Three Stars: May 6-12

3. Sewickley coach named director at Pegula Ice Arena
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Some nice coverage of Ryan Patrick, the former Icer who was named the Pegula Ice Arena's hockey director a couple weeks ago, focusing largely on his brief tenure under some adverse circumstances as Sewickley Academy. But it still fit in this quote:

“There is a lot of excitement in the area,” Patrick said. “It should be like in Pittsburgh with the ‘Sidney Tsunami.' There was a spike in playing when Sidney Crosby came to Pittsburgh. That is what we are hoping for here with the new arena.”

Population limitations (especially relative to Pittsburgh, the other half of the comparison) will always have something to say about Central PA's production of players, but there's absolutely no reason that Jill Holdcroft has to stand alone as a great locally-produced player.

2. First B1G Season for PSU Hockey
(WTAJ)

It's nothing of any great substance, but here's some coverage of Guy Gadowsky's Coaches Caravan stop in DuBois Thursday morning. That was one of his two appearances, and I'd like to think I did an adequate job on the second, in Pittsburgh that evening. So there you go.

I'm just glad that I'm not one of the PSU football writers who had to cover Bill O'Brien saying the exact same thing 12 times over. That had to be brutal.

1. Jenna Welch Highlights - Penn State Hockey
Nicole Paniccia Highlights - Penn State Hockey
(YouTube)

There's no rule that says a first star has to be something of immediate concern. Random highlight videos of Jenna Welch and Nicole Paniccia that popped on the radar last week are certainly worthy, as they involve two of my favorite players. I just wish the Welch one had that elbow she laid on Erin Zach at RIT back in February. Frustration penalty or not, it was bad ass.

Best of the Rest

Penn State-Vermont to battle for second straight year
(flyers.com)

Why is the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff being promoted by everyone except the two schools involved? Who knows. But Comcast and the Philadelphia Flyers would like you to know that tickets are on sale now.

Notably, puck drop for the October 26th game has been moved up two hours to 5:00 p.m., meaning that it will no longer overlap with the Penn State at Ohio State football game at 8:00 that night.

Your State’s Highest Paid Employee Likely an NCAA Coach
(Onward State)

Congratulations to New Hampshire's Dick Umile on being the only college hockey coach to double as his state's highest-paid employee. Get that paper. Since you're not getting the hardware, might as well.

Success With Hyperlinking: Brass Monkey Style
(Black Shoe Diaries)

Breaking my "newsworthy" requirement here, since this pissed me off...

PSU Hockey's conference schedule has been released. A brief internet search shows that three teams PSU plays (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) were all ranked at the end of last season. Oh, and their last home game is against Ohio State. I don't even like hockey and I'm getting excited.

Know why people from the outside crack on Penn State's potential as a hockey school? It's because PSU blogs with 20 times (at least) more readership than TYT act like this towards the sport. Bill DiFilippo: still a joke, if you need him.

Big Ten Schools Announce Prime Time Football Games to Appear on BTN
(bigten.org)

BTN will air just one primetime football game this coming year - Wisconsin at Illinois on October 19th - after the beginning of hockey season. One has to think that bodes well for the possibility of at least some non-conference Big Ten hockey on the network (the league schedule doesn't begin until the last regular season weekend for football, another move likely made with BTN in mind).

Ice Man Cometh... to Pittsburgh and Boston

Guest Speaker - Joe Battista
(pittsburghsmeal.org)

@psuboston
(Twitter)

Joe Battista is making the off-season rounds, doing that thing he does where he talks and people are inspired. One stop will be in Pittsburgh on May 30th at the Allegheny HYP club (free for Pittsburgh Smeal Business Club members, $15 for non-members). On June 29th, he'll speak for the Boston chapter of the alumni association, although further details haven't been announced yet.

Gophers schedule for first year of Big Ten hockey
(Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

As you may have guessed, the Big Ten schedule release last week unloaded on my inbox. Most were just the usual fluff (in other words, people painfully trying to write out a schedule in sentences) but this one quoted Minnesota coach Don Lucia, who suggested some possible 6:30 start times for PSU:

"The reality is on Friday, there could be some 8 p.m. starts. There is talk of some doubleheaders on Friday, with 6:30 Eastern [5:30 Central] and 8 p.m. Central. You have four Big Ten teams in the East and two in the West, so it would be us or Wisconsin doing an 8 p.m. start on a Friday night. That’s fine. That’s not as big a deal for our fans because it’s Friday night. I don’t think we’ll run into that on Saturdays. Who’s to say ever, but the indications I hear is that … it’s not as big of a priority for a television date."

Startup League NAIH Closing Doors, CIHA to Form
(achatalk.com)

The NAIH, which launched with some promise (and was hailed as a possible competitor to the ACHA by a certain blog) back in 2011, is kaput after two seasons. Western Washington University will go down in history as the association's only Founders Cup champion after defeating Le Moyne College 2-1 in overtime back in March (the NAIH didn't hold a championship tournament in 2011-2012). Perhaps the most memorable thing about the NAIH was its ridiculous lack of professionalism, manifested in its numerous trolling posts on ACHA forum Hockey 101 as well as by the time they were hilariously smacked down by Kelly Pegula on Twitter:

Mourn not though, for the NAIH has apparently merged with something called the USCHA (the United States College Hockey Alliance, I assume, not the Upper St. Clair Hockey Association) to form the Collegiate Ice Hockey Association. The CIHA is already off to a very NAIH-like start, as two players have apparently been crushed to death by a falling logo.

Tom Anastos' vision, ingenuity clear
(Lansing State Journal)

You know who I like? Tom Anastos. Here's an intriguing look at part of his plan to turn Michigan State around by targeting younger, more elite players. Penn State hasn't really gone down that road too much (MSU has three committed 1998 birth years along with one from 1997, and PSU's youngest commit is late 1996er A.J. Greer) but it will be interesting to see if and how things evolve for the Nittany Lions over the next couple years.

Committee hears coaches’ ideas on regionals, NCAA selection, but consensus lacking
(USCHO)

Speaking of Anastos, he's quoted in this article about the American Hockey Coaches Association meetings at the beginning of the month. Long story short, nobody agrees on how the NCAA Tournament should look in light of the brutal attendance at the regional sites this year (and most years), but many seem to agree on the idea of rewarding teams in the NCAA selection process for non-conference road wins, something that was previously done from 2003 to 2007.

The AHCA discussions are always interesting and can inform policy changes, but the rubber doesn't really meet the road on these types of things until the NCAA committee meetings in June.

NAHL announces 2012-13 season awards
(nahl.com)

The first-year Johnstown Tomahawks, with an ownership group including Penn State football legends Shane Conlan and Jack Ham, were named the NAHL's organization of the year.

Johnstown is a hockey town, and the fans proved it once again by welcoming the NAHL’s Johnstown Tomahawks with enthusiasm as the team revitalized a community with a rich hockey tradition. The Tomahawks finished fifth in the NAHL in total and average attendance, which included 11 home games with 3,000 fans or more. That’s an impressive stat for a first-year team in a market that had never witnessed NAHL action. The team also made the playoffs in their first season in Johnstown and had three players make NCAA Division I commitments.

USHL's Chicago Steel draft paralyzed hockey player Jack Jablonski
(SB Nation)

Your feel-good story of the week: in the late stages of the USHL Draft on Tuesday (one that had already seen PSU commit Greer and Tommy Olczyk's brother Nick selected), the Chicago Steel selected Jack Jablonski out of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in Minnesota.

Jablonski, of course, was paralyzed during a BSM game back in December 2011, and his subsequent rehabilitation has captivated much of the hockey world. He's unlikely to ever walk, let alone skate, again, but he's still going to be a hockey player for a very classy USHL team.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl training in .... Lancaster County?
(Broad Street Hockey)

Three months before Jablonski's injury, the plane crash that killed all of KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was the dominant tragedy in the hockey headlines. Lokomotiv withdrew from the KHL for the rest of that 2011-2012 season and instead played in the VHL, a lower league, after pulling together an entirely new roster. They returned to the KHL this past season, going 34-18-0 and qualifying for the playoffs. Now, they're training in Manheim, PA of all places. Pretty cool.

Yale Wins NCAA DI National Championship

Yale coach Keith Allain and the Bulldogs' seniors with the national championship trophy

The Yale University Bulldogs won the first NCAA Division I men's national championship of Penn State's NCAA DI era with a surprisingly decisive 4-0 win over Quinnipiac Saturday night at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center.

It would take an entire post to fully explore the unlikeliness of Yale ending as the last team standing of the 59 in DI. But start with the usual restrictions on Ivy League teams - admissions, academics, scholarships and scheduling - that only Cornell and Harvard have successfully navigated in the history of college hockey. Continue through a long history of fairly limited success that only began to change when head coach Keith Allain took over in 2006 and a solid-but-unspectacular 2012-2013 record of 18-12-3 as of the point Union and Quinnipiac dumped the Bulldogs from the ECAC Tournament by a combined 8-0 score. Yale needed Michigan to lose to Notre Dame in the CCHA championship game just to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as the 15th seed of 16 teams. They then had to battle three top seeds, a second seed, and a 23-year streak of conference failure at the NCAAs that prompted detractors to label the collection of 12 proud institutions as the "EZAC."

Yale conquered all of it. In the West Region's semifinal on March 29th, Jesse Root, a Pittsburgh native who played with former Ice Lions captain Jim Recupero on the Pittsburgh Hornets, buried Minnesota and their 15 NHL draft picks just nine seconds into overtime. That 3-2 result, combined with Lowell's blowout of Wisconsin shortly after, saw all qualifying members of the coming Big Ten eliminated within the first two games of the tournament. Against North Dakota, which boasts 14 NHL selections of their own (Yale, by the way, has four), Josh Balch, Root, Stu Wilson and Kenny Agostino supplied a four-goal third-period barrage to definitively flip the Fighting Sioux's 1-0 lead after 40 minutes and propel the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four. In the national semifinals, Yale posted another 3-2 overtime win, this time over Hockey East champion UMass-Lowell and with captain Andrew Miller providing the heroics.

That set up a championship tilt with Quinnipiac, another Connecticut-based ECAC team, one located just 7.9 miles down Whitney Avenue from New Haven in Hamden. QU - largely a commuter school into the 1990s and one that has only had DI hockey since 1999 - behind goaltender Eric Hartzell, a Hobey Baker finalist, and a strong senior class, was a surprise top-ranked team in the country for much of the season and the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Giant slayer Yale, however, went blow for blow with the Bobcats during an incredible first 40 minutes that caused no less of an authority than PSU captain Tommy Olczyk's brother Eddie, a graduating forward at Massachusetts, to declare the contest "maybe the best hockey game I've ever seen, period."

Hartzell faltered with just 3.5 seconds remaining in the second period when he allowed Clinton Bourbonais' redirection of a Gus Young shot from the bottom of the circle to slip through for a 1-0 Yale lead. Early in the third, Bourbonais found Charles Orzetti streaking down left wing. Orzetti's initial shot from range was turned aside, but the freshman tracked down his rebound and fired five hole from an extremely tight angle to make it 2-0. After that second fairly weak goal the Bobcats, which had arguably been the better team to that point, deflated some, allowing Miller's breakaway goal off a feed from Agostino and Root's empty netter to render much of the final period disappointingly academic. Bulldog goaltender Jeff Malcolm was spectuclar in making 36 saves to earn the game's first star on his 24th birthday.

What does it all mean for Penn State? Perhaps most significantly, Yale's win (along with Quinnipiac's high seed and advancement to the championship game, itself a great story that shouldn't be lost in defeat) may indicate a new era of parity in college hockey. After Harvard's 1989 championship - the last for the ECAC until now - and Lake Superior State's brief rise to prominence under Frank Anzalone and Jeff Jackson, every single national title from 1995 through 2010 was taken home by one of the blue bloods: Boston University, Boston College, Michigan, Michigan State, North Dakota, Maine, Minnesota, Denver or Wisconsin. In 2011, Minnesota-Duluth broke the string, emerging from years of mediocrity to win a first title. Last season's NCAA Tournament, despite BC ultimately taking it, was noted for the presence of Cinderellas Ferris State and Union in the Frozen Four. This season's semifinals doubled that with all four programs (St. Cloud State and UMass-Lowell joined Yale and QU) seeking a first-ever national title.

In short, NCAA Division I hockey has arguably never been more ripe for unlikely programs to find success. And that's a good thing if your program just completed its first season at the DI level. Put that trend together with a blue-and-white clad team winning every single championship since PSU entered the fray (okay, that one's a little more tenuous), and the future looks promising for the Nittany Lions.

Empty seats at the Consol Energy Center were prominent during Thursday's semifinals

Another storyline with some relation with PSU was Pittsburgh's role as host of the Frozen Four, which received mostly positive reviews from observers on the heels of numerous articles written about the city's emergence as a hockey market in the buildup to the event. The major negative: Although ticket sales represented near-sellouts of 17,428 (semifinals) and 18,184 (championship game), it was the worst-attended Frozen Four since 2006's championships in Milwaukee, and overwhelming numbers of empty seats visible during Thursday's semifinals presented an ugly backdrop to the games. Fortunately, the crowd for Saturday's final went a long way towards redeeming things, with a full house of much-more-involved patrons including a sturdy presence of Penn State fans, according to eyewitness reports.

Philadelphia will host next year's Frozen Four, and will undoubtedly seek to one-up their cross-commonwealth archrivals. Penn State's second chance to compete for a close-to-home national championship begins just 180 days from now, against Army on October 11th at the nearly-complete Pegula Ice Arena.

A Day at NCAA Regionals

A few reflections on a day spent in Toledo, OH for the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional first round on Saturday...

For someone more used to the determination of an ACHA national champion than to the similar process of the NCAA, and in the interest of informing other Penn Staters, it may help to start with a few differences between the two, because ACHA National Tournaments are in fact significantly different than what we'll eventually see in NCAA Division I. First off, there's the number of teams - in the opening two days of the ACHA Division 1 championships, attendees cross paths with 20 different teams in the same ice facility, while in the NCAA, there are never more than four teams at any one site, which doesn't really offer nearly as much in terms of the sheer spectacle (I mean really, it's two games one day, one game the next day... as someone used to eight hockey games in one day on two adjacent sheets at ACHAs, big deal).

The second major difference is closeness. With the ACHA, it's not at all uncommon to mingle with teams watching other games from the stands or leaning up against the glass, while at NCAAs, teams maintain that degree of separation that comes in big-time professional or college arenas. Additionally, in the ACHA, people are sort of taken aback by the presence of "pure" fans or media - really, people in attendance who don't have a relative on the team and aren't part of a team's staff aren't all that common, even at nationals (at the recent ACHA women's tournament, I had issues getting a complimentary tournament pass, largely because the idea of someone like me independently covering the tournament was completely off the map for the event's staff).

I'm not trying to pass qualitative judgment on those differences here. They just are.

That last difference - the presence of fans - is something quite unique in NCAA hockey, particularly at the Frozen Four.

I attended the 2010 Frozen Four, and made a fairly egregious rookie mistake: I wore an RIT shirt, as they were my favorite team in Detroit that year. Long story short, despite an ignored up-front explanation of my status as a Penn State alumnus, I ended up spending most of the Tigers' blowout loss to Wisconsin talking about RIT to four bottled New Hampshire fans in front of me. How many people go there? What are its most competitive majors? I broke down and faked knowledge of my "alma mater" well enough to satisfy them, then wore an Icers jersey when I returned for the championship game two days later. Lesson learned. You don't pick a "tournament team" in NCAA hockey - it should probably be noted that UNH wasn't in the Frozen Four that year, yet four guys in head-to-toe Wildcat gear made sure the school was represented there.

Regionals are the same way, on a much smaller scale. In Toledo, Miami and Notre Dame had the best numbers, as one would expect due to proximity, while Minnesota State and St. Cloud State were much less represented, but certainly present. Host Bowling Green had a few fans there, as did Ohio State (with hockey-specific gear, so I'm reasonably confident that they weren't merely a few of the Walmart Buckeyes that dominate the state, not to mention the fact that they would have had to skip OSU's basketball team in that NCAA Tournament to be there). Relatively close Michigan had a few, and numerous other schools had singles, including every remaining Big Ten school - my hoodie and some serial killer-looking guy in a 2010 Capital One Bowl t-shirt took up for PSU.

No, there weren't 20 teams there, but in a way, there were even more than that. And that makes it a blast. Even when they're drunk and think you went to some other school, it's fun interacting with fans from around the country who you wouldn't ever meet but for the NCAA Tournament. This time around, I sat next to a Miami fan who, it has to be said, knew next to nothing about hockey, but was as passionate about it as anyone I've ever seen, in talking during the game, belting out the school fight song (which I believe uses the phrase "love and honor" about 72 times) and participating in all of the usual chants (including "it's all your fault" at the opposing goalie after an empty-netter, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me). I didn't want to root for the RedHawks against Minnesota State, but enthusiasm is contagious, as is often said. That same Miami fan was going hard for St. Cloud State over Notre Dame, and got exactly what she wished for, at least until the Huskies throttled the RedHawks the next day to represent the region in the Frozen Four.

St. Cloud State (red) crushed top seed Notre Dame, then Miami, to reach the Frozen Four

The present NCAA Tournament format, which divides 16 teams into four regions, with the four regional winners meeting at the Frozen Four, is frequently criticized, largely because of punchline-worthy attendance numbers. In other words, there are fans there, they represent many different schools proudly, there just aren't enough of them. Toledo's first-round attendance was 2,988 in a building seating 7,389, the second-lowest number of the four regionals. The West Region in Grand Rapids, MI brought up the rear with 2,289 in 10,834-seat Van Andel Arena. The East and Northeast Regions were much better with 6,253 (of 11,940) in Providence, RI and 8,049 (of 9,852) in Manchester, NH.

The hockey is great, it's entertaining to attend, the atmosphere can be fun... so what's the problem? Why doesn't the draw of the NCAA hockey regionals measure up to, say, the NCAA basketball tournament, or even the Frozen Four (that 2010 event had 37,592 at Ford Field's championship game, a record draw for an indoor hockey game)?

Interestingly enough, I recently attended a segment of the basketball tournament as well, the second and third-round sub-regional in Auburn Hills, MI, which I believe can offer some insight, as there's no perceived attendance issue there. Notably...

• Despite the immense popularity of the NCAA basketball tournament in our society - it's probably the U.S.' second-biggest sporting event behind the Super Bowl - the second-round games were not sold out. Thursday afternoon's Session 1 (Michigan State-Valparaiso and Memphis-St. Mary's) drew 18,863 to the 22,076-seat Palace, while the evening Session 2 (Michigan-South Dakota State and Akron-VCU) pulled 19,829.
• Each session had the benefit of one of the two most popular schools in a major metropolitan area. Without that, the numbers take a significant hit. None of the six other teams there had significantly greater support in their corner than Miami and Notre Dame in hockey. In fact, each school was only allotted 550 tickets for their "official" contingent, and it was extremely uncommon to see fans from the "other six" outside of their designated sections.
• Don't overlook the "major metropolitan area" part of that last bullet. Stunningly, the Detroit area is able to pull more casually-interested locals than the Toledo area (while the two cities are very close to each other, it's still not a drive generally made on a whim).
• There were eight teams represented there - while the two sessions are separate tickets, tons of fans paid for both. That crossover is something that hockey doesn't get, with each regional just half the size of a basketball sub-regional.

One frequently proposed solution to hockey's attendance woes is to move the tournament back to campus sites, a position recently advocated by my buddy Eric Burton.

It’s that time a year again, Division I college hockey soon will be taking center stage in the NCAA regionals playing in half empty arenas, in venues in cities across the USA.

It’s a yearly occurrence for college hockey, because we can’t have any more regionals on campus. God forbid, we can’t have playoff games in rowdy arenas stuffed with rabid fans.

The NCAA wants regional games played in arenas posing as quite emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of the regional being held at “neutral” sites.

[In]essence, yearly, the NCAA is giving the eastern teams in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament home games. It’s no wonder they don’t want to move the regionals back on campus. Why should they? They might have to play a Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver at their home arena. We can’t have that, they might not have an easier path to the Frozen Four.

That strikes me as shortsighted and driven by self-interest with a healthy dose of paranoia (why does the NCAA favor eastern teams... oh right, because his team isn't an eastern team.), particularly as long as the volatile PairWise Rankings are used to determine things. Under PWR, flipping a game result or two can turn the entire seeding on its ear, and that's not a decisive enough "win" in my opinion to take the step of forcing a deserving team to play a road game in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament isn't a conference, where two teams played a full, generally identical round robin schedule and one had a better record than the other, it's "hey, if that game between two teams not in the tournament back in November had gone the other way and your opponent was a Team Under Consideration, we'd be playing at your barn instead of ours... I'm sure you'll find it hilarious later."

I believe instead that hockey should take a few lessons from basketball, which seems a fairly obvious exercise. Limit things to an East and a West Regional. Invite eight teams from each to a major-city neutral site for four games on day one, and two more on day two. Both day two winners advance to the Frozen Four. Continue the practice of placing teams to maximize attendance, because again, the idea of "bracket integrity" seems like a silly concept, given the fragility of PWR.

As long as the two host cities aren't Boston and St. Paul every year (I'm thinking something like Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit in the west, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh in the east, with sites furthest from the Frozen Four preferred on a year-to-year basis to keep this thing accessible), I think it's a great concept. Neutral sites keep the integrity of the competition and hockey's status as a big-time sport worthy of the distinction intact. Major cities provide a destination experience that Toledo and even campus sites just can't. The system also maintains that co-mingling of people from all over college hockey, what makes this whole thing unique and worth preserving - I have no doubt that campus sites would deter visiting fans and neutrals from attending, even if seats are allocated evenly.

But whatever solutions may or may not be down the road, I actually don't think the present system is all that broken. The NCAA clearly doesn't have too much issue with the attendance, or they'd change things. And I had a good experience as a neutral fan. Did I see the Miami fanbase in its full glory, as I would down at Goggin? No, but the NCAA Tournament experience isn't about that, nor should it be. I can't wait to attend one where I have a strong rooting interest.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament III

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

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

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

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

East Region (Providence, RI)

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


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

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

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

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

Northeast Region (Manchester, NH)

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


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

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

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

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

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

Midwest Region (Toledo, OH)

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


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

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

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

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

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

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

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


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

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

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

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

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

Three Stars: October 29-November 4

3. McAdam selected for prestigious ice hockey tournament in Nova Scotia
(The Morning Call)

Do I talk too much about 2013 commit Eamon McAdam relative to other recruits? If I do, it's not deliberate - it's because he keeps doing great things and receiving honors like his World Junior A Challenge invite. Here's a nice feature on the big goalie ahead of the WJAC, which officially gets underway today after Team USA lost in a shootout to Canada West in exhibition action on Saturday. The first opponent? Former commit Thomas Welsh and Canada East. U-S-A! U-S-A!

2. Like Fathers, Like Sons: Nate Jensen and Tommy Olczyk follow in their fathers footsteps
(USA Hockey Magazine)

I think my favorite part of this is how dated the photo of Olczyk and Jensen in front of the construction site looks already.

1. Vermont vs Penn State Ice Hockey
(ComcastTIX)

Tickets are on sale for the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. It would be nice if the game sold well so that they invite PSU back, because Philly's an unreal city, and I'd be okay with going to see Penn State play there every year. So buy tickets.

Just because there's no way I'm stepping on the Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia land mine, Pittsburgh's a great city too. But I already know PSU will be there every year, thanks to the Three Rivers Classic.

Best of the Rest

Among Icers legend Curtiss Patrick's six professional stops: the UK's Basingstoke Bison.

Iconic NHL Families: The Patricks
(Japers' Rink)

Last week, the SBNation network wrote a whole bunch of sponsored posts on...well, iconic NHL families. The Patricks, of course, are the family that touches on Penn State hockey, although former Icers C.J., Ryan and Curtiss Patrick don't get a mention.

5 Questions with Jill Holdcroft
(statecollege.com)

Speaking of Icers family connections, here's an interview with Jill Holdcroft. The local product is a tenacious defender as a forward, and she was rewarded for that with a pair of unassisted goals directly resulting from takeaways over the past weekend.

INCH Power Rankings: Great 58+1
(inchwriters.com)

Penn State is 57th, ahead of only Sacred Heart and Alabama-Huntsville. However, the rankings were assembled "a few weeks ago," and the Nittany Lions would almost certainly be higher now, given DI wins over AIC, RIT, Army and Sacred Heart. My honest assessment would be somewhere between 40 and 50 (I think you can argue towards either end of that range). Great by established program standards? Not really. But better than roughly 20 percent of DI, which at this point, is fantastic.

All your goals are belong to Yox.

CHA Award Monthly Winners for October
(College Hockey America)

It's hard to have too much of a beef with the fact that nominees Shannon Yoxheimer (for both Player and Rookie of the Month) and Nicole Paniccia (for Goaltender of the Month) didn't win, but Yox had six of 16 Penn State goals this season at the time the awards were given out. Rookie award winner Emily Janiga scored nine times to lead Mercyhurst in that category, but the Lakers as a team had 47. There's really very little question in my mind that Yox is more important to her team's offense.

And yes, I'm going to keep calling her Yox until a) it catches on or b) she tells me to stop.

Eagles' Brady Shaw Commits to Bentley University
(Island Sports News)

BCHLer Brady Shaw had been a Penn State target but, like the headline says, will be going to Bentley instead.

Joe Battista: You Can't Always Get What You Want
(statecollege.com)

I'm not sure what this "football" is that Joe Battista keeps going on about, but regardless, funny Icers story incoming.

---

In 1994 we were coming off a devastating loss in the national title game in what we commonly refer to in Icer history as the “33 and the wrong one” season. We entered the national championship game undefeated at 33-0, but our coronation never occurred as we got upset in the finals, 2-1. Devastating doesn’t begin to describe the emotions in that dressing room after the game. We had nine amazing seniors who deserved better and it was our “destiny” to be undefeated national champions. But it didn’t happen. It didn’t go the way we planned.

So as we prepared for Nationals for the 1994 season, we put together one of the best motivational videos I have ever seen set to the fiery Queen hit, “I Want It All.” It was a favorite video for years of the kids at hockey camp, and it would have had the perfect ending except for one thing: We didn’t win. In fact, in my 19 years as head coach, it was our worst finish at the national tournament. We came in sixth place.

At that year’s banquet, we played the “I Want It All” motivational tape for the parents and boosters who all thought it was amazing. In a feeble attempt at post-loss humor, we played our Nationals highlight tape set to the Rolling Stones hit song, “You Can't Always Get What You Want.”

---

Philly won't host Division 3 ice hockey final
(Broad Street Hockey)

The video below has swearing, just so everyone knows before playing it, but it's still my reaction. IDIOTS! SAVAGES! IDIOTS!



NCAA gives 2014 men’s regionals to Worcester, Bridgeport, St. Paul, Cincinnati
(USCHO)

Leading up to that Philly Frozen Four, the NCAA tournament will be played in the cities mentioned in the headline. If you're new to this, the same sites get the regionals almost literally every single year. Cincinnati's not in that club, however, so their selection has received the most attention of the four.

Is this pertinent to Penn State in any way? Here's hoping.

Conor Garland
(sportsnet.ca)

Know what freaks me out? When our recruits have player pages identifying them as members of the major junior QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats. As of right now everything's okay - he's still a member of the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks and still committed to Penn State - but it's a long way until 2015. Garland was a sixth-round pick of the Wildcats back in June, which at least partly explains this page's existence.

Club hockey has D-I dedication, not D-I funds
(The Daily Illini)

If I didn't despise Illinois, dating all the way back to the time an obese Illini hockey mom tried to fight me at a game, I'd feel bad for them. I do though, so I don't. Good luck with the Jimmy John's pipe dream.

PS. Remember when people used to write articles like this about us at roughly six-month intervals? Minus the university support issue, of course.

Who Should Get The Next B1G Hockey Invite?
(B1G Ice Hockey)

And while we're on that, here's a nice rundown of the statuses of the six non-hockey Big Ten schools. I've said it before, but I really believe that Illinois, Nebraska and Indiana will be the next three in. But including Illinois might be a little generous - the simple reality is that having a good ACHA program can help, but you're still going to need a facility and/or a giant check at some point. PSU's ACHA success helped get those things, but I think most realize how extremely fortunate we are that it worked out like that. Unless your ACHA program can inspire the necessary donations and university support, being a good D1 and even winning Murdoch Cups doesn't really matter all that much in terms of jumping to the NCAA.

Really, the odds-on favorites should be the schools either building or planning new basketball arenas with ice capabilities (why Nebraska and Indiana are two of my top three). Even that's hardly a guarantee. The Jordan Center was supposed to include an ice plant, but it was cut due to overruns. And you still need to cover the actual expenses of the program(s), easier said than done in today's climate.

CHLPA: Curtains?
(The Pipeline Show)

TPS' Guy Flaming has been all over the bizarre CHLPA saga from the beginning, so it's worth reading this post as well as the others he's made on the topic. He's been widely praised - with good reason - for keeping an open mind without losing a healthy degree of skepticism.

The essentials are that three months ago, a "union" formed, purportedly to represent major junior hockey players, with former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque as executive director. Following a stretch of the association lingering in the background, people wondering who was behind the effort and some suspicious behavior like ducking interview requests, the whole thing blew up on Halloween when it turned out that fraud convict Randy Gumbley had been dressed as CHLPA spokesperson Derek Clarke for a while. Or something like that. Amidst that and some other general weirdness, Laraque resigned, the union's legal representation pulled out, and the whole thing is on life support.

Of interest though, the CHLPA did have big plans with respect to NCAA hockey. Much of its work since its August founding was aimed at addressing the educational concerns of players, and one of the primary thrusts in that department was an attempt to get the NCAA to reclassify major junior hockey as amateur, which of course would mean that CHL players would retain college eligibility. Would it have worked? Probably not, but we'll likely never know.

Three Stars: October 15-21

Penn State's mastadonic win over RIT Saturday night boosted the Nittany Lions in the meaningless early-season PWR. Photo: Omar Phillips/USCHO

3. Another Great Night in Hockey Valley
(statecollege.com)

Do I put Joe Battista's column in the top three every single week? Sure seems like it. But why wouldn't I?

2. Shaw brings multiple aspects to women's hockey squad
(The Daily Collegian)

I've been very impressed with the work of both the men's and women's writers at the Collegian so far this season, including this feature on freshman women's forward Birdie Shaw.

So how does someone get to be known as "Birdie?"

Shaw was born Samantha Shaw but never went by that name. Shaw said her brother struggled to pronounce her name and it came out something like “Manta-bird.” Her father picked it up and kept referring to her as Birdie since she was three months old.

Is it just me or do a ridiculous number of sports nicknames start with a sibling mispronunciation?

1. Men’s Division I PairWise Rankings
(USCHO)

Eventually, when it's needed (or when I'm less lazy about it), I'm going to write a post explaining the PairWise Rankings (often called PWR) for Penn Staters who are either new to college hockey or only familiar with the ACHA's coaches poll as a method for national championship tournament selection.

The essential knowledge, for now, is that PWR is an objective means used to award NCAA Tournament at-large bids. It takes every team in the country with an RPI over .500 (called Teams Under Consideration or TUC in PWR parlance) and compares them to each other in four different categories: RPI, record against other TUCs, record against common opponents and head-to-head record. The number of comparisons won by each team are then counted up, and the TUCs are then ranked in that order. Here's how that process stood after the games of this past weekend:

Luckily, DIII games don't count towards PWR.

Penn State won 19 comparisons of the 25 possible (there are 26 total TUCs, I'm not showing all of them) to rank seventh in the country. So the Nittany Lions would be in the 16-team NCAA Tournament if the teams were picked right now.

As with many statistically-based endeavors, the PairWise relies on a sufficient volume of data, which simply doesn't exist at this point of the season. Basically, don't take it too seriously - and taking it at all seriously is "too" seriously - it's just for fun right now. But it is fun, so first star to that.

Best of the Rest

Three Rivers Classic
(consolenergycenter.com)

Well, the Three Rivers Classic has a logo. It's black and gold yellow and incorporates a bridge. Didn't see that coming.

Diaper Line Reunites In Dallas
(usahockey.com)

PSU hockey dad Ed Olczyk was formally inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last Monday, as you probably know by now. He was joined at the ceremony by Dave Jensen, his linemate on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team and yep, another PSU hockey dad. The third member of the line was a guy named Pat LaFontaine.

Nittany Lion goalie Matt Skoff talks about historic first game for Penn State
(Stack the Pads)

A quick Q-and-A with Matt Skoff regarding his experience starting the first game of the NCAA era.

New chapter for Tiger hockey begins with construction of Gene Polisseni Center
(rit.edu)

I've mentioned it a few times already, but one more (with renderings) won't hurt: RIT officially broke ground on their new arena on Friday afternoon, the day before playing (and losing to!) Penn State in their homecoming game. The Polisseni Center will open for the 2014-2015 season, cost $35 million and hold 4,150 fans.

UNO to seek $10 million from city, 'others' toward cost of arena
(Omaha World-Herald)

Meanwhile, UNO looks like they want in on the arena party as well, although they're still way back in the "get the money straightened out" phase of the process.

NCAA Reduces Nic Kerdiles' One-Year Suspension to 30% of Season
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

I stopped caring about this story at some point last week, but just to close the book on it (since it received an entry in each of the last couple Three Stars posts), Nic Kerdiles' season-long suspension handed down by the NCAA was reduced to 10 games on appeal. He's most likely staying at Wisconsin, as opposed to jumping to the WHL. Oh, and the issue may not have been the blurry photos of Kerdiles holding Sheetz coffee BioSteel tweeted by agent Ian Pulver, it might have been Pulver's paying for Kerdiles' hotel room at the NHL Entry Draft.

Could Nebraska Start a B1G Hockey Team?
(Corn Nation)

Nebraska's SBNation site generated a lot of buzz last week with this roundtable discussion on the possibility of the Huskers starting a DI hockey program which would, of course, play in the Big Ten. Spoiler alert: if you're looking for definitive answers, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for as thorough of an exploration as you'll ever see on the issue, then click through.

In my opinion, Nebraska will get NCAA hockey eventually, but among Big Tenners, I think Ohio State, Indiana and Illinois are ahead of the Huskers in line.

UPDATE: I'm told Ohio State actually has a DI team already. Sorry for the confusion.



Dylan McLaughlin Goal vs Green Bay- October 13, 2012
(YouTube)

2015 Penn State commit Alec Marsh assisted on this ridiculous goal (he's the center who kicks it wide to McLaughlin), which made SportsCenter's Top 10. SportsCenter, not SportsCentre, so you know it's legit.

Frozen Four 2014: Philly one step closer to also hosting D3 college championship
(Broad Street Hockey)

We're very, very close to making what I'll call the Weekend of Face-Melting Awesomeness (DIII and DI national championships at the same site on the same weekend) official. Philadelphia, as a face-meltingly awesome city, is appropriately in line to host the inaugural edition.

Bucs Forward Commits to St. Lawrence University
(ushl.com)

Fortunately, PSU recruiting misses haven't come up too often to the best of my knowledge. However Michael Marnell, a forward with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers who has two points in six games so far this year (as a 17-year-old, it should be said), committed to St. Lawence last week after considering the Nittany Lions.



You Can Play - Miami University Hockey
(YouTube)

Know what would make my year? If Penn State joined numerous other hockey teams in producing a video in support of the You Can Play Project, which promotes acceptance of gay athletes in sports.

Thanks for reading
(Inside College Hockey)

Finally, Sunday night was a sad one for college hockey's internet presence, as Inside College Hockey - commonly called INCH - announced that it was shutting down full-time operations after ten years. The move, while unfortunate, was not particularly surprising. The site had struggled to produce fresh, consistent content for the last couple seasons, to the point where referring to the "Big Three" college hockey sites (as was generally done, with USCHO and College Hockey News being the other two) had become a little generous to INCH. Still, at its peak, the site was unsurpassed in quality, and its podcast was essential for college hockey aficionados.

The writers have set up a new site - inchwriters.com - which will continue to be updated with some content, although "posts (and podcasts) there may be sporadic, at least relative to what you’re accustomed to [on INCH]."

Three Stars: September 17-23

Lindsay Reihl (far left) and Jenna Welch (far right) will be the alternate captains this season. Taylor Gross (second from right) was previously named captain in May. The other three players pictured are (left to right) Emily Laurenzi, Paige Jahnke and Shannon Yoxheimer.

3. Penn State ice hockey preview: Goalie PJ Musico
(Stack the Pads)

Derek Meluzio's goalie preview Q-and-As have finally come around to hit a Penn State tender, and it's Mr. Cali Swag, P.J. Musico. While these pieces generally include a photo of the mask the subject will wear in the coming season, that's not the case here, as Musico's hasn't arrived yet. He did give an idea of what to expect, however.

All I know now is that it is a half California theme and half Penn State theme with the signature blue line separating the two. I still, myself, haven’t seen it.

2. Joe Battista: A Quarter of a Century Well Spent
(statecollege.com)

I don't play the must-read card too often with you guys, but I will here. Hey, if you don't care about Joe Battista's reflections on 25 years at Penn State, what are you even doing on this blog?

1. Reihl, Welch Named Women's Hockey Assistant Captains
(gopsusports.com)

Back in May, Josh Brandwene named junior forward Taylor Gross captain for 2012-2013. Now, thanks to a team vote last week, we know she'll be assisted by senior defender Lindsay Reihl and junior forward Jenna Welch.

Really, the team could not have done a better job distributing the letters. Former Connecticut Huskies Gross and Welch are two of the three Nittany Lions who have already played NCAA Division I hockey (the other, Nicole Paniccia, is a goalie) and are therefore uniquely qualified to serve as team leaders. Reihl is one of only two "club originals" on the team (along with Kate Christoffersen), is a three-time Lady Icers defensive MVP, and helped Team USA to a fourth-place finish at the 2011 World University Games.

It's worth pointing out that the previous paragraph contains the names of literally every junior and senior on the team, which certainly helped the decision process as well.

Best of the Rest

Men's Hockey to Host Midnight Practice on Night of Oct. 5
(gopsusports.com)

In an event similar to one held by many college basketball teams (although not including Penn State), the men's team will hold an open practice with free admission just after midnight on the first day NCAA rules allow full practices. Doors to the rink will open at 11:00 p.m. on October 5th, and the fun includes pizza, giveaways, an address from Guy Gadowsky and a public skate with the players following the conclusion of practice at 1:00 a.m.

The women, incidentally, were allowed to begin practice two weeks earlier, this past Saturday. There was no fan-engagement event involved but the team was certainly pumped for it, as expressed on Twitter by Brandwene and freshman defender Jordin Pardoski. GoPSUSports also chipped in a story about it.



ASU hockey seeks redemption heading into new season
(The State Press)

Arizona State, one of PSU's three ACHA opponents this season, generally does a good job with their media coverage, including this quick look at their coming season. House of Sparky, the Sun Devils' SBNation blog, has a written preview if you prefer that mode.

As mentioned in my post immediately previous to this one, the ACHA is now already in full swing, a full two weeks before NCAA teams are allowed to practice. Just to keep the opponent watch up to date, ASU opened with a 13-0 waxing of D2 Texas A&M on Thursday. Ohio swept John Carroll 9-1 and 5-3, while Oklahoma blasted D3 Arkansas with a pair of 10-2 results.

Mercyhurst Picked CHA Coaches' Top Choice For 2012-13 Season
(chawomenshockey.com)

PSU was voted into last place of the six CHA teams by the league's coaches in one of the most pointless exercises in organized sports: the preseason poll. Not surprisingly, the three programs that have played more than one Division I season before were the top three (Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Syracuse, in that order), followed by Division III national champ RIT and Lindenwood, which began DI play last year.

Two CHA teams have already played exhibition games against a pair of junior teams, with RIT topping the Oakville Hornets 6-1 on Sunday and Mercyhurst blasting the Stoney Creek Junior Sabres 10-1. So hockey season is indeed here for both the men and women, even if it's only Nittany Lion opponents playing games for the time being.

RIT Hockey teams boast high expectations
(Henrietta Post)

In a nice little burst of synergy, here's an article previewing the RIT men and women simultaneously. The women, as just mentioned, are now a conference rival while the men will oppose the Nittany Lions on October 20th at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena.

In still more RIT-related news from last week, their women's team added Shivaun Siegl as an assistant.

David Joyner to Remain Athletic Director Until 2014
(Onward State)

The sooner Penn State gets a qualified athletic director that wasn't handed the job (supposedly on an "acting" or interim basis) without any sort of search process by Ira Lubert and his cronies on the Board of Trustees, the better off the university will be. Apparently, we're deferring "better off" until at least 2014.

Also, it amuses me how people who cite Joe Paterno's influence over Tim Curley as part of what led to The Scandal don't see history repeating itself.



Meet #19 Jill Holdcroft 
(YouTube)

The best women's player to ever come from the State College area highlights this week's set of "meet the women's team" videos. Also: Paige Jahnke, Hannah Hoenshell, Jess Desorcie, Darby Kern and Kate Christoffersen.

News - 2013 CCHA Championship Dates Announced
(ccha.com)

The CCHA, which I'm sure is not the least bit bitter about being torn asunder in the great conference realignment shuffle we started, decided to troll everyone one last time before disappearing. The league scheduled its last-ever championship game for Sunday, March 24th at 2:05 p.m. - roughly three hours after the NCAA Tournament selection show was originally scheduled to air on whichever ESPN channel wasn't already tied up with bass fishing that morning. The selection show will now go on at 9:00 p.m., likely delaying a scheduled airing of Major League 3 on ESPN Classic.

Justin Bieber
(eliteprospects.com)

Fun fact: Biebs has a player page on the best site out there for basic hockey player information and stats (it's always my first destination when the Nittany Lion men get a new commit), thanks to the "doubtful" rumor a couple weeks ago that he was offered a contract by the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors. It has more than 29,000 views, compared to 4,355 for NHL draft pick Max Gardiner.

Okay, the NCAA championship trophy looks a little different now...but would
you rather see Bostons College or University or Minnesota-Duluth here?

NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship Trophy
(johnstowntomahawks.com)

Heads up: If you're going to be anywhere near Johnstown on Saturday, the NCAA championship trophy will be on Napoleon Street outside of the Cambria County War Memorial for viewing and photographs as part of the celebration of the Johnstown Tomahawks' first-ever home game.

Take a photo of yourself wearing Penn State gear with the trophy, and you get to be first star in next week's version of this post. I'm completely serious about that.

Psychologist: Some comparing Lindsay case to Sandusky case
(WANE)

I had to close with this, even though it's waaaaay off topic, because the last couple weeks have been a major turning point for my "Matt Lindsay" Google Alert. Much like Joe Battista (also a sanitation worker who committed suicide in New York a couple months back), or Kenny Brooks (also a comedian/YouTube celebrity), Matt Lindsay is a frequent source of false alarms, thanks mostly to a highly-successful high school football coach in Fort Wayne, IN. The synopsis of the news that caused my email to explode is that Lindsay (the football one) was suddenly fired after "large number of inappropriate video clips, none involving nudity" were found on his computer. Since the video clips included high school students, predictably...

...some people drew a natural comparison to the Penn State case and coach Jerry Sandusky. Of course not all of the details are the same, but certainly the role of coaches with their students.

Of course, there were differences beyond the facts of the two cases...

[Psychology professor Justin] Boyce's best advice is to try to withhold judgment until we have all the facts. He said we should give police enough time to investigate it until we form an opinion.