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?

Best of the Rest

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: July 22-28

3. Southeast Schedules and What They Mean for 2013-14
(Twisted Thoughts)

While the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions have yet to release a 2013-2014 schedule, several opponents - MACHA rivals Delaware, Virginia Tech and Liberty most recently - have. Here's what we now know of PSU's upcoming slate as a result:

October 26, 2013 - vs. Delaware
November 2, 2013 - at Delaware
December 8, 2013 - vs. Maryland-Baltimore County
January 10, 2014 - at Liberty
January 11, 2014 - at Virginia Tech
February 1, 2014 - at Maryland-Baltimore County
February 7-8, 2014 - at Navy Crab Pot (D1 Navy, D1 Towson, Maryland)
February 14-16, 2014 - at MACHA Playoffs
February 23-24, 2014 - at Southeast Regionals
March 21-25, 2014 - at ACHA National Tournament (Marlborough, MA)

The second-year Women's Ice Hockey Club, which is joining the new College Hockey East women's league with California (PA), West Chester and Delaware for 2013-2014, also has a few games out there, thanks to the schedule releases of both the Blue Hens and Michigan State.

October 19, 2013 - vs. Michigan State
October 20, 2013 - vs. Michigan State
November 16, 2013 - at Delaware
November 17, 2013 - at Delaware
December 7, 2013 - vs. Delaware
December 8, 2013 - vs. Delaware
February 21-22, 2014 - at CHE Playoffs (York, PA)
March 13-16, 2014 - at ACHA National Tournament (Newark, DE)

Notably, the December 8th Delaware game will be played at Galactic Ice in Altoona. Guess PIA isn't solving everyone's ice time issues after all.

2. The debate: players discuss CHL vs. NCAA
(The Daily Collegian)

Tackling something like a CHL vs. NCAA article is a tough task, because it's been done so often that it's difficult to find a fresh angle to bring to the table. But Matt Nestor has pulled it off by writing for a general Penn State audience that might not be familiar with The Choice while also bringing in quotes from guys like Luke Juha and Guy Gadowsky, both Canadians who played or are playing NCAA hockey.

Juha is a particularly insightful source as a guy who was once considered a potential late-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Electing for college over major junior probably hurt his stock in the short term, and he went undrafted. But Juha seems to believe that he'll ultimately be a better player because of college hockey, with a better shot of making it as a pro. And I believe that he's right.

1. Head Coach Morris to step down
(ohiobobcatshockey.com)

Andrew Largeman, Zach Braff's character in the movie Garden State, memorably said:

"You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you put your shit, that idea of home is gone... You'll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It's like you feel homesick for a place that doesn't even exist. Maybe it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start."

That's how I'm starting to feel about ACHA Division 1. Maybe the process is a bit more gradual and less traumatic than it was for Largeman, but it's there nevertheless, because the simple fact is that after you remove yourself from a place, it still continues to evolve without you.

The ACHA will look a lot less like it did when we left without legendary Ohio coach Dan Morris, who is stepping down after 12 seasons, 344 wins and the 2004 national championship. Given that he also played for the Bobcats between 1993 and 1997 (winning three more national championships during those years) and then was an assistant coach under Craig McCarthy between graduation and taking over as the head guy, it's a no-brainer to call Morris one of the most important figures in the history of one of the ACHA's most important programs. Of course, he was also the Icers' archnemesis for all but the final one of those years on the wrong side of the greatest rivalry in ACHA history - including the 2004 title game win over PSU that ended Joe Battista's dynasty of four straight and five in six years.

No Dan Morris, Illinois' Chad Cassel departed a year ago, Minot State apparently wins the Murdoch Cup now... it doesn't feel like home anymore. And to be honest, neither does NCAA Division I and the Big Ten just yet, but it will. We have to evolve too, after all.

Best of the Rest

Eddie Quagliata and Matt Welch model Illinois' new jerseys...who says there's no "I" in "team?"

Just a year in, head coach Fabbrini hires another assistant
(The Daily Illini)

Let's stick with the ACHA for a minute, because it was quite a week for IllinoisWatch.

First, last Monday, the school's student paper published a write-up on new Illini assistant coach Blake Sorensen, who seems to believe that the program would consider going DI, and claims that belief was part of the reason he took the job: "Maybe I’m thinking out of the box, but I’m thinking the U of I would be the next school having the aspiration of going to the next level. So I said, ‘Why not?’ It was a very easy decision." That's either your garden-variety pipe dream or he knows something, take your pick, but I don't remember Billy Downey saying anything like that when he was hired as an Icers assistant in 2008.

That, by itself, is interesting but hardly A Thing. However, mostly-spam Twitter account @USCollegeHockey fanned the flames three days later: "May we have BREAKING NEWS soon? We were 1st to report Penn St.'s ascent to D1. Is another top ACHA team making the jump? Details soon..." They didn't specify that they were referring to Illinois, which is a pretty effective technique in the world of rumor mongering (PS. Someone will die of heart disease today. Because I can see the future.)

For the record, I don't know if @USCollegeHockey was first on Penn State in August and September of 2010. And I don't care. You know who I credit as being first? The Harrisburg Patriot-News' David Jones, who noted Terry Pegula's windfall from the Royal Dutch Shell sale in May 2010 and connected it to the idea of Penn State hockey a few days later. Accuracy and fresh insight over unchecked speed, every time.

Anyway, "soon," evidently, was Saturday evening, when @USCollegeHockey jumped back in with "Remember that BREAKING NEWS we mentioned on Thursday?" and attached a screengrab of a Facebook status (since deleted).

From there, the predictable played out. People overreacted, some commented on how it would be a great idea (it would be), Let's Play Hockey patted themselves on the back over the Jimmy John's rumor they advanced a couple years ago, and real journalists like Matt Slovin and Chris Peters got to work, ultimately taking about 90 minutes to confirm that the Facebook post had to do with the sale of the team's new jerseys.

There's an important lesson, which should have been learned from Penn State, that also needs to be applied here. PSU's process took five years from the initial Battista-Pegula dinner. Along the way, people talk, toes are dipped in the various pools and feasibility studies are conducted. And any one of those occurrences, which repeat themselves many, many times throughout those five years, has the potential to become an "OMG IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!!!" tweet. Just as a rumor doesn't mean something is imminent, the short-term dismissal of a rumor doesn't mean that the information wasn't a legitimate hint, just applied incorrectly or prematurely. Illinois probably has explored the idea of NCAA hockey, and they probably will have an NCAA program someday. There's been an awful lot of smoke, and it's increased in volume recently. But I'm fairly sure that when it does happen, @USCollegeHockey won't be the first to tell us.

Portland, ME's newly-renovated Cumberland County Civic Center will host the 2015 Ice Breaker

@Chris_MJH
(Twitter)

Last week, Notre Dame was awarded the 2014 Ice Breaker (a season-opening four-team tournament presented by College Hockey Inc.) while Maine grabbed the 2015 version. And almost immediately, the rumor mill fired up.

Hearing Michigan, Michigan St., Penn St & BC are possible teams to take part in '15 IceBreaker.

Just as a reminder, since this seems like an appropriate spot: way back in January 2012, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that the Nittany Lions had signed on for the 2014 Brice Alaska Goal Rush. The Goal Rush is another season-opening tournament, hosted by Alaska and always including their dumpster fire of a neighbor in Anchorage. This year's field - Denver and Western Michigan are the two "outside schools" - was announced on November 16, 2012, so we might hear confirmation on that one relatively soon.

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

Coming up on September 28th and 29th, women's assistant Casey McCullion will once again go on a bike ride to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis. Please consider supporting her and the cause if you're able. And yes, I'll remind you again.

Pro New York Sports Exclusive: Eamon McAdam
(Pro New York Sports)

Know what I like seeing in a player? This, from Eamon McAdam:

I want to help the team progress as fast as possible and by my second or third year I want to give the team here a chance to go for a National Championship. This may seem like a lofty goal but the age old expression of championships are won with goaltending is true in my eyes and if I put in enough work I am hopeful I can give the team a chance no matter who we’re playing.

Check Gadowsky's track record, especially with a Princeton program that had/has a lot less behind it than what's in place at Penn State. Kid ain't crazy.

New York Islanders 2013 draft review
(Hockey's Future)

Your second dose of Big Mac comes through a roundup of Garth Snow's 2013 draft picks. If you're like me and are now trying to follow the Isles a little bit, it's probably good to check things like this out once in a while.

Ohio State's dumping of Mark Osiecki has continued to prove costly

Magyar chooses Kitchener Rangers over Ohio State
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Ohio State's firing of coach Mark Osiecki back in April... yep, still an absolutely terrible decision. The latest evidence: Ohio native and Cleveland Barons product Nick Magyar, a Buckeye commit who played for Sioux City and the National Team Development Program in the USHL last season, has signed with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers and blowtorched his college eligibility. Magyar is just the latest in a growing line of Osiecki recruits to flee, including Nolan Valeau, Cliff Watson and Zach Stepan.

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Unveiled
(USA Hockey)

This year's U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class lacks the direct Penn State connection of the 2012 group featuring Eddie Olczyk, but it's still a robust collection headlined (for our purposes) by Ron Mason. Mason coached at Lake Superior State (1967-1973), Bowling Green (1974-1979) and Michigan State (1980-2002), won the 1986 national title with the Spartans, and was the winningest coach in college history (924 victories) until he was passed by Jerry York last season. He was also among the hockey giants surveyed for quotes distributed to the press on September 17, 2010, for whatever that's worth:

“I think it’s wonderful that Penn State will have Division I hockey. I’ve long thought that if Penn State ever decided to elevate its program that it would be a school that would challenge for championships. This is a good move for the school and for college hockey.”

Jake Gardiner, a Maple Leafs defenseman and Max's brother, is among the U.S. Olympic hopefuls

Men's National Team Orientation Camp Roster Set
(USA Hockey)

Arguably the biggest story in the hockey world last week was the release of Olympic team camp rosters by most of the countries expected to contend in Sochi, Russia next year. Team USA's version includes a pair of Penn State siblings in Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner and Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad, and yes, we're going to keep living vicariously through those guys until there are Nittany Lions in the show.

The 48-man camp roster will eventually be cut to 25, so Saad and Gardiner certainly aren't home yet, although both are strong contenders for selection.

Glen Gulutzan happy to return 'home' with Canucks
(Vancouver Sun)

Glen Gulutzan, one of the more prominent members of the Guy Gadowsky coaching tree (Gadowsky coached Gulutzan with the WCHL's Fresno Falcons in 1996-1997 and 1998-1999), has joined John Tortorella's Vancouver Canucks staff. Gulutzan, last time we checked in on him, was being fired as head coach of the Dallas Stars after two seasons, so it's nice to see him land on his feet.

@BillRiga
@KeeferJ_
(Twitter)

The leading Twitterdrama last Tuesday: assistant coaches acting butthurt for really, really stupid reasons. First, there's the case of Quinnipiac's Bill Riga, subtweeting QU blog From the NIP to the Bank for having the audacity to predict the Bobcats' lineup for the coming season (forwards, defense/goalies).

Love people who have our line-up and freshmen predicted. I don't even know and I've seen them all play a lot. #smarterthani

Someone needs to look up the definitions of "prediction" and "know" and note the differences.

Jerry Keefe of Northeastern skipped snark and went straight to fury. His target? The Providence Journal's Mark Divver, whose horrific crime was tweeting that new Providence College commit Spenser Young, a defenseman at Phillips Exeter Academy, held an offer from Keefe's Huskies. Time to rumble.

Divver wisely bowed out at that point, but in Keefe's estimation, Twitter still wasn't safe - after all, there were people making innocuous "don't see that every day" comments about the Keefe-Divver exchange to straighten out.

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver don't like when people tweet false info to make a hockey program look bad. We all work to hard for that.

Yeah, you (may have) lost out on a highly-sought-after (heavy hitters Boston College, Yale and New Hampshire also whiffed on Young, according to Divver) recruit. Brutal. Your program looks absolutely horrible now. But no worries, you're well on the way back, because you don't spread rumors about the media.

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver I don't report false info on twitter about you guys and your jobs so don't do about hockey programs and our jobs

Also, don't tell Keefe he's in an argument...

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver it's not an argument it's a point I feel strongly about.

...or that he melted down.

@FearTheTriangle @TheBUHockeyBlog no meltdowns here!

I beg to differ. The best summation is brought to you by Boston University "blog/Twitter combo without the blog" BurntBoats.

Moving On
(From the NIP to the Bank)

Finally, best wishes in blogger retirement to Luke Devoe, who is stepping aside from his aforementioned work on Quinnipiac.

I don't feel a true kinship with too many bloggers out there (which isn't to say that I don't respect and enjoy their work or like them as human beings). The SB Nation guys have 800 different writers and 20 billion pageviews a month. Other blogs are run by professional journalists as a side project or as part of the coverage of their beat. TYT isn't any of those things, and I don't really identify much with their realities. Devoe was different. Much like him, I'm just a guy who loves hockey, loves his school, and enjoys the artificial level of closeness allowed by doing this. That's why I find his reasons for stopping heartbreaking.

I became blacklisted to a certain extent because, well, I was a little too opinionated during a rough stretch of play. I accepted this, altered my approach, and went on covering the team I love. Recently, a small but similar event occurred. While it would be easy to shrug it off and file it under the "can't make them all happy" category, I simply can't.

Back when things weren't exactly gravy and FTNTTB wasn't on the best of terms with the brass at the Q it was tough receiving sideways stares walking into a venue that I held, and still hold, so near and dear. It was even harder when those stares were coming from some people whose opinion mattered. The labor of love turned into a exhausting game of second guessing and self-censoring, even at times when I truly felt I was right. I just don't feel like doing it again. I concede.

Shame on you, Bill Riga and anyone else who may have contributed to his struggles.

State and the Unions

What
NCAA Men: vs. U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18
NCAA Women: at Union

Where
NCAA Men: Greenberg Ice Pavilion, University Park, PA
NCAA Women: Messa Rink, Schenectady, NY

When
NCAA Men: Friday, January 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m.
NCAA Women: Friday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 12 at 4:00 p.m

Coverage
NCAA Men: TYT live blogs (free), Friday PSU video ($), Friday PSU audio ($), Friday PSU live stats (free), Saturday PSU video ($), Saturday PSU audio ($), Saturday PSU live stats (free)
NCAA Women: Union video ($), Union live stats (free)

J.T. Compher will return to Penn State next season, but as a Michigan Wolverine.

The men, who are now 9-12-0 in all games, 8-11-0 against NCAA competition and 6-10-0 against NCAA Division I will try to reverse their fortunes with a pair of exhibitions against the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 team. Since November 10th, PSU is just 3-9-0 in all games and beyond the win over Ohio State in Pittsburgh - which was outstanding, of course - has only beaten the ACHA's Arizona State and NCAA DIII Fredonia.

For those who don't know the nature of this week's opponent, the National Team Development Program is a USA Hockey initiative based in Ann Arbor, MI. Since 1996, it has attempted to identify the best American players and get them into the same organization in an attempt to enhance their development for, according to their literature "participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers." The NTDP, which includes both an Under-17 and an Under-18 team, plays games against college teams (generally, only the U18s play those games), against the USHL, as the NTDP is a member of the league, and in international tournaments. NTDP players have gone on to collegiate and NHL success, as famous Big Ten alumni like Ryan Kesler, Jordan Leopold, Ryan Suter and Phil Kessel are counted among their products. No fewer than 15 players from Team USA's recent gold medal team at the World Junior Championships did time with the NTDP.

Obviously, since the U18s are the team playing Penn State, I'll speak exclusively about them from this point, using "NTDP" or "Team USA" as shorthand.

There's sort of a misconception many have of these games, at least some of the people with whom I've spoken, who view these as pointless walkovers, which really couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Penn State will be the less talented team on the ice this weekend. That's not a slam on the Nittany Lions. The NTDPers, as mentioned, are among the best American players out there in their age group and as such, they out-talent just about every college team they play, with edges in experience and physical maturity going to the collegians (a senior who aged out of junior hockey is generally six years older than an U18 player).

The games Team USA has played against NCAA opponents bear that out, with wins over Michigan, Merrimack and Alabama-Huntsville. They also boast impressive draws with Minnesota, Notre Dame and New Hampshire, presently three of the top four teams in the country. Most of the NTDP's action comes against USHL competition, and (combined with the U17 team in this case), they're 6-18-3 in those games.

As one might surmise, NTDP players are some of the most sought-after recruits in the country. Nineteen players opposing PSU this weekend are committed to colleges, including future Big Ten opponents J.T. Compher, Evan Allen and Tyler Motte (Michigan), as well as Hudson Fasching (Minnesota). While Penn State has yet to pull an NTDP recruit, getting players of their caliber on campus certainly can't hurt in that process. Motte, Compher, Allen and Fasching, along with leading scorer Tyler Kelleher (committed to New Hampshire) represent a few of a lethal group of forwards that will really test a thin PSU blueline that hopes to receive Mark Yanis back this weekend but has now lost Luke Juha to an undisclosed injury.

Shenae Lundberg is an elite stopper - and owes some of that to PSU's Casey McCullion.

For the women (7-12-1, 1-8-1 CHA), this weekend represents a chance to continue the momentum generated from last weekend's shellacking of an overmatched and shorthanded NCAA Division III Chatham team. The Nittany Lions will seek to chip off a second and a third major-conference win at Union (5-11-3, 0-7-3 ECAC).

Since joining the Division I ranks to join their male counterparts in 2003-2004, the Dutchwomen haven't been particularly successful, never posting more than five wins or better than a 0.176 win percentage in any season. In that sense, this year has been a breakout of sorts with that zenith for victories already matched and Connecticut, Maine, RPI and Syracuse, PSU's College Hockey America rival, among Union's victims.

The team's undisputed star is goaltender Shenae Lundberg. The sophomore boasts a 3.09 goals against average and a 0.902 save percentage - outstanding numbers on a losing team. She has a boatload of USA Hockey recognition to prove her talents, including her status as a member of the 2011 world champion U.S. U18 team. Lundberg is also a four-time USA Hockey Player Development Camp selection and a two-time selection to the Warren Strelow National Team Goaltending Camp. She's played in four of Union's five wins, and has been called on to make at least 30 saves each time without ever allowing more than three goals.

In short, Lundberg is good.

Oh, by the way, the New Hampshire native is an alumna of Deerfield Academy, where she played for - you guessed it - PSU assistant Casey McCullion, who was an assistant there in 2007-2008.

With Nicole Paniccia expected back between the pipes after playing only 20 minutes in the sweep of Chatham, combined with Lundberg and Union's anemic offense that scores just 1.42 times per game, it probably isn't out of line to expect a pair of low-scoring games. When the Dutchwomen do receive offense, it tends to come from a large number of sources. Sophomore Christine Valente leads the team with five goals, but the team's 27 this season have come from 12 different players.

It would serve the Nittany Lions well to put everything out there in the pursuit of two wins - next weekend is the last one off for the team this season before jumping back into the fray with a trip to Syracuse on January 25th and 26th.

Three Stars: December 10-16

3. Penn State assistant coach Casey McCullion
(Gospel of Hockey)

Someday, I just want to hang out and talk puck with McCullion. Luckily, others have already done that and recorded it.

2. Student Package Available for Philadelphia Faceoff
Hospitality suites available for games in Pittsburgh
(Penn State)

Not surprisingly, peripherals like buses, receptions and Meet the Icers come along with games in large cities. A lot of people are jealous of the media due to the whole free admission thing and the "access" (yeah, good one) we get. But I'm jealous of people who get to do things like this.

1. Player Spotlight: Nicole Paniccia
(ComRadio)

Paniccia says Ross Insana is a great writer. Insana says Paniccia is an all-around awesome person. Can't sell it any better than that.

Best of the Rest

@Billy_Downey
(Twitter)

Apparently, the arena is coming along quite nicely. I'm guessing I'll finally get a tour on approximately October 11, 2013 along with the rest of you, and will have to settle for slobbering over photos like this in the meantime. Thanks for the help, Mr. Downey.

The Inside Scoop on the Best Seats in the House for Pegula Ice Arena
(statecollege.com)

So the answers to the "best seats" question are ones that cost $900 or $1100 per seat per season. Anyone surprised by that?

...and that's why I don't get a tour.

CHA Rookie of the Week Penn State Celine Whitlinger
(YouTube)

The title pretty much speaks for itself - Celine Whitlinger was named CHA Rookie of the Week last Monday, and the video is a nice little set of clips helping to justify her selection.

@UAHChargers
(Twitter)

Alabama-Huntsville broke out new jerseys over the weekend, and it seems likely that they'll be wearing them when visiting the Ice Pavilion on February 8th and 9th. I think you guys missed a spot, I can still see some blue.

Colonials Star Vint Not Undergoing a Sophomore Slump
(Bleacher Report)

No, people who score five goals in a game, as Vint did on November 10th against Penn State, probably aren't undergoing a sophomore slump.

Robert Morris doing its part in the growth of Western Pennsylvania college hockey
(USCHO)

I sincerely like Robert Morris' program, in spite of the fact that noted scumbag/Penn State hater Mark Madden does as well. That said, I don't really see them as a rival, because they failed the Dad Test.

For those unfamiliar, the Dad Test involves judging the appeal of something in Penn State hockey to "mainstream PSU" by my dad's (an alumnus and avid football/basketball fan who watches volleyball once they're in the semifinals... so he's pretty typical, I think) reaction to it. On Saturday, he asked me who Penn State was playing.

Me: Robert Morris.
Him: So that should be an easy win, right?
Me: They're actually a very good program. It's probably pretty close to a 50-50 game.
[Later, after the game was over]
Him: Who won?
Me: Robert Morris, 3-2.
Him: <makes a face>

You get where I'm going with that. Right or wrong, the big games to most people - at least until PSU develops a stronger specific-to-hockey following - are going to be against the schools with recognizable names.

@UMBCIceHockey (1, 2, 3)
(Twitter)

Scary? Bizarre? Particularly without further detail, I'm not even sure how to describe this incident, which saw UMBC (a MACHA rival of the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions) freshman goaltender Josh Naundorf go missing last Wednesday and Thursday. Whatever happened, it's good to hear that Naundorf's whereabouts are once again known, and that he is safe.

Penn State-Mercyhurst Photo Gallery

Here are some photos I took at Mercyhurst University while visiting for Friday night's game between the Nittany Lion women and the Lakers. Click for full size.

---

First up, a quick campus tour:

The Audrey Hirt Academic Center

O'Neil Tower, on the left, is Mercyhurst's signature building

Taylor Little Theatre has famous playwrights worked into the building's facade

Tullio Field, the home of Lakers football and lacrosse

Mercyhurst Ice Center's main entrance

Seeing Penn State's banner in other teams' arenas still hasn't gotten old

The Lakers are one of the most storied programs in women's hockey

The Mercyhurst Ice Center actually has chairback seats behind one goal

During pregame, Celine Whitlinger and Brooke Meyer held a conference

The Lakers enter from the corner opposite Penn State

A couple more shots from the pregame, including the next photo

The Nittany Lions on the blue line for the anthems.

The game's opening faceoff.

Casey McCullion (white coat) presides over the defensive end of the bench

Another top-down look at the bench

The team waits to step back on to the ice for the second period

Kendra Rasmussen and Jeanette Bateman attempt to win a puck battle

Hannah Hoenshell dumps in as her teammates look on

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.

Best of the Rest

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.