Three Stars: August 12-18

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

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

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

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

2. @B1GHockey
(Twitter)

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

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

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

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

1. @D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

Hey, why not?

Best of the Rest

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

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

Tri-City Storm
(Facebook)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@MiHockeyNow
(Twitter)

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

NCHC to Use Shootout in Regular Season Contests
(NCHC)

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

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

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

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

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

Details announced about Frozen Frontier hockey event
(WHEC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pegula Ice Arena - Interior
(oxblue.com)

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

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

Three Stars: July 15-21

3. Record 68 PSU Student-Athletes Honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars 
(gopsusports.com)

Hockey players Tommy Olczyk, Lindsay Reihl and Kate Christoffersen were among the 68 Penn Staters named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars last week, an honor for student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.7 or higher. What makes it especially impressive is that none of the three have actually played in the Big Ten.

In all seriousness, people like them (and the many other outstanding students on both the men's and women's teams) are why I'm proud to blog about Penn State hockey. Also, #culture.

2. The Pipeline Show - Season #8 Clips
(The Pipeline Show)

Last Tuesday evening - July 16th, show number 56 if you're digging at the link - Penn State's own David Glen spent an hour in The Pipeline Show's studio, along with Adam Tambellini, a promising prospect who played in the BCHL last season, and host Guy Flaming. While nothing earth shattering happened, it was nice to get a little more in depth than is typically the case with a recorded one-segment interview. And as you may have expected, Glen showed well enough to demonstrate why he's probably the leading candidate to wear the C after Olczyk graduates. For that alone, it's worth a listen.

By the way, something kind of fantastic: at the beginning of the second segment, both Glen and Tambellini plugged their Twitter accounts, and Flaming followed up by asking the latter how much his follower count blew up after he was picked in the third round by the New York Rangers at the NHL Draft on June 30th. That prompted me to check both of their pages. Tambellini, who is headed to North Dakota, has just under 1,500 followers. Undrafted Glen, who plays at Penn State, is over 2,000.

So yeah, welcome to the big-time college hockey, Fighting Sioux Flickertails fans.

1. Liquor Control Board Suspends G-Man’s Liquor License
(Onward State)

State College bar Gingerbread Man, generally known as G-Man and for its bro-tastic clientele, had its liquor license abruptly suspended at some point between July 13th and July 16th for reasons unknown. Shortly after the news spread, the following appeared on the establishment's Facebook page (assume a quote-long "[sic]"):

To all my G-man friends Thank you for all your continued support. The G-Man will be closed for the next few weeks. We will open again in early August and we will have NEW Menu, New Management, New Specials, and New ownership in process. We are very excited to bring back the old tradition of the G-man as a great restaurant, that happens to be a great bar! We are extremely excited about the future of the G-man so we hope you will be there to support us as we move forward. Thanks

Since 2009, G-Man has been owned by The Hat Trick Group, Inc., which includes former Icers coach Scott Balboni, current Women's Ice Hockey Club coach Pat Fung (who in the past has also coached the Ice Lions and Lady Icers, while assisting with the Icers) and former Icer Teague Willits-Kelley. However, it appears as if the era of hockey-based bar ownership in town may be coming to a close.

Best of the Rest

EA Sports re-ups on college football after NCAA snub
(USA Today)

There was a day, not all that long ago, when people persistently suggested that college hockey could or should or might be added to EA's popular NHL series of video games, which presently includes the major-junior CHL, as well as the AHL and professional leagues across Europe. That event now seems further away than ever with the NCAA buried in litigation over the use of player likenesses in EA games covering other sports, namely football and basketball - litigation that has prompted the NCAA to pull out of games subsequent to the just-released NCAA Football 14.

The involved parties will continue to find a way to produce a college football game, as the NCAA's withdrawal is largely symbolic (the rights to the various schools' names, logos, etc. are handled through the Collegiate Licensing Company, not the NCAA). However, the football games make money, while EA has killed both the NCAA March Madness/NCAA Basketball (1998-2010) and the MVP: NCAA Baseball (2006-2007) series that didn't. Given the questionable marginal value of adding college hockey to the NHL game and the current legal climate, it ain't happening anytime soon. It simply wouldn't be lucrative enough to negate the exposure, in my amateur judgment.

But hey, we'll always have Icers hall of famer Curtiss Patrick in NHL 09, right?

Trophy Michaels Pegula Ice Arena Tour 
(YouTube)

Here's a nice 2:41 chunk of a Pegula Ice Arena tour, shot primarily on the floor of the main arena, but also including some of the underneath stuff like the Zamboni area and the dry lockers.

NCHC Announces Inaugural CBS Sports Network Schedule
(NCHC)

The conference built to grab a massive television payday will have all of 18 games on CBS Sports Network, which is sort of like NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, just without the viewers, sponsors, carriage or high-end programming. Well done, boys.

Of interest: on November 15th, CBS Sports will carry a doubleheader involving both Wisconsin (at Miami) and Michigan (at Nebraska-Omaha), if you're the sort of person who likes to scout future Penn State opponents. I'm guessing that if you read hockey blogs in July, you probably are.

WMU to build new hockey arena on campus
(Bronco Hockey Hot Stove)

NCHC school Western Michigan is rumored to be - there is no way I'm going with "reportedly" on this source - building a new arena. It is rumored to cost $16 million. Have fun with that, I guess.

Badgers receive 2013 WCHA Final Five playoff championship rings
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Due to declining ticket sales, Wisconsin sold sponsorship of its 2013 WCHA playoff championship rings to Chevrolet.

Lindenwood Adds Samantha Ullrich To Coaching Staff
Lindenwood Announces 2013-14 Recruiting Class
(lindenwoodlions.com)

It was a busy week for Lindenwood's media relations people. Penn State's CHA rival added an assistant coach on Thursday, former Robert Morris Colonial Samantha Ullrich, who most recently was on the staff of Team Pittsburgh's U19 AAA squad that won the 2010 USA Hockey national championship. Two days before introducing Ullrich, LU announced its eleven-player freshman class for the coming season. Like PSU, the Lions have gone in hard on Minnesota high school players, grabbing three this time around - including Nicole Rash, a teammate of Nittany Lions freshman Sarah Nielsen at Edina.

No NHL for now, but could UW hockey thrive in Seattle?
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Never forget where you came from, Penn State.

My thoughts on west coast NCAA hockey haven't really changed in the last couple years. It could be a big deal. A really big deal. As I say that I'm looking at Washington, the subject here, located in a major city that, by all accounts, loves hockey and includes what seems like a workable short-term arena solution (as we know, that's kind of important). And also at schools like Arizona and Arizona State, home to two of the ACHA's best-run and best-supported programs. Of course, there's also the rapidly-growing California hockey scene, touching on a bunch of other Pac-12 universities.

The biggest problem is that somebody has to be first, and that's not such an appealing position as a geographic outlier that runs the risk of getting Huntsvilled. Seriously, which conference takes an unproven startup program nowhere close to any existing program, and one that is more or less guaranteed to leave when its primary conference can get to six? The WCHA, which many think is already overextended based on its new place in the universe? The NCHC, which was formed when a few power schools ditched long-standing rivals that were perceived as bad for the bottom line? Once the ball gets rolling, there's no stopping it. But right now, it's hard to see who can push the thing forcefully enough.

HARBORcenter Reaches Agreement with Marriott, Shaner Hotels to Develop Hotel Facility
(Buffalo Sabres)

From the "it's not what you know, it's who you know" department: HARBORcenter, Terry Pegula's rink, hotel, retail and restaurant complex in downtown Buffalo, has contracted with Shaner Hotels to operate a Marriott at the facility. Shaner, for those who don't know, operates 36 hotels in 14 states (plus another in Italy) and is headquartered in State College. Oh yeah, and they sponsor Penn State hockey. It's not terribly difficult to put those dots together.

Canisius - which presently calls the campus rink of Division III Buffalo State "home" - has been in negotiations to play at HARBORcenter once it opens in 2015. Additionally, the twin rinks that will also be connected to the Sabres' First Niagara Center should be an appealing option for major tournaments.

Several Teens Reportedly Paddled With Hockey Sticks In Alleged Hazing Incident
(CBS Pittsburgh)

I don't really like the word "hazing," because people who engage in it don't really deserve a softened version of "being a douchebag who is guilty of assault." Whatever you want to call it, it's alleged to have happened with Upper St. Clair High School's hockey team. Suck less, guys.

How To Do A Bieber Fangirl Story: Ask About The Eagles’ QB Dilemma
(Deadspin)

The Women's Ice Hockey Club's Allie Rothman, in the course of her internship at Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia this summer, edited a video featuring CSN's Sarah Baicker asking fans outside of a Justin Bieber concert last Wednesday about the Eagles' quarterback situation and about the Beebs-Blackhawks locker room story. It's about as fantastic as you'd expect, and as a result, it ended up on Deadspin. Rothman reacted by tweeting that "I don't know whether to be proud or horrified" of the notoriety. Proud, Alexandra. Definitely proud. Rule of thumb: if you're involved in something that ends up on Deadspin and it's not there because of you being an idiot in some way, soak in the viewership and enjoy.

Ice chips: Doerring leaves UVM; Frosh confirmed; Todd leaves Spartans; Fan forum fun
(Burlington Free Press)

In a move that affects two separate Nittany Lions opponents, junior defenseman Blake Doerring is transferring from Vermont to Ohio State. He only played four games last season due to injury (after 29 as a freshman), so it's tough to call this one paradigm shifting, although the Buckeyes will benefit from having a sturdy stay-at-home guy when he's eligible to play at OSU in 2014-2015.

The Catamounts also lost junior forward Mike Montagna to Division III Oswego this offseason. Montagna only played in 11 games for UVM last year, but one of them was the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff against PSU - he was a -2 with one shot on goal in the contest.

@ChristiVetter (1, 2)
(Twitter)

An easy call for best tweet(s) of the week: 2014 women's commit Christi Vetter, during the ESPYs last Wednesday evening. I sincerely feel bad for anyone who missed Vetter's Lakeville North fall 4-3 in six overtimes to Minnetonka in February's Minnesota AA state semifinal. Despite the loss, Vetter may have been the best player on the ice, as she willed the Panthers back from a 3-1 deficit with a pair of second-period goals to force (lots of) extra hockey. Of course, PSU freshmen Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen weren't exactly terrible either, with the former assisting the latter on the game-winner after each had an assist in regulation.

Three Stars: July 1-7

3. 2013 NHL Draft Has Definite 'Penn State' Flavor
(statecollege.com)

What has two thumbs and got to hang with Terry Pegula in the Sabres' suite during the NHL Entry Draft? Joe Battista! That one doesn't really work in the third person and in writing, does it?

Anyway, here is JoeBa's perspective on the day, as well as a few words about the schedule, ticketing (we're up to 4,100 season ticket deposits as seat selection is set to get underway in just over a week) and things like that.

2. College Hockey Recruiting: Penn State
(Over The Boards)

OTB editor Jasper Kozak-Miller, trust me, knows his stuff. So when he has a generally positive opinion of Penn State's recruiting for this season and beyond, you should probably listen to him. And his sources. Especially his sources.

1. Q&A with Men's Hockey Freshman Eamon McAdam
(YouTube)

Ready for this beast of a Three Stars entry? You better be.

Penn State held a media event last Tuesday to give the local press the material to pump out some coverage of PSU's NHL draft picks. Eamon McAdam was there, as was assistant coach Keith Fisher, while Mike Williamson spoke via telephone from his home in Leduc, AB.

The leading link is a video interview with McAdam conducted by Penn State Athletic Communications that day. And precisely as they planned, a wave of stories from most of the usual suspects followed shortly after.

Draft A Good Sign For PSU Hockey (WTAJ)
McAdam, Williamson reflect on being drafted (The Daily Collegian)
McAdam surprised but elated about becoming an Islander (The Morning Call)
McAdam and Williamson Ready for Next Chapter of NHL Journey (StateCollege.com)
McAdam, Williamson savoring interest from NHL (Centre Daily Times)
McAdam, Williamson react to being selected in NHL Draft (PennLive)

Since we're already here, let's use the opportunity to clean up a few things I've seen on the draft picks not covered elsewhere.

First, a couple of Penn State blogs and their "general" draft posts:

NHL Draft: Incoming Penn Staters McAdam, Williamson Selected (Black Shoe Diaries)
Two Penn State Hockey Players Selected In NHL Entry Draft (Victory Bell Rings)

In the specific-to-McAdam department, we have:

The Waterloo Connection (New York Islanders)
Scouting Report: Eamon McAdam (IslesNation)
Isles Trade Nino, Fill Pipeline At NHL Draft (CBS New York)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, East (Hockey Prospectus)

Williamson has really received the short end of the stick so far, in terms of media coverage - it's staggering how much less attention one gets simply by not showing up at the draft. No glam shots, no video interview on Canucks.com, no quotes in outside articles, etc. He can hardly be blamed for not flying most of the way across North America when he wasn't the near-lock McAdam was to be chosen, but regardless, it would be nice to see a bit more on him. Here are the two things I did find:

Vancouver Canucks 2013 draft review (Hockey's Future)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, West (Hockey Prospectus)

It's disappointing how formulaic a lot of these reviews of draft picks are, even for some of the top players... check the league, check the goals and assists, check the measurements, render a superficial judgment concerning player type, ability and ceiling. I promise that nobody who has actually seen Williamson play, and I watched several of the Spruce Grove Saints' playoff games in the spring, is calling him an "off-the-board" selection (or worse, in other places). I'll concede that he's a project in terms of pro potential - and let's be honest, everyone outside of the first half of the first round is to some degree - but he won't be a wasted pick.

Best of the Rest

Rick DiPietro in a nutshell. Really do feel for the guy though...

Tim Thomas: From The Bunker To Barclays?
(The Hockey Writers)

Okay, we're not quite done playing out the NHL string yet, sorry about that. Hey, it was overwhelmingly the biggest thing this week, what do you want from me?

Although McAdam is a few years out from plying his trade in Uniondale Brooklyn, I can't help but be riveted by the Islanders' current goaltending situation. It wasn't a terrible week to feel that way either, because it's been a ride.

First, Rick DiPietro, the former Boston University star and top overall pick in the 2000 draft, was finally bought out of his contract by the team, ending an excruciating 13-year saga that made history for mostly the wrong reasons (his groundbreaking-at-the-time 15-year deal signed in 2006, and his freakishly long list of injuries that made the contract a point of ridicule chief among those). That left the team, temporarily, without a certified NHL goalie - Evgeni Nabokov, the primary guy last season, and Tim Thomas, who the team acquired in February despite the fact that he was in the middle of sitting out the 2012-2013 season, were both unrestricted free agents. Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson are well regarded and on call, but the two have played a combined 25 NHL games.

Thomas complicated things by kicking the tires on a possible comeback just before free agency opened up on Friday. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is of questionable value (he's 39 and just took a year off, after all) and likely with no loyalty to the Islanders, as he never played a home game in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. But... hey, you never know. GM Garth Snow, though, passed on waiting for Thomas and instead signed Nabokov to a one-year contract. So the Isles will have a goalie for the coming season, although things are hardly settled for the long term.

Top 10 Prospects 2013: Organizational Rankings
(Hockey Prospectus)

No Penn Staters are mentioned by name in this ranking of each NHL team's prospect group current through the just-completed draft, but for what it's worth, the Islanders are 2nd, Washington is 11th, Vancouver is 20th, and St. Louis is dead last in 30th. Is this a case where it's good, for our purposes, to be bad? Does Max Gardiner have some advantage that McAdam doesn't? Eh... play well and those things tend to take care of themselves.

Quick note: You're not alone, the title confuses me too. Author Corey Pronman considers all 30 NHL teams, and while he doesn't name more than ten pipeliners in any one entry (that would be kind of obnoxious, given the length of each blurb), it seems clear to me that he's judging the entire developmental pool of each organization.

If nothing else, in the last week I learned this week that I'm glad I'm not an NHL blogger - they have roughly 30 times more stuff to read to keep up on things than I do. Let's transition back to college stuff through the common interest of the draft.

Big Ten sees plenty of firsts in New Jersey
(Western College Hockey Blog)

The National Team Development Program's J.T. Compher, headed for Michigan in the fall, became the first NHL draft pick for the Big Ten, as the Buffalo Sabres scooped him up with the 35th overall pick.

Also of note: thirteen Big Ten players were selected in all. The Wolverines led with five, Minnesota had four, while PSU and Wisconsin both checked in with two. Yep, second-year NCAA program Penn State did as well as Michigan State, Ohio State (both were skunked, if you're not so good with math) and Wisconsin put together. I don't hate it.

@DanRubin12
(Twitter)

Then again, was Compher actually the first Big Ten player picked, or does that remain on the table for next year? Technically, Michigan was still a member of the CCHA (and Penn State was technically still an independent) on June 30th, the date of the draft.

Midnight on July 1st is the magic time each year when NCAA conference changes across the board become official. But don't worry, nothing happened prior to that to turn the Big Ten hockey tattoo you got the day after the national championship game into a terrible idea.

So officially: Welcome to college hockey, Big Ten! And rest in peace CCHA, I was always a fan and will forever be grateful for the slightly damaged Danny DeKeyser all-conference award I purchased while you were cleaning out the offices.

The CCHA was once home to varsity hockey at ACHA schools Ohio and Kent State.

Penn State Hockey-Summer News Roundup
(Victory Bell Rings)

If you've been in the basement since February, Mary Clarke has you covered with a rundown of the offseason for the men's team so far.

Townsend athlete plays ice hockey for Penn State
(Middletown Transcript)

I'm an unapologetic Emily Laurenzi fan, so it's great to see her get a quick look in the papers near her hometown.

Pegula Ice Arena Exterior Photos (July 5, 2013)
(Facebook)

With most photo updates of late focusing on the PIA interior after the exterior stopped looking drastically different all the time, it's nice to step back outside to see that the thing is done enough for trees to have been planted around the perimeter.

Pegula Ice Arena at night 
(YouTube)

Know what nobody thought to do until now? Take PIA photos at night with the main lobby lit up. And put them in a video with the beginning of Aerosmith's Dream On playing. Add people and you pretty much have game night.



Jean Stothert backs $6 million for UNO arena
(Omaha World-Herald)

Now that Pegula Ice Arena is about to open, it doesn't really matter that Penn State could have already been playing NCAA hockey for about 15 years, had ice capability not been cut from the Bryce Jordan Center during its construction. But what if...

The case of UNO, which drew 7,233 fans per game in the 16,680-seat CenturyLink Center last season, seems pretty well on point in that department. The Mavericks started up in 1997 (just after the BJC's completion), and following six years in the multi-purpose Omaha Civic Auditorium - a venue perhaps most famous for Lloyd Bentsen's "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" blast in 1988 - moved into their larger multi-purpose current home. And for almost that entire time, they've still been pushing for their own hockey-only facility sort of like the one about to fire up on University Drive.

In our alternate reality where PSU plays at the Jordan Center, does the whole $102 million donation thing even happen, when it wouldn't be needed for varsity hockey? Hey, sometimes things work out for the best.

Anyway, back to the point, things are inching forward in Omaha as the cash-strapped city is still in for $6 million of site improvements in anticipation of the proposed $76 million arena.

Josh Fenton named head of NCHC, CC's conference
(Colorado Springs Gazette)

If Las Vegas actually cared about the NCHC, I'm guessing that the odds on new commissioner Josh Fenton outlasting his predecessor would be pretty good. Said predecessor, Jim Scherr, was on the job for all of 18 months and left to become the chief operating officer of the 2015 European Games prior to the NCHC playing any games (or, technically and as noted above, having any teams).

Three Stars: May 27-June 2

3. Intelligencer ice hockey player of the year: Caleb Witzaney, North Penn
(phillyburbs.com)

Caleb Witzaney: okay at hockey. As a senior at North Penn, he had 35 goals and 33 assists in 25 games and led his team to the Flyers Cup (eastern Pennsylvania championship) semifinals, even though he spent some time on defense in addition to left wing. And he might be an Ice Lion next season.

Witzaney is headed to Penn State but he’s not planning on being part of the Nittany Lions’ varsity program, which will complete its transition to the Division I level next season. He’s content to try out for the school’s club team while studying engineering.

“I decided to focus mainly on school,” he said. “If you want to go the D-I route you probably have to play with a decent junior team for a couple years. I would much rather go to college right away. Taking a couple years off from school is kind of a big deal and I don’t know if I would like that.”

2. School-Record 296 Penn State Student-Athletes Earn Academic All-Big Ten Honors in 2012-13
(gopsusports.com)

Of Penn State's incredible haul of Academic All-Big Ten selections, 14 came from hockey, including Jake Friedman, Michael Longo, Mike McDonagh, Dom Morrone, Rich O'Brien, Tommy Olczyk, George Saad and Eric Steinour from the men's team and Kate Christoffersen, Jess Desorcie, Taylor Gross, Cara Mendelson, Lindsay Reihl and Tess Weaver from the women's team. Olczyk is especially notable from that group, as he carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

It's worth pointing out that freshmen are not eligible for the honor - selections must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year and with at least a 3.0 cumulative average. In light of those criteria and the large number of first-years on both teams in 2012-2013, the hockey teams' achievements are particularly impressive. In all, eight of 16 possible men were picked, along with six of ten on the women's side.

1. Help Restore Moore
(helprestoremoore.com)

Former Lady Icers forward and alternate captain Dana Heller, who earned her graphic design degree from PSU last month, has decided to put her abilities to work helping out the people of Moore, OK. Moore, of course, was the site of a devastating tornado on May 20th that killed 24 people, injured 377 others, and destroyed or damaged between 12,000 and 13,000 homes with total cost estimates hovering around $2 billion.

The concept behind Help Restore Moore is brilliant in its simplicity. Heller, whose design is shown above and contains a deft nod to the alma mater, and other graphically-inclined people have created 20" x 16" posters (vertically oriented, contrary to what is shown - I took some license to make it fit TYT's format) in support of the people of Moore, and they're on sale for $25 (printed copy) or $15 (digital download), with proceeds going to the American Red Cross' Central and Western Oklahoma region.

If you're better at graphic design than me, please accept my jealousy-tinged congratulations, then get to work on creating and submitting your own poster. If not, go buy one. Now. I'll still be here when you get back, I promise.

Best of the Rest

The Ice Lions will attempt to capture the venerable Crab Pot in February

2013-2014 Schedule
(navyhockey.net)

If Witzaney does in fact join the Ice Lions, he'll have the chance to compete in one of non-varsity hockey's great traditions as a freshman: Navy's Crab Pot Invitational, which will take place for the 36th time on February 7th and 8th, 2014. PSU will open up with Towson, a D1 team and formerly a frequent opponent of the Icers, with the D1 Midshipmen and D2 Maryland in the other pairing.

Speaking of the Icers, they were a regular guest in Annapolis for the Crab Pot during the 1980s and won four titles (1982, 1985, 1986 and 1987) in seven appearances.

Lewington stands out in Combine fitness results
(nhl.com)

At the NHL Combine fitness testing on Friday and Saturday, Eamon McAdam tied for the best Vertec vertical jump with pause, 28.5 inches. And although it's not listed at the link, it's been verified through multiple sources (including a different post from the same author on NHL.com) that his wingspan was measured at 80.5 inches, tied for third best.

Keep in mind that we're talking about arguably the 101 best prospects for the NHL Entry Draft coming up in just under four weeks, so being at or near the top of anything... well, that's pretty damn good.

Outdoor Hockey at Penn State?
(WTAJ)

Someone asked Bill O'Brien about a hockey game at Beaver Stadium and he said he is in favor of it. Haven't we done this a time or 20 already?

Ryan Brown and Johns Hopkins' legendary lacrosse program with battle Maryland as a Big Ten rival

Johns Hopkins lacrosse program to join Big Ten
(Baltimore Sun)

By the time you read this, one of the nation's best academic institutions and lacrosse schools may have already announced that it will be joining the Big Ten as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse, as Johns Hopkins University has scheduled said announcement for 11:00 a.m. on Monday. Additionally, the Big Ten will now sponsor lacrosse for the first time, as JHU joins Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and all-sports newcomers Maryland and Rutgers to give the league the magic number of six schools. It's an interesting move to me because it's long been assumed that the Big Ten was unwilling to take on new affiliate members, institutions only in the conference for one sport (the University of Chicago has long been in only for academics purposes, as most know, owing to the fact that it was a founding Big Ten member, but withdrew its sports teams in 1946). So what's to stop it from happening in other cases?

Johns Hopkins, it needs to be said, is a perfect excuse to make an exception: the school is a research powerhouse, a titan in the lacrosse world, and Division III in all other sports. It's not terribly likely that another close-to-perfect fit is floating out there. But the simple fact is that the line has been crossed. There is no shortage of lower-division schools playing up in hockey, and while none offer JHU's impressive athletic and academic resume, what if there's a revenue opportunity in a new market through Big Ten Network and the ability to back-door elevated cable rates through an affiliate member?

To be perfectly honest, I don't believe any affiliate members will come on board for men's hockey. In this case, JHU allowing the Big Ten to sponsor men's lacrosse was as essential of a consideration as the school's appeal as a member, and it's already there with men's hockey. But what about women's hockey, assuming that none of ten Big Ten schools without it are about to add it and assuming that the Big Ten wants it under the umbrella?

Expect Delays on University Drive for Entire Month of June
(statecollege.com)

There's not a ton of competition for the least significant thing I've ever linked here (IT ALL MATTERS!), but... one southbound lane of University Drive will be blocked off for the month of June while they install the curb and sidewalk in front of Pegula Ice Arena. Heeeey that means it's almost done!

Referee Walkom assigned to conference finals
(NBC Sports)

Stephen Walkom, the father of women's team blueliner Stephanie Walkom, became one of the eight NHL referees selected to work the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last Thursday. Officials, as most people (I think) know, advance from round to round in the playoffs based on performance with work in the finals considered the pinnacle of the profession. Walkom, who served as the league's director of officiating from 2005 until 2009, has refereed four Stanley Cup Finals in all, including recently in 2010 and 2011 when two teams still alive this year - Chicago and Boston, respectively - hoisted the Cup.

His assignment to the conference finals made headlines because of his involvement in a controversial call during the deciding seventh game of the Red Wings-Blackhawks Western Conference semifinal series Wednesday night. Late in the third period, Walkom called Chicago's Brandon Saad (George's brother, of course, if you needed another PSU family connection in the story) and Detroit's Kyle Quincey for matching roughing minors behind the play, and his whistle negated a tie-breaking goal by the Hawks' Niklas Hjalmarsson moments later. Hjalmarsson's team went on to win early in overtime, so even if it was a bad call, no harm was ultimately done.

But for the record, I actually think Walkom got it right, and evidently I'm not the only one. Although I'm sure noted Blackhawks fanboy/Penn State hater/guy who gets entirely too much credit for making obvious statements Chris Peters disagrees.

@CoachBrandwene
(Twitter)

Last week was Josh Brandwene's turn to come up trumps with a couple of insider Pegula Ice Arena photos - a locker room (above) and the view from the home bench (below).

2012-2013 ACHA Mens' Division 1 All-American Teams
(achahockey.org)

Congratulations are in order to Arizona State forwards Kale Dolinski (first team) and Colin Hekle (second team), defenseman Ryan Clark (third team) and goaltender Joe D'Elia (third team) as well as to Ohio forwards Tyler Pilmore (first team) and Brett Agnew (third team) and defenseman J.C. Gulch (second team), the Nittany Lions' ACHA opponents from 2012-2013 who received All-American recognition.

Dolinski and Pilmore were both finalists for the ACHA's Player of the Year award as well, but Minot State goaltender Wyatt Waselenchuk took the prize after leading the Beavers to the program's first national championship in March.

Zach Stepan Switches Commitment from Ohio State to Minnesota State
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Zach Stepan, who played with McAdam on the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks this past season, has received a release from his National Letter of Intent with Ohio State and will now play closer to home at Minnesota State. Stepan, a cousin of New York Ranger/Wisconsin alumnus Derek Stepan, was a fourth-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2012 and subsequently the USHL's third-leading scorer in 2012-2013. He was generally, and for good reason, considered OSU's best incoming freshman.

Basically, ooooh... sorry about your luck, Buckeyes.

UAA ousts athletic director Cobb
(Anchorage Daily News)

In this week's edition of "point and laugh at Alaska-Anchorage," athletic director Steve Cobb, who came under a bizarre amount of criticism from just about every corner imaginable over the last couple months, has been fired after 13 years.

"It has become clear in recent days that despite his efforts, Steve will not be able to bring all elements of the public together in support of UAA, and that criticism of Steve has become a distraction from the great work that UAA does every day," [UAA chancellor Tom] Case said.

The move came one day after a letter from Gov. Sean Parnell to University of Alaska president Patrick Gamble was made public. In the letter, Parnell demanded that Gamble "take a stand" on athletic department issues.

Yep, their governor got involved in an athletic department personnel matter... he must have called up Tom Corbett for advice. Cobb, as you might imagine, isn't happy.

In a blistering statement given to the Daily News, Cobb said Gamble didn't speak to him or anyone in the athletic department before the university's decision to fire him. He also took aim at Ashley Reed, a lobbyist who was among those who encouraged Parnell to get involved.

"Patrick Gamble may be mentally ill," Cobb said in the statement, "when you give away the university to Ashley Reed and a few local scoundrels, you are by definition insane and I intend to prove it in court.

"Gamble made the decision to fire me without speaking to one employee of the UAA Athletic Department, not one staff member, not one coach, not one student-athlete and certainly not me. Apparently Ashley Reed is the final authority.

"I am suffering secondary embarrassment for the university that I loved and devoted almost thirteen years of my life."

Yep, Cobb described University of Alaska president Patrick Gamble as "[possibly] mentally ill." Be right back, my popcorn sounds like it's done.

I ran down this entire festering mess in the Three Stars post from two weeks ago (last entry) if you're unfamiliar. But just to reiterate the basics, the situation began with the firing of eight-year head coach Dave Shyiak in March. Cobb subsequently delivered a list of four finalists to fill the vacancy, before a couple of concerned groups (the Alaska State Hockey Association and the UAA hockey alumni) fired off votes of no confidence in Cobb, as they were worried generally about the state of Seawolves hockey and specifically about their lack of say in the coaching search. The process was then reset with a new, more inclusive search committee. Even with Cobb's firing, UAA expects to have a new coach within a couple weeks (although it's fair to wonder what kind of idiot would walk into this situation and without even knowing the identity of their direct superior). Complicating matters has been the recent accusation of former player Mickey Spencer, who claims that Shyiak swung a stick at Nick Haddad, another former player, during a January, 2011 practice.



Jim Scherr Accepts COO Position with European Games
(nchchockey.com)

In this week's edition of "point and laugh at the NCHC," the one-time "superleague," set to officially begin play in 2013-2014, will now be looking for its second commissioner before a single game occurs. Jim Scherr, hired as the NCHC boss in January 2012, resigned on Friday to take a position as COO of the inaugural European Games (basically a mini-Olympics just for Europe, beginning in 2015 and held every four years after that). News that Scherr was offered the European Games post broke a couple weeks ago.

I love this quote from the NCHC's press release:

“We knew when we hired Jim that there would come a time when there would be competing bids for his services,” said NCHC Chairman of the Board and University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison. “We are grateful for what Jim has done in his time with the NCHC and we are very happy that he has the opportunity to return to the Olympic sports world with the European Games in Baku. We know his expertise will greatly benefit their event.”

You knew that there would come a time? Did you know it that would be before the pucks printed with your logo shipped?

Watching a bunch of eighth-rate athletic departments scramble trying to pull double duty and run a big-time conference on a time-share basis sure is fun. If the Big Ten takes hockey seriously - and all indications are that it will - the NCHC is pretty terribly out of its depth in trying to compete. That's not to say that the NCHC's programs won't be successful on the ice, obviously Denver, North Dakota, Miami, etc. will continue among the top programs in the country. But from a business/front office perspective, they're completely outclassed.

Kleinendorst Steps Down as Head Hockey Coach
(uahchargers.com)

Alabama-Huntsville head coach Kurt Kleinendorst leaving his job is pretty tame if comparing it to those last two entries. But leave he did after a single season, citing a desire to get back into the pro game, where he's spent nearly his entire career. He's been praised for departing without an offer in hand, allowing UAH added time to find a replacement, and rightly so.

But the whole thing still rubs me the wrong way. While the Chargers' survival, at least in the short term, seems ensured through their escaping the independent wasteland by being admitted to the WCHA for the coming year, the mission is hardly accomplished. We're still talking about a 3-21-1 team, and while UAH now has the stability of a conference, the program still reeks of instability thanks to what will now be four different head coaches in the seven seasons since the retirement of the legendary Doug Ross. Kleinendorst owed a bit more than he gave in my opinion, especially since - unlike with his immediate predecessors - there was no longer reason to fear the chopping of the team and sudden unemployment.

@AndyJohnsonB5Q
(Twitter)

Here's a late-night musing from Wisconsin blogger Andy Johnson, possibly known to you as the guy who dropped "welcome to the big-time college hockey, Penn State" after the Badgers' 5-0 win over PSU on February 24th. Johnson's error then, as evidenced by the next night's result, was forgetting that the two games of a series often look very different from one another (he also forgot that the Nittany Lions had already been duly welcomed to the big time college hockey by Union, Ohio State, Vermont and Michigan State, but whatever). Anyway...

Now, I'm new here, but I thought you big-time programs that pump a busload of early-departure players into the show every year were used to those types of situations. Guess not.

Still, it could be worse - you could have 10 true freshmen and 12 others playing their first season of NCAA hockey, with the entire team carrying a combined 97 games of NCAA experience from four players prior to the season at hand. Even that situation is hardly a death sentence though...

Three Stars: May 20-26

Jerry York and his program, which has won three of the last six national titles, may be visiting PIA

3. 2013 NHL Draft Rankings – War Room May Edition (Round 4: 90-120)
(The Hockey Writers)

It's not all that common to find people with the knowledge and guts to rank NHL Entry Draft prospects beyond the first round, so full marks to THW for taking on that task. They have Eamon McAdam listed 113th ahead of the June 30th event, and also quoted a certain Penn State hockey blog in discussing him.

Yeah, okay, they misspelled my last name and put this site's URL down as "ThankYouTerryBlogspot.ca," but hey, at least the link works.

McAdam will be in Toronto for the NHL Scouting Combine all this week as he attempts to maximize his draft position.

2. Special look inside PSU's new hockey arena
(WJAC)

The latest best look at the Pegula Ice Arena came from WJAC last week.

One quick news item buried in the moving pictures: all 18 men's scholarships are fully endowed, according to Joe Battista. Put that together with the arena being completely paid off, ticket sales proceeding well and Big Ten Network money (even if it isn't $2 million), and I'm pretty confident in my admittedly revised opinion of Penn State hockey's finances.

1. The Hottest Ticket in Town is Going Fast! Get Them While You Can!
(statecollege.com)

I'm not sure why StateCollege.com compromises itself as a news gathering and reporting entity to let Battista write what is essentially a weekly advertisement for Penn State hockey, but I'm glad that they do.

The non-conference schedule features a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four! While I can’t tell you dates or exact teams, I will whet your appetite and toss you a hint on a featured game that will take place in Pegula Ice Arena this season. Think recent National Championship team from New England that Penn Stater’s will surely pack the arena to see as we “jump in to the deep end of the pool” in just year two of our NCAA College Hockey timeline.

Wow, okay.

Just to get the less surprising part of that out of the way, "a number of traditional college hockey powers that have recently played in the NCAA Frozen Four" could probably be considered more fuel for the fire that is the UMass-Lowell rumor, as the RiverHawks made it to Pittsburgh back in April. Vermont (which made the Frozen Four in 2009), RIT (2010), Union (2012) and Three Rivers Classic participant Boston College (2010 and 2012) have also participated in the season's final weekend within the last five years. Toss in conference opponents Wisconsin (2010), Michigan (2011) and Minnesota (2012), and that's an impressive collection of eight different Frozen Four teams of the 18 different programs qualifying since 2009.

On top of that, we have a home "game" against a "recent national championship team from New England." Recent is subjective, of course, but since 2000, the only winners from New England are Boston College (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012), Boston University (2009) and Yale (2013). Right off the top, we can chop BU from the list, as the Terriers have released a schedule that does not include Penn State. It's probably not Yale either, as the Ivy League schools limit themselves to a 29-game schedule and according to USCHO's 2013-14 Schedule Thread, the Bulldogs have 31 games (two are exemptions) already in for the coming year - although it should be noted that the Bulldogs haven't officially published anything yet.

So... Boston College. The Eagles haven't released their schedule either, but The Boston College Hockey Blog has most of it pieced together. However, there are only 33 games on BCHB's list, one under the non-Ivy limit of 34. So given Battista's parameters and what we know of the other teams fitting them, I have to think that BC is it. Jerry York's program has been the class of college hockey over the last decade, and Penn State could play them twice in year two. Deep end, here we come.

Just to sweep up before leaving, Battista also mentioned that the PIA opener against Army on October 11th against Army will be nationally televised and that season ticket deposits now top 3,400.

PS. The scheduling mentioned in this entry adds up to 13 non-conference games which, when adding in the 20 Big Ten contests, still puts Penn State one under 34. So there may be a surprise yet to come.

Best of the Rest

PSU hockey arena beginning to look like hockey arena
(Broad Street Hockey)

I want to preface this by saying that, issues with Black Shoe Diaries' Bill DiFilippo aside, I'm a huge fan of the SB Nation network. I consider myself an avid reader of five of its blogs and a frequent-ish reader of at least three others, Broad Street Hockey included. Both BSD and BSH have been very good to this blog in the past. I really like Travis Hughes as well, and consider him among the most intelligent and level-headed hockey writers out there today. He's generally a PSU-friendly guy, as demonstrated by the fact that this post exists. All of that said... WTF guy?

Philadelphia will host the 2014 Frozen Four. Chances of Penn State making it are very, very slim with what's expected to be another weak out-of-conference schedule and a very tough in-conference slate.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, here's what we know about the out-of-conference schedule: one game against Army to open the PIA, the game against Vermont in Philly, a Three Rivers Classic including Boston College (although I have to think that PSU will open against Robert Morris again as the powers that be try to cultivate that rivalry, with BC and Bowling Green in the other first-day game), an away series against Air Force, a game at RMU, a home series against Union and one PIA game against RIT. The rumor mill includes three possible home games against Boston College and UMass-Lowell, as noted above.

Is that appreciably different than Wisconsin's non-league schedule? The Badgers will play (all two-game series, unless noted) Northern Michigan, at Boston College (1), at Boston University (1), Lake Superior State, at Miami, Colorado College, Alabama-Huntsville and the biggest joke in college hockey right now, known to some as Alaska-Anchorage.

What about Ohio State? They have (again, two-game series unless noted) Miami (1), at Miami (1), Bowling Green (1), at Bowling Green (1), Robert Morris (1), at Robert Morris (1), Minnesota-Duluth, Niagara, Canisius and Mercyhurst. I'm biased, but I happen to think PSU's slate is significantly better.

Long story short, Penn State scheduled well enough that there's really no rational justification for saying that the Nittany Lions have "another weak out-of-conference schedule."

Oh yeah... the link also includes a couple of pretty cool GIFs of the PIA progress from beginning to now (which were actually the centerpiece of the thing, until an throwaway comment at the end set me off).

URI: No interest in varsity hockey
(Rhode Island Public Radio)

Confirming what I sort of suspected all along but didn't want to say out loud, Rhode Island's reported efforts at varsity hockey are apparently not taking place on an official level.

URI officials have no interest in upgrading the current program from club status to a varsity sport in either men’s or women’s hockey, says URI sports information director Mike Lepray. "We’re not pursuing adding either men’s or women’s hockey to varsity status."

St. Anselm, your move.

St. Anselm hockey eyes Division I
(New Hampshire Union Leader)

If the last article didn't erase all doubt concerning the most likely elevation candidate, this one will, with Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America commissioner Bob DeGregorio even admitting that the Hawks are the clubhouse leaders.

Chambers & O'Brien Pairing Highlights 17th Annual CVC Golf Tournament, May 31
(gopsusports.com)

Guy Gadowsky and Josh Brandwene will both play in Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer golf tournament on Friday. BUT WHO CARES OMG BILL O'BRIEN AND PAT CHAMBERS!!!

Yeah, I'm turning into "bitter hockey guy who resents that football and basketball get more attention," after swearing I wouldn't. If I ever start dropping "pointyball" and "bouncyball" (occasionally "squeakball") with regularity, you'll know that I'm all the way gone.

Stampede Name Head Coach to Lead the 2013-14 Campaign!
(The Junior Hockey News)

Now-former Ice Lions coach Matt Morrow won't be the only guy with Penn State ties coaching in the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League in 2013-2014. Gary Gill, who oversaw Penn State Berks' elevation to ACHA Division 1 in 2007-2008 after serving as an assistant in 2006-2007, is the new head coach of the Cheyenne Stampede. Gill departed Berks after just one season in charge, but thanks in part to his efforts the team saw immediate success at the D1 level, qualifying for the ACHA national championships in 2009.

Creek Lewis will look to move to 4-0 in his career against UMBC on December 8th

2013-14 Schedule
(umbcicehockey.com)

Speaking of the Ice Lions, we now know two of their games for the coming season, thanks to MACHA rival Maryland-Balitmore County putting out their schedule. The Retrievers will visit Pegula Ice Arena on Sunday, December 8th, with PSU hitting crab country on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Matchups between the two powers of ACHA Division 2's Southeast Region are always tremendous, so if you want to get out to see the Ice Lions, you could make a worse call than December 8th.

Other things revealed through the UMBC schedule: the MACHA playoffs will take place over the February 14-16, 2014 weekend, the ACHA's Southeast Regionals follow on the 22nd and 23rd, while the ACHA National Tournament (March 21-25, 2014) has been awarded to Marlborough, MA. Furthermore the MACHA, which lost East Carolina and Monmouth from its ranks after last season, appears as if it is dropping its divisional structure and operating as a single and stacked ten-team circuit (PSU, UMBC, Rider, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Rowan, St. Joseph's, Liberty, Delaware, Temple), with each team playing its nine opponents once at home and once on the road.

Brandywine Ice Hockey Honored at All Sports Banquet
(psubrandywineathletics.com)

PSU Brandywine's 25th annual all-sports banquet, which featured University Park athletic director Dave Joyner as a guest speaker, had some representation from the only commonwealth campus hockey team to qualify for ACHA Division 3 regionals last season: Drew Haber, Andrew Hieber, Francis Fourney and Joe Naselli were each recognized for their DVCHC all-conference selections.

@LetsPlay_Hockey
(Twitter)

Duluth East (MN) High School product Meirs Moore, a defenseman with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, committed to RPI last week after previously expressing interest in Penn State.

RIT's Ali Binnington: good at playing goalie, not an idiot

RIT women's hockey raises $5,939.86 to help "CURE Childhood Cancer"

Women's hockey goaltender Ali Binnington earns 2013 Co-SIDA/Capital One Academic All-Region honor
(ritathletics.com)

Congratulations to the Tigers, a CHA rival of the Nittany Lion women, on the nearly $6,000 generated by their Skate for the Cure event in February (the check was only recently presented to the target organization, which is why this is news now) as well as to goaltender Ali Binnington on becoming RIT's first academic all-region selection of their women's Division I era.

NCHC commissioner Scherr says link to European job ‘premature’
(USCHO)

Let's close this out by taking a second to laugh at the dustiest conference in the nation, which may end up needing to hire a second commissioner before its inaugural season.

Done? Okay, now back to figuring out whether "CBS Sports Network" is a real channel or something they made up.