, Pegula made a few rookie mistakes, like promising Stanley Cups (with an 's') and offering an insane-in-hindsight three-year timeline for reaching that pinnacle. Since then, the Sabres haven't looked much different than they did near the end of the stewardship of previous owner Tom Golisano - in other words, they've been a middling team that competes for a lower playoff seed in most years, qualifying roughly half of the time. The unexpected struggle has caused Pegula to back off of most of his initial statements (including the one where he supported long-time head coach Lindy Ruff, who was canned this season).

Pegula noted that it was 39 years for Boston Bruins owner and WNY native Jeremy Jacobs to win a Cup before the Bs did in 2011. Pegula, of course, had made it clear he had a three-year vision when he took over the Sabres in 2011.

"Jerry Jacobs down the road took 39 years to win a Stanley Cup. I don't know how long," Pegula said. "How can you guarantee anybody anything? You do your best every year. When's the last time the New England Patriots won the Stanley Cup? Or the Super Bowl?"

I reminded Pegula the Pats don't regularly miss the playoffs and he said, "Well, hey." Whatever that means.

Ouch. It certainly seems as if the honeymoon - which was unlike anything I've ever witnessed for a team owner - is over, at least as far as the Buffalo News' Mike Harrington is concerned.

Kelly Seward will bring her well-rounded game to campus this fall

Youth hockey: Bowman Cup brings stars back to Buffalo
(Buffalo News)

Speaking of Buffalo's major newspaper, it gave incoming women's defender Kelly Seward a mention for reaching the USA Hockey Girls Tier I 19U quarterfinals with the Buffalo Bisons during the national championship tournament held April 3-7 in San Jose, CA, as well as for her CISAA and NAPHA titles with Nichols School this past season.

Gophers: Sorting the high number of early departures
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Troy Grosenick signs entry-level NHL contract with San Jose Sharks
(unionathletics.com)

Programs that Penn State is playing next year are being gashed with early pro departures (toss in Michigan defenseman Jacob Trouba from last week's Three Stars as well). I don't hate it.

Rocha Named Senior CLASS Winner
(goarmysports.com)

Congratulations to Army senior defenseman Cheyne Rocha, who was voted by fans, coaches and media members as the national winner of the Senior CLASS Award for hockey. What is the Senior CLASS Award?

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, community, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Rocha's parents, in case you forgot at some point since PSU's game at West Point in October, are quite familiar with Penn State. His father, Larry Rocha, was an Icers assistant coach from 1982 through 1985, and his mother is lacrosse legend Candace Finn Rocha, a two-time national player of the year who led the Nittany Lions to a pair of national championships and was elected the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1998.

Potential destinations for NCAA Division I hockey
(The Hockey News)

The latest iteration of the popular "I have nothing better to write about" article calls Nebraska, Southern California, Texas, Rhode Island and Saint Louis likely next outposts for NCAA DI hockey. I'll give that a score of roughly 60 percent: full credit for Nebraska and Rhode Island, half credit for Texas and USC.

Brianne McLaughlin (left) with her 2013 IIHF Women's World Championships gold medal. PensTV host Katie O'Malley (right) is wearing McLaughlin's silver medal from the 2010 Olympic Games.

Team USA Wins World Championship
(usahockey.com)

What better way to close a Three Stars post headlined by Mike Eruzione than with a nod to Team USA winning gold at the IIHF Women's World Championships last week with a 3-2 win over Canada in the final? University of Minnesota junior Amanda Kessel was the hero of the decisive contest in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, as her third-period goal clinched the U.S.' fifth world championship gold medal (and fourth from the last five tournaments, which are held in non-Olympic years). It also capped a pretty ridiculous couple of weeks for Kessel, the sister of Toronto Maple Leaf Phil Kessel, who led the Gophers to the national championship by completing the first perfect season in NCAA women's hockey history on March 24th. The day before Kessel registered four points in a 6-3 win over Boston University in the title game, she won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation's best player.

Basically, if Kessel wanted, she could quit the game right now and be giving speeches about her accomplishments 33 years later.

The CHA was represented on Team USA by goaltender Brianne McLaughlin, who played at Robert Morris from 2006 through 2009 and is the NCAA's all-time saves leader. She's also been an assistant coach with the Colonials for the past two seasons, a period that includes RMU's CHA tournament championship in 2012.

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):