D-Day in DC for WIHC

To say the least, it's been quite an interesting inaugural season for the ACHA D2 Women's Ice Hockey Club. The light schedule that is the norm for any first-year outfit was hammered by circumstances - Winter Storm Nemo wrecked a scheduled series at D1 Buffalo on February 9th and 10th, and a scheduled game against Slippery Rock at the Ice Pavilion on February 22nd was called off when SRU couldn't assemble a team to make the trip (put that together with a cancelled game on December 15th, and the WIHC never got to use the orange barn for a competitive game in its final season). The result of all of this: the team has played just nine games this year, none since January 27th, and will now attempt to win five in four days at the 2013 ACHA National Championships, which will run from Thursday through Sunday in Ashburn, VA, near Washington, DC.

The good news is that based on the games that were played, PSU earned one of the eight bids to nationals by finishing in the top four of the East Region (the top four from the East and West Regions in the season's final poll are invited). And they've also proven that they deserve to be taken seriously as a title contender, with exhibit A being their 2-1 win at East No. 1 West Chester on January 26th. Familiar names from the former Lady Icers D1 program like Carly Szyszko, Katie Vaughan, Allie Rothman and Ashton Schaffer have merged with dynamic newcomers like Devon Fisk, Mandy Mortach, Tara Soukup and Taylor Nyman to form one of the division's best teams.

The first step in turning contention into reality will come during the preliminary round on March 7th and 8th. Each team will play three of the four squads in the opposite region during this round, with the matching seed on the other side off of the schedule. So for East No. 4 Penn State, this means games against West No. 1 Alaska (Thursday, 1:00 p.m.), West No. 2 Wisconsin-Stout (Friday, 10:45 a.m.) and West No. 3 North Dakota State (Friday, 5:30 p.m.). After the preliminaries, the four best-performing teams will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, with the championship game on Sunday.

Here is a capsule look at each of the teams blocking PSU's road to glory. For more on nationals, including a full schedule, standings and a link to FastHockey.com's webcasts of the games, be sure to visit the WIHC website's ACHA Tournament Central.

Note: All records and statistics below only include ACHA-sanctioned games.

East Region

1. West Chester

Record: 13-2-0
Head coach: David Japchen
Goals scored per game: 5.87
Goals allowed per game: 1.13

Versus Penn State:
Lost 1-2 on January 26th
Won 3-1 on January 27th

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. Minnesota-Duluth, 1:15 p.m.
March 8 vs. North Dakota State, 8:45 a.m.
March 8 vs. Wisconsin-Stout, 8:00 p.m.

DVCHC website team page:
http://womens.dvchchockey.org/page/show/748376-west-chester-univ-?subseason=101512

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Becky Dobson (44-21-65 in 15 games)
Kirsten Baron (14-11-25 in 15 games)
Lindsay Howard (7-12-19 in 15 games)
Colleen Tweedy (6-7-13 in 15 games)
Amanda Vito (6-7-13 in 15 games)

Goaltender:
Aly Golia (13-2-0, 1.13 GAA, 0.941 Sv%)

Simply put, it's impossible to find a more impressive-looking team headed into the tournament than WCU. Although Cal was ranked first in the East Region for most of the season, the Rams split a pair of regular season games with the Vulcans, then dominated a semifinal meeting in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs en route to the league title (their only other loss, of course, was to Penn State). They boast D2's leading scorer in Becky Dobson, who averages just under a hat trick per game, as well as goalie Aly Golia, who joins PSU's Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut in D2's top three for both goals against average and save percentage.

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2. California

Record: 14-2-0
Head coach: Gregg Kaminski
Goals scored per game: 3.56
Goals allowed per game: 1.44

Versus Penn State:
Won 2-1 (OT) on October 6th
Won 2-0 on October 7th

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. North Dakota State, 3:30 p.m.
March 8 vs. Minnesota-Duluth, 11:00 a.m.
March 8 vs. Alaska, 7:45 p.m.

Team website:
http://calu.zonethemes.com/womens/

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Megan Cooper (11-14-25 in 16 games)
Alli Paratore (8-17-25 in 16 games)
Kelsey DeNardo (17-6-23 in 15 games)
Dana Bowersox (9-6-15 in 16 games)
Melissa Heisler (5-8-13 in 16 games)

Top goaltender:
Maria Sciacca (13-2-0, 1.32 GAA, 0.939 Sv%)

The Vulcans, an emerging power in D2, gained the nation's top spot in the poll this season for the first time in program history but, as mentioned, faltered in two of three meetings with West Chester (as well as against Delaware last month) to drop to second in the east in the final ranking. Impressively, Cal has earned a sweep at D1 Buffalo by 2-0 and 3-2 scores on October 20th and 21st, as well as a 4-2-0 ACHA record against teams at the tournament - the two wins over Penn State are joined by 1-1-0 marks against WCU and UD.

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3. Delaware

Record: 11-3-0
Head coach: Bobby Crystle
Goals scored per game: 4.64
Goals allowed per game: 2.07

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. Wisconsin-Stout, 3:15 p.m.
March 8 vs. Alaska, 8:30 a.m.
March 8 vs. Minnesota-Duluth, 5:45 p.m.

Team website: http://www.udelhockey.com/w2/

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Danielle Malysa (16-5-21 in 13 games)
Mari O'Leary (7-7-14 in 13 games)
Kimberly Blasnik (7-7-14 in 13 games)
Kaitlyn Smith (4-10-14 in 13 games)
Kelley Philbin (7-6-13 in 13 games)

Goaltender:
Sarah Ehrlich (10-3-0 record, 2.21 GAA, 0.888 Sv%)

Delaware joins Penn State as a team that, while claiming one of the east's bottom seeds, is still worthy of contender status - although they'll face a tough preliminary schedule that includes Alaska and UW-Stout, the top two western teams. Like PSU, Delaware has played tight games against West Chester and Cal this year, and in fact, gave the Vulcans one of their two losses February 9th on the strength of Danielle Malysa's goal with four seconds left in overtime (similar to how Penn State hung WCU with one of their two losses). A UD-Cal rematch at the DVCHC tournament resulted in a 2-1 Vulcans win despite Kelley Philbin's third period goal.


West Region

1. Alaska

Record: 6-0-2
Head coach: Scott Vockeroth
Goals scored per game: 4.38
Goals allowed per game: 1.25

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. Penn State, 1:00 p.m.
March 8 vs. Delaware, 8:30 a.m.
March 8 vs. California, 7:45 p.m.

Team website:
http://www.uafwomenshockey.com/

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Cayla Wiita (7-9-16 in 8 games)
Rackell Kowalchuk (10-5-15 in 8 games)
Shawna Jusczak (5-2-7 in 8 games)
Brittany Stahle (2-5-7 in 7 games)

Goaltender:
Katrina Lydon (6-0-2 record, 1.25 GAA, 0.924 Sv%)

Alaska has played a pretty light schedule this season, due of course to their geographic isolation (they did play several games against local U19 teams to supplement their eight ACHA games). It would be unfair to say the Nanooks are not battle-tested, however. Six of their eight games have come against tournament teams Stout, Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota State - and all were on the road, with none resulting in losses. UAF, which lost last season's national championship game to Stout, certainly has to be considered one of the favorites, particularly with Katrina Lydon, one of the ACHA's best stoppers, in net.

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2. Wisconsin-Stout

Record: 11-5-1
Head coach: Matt Morin
Goals scored per game: 3.60
Goals allowed per game: 2.13

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. Delaware, 3:15 p.m.
March 8 vs. Penn State, 10:45 a.m.
March 8 vs. West Chester, 8:00 p.m.

Team website:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/UW-Stout-Womens-Hockey-Team/236134433101216

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Lily Cranston (19-8-27 in 16 games)
Ashley Gibson (14-13-27 in 11 games)
Kara Fritsche (6-5-11 in 16 games)
Kerry Blomberg (8-2-10 in 9 games)
Alex Westman (3-3-6 in 16 games)

Goaltender:
Kaye Collier (9-5-1 record, 2.13 GAA, 0.903 Sv%)

The defending ACHA national champions have a little something to prove after a loss-tie home weekend against Alaska on January 26th and 27th cost them the West Region's top seed, but otherwise, they have performed well against a tough schedule that included several D1 teams, including Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Nanooks, however, were the Blue Devils' only D2 tournament opponent, as scheduled games against Minnesota-Duluth in December were forfeited in Stout's favor.

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3. North Dakota State

Record: 14-4-1
Head coach: Garrett Gulsvig
Goals scored per game: 5.16
Goals allowed per game: 2.21

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. California, 3:30 p.m.
March 8 vs. West Chester, 8:45 a.m.
March 8 vs. Penn State, 5:30 p.m.

Team website:
http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=NDSUHOCKEY-2&s=hockey&t=c

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Kacie Johnson (29-18-47 in 15 games)
Kaylee Lothspeich (14-21-35 in 17 games)
Jacqueline Johnson (8-22-30 in 19 games)
Ellie Dahl (13-6-19 in 19 games)
Brittany Johnson (11-8-19 in 19 games)

Goaltender:
Hannah Seitz (14-4-1 record, 2.21 GAA, 0.912 Sv%)

Following early-season struggles - NDSU started off 3-4-1 thanks in part to games against Alaska and Minnesota-Duluth - the Bison enter the tournament as one of the nation's hottest teams, as they ticked off 11 straight wins to close the regular season. They have one of the ACHA's highest-powered offenses, as Kacie Johnson's goal and point totals are second only to West Chester's Becky Dobson in D2, while Jacqueline Johnson (the leader), Kaylee Lothspeich and Johnson are all in the top five in assists.

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4. Minnesota-Duluth

Record: 10-9-1
Head coach: Paul Kessler
Goals scored per game: 3.30
Goals allowed per game: 2.80

Preliminary round schedule:
March 7 vs. West Chester, 1:15 p.m.
March 8 vs. California, 11:00 a.m.
March 8 vs. Delaware, 5:45 p.m.

ACHA website team page:
http://achahockey.org/team_roster.php?team_id=14140&league_id=1066

Leading scorers (goals-assists-points):
Liz Smith (7-12-19 in 18 games)
Katherine Johnson (7-12-19 in 14 games)
Steph Hale (12-5-17 in 16 games)
Allison Jonas (9-7-16 in 16 games)
Mia Marturano (9-4-13 in 18 games)

Top goaltender:
Katie Gilderman (6-0-1 record, 2.00 GAA, 0.905 Sv%)

Despite an unimpressive-looking record (that is artificially deflated due to the aforementioned forfeits to Stout), UMD can boast decisive wins against North Dakota State - 9-2 and 6-1 on November 10th and 11th - have played competitively with both Alaska and D1 power Minnesota, and also carry a roster that runs 21 deep. Mia Marturano had two goals in each of the NDSU wins, but a balanced offensive effort saw eight different goal scorers in the first game, and five in the second.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament II

Welcome to TYT's second annual "I'm a Penn State fan. Who should I root for in the NCAA tournament?" post (here's last year's version). To reiterate the rules, since I don't really expect you to click the link: this post is not about prediction, serious analysis, or even personal preference. It's simply an attempt to rank the four schools in each region in terms of their relationship to PSU. Sometimes it involves past events, sometimes it involves future implications. Sometimes there's not a ton to go on, and I'll usually drop those schools somewhere in the middle. But if Penn State is your only concern, this is how I think your rooting interests should play out.

Until Penn State has a direct reason (ie. participation) to care about the NCAA tournament, I'll defer to others for the hardcore stuff. Chris Peters, through his blog The United States of Hockey, is doing fantastic in-depth previews of each region (East, Northeast, Midwest - the West is coming tomorrow), and I encourage you to go over there for further reading.

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

East Region (Bridgeport, CT)

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


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

2. Union. Hey, speaking of teams (most likely) on our schedule! Sure, like I just said, there's no direct benefit of Union's success here to Penn State. Still, it would be pretty cool if the Dutchmen carried something like a Frozen Four appearance from this season into next season's games with the Nittany Lions. Even more cool, naturally, would be if PSU could beat a team like that.

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

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

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Midwest Region (Green Bay, WI)

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


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

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

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

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

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Three Stars: February 20-26

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best of the Rest

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pegula Ice Arena construction ahead of schedule
(WJAC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Superbad?

UPDATE 2:01 P.M.: The Superleague is official, and a press conference is coming Wednesday. Here's a joint release from the six (as of now) participating schools:

We are pleased to announce that six top NCAA Division I ice hockey programs will become founding members of a newly formed hockey conference, which will begin competition for the 2013-14 season. The six institutions are Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota.

We understand and appreciate the widespread interest in developments relating to the formation of the new hockey conference. More information will be provided about the initiatives that have been undertaken, as well as the next steps involved, at a news conference in Colorado Springs this Wednesday, July 13. Our programs look forward to continued associations with our current leagues, the WCHA and CCHA, for the next two seasons.

Additional information about Wednesday's news conference will be forthcoming in the next few days. There will be no further comment from athletic directors, coaches or other officials from any of the institutions until Wednesday's news conference.

The remainder from this point is the original post, which went up a couple hours before the joint release, so please don't get all judgmental on my dated statements.

........................

One of my most difficult tasks in doing this blog is one that some might think is second nature - deciding when to post. From the beginning, I've tried to clearly define TYT as a Penn State hockey blog. Some people run high-level college hockey blogs and some run Penn State blogs covering all sports. And most of them do a great job of it. But I know myself, and I know I'd end up in a rubber room if I tried to obsess over anything broader than what I'm doing (and I'm pretty close as it is). So generally speaking, I avoid talking about things that aren't directly connected to my purpose for being in one way or another.

That said, and after my initial intent was a quick link in Three Stars on Monday, I decided that this story is big enough to qualify as an exception to the guidelines. And really, it's only a couple degrees removed from Penn State - after all, it wouldn't be happening without our entry into the world of NCAA hockey.

The story, of course, is that of the so-called Superleague (no, it won't really be called that when the dust settles): a collection of six hockey programs that, depending on your perspective are A) forming a weak imitation of the Big Ten, B) ushering in a brave new era of college hockey, C) hanging a bunch of long-standing programs out to dry and ruining college hockey, D) consolidating power among an elite group of schools that place hockey at the center of their athletic department or E) all of the above. E might be the best answer at this point, because really, it's impossible to say how it will end at this juncture.

All we know right now is that North Dakota, Miami, Colorado College, Denver, Nebraska-Omaha and Minnesota-Duluth reportedly are leaving the WCHA and CCHA to form their own conference, and that it may become official on Wednesday. Notre Dame has a standing invitation but is still considering their options, and Western Michigan's is probably about to be lost in the mail.

Let's start with the story that broke the story and proceed from there, Three Stars-style.

Sources: UND will leave WCHA for new league
(Grand Forks Herald)

While rumors and innuendo had been tossed around, really, since the formation of Big Ten hockey, this is the article that kicked everything into overdrive on Thursday. Read it and catch up with the rest of us.

As with the Big Ten, this is the sort of thing where everyone has an opinion. I've saved you the trouble of reading through and filtering the bad ones (note: there's a difference between "bad" and "I disagree with it").

Best of the Internet Opinions

Out of realignment, an opportunity for growth
Conference changes weaken the sport
(USCHO)

USCHO took the approach of offering columns for and against the Superleague, and both worked - particularly because the authors were the Atlantic Hockey columnist and the Division III/Women's editor, presumably neutral parties.

Don't blame Big Ten for college hockey's upheaval
(Wisconsin State Journal)

Yes. Especially don't blame Penn State.

Would schools like Guy Gadowsky's old Alaska program be better served facing off with mid-majors more often as conference rivals?

College hockey's shifting will create opportunities
(Grand Forks Herald)

I tend to cast a suspicious eye towards those who, knowing their program is safely in a conference, argue the merits of current events (and yes I viewed those from the Big Ten - PSU included - arguing that the Big Ten is good for college hockey the same way). Most obnoxious of all are people from schools who were extremely fortunate to be invited.

However, it's hard to dispute anything said in this article, by the guy who originally broke the Superleague story. The "leftovers," if they're honest with themselves, know (or should know) that they have a better chance of competing, winning, and even being nationally relevant in a mid-major conference, if that's where this all ends up.

In the meantime, everyone in the Big Ten and Superleague - PSU included - did what was best for them. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But for the time being, keep your mouths shut and quit acting like you did those not included a favor.

This is What You Want, This is What you Get
(College Hockey News)

...and your counterpoint. It's also tough to find fault with the view that college hockey is headed down the same road college football and basketball paved years ago. Is that good or bad? Your answer probably depends on the depth of your school's pockets.

Why the super-conference is horrible for NCAA hockey
(Puck Daddy)

The blog to which we all aspire takes the con position as well.

Secondary Six Linkorama
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Chris Dilks took his own crack at what I'm doing right now, and went both barrels at the WCHA's leadership (deservedly so). Of particular entertainment value was his observation of the bombshell's ripple effect on Cincinnati.com, which of course is Miami's market.

One thing that needs to be said: I think these six schools have an extremely inflated view of their value in the mainstream marketplace. There's a line from an old episode of House where a detective investigating Dr. House says to him "I think working around a bunch of nurses has given you a false sense of your ability to intimidate."

It's a line that can probably be applied to this situation as well. Do they run show in our little corner of the sports landscape? Absolutely. But out there in real life, they're a couple of branch campuses, a couple of schools that more often than not are confused for other schools and a couple more that at best inspire vague recognition. In a world where NBC/Versus only televises seven different NHL teams, that's important. So yeah, good luck getting them to trip over themselves to get into the lucrative Colorado Springs market with an amateur version of a sport that, even with recent successes, struggles for viewers on the professional level. Even Cincinnati, one of the bigger markets in the footprint, doesn't seem to care.

Notre Dame, obviously, changes things if they sign up. But Notre Dame's in a position where they can dictate their conference. So why would the Irish choose the Superleague over Hockey East and east coast markets like Boston? More to the point, why would a potential media partner?

Jeff Blashill considered declining the Red Wings' offer, but then Mike Babcock did this.

And what of Western Michigan, mentioned earlier? Increased commitment to their hockey program landed them rising star Jeff Blashill last offseason, and the payoff was their first NCAA tournament bid since 1996. Even one week ago, rumors generally included them in the select group of Superleague schools. Suddenly on Friday, Blashill resigned to become a Detroit Red Wings assistant and (because of it?) they're just as suddenly left to fend for themselves with the other CCHA and WCHA leftovers.

Bad week to be associated with the WMU program? No kidding.

Head Coach Candidate: Shannon Miller

Third in a series taking uninformed, uneducated guesses at the candidates to become the first head coach of Penn State's NCAA women's team. Previously: Mercyhurst coach Mike Sisti, Lady Icers coach Mo Stroemel.

If you don't follow NCAA women's hockey, you probably have no idea who Minnesota-Duluth head coach Shannon Miller is, despite the fact that she's been every bit as successful as her much-better-known rival in Madison and is one of the pre-eminent coaches in the sport. Since I'm pretty much guilty on that count as well, I'll learn along with you.

Right up front, I have to admit that there's not a whole lot tying Miller to Penn State other than an apparently keen interest on our part in everything UMD has to offer - including the arena and the men's coach. And also right up front, I really don't see much incentive for her to leave. She's paid better than Mark Johnson (even post-extension), and she's proven that she can win multiple national championships in Duluth. I suppose there's always the challenge of building something new and the possibility of even more money though.

Through following our pursuit of Scott Sandelin, we know a couple things:

1. Duluth AD Bob Nielson, who doubles as their football coach, is tight-fisted either by necessity or by choice.
2. Miller made more money than Sandelin, a situation that had to be unique in college hockey - until Sandelin finally signed a recent extension. But before that, Sandelin pulled in a $160,000 base salary while Miller makes a base of $180,000 (for what it's worth, Miller's contract is through 2013, so some buyout would have to take place, although possibly not a monumental one).

Those two facts lead to two assumptions on my part:

1. If Penn State wants Miller badly enough, Penn State can get Miller. UMD will not win a bidding war...
2. ...although there might be a certain expectation of PSU on Miller's part. She's obviously not used to being treated like a second-class citizen.

While it's presumed that a guy like Johnson would only leave the Wisconsin women for a men's job, Miller seems to be more attainable for this particular situation. Really, and this goes for all candidates, I think the hire will say a lot about our athletic department's goals for the women's program. Are we gunning to be one of the nation's elite, or is this a matter of "well, we had to do this for Title IX, we're just trying not to lose too much money on the deal?" I hope it's the former, and hiring Miller would obviously be a sign of that being the case.

Miller is a 1985 University of Saskatchewan graduate and was a police officer in Calgary from 1988-1996. Of course, she was also involved in hockey during this time, including founding and coaching the 18U Alberta Women's Hockey team (the first girls minor hockey association in Calgary) in 1989 and continuing with Team Canada both in the Women's World Ice Hockey Championships (1992, 1994) and in the Olympics (1998).

On September 10, 1997, Minnesota-Duluth announced that it was starting a women's hockey program, and on April 20, 1998, Miller was hired as the first coach of the program fresh off of her silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics as head coach of Team Canada - not a bad way to start a program.

Here's a shameless copy/paste of UMD's Miller bio (with some minor updates from me since it doesn't include 2010-2011), because it does a good job capturing her Bulldogs career, and the spoils that come with her 313-87-34 career record:

As the only head coach UMD has ever employed, Miller...has led the Bulldogs to [ten] NCAA playoff appearances and four NCAA Championship titles, including three straight (2001, 2002 and 2003). She has led UMD into six NCAA Frozen Four berths, including two NCAA Championships in the past [four] seasons (2010 and 2008).  No other hockey program in the country has won five titles, let alone three consecutive NCAA trophies.

Aside from her record haul of NCAA titles, Miller reached her [300th] career win faster than any other head coach in NCAA Division I history on [Nov. 20, 2010].  As the third winningest coach ever in Division I women's hockey, Miller is just one of two NCAA Division I coaches ever to have collected 200 wins after just eight seasons behind the bench.  Miller is also just the fourth head coach ever to win 250 games while remaining at just one, very lucky,  NCAA Division I program.

For her efforts, Miller was named the 2000 and 2003 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and the 2003 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Women’s Division I Coach of the Year. Along with the incredible NCAA runs, her Bulldogs have captured [three] WCHA regular season titles (2010, 2003, 2000) and five WCHA playoff titles (2010, 2008, 2003, 2001, 2000).

That's pretty big time. Here's a link that goes into more detail on some of the highlights of Miller's tenure.

Eleven former Bulldogs have participated in the Olympics, but interestingly, only three played for the United States (Jenny Potter) or Canada (Caroline Ouellette and Haley Irwin). So much like we saw with Mike Sisti, Miller has a demonstrated ability to go where the players are.

Potter is the leading scorer in US women's Olympic history.

One other Olympian, Sweden's Maria Rooth, returned to Duluth this past season as Miller's assistant. She still stands as the program's all-time goals leader, and while the Patty Kazmeier award has never visited the UMD campus, Rooth was a three-time top 10 finalist (2000-2002). Of course, one other international player, Russia's Iya Gavrilova, might be a reason why Penn State won't touch Miller. I'll let the Minnesota Daily explain:

Duluth forward Iya Gavrilova, a freshman from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, is currently under investigation by the NCAA and the school. Gavrilova played on two teams in Moscow, where players have been known to receive payment, food, board and transportation.

That would be a serious violation of NCAA regulations and could result in the Bulldogs forfeiting every game Gavrilova made an appearance in, a total of 19 WCHA wins.

Ultimately, according to Duluth play-by-play man Bruce Ciskie, UMD had to forfeit their 2007-2008 WCHA regular season title and the wins, although they were allowed to keep their 2008 WCHA playoff and NCAA championships.

I'll venture to guess that even if PSU were willing to lay out to get Miller, that would scare them off. A whiff of impropriety, even if Miller was completely without blame in the situation, is surely the last thing the administration wants, right now or ever.

And basically, we're talking about one of the top programs out there, with Wisconsin really the only other school with an argument for the No. 1 spot in women's college hockey history. Just in case that wasn't completely obvious by this point. Like I said at the top, I'm not sure there's much incentive for Miller to leave that situation short of wanting a new challenge and a massive payday (that I'm not sure we'll be offering on the women's side) - but there's no doubt that this hire would set the new program off to an explosive start in the unlikely event that it happens.

Head Coach Candidate: Scott Sandelin

Fourteenth in a series taking uninformed, uneducated guesses at the candidates to become the first head coach of Penn State's NCAA men's team. Previously: Icers coach Scott Balboni, Denver coach George Gwozdecky, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Tony Granato, Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley, Wisconsin women's coach Mark Johnson, Nebraska-Omaha hockey czar and former coach Mike Kemp, Ottawa Senators assistant Greg Carvel, Minnesota coach Don Lucia, Miami assistant Brent Brekke, Notre Dame assistant Paul Pooley, Cornell assistant Casey Jones, Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh, Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky.

Right off the top, I want to thank Penn State hockey booster and former coach Mark Horgas for his assistance in piecing things together, both for this post and with the coaching search generally. Anything I say in this post that sounds like good information and doesn't have a link probably goes back to him in one way or another. The guy is a tremendous asset to Penn State and Pennsylvania hockey, and knows everyone involved in both. If you're not following him on Twitter (@MarkHorgas), you're missing out.

This post is probably going to look slightly different than others in the series, for the simple reason that this isn't me guessing a name (or seeing one printed in some random place), it's me taking an ironclad known candidate, one widely believed to be the leader for the job, and exploring the situation a little. I'll do a quicker-than-normal rundown of the biographical stuff (or at least I'll try, I know brevity is not my strong suit), then get into the fun stuff that's probably the real reason you want to read posts like this one. So without further ado, here's the playing career:

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------------------------------------
1982-83  U. of North Dakota     WCHA   30    1    6    7   10
1983-84  U. of North Dakota     WCHA   41    4   23   27   24
1984-85  U. of North Dakota     WCHA   38    4   17   21   30
1985-86  U. of North Dakota     WCHA   40    7   31   38   38
1985-86  Sherbrooke Canadiens   AHL     6    0    2    2    2
1986-87  Sherbrooke Canadiens   AHL    74    7   22   29   35 
1986-87  Montreal Canadiens     NHL     1    0    0    0    0 
1987-88  Sherbrooke Canadiens   AHL    58    8   14   22   35
1987-88  Montreal Canadiens     NHL     8    0    1    1    2
1988-89  Sherbrooke Canadiens   AHL    12    0    9    9    8
1988-89  Hershey Bears          AHL    39    6    9   15   38
1989-90  Hershey Bears          AHL    70    4   27   31   38
1990-91  Hershey Bears          AHL    39    3   10   13   21
1990-91  Philadelphia Flyers    NHL    15    0    3    3    0
1991-92  Kalamazoo Wings        IHL    49    3   18   21   32
1991-92  Minnesota North Stars  NHL     1    0    0    0    0
-------------------------------------------------------------

His senior year at North Dakota was nothing short of a massive awards haul: Hobey Baker finalist, first-team All-WCHA, second-team All-American, team MVP and captain. Unfortunately for Sandelin, North Dakota won national championships the year before he showed up and the year after he left, but not during his time in Grand Forks. He did make one trip to the Frozen Four, but then this happened (Sandelin is No. 5 for UND):



A pretty substantial professional playing career followed for the defenseman from Hibbing, MN, spent entirely in the NHL and AAA-level minor leagues. That three-season run with Hershey towards the end of his career is particularly significant, because...

Sandelin's wife, Wendy, is from the Central Pennsylvania area and a [1988] Penn State [nursing] graduate. The two met while he was playing with Hershey, then the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers.

After a chronic back injury forced the end of his playing career, Sandelin served as GM and coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Express of the American Hockey Association in 1992-1993, a league that didn't even survive long enough to declare its first champion. But at least the Express were in first place at the time, so give Sandelin credit for winning while probably worrying whether he'd be paid. The next season he coached juniors, also in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

From there, six years (1994-2000) were spent assisting Dean Blais (now Nebraska-Omaha's coach) at North Dakota, where he'd make up for the missing out on the NCAA championship thing. Twice. What's pretty impressive about that run is that in its entire storied hockey history, the Sioux have only suffered three consecutive losing seasons twice. Blais and Sandelin arrived in town following the latter of those stretches, and by year three, 1996-1997, they were national champions. And in Sandelin's last four seasons there, they won either the MacNaughton Cup (WCHA regular season title), the Broadmoor Trophy (WCHA tournament championship) or both each season, as well as another national title in 2000.

Not surprisingly, Minnesota-Duluth, which had fallen off significantly since the time of Brett Hull, took a shot on the guy who had played a huge role in most areas of the Sioux program, and head coach of the Bulldogs has been Sandelin's job title for the last 11 years of his life. Those seasons divide pretty neatly into three stages.

In each of the first four, Duluth's record improved, culminating with a 28-13-4 record in 2003-2004, which included a Spencer Penrose Award (coach of the year) for Sandelin, a Hobey Baker Award for right wing Junior Lessard and a Frozen Four run.

Next up were four consecutive losing seasons, the only major blemish on Sandelin's resume. Things got kind of rough up Duluth way, even to the point where firing Sandelin was considered a viable option (in the comments, not the original post), although it seems like he had supporters throughout as well.

Finally, there's a reload starting with 2008-2009 and a Broadmoor Trophy that year and including players like Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly and Justin Fontaine (who formed one of the best lines in college hockey) and Pittsburgh-native goalie Kenny Reiter. We all know how that second reload ended:



Two more things you need to know about Sandelin: 1. He was just named as one of Blais' Team USA assistants for the World Junior Championships this coming December and January, a tremendous honor for any college hockey coach, and 2. He's entering the final year of his contract with UM-D and is currently negotiating an extension.

Sandelin, 46, has one year remaining on a two-year UMD contract. He finished the 2010-11 season 26-10-6 in winning the Division I title April 9. He’s 192-200-52 in 11 seasons at UMD.

He talked about a UMD contract extension last Friday with athletic director Bob Nielson, and is to meet again Tuesday.

“We’ll continue to talk and see where that goes,” Sandelin said of discussions with Nielson.

“Our desire is for Scott to be our hockey coach for a long time,” said Nielson. “He’s done a great job and we are working toward a new contract, but I also know that successful coaches have opportunities to talk to other schools and explore other possibilities. I’ve never faulted a coach for doing that.”

What adds some intrigue is that Sandelin's interview at Penn State took place yesterday, two days after the meeting with the Duluth brass. Undoubtedly, Sandelin came to Happy Valley armed with what he was being offered at UM-D, and so far, there's no indication whatsoever that Joe Battista and company blinked.

So how does Penn State go from a tight budget to possibly hiring away a guy who just won a national championship and is leveraging competing offers against each other? Well, look no further than Penn State's wrestling program, Cael Sanderson and Ira Lubert for that answer.

Of course, when it comes to Penn State hockey and deep-pocketed boosters, Terry Pegula heads the list. And if Pegula likes the guy Battista wants to hire, I think it's obvious that he'll help pay the difference between the budget and the demand - not to mention any of the other accommodations that might be required to draw a guy like Sandelin away from the upper midwest for the first time in his coaching career. Even beyond the money, people from all around the hockey world have taken note of what's been going on in Buffalo since Pegula took the reins. The franchise has been reborn in its 40th year, and has almost instantly gone from also-ran to chic destination. People, even national championship-winning coaches, want to be associated with a guy who makes things like that happen. Some people even go so far as to name blogs after them.

One of the possible accommodations I alluded to? UM-D assistant Derek Plante is a former Sabre. The idea that he might be part of the Sandelin package probably didn't hurt when selling the plan to Pegula.

Is Scott Sandelin the Cael Sanderson of Penn State hockey? If he's ultimately the guy, I certainly hope so. While a national championship in year two might be asking a little much, getting there eventually is the goal. And Sandelin's been there already. Three times. 



If you squint, you can almost picture this being the Pegula Ice Arena - and quicker than some would have you believe.


Horgas believes that the hire will be made before the American Hockey Coaches Association convention, which begins on April 28th, better known at this point as "next Thursday." Based on the agenda, and the fact that meetings start early that day (with a couple things the evening before as well), Wednesday seems like a travel day to me. Not to say that a flight to Florida and a press conference can't be done in the same day, but it seems a little less likely.

In other words, I should probably acknowledge that this post possibly concludes this series. If Horgas is right, by next Wednesday we'll either have a head coach, or the noise about an announcement will render another post pointless.

If this in fact it, I hope that you've found these posts as informative as I have - researching them has provided me with a great opportunity to learn a lot, not just about some of the best coaches out there, but also about some of the programs that make up the great sport of college hockey. It's been a great run, and it's made me even more excited to be a part of the NCAA picture in 2012.

Minnesota-Duluth Wins NCAA National Championship

In a final that had to get any Penn Staters watching juiced for 2012, Minnesota-Duluth's Kyle Schmidt capitalized on a tired group of Michigan skaters and a great feed from Travis Oleksuk at 3:22 of the overtime period to propel the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win over Michigan and the first-ever national championship for UMD.

This corner would have preferred to see the Wolverines take it to shut up all the Big Ten hockey haters out there (and with a 4-0 sweep of the WCHA to boot) - but as I've discussed, Duluth is a program that's been of great service to Penn State as we've gotten started, so no ill will there, congrats Bulldogs!

Seriously, this place is pretty sick. And it seems like Joe Battista spent some time with coach Scott Sandelin's Penn State alumna wife.

I've copy/pasted a recap of the game below instead of writing my own to deftly toe the line between "Penn State hockey blog" and "college hockey blog." Or maybe I'm just lazy, take your pick.

Most importantly from a Penn State perspective, this marks the official end of the season for every NCAA head and assistant coach out there. Expect the rumors to fly fast and furious from now until the hire date, which has always been given by Joe Battista as late April-early May.

In a related story today, Greg Carvel was cut loose by the Ottawa Senators. The Sens were long out of the NHL playoff chase, so it doesn't really affect his availability as far as our talking to or hiring him, although it seems as if our search has become focused on NCAA and junior coaches at this point.

The recap of the title tilt, from USCHO:

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs made history on Saturday night, winning the school’s first-ever NCAA Division I ice hockey championship 3–2 in overtime over Michigan.

Senior Kyle Schmidt, a Hermantown, Minn., native, buried a perfect centering feed from Travis Oleksuk at 3:22 of overtime, setting of an explosion of the 19,222 fans at the Xcel Energy Center, a crowd that was heavily tilted toward the Bulldogs.

The title is the first for Duluth, which has appeared in just one other championship game, losing in four overtimes to Bowling Green in 1984.

One the other side, Michigan, which was in search of its record 10th national title, put forth a valiant effort in the loss. The Wolverines, who upset North Dakota 2–0 in Thursday’s semifinal to reach the title game, were heavily outshot, 38–24. But as happened on Thursday, goaltender Shawn Hunwick (35 saves) turned in a heroic effort that, barely, was not enough.

The game began with somewhat sloppy first period. Carl Hagelin looked to give Michigan the lead just 4:20 in when he poked home a mishandled rebound of a Mac Bennett shot. Referee Tim Benedetto, though, ruled that he had lost sight of the puck prior to it entering the net, keeping the game scoreless.

Still Michigan jumped out to a lead late in the frame, scoring on an offensive-zone faceoff. Mike Rust won the draw back to one of Thursday’s stars, Ben Winnett. He tallied the game-winning goal in that game and kept the scoring touch going, firing a quick shot through a screen to beat Kenny Reiter (22 saves) at 14:42 for the 1–0 lead.

In the second, the Bulldogs drew even at 1:39 as Oleksuk buried a rebound of a blocked Brady Lamb shot, knotting the game at 1.

Midway through the period, Minnesota-Duluth took its first lead on what was a major momentum shift end-to-end. At 8:28, Bulldogs defenseman Drew Olsen picked a loose puck headed for the end out of midair with his stick, saving a goal. Thirty-one seconds later, Bennett headed to the box for hooking and the ever-dangerous Bulldog power play struck.

Using a makeshift power play unit, fourth-line center Max Tardy attempted a cross-crease pass that was blocked but ended up right back on the rookie’s stick. He made no mistake, burying his first career goal at 9:31 for a 2–1 lead.

But Michigan answered with a late goal as its own fourth line struck. Greg Pateryn’s shot for the left point hit traffic in front of Reiter. Jeff Rohkemper, with his back to the net, sent a high backhand shot on goal that Reiter never saw sending the game to the third tied at 2.

In the third, the amount of quality chances was lessened for each team, but that didn’t keep each goaltender from having to make their best stops of the game. It was Hunwick first who made a nifty glove save at 10:20 on Mike Connolly, who walked in untouched through the slot, firing a low snap shot.

Reiter, though, one-upped his goaltending counterpart when Hagelin and Louie Caporusso walked in on a short-handed two-on-one. Hagelin slid a perfect pass that forced Reiter to make an incredible sliding pad save on the senior Caporusso and keep the game tied at 2 through regulation.

Pegula Center Speculation: AMSOIL Arena

Fourth post in a series taking a look at rinks visited by Joe Battista, Terry Pegula and Tim Curley during their whirlwind tour over the summer and fall of 2010. The first three covered Boston University's Agganis Arena, Miami University's Steve Cady Arena and Notre Dame's Lefty Smith Rink.

Like I said about a week ago, I'm going to bring this series to a close today and tomorrow since things are moving along quite nicely with the Pegula Center. The architects have been named, the construction team is coming shortly, and we even have a preliminary sketch to obsess over. In other words, it's quickly becoming pointless to jump around to different NCAA hockey venues, nitpick about suite locations and "feel" (both of which I do in this post as well, you won't be disappointed), and take uninformed guesses about what we should borrow from each. It's time to focus on our own rink, which I'm sure will be the best of all. With that out of the way...

Opening: December 30, 2010
Cost: $80 million
Capacity: 6,732
Ice Surface: 200' x 85'
Official Site

What makes AMSOIL Arena unique? Well, for starters, how about the fact that Battista has said more about the new home of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the media than any other venue on the tour? Yeah, okay, he was asked about it by a Duluth newspaper, so that doesn't really mean anything. Still:

“I liked everything I saw here – all of the amenities, the suites, the press box, the site lines. It’s the perfect size for us. I’m going to make it a point to get our (hockey) donor here to look at the building.”

It sounds like a return trip involving the guy who writes large checks was in order. While lip service to the Duluth newspaper about the Duluth rink is one thing, that's pretty telling.

Honestly, I came into writing this post with the idea of ripping AMSOIL to shreds, based on what I knew about it. Which, in fairness to myself, was mostly just the hideous seat-coloring pattern and the name. However, once I managed to get past those two things (it took a while), AMSOIL really started to grow on me. I highly recommend spending some quality time with the photo galleries on the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (which includes AMSOIL Arena) site. The word "Galleries" just off the top right corner of the default picture is actually a menu, just to spare you my frustration.

What I like about AMSOIL Arena: A lot. My favorite part of all is the open concourse. Seriously. Get up, be able to watch the game while you walk, get your nachos, get back to your seat quickly because you no longer have to make your concession runs during intermission with everyone else. Brilliant. Hey, I like nachos, and sometimes these things can't wait until the scoreboard clock says it's time.

Actually, according to Battista, there are two concourses. But he does agree with me on the awesomeness of it all:

At Minnesota-Duluth, they have two concourses inside the building, one in the bowl itself about halfway up that goes all the way around. And then an outer concourse that goes all the way around, too, where you have restrooms and concessions and stores. You can get everywhere you want very quickly. It’s very user-friendly.

I also like the arrangement of the suites - I've been in the camp (assuming there are "camps" on this issue, I'm pretty sure there aren't, at least outside of the decision makers) that favors a ring of suites around the top of a single-tier seating bowl, but AMSOIL pulls off a different idea quite nicely. Looking specifically at Gallery 9 at the link above, it appears that they're all on one side above a press box, with possibly a few more in the corners.

The amenities are plentiful and top-notch. And while I don't see much there that wouldn't be in any other state-of-the-art hockey facility, AMSOIL is one of the few offering an in-depth look at things like the hydrotherapy room (seriously, go to the photo galleries). Plus, this look is accomplished without actually having to go to Duluth, as Battista did. Bonus points.

What I don't: Not a whole lot. My biggest issue is the presence of a true upper level which, as I've said before, seems unnecessary in a venue of this size. Maybe you need the upper level to have an open concourse, which I suppose makes sense. If necessary, I'm more than willing to make that trade - I'll have nice seats either way, not my problem. Also, AMSOIL just doesn't throw off a "classic, intimate hockey barn" vibe to me like some (well, two) of the other venues we've examined - it actually says "small version of a multi-purpose arena." Why? Well, for starters, it's because that's what it is. So says the official site:

We have greatly expanded opportunities to enjoy our UMD men’s and women’s hockey teams, as well as major entertainers, more conventions, larger trade shows, and other events.

"Major entertainers, more conventions, larger trade shows" is not likely to be much of a consideration for the Pegula Center, not with the Bryce Jordan Center right across the street. Hopefully this means some design differences that give the place more of a Steve Cady feel.