Three Stars: July 29-August 4

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

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

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

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

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

1. christivetter8 (1,2)
(Instagram)

@Cmen12
(Twitter)

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

Best of the Rest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pegula Ice Arena, July 2013
(Penn State News)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jooris leaving Union for Calgary Flames
(Schenectady Daily Gazette)

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

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

Group photo of Wisconsin's 2013 entering class

College Hockey Recruiting: Wisconsin
(Over The Boards)

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

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

Big Ten hockey teams draw well
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: June 11-17

3. Black Hawks accept invite to Junior World Cup
(wcfcourier.com)

2013 G Eamon McAdam's team will represent the U.S. in the second-ever Junior World Cup August 18-26 in Omsk, Russia. The tournament, won by Krasnaya Armiya of Moscow last year, features teams from ten countries split into two groups, with the top two following an intra-group round robin advancing to the semifinals. Canada, incidentally, will be represented at the World Cup by the OHL's Sudbury Wolves. Unfortunately, they're not in Waterloo's pool, meaning that somewhere, USHL commissioner Skip Prince is considering human sacrifice to get both teams to the semifinals.

On a more serious note, it should be a nice opportunity to get an early look at McAdam (who is the most experienced returning goalie for the Black Hawks) against top-shelf competition.

2. Pine Creek grad assumes big leadership role at Penn State
(Paisley Hockey)

Women's captain Taylor Gross gets some nice run from veteran college hockey scribe Joe Paisley. And she sounds ready to run show on the CHA.

“Even if I was not captain, I would still need to be a leader because of my Division I experience on a team with a lot of freshmen,” [Gross] said. “But, I think we will surprise some people. We will be better than most people will expect.”

1. The Jersey Thread
(Pride of Pegula)

If you think about it, the revealing of Penn State's NCAA jerseys is really the only big thing left unannounced to this point, so why not hit the boards and engage in some pointless and ultimately futile (but fun) speculation about it?

The picture leading this post is the official TYT endorsement for the jersey design. For the home and away, I kept the lettering and numbering basic (because we are Penn State) and the striping single to mirror PSU's iconic football helmets, which hockey borrows as well. I didn't include the chipmunk anywhere, because I concluded that "PENN STATE" lettering has been more significant as an element of historic PSU hockey jerseys and adding a chipmunk would clutter things. That said, I would be open to using it as a shoulder patch or even in place of the front numbers, similar to the current jerseys. Or, you could even remove the last names and place a small chipmunk in that space, which would be pretty solid. Anyway the alternates, of course, are a nod to the jerseys of the first varsity team in 1940-1941:

Special thanks to PoP proprietor Aaron Griffin, who really deserves credit for the idea on the alternates, by the way.

If you want a better look, click here (after allowing me to remind you that I'm some random guy in Ohio with zero influence on the jersey design process). If you think you can do better, well that's what the thread is for.

Best of the Rest

Pegula Ice Arena Construction Photo Gallery
(statecollege.com)

Friend of TYT Ben Jones took some time off from covering the Jerry Sandusky trial to snap some PIA site pictures. He stole my thunder on that a little, but I'm not at all mad - I avoid Sandusky coverage as much as I possibly can (unfortunately - in this case - staying on top of PSU hockey news means I have to keep up with "general" PSU news outlets, so...), I can only imagine what it's like, for someone who cares at all about Penn State, to have to take a front-row seat to it as a job requirement. Taking a break to give some time to a positive story, yeah, I get that.

Anyway, they're from last Wednesday. And looking quite good.

Lions, and Dutchmen, and Bears! Oh my!
(Stack the Pads)

Be on the lookout for some great PSU coverage from StP, with special attention given to the goaltenders. I think it's axiomatic in the hockey world that non-goalies don't truly get goalies, so I'm looking forward to the insight.

Coaching veteran Guy Gadowsky to speak at Hockey Coaches Conference‏
(The Coaches Site)

I mentioned this in a Three Stars a couple weeks ago, but since the hosts actually sent me the press release, I'll give them one more go. I have no idea how they even know of TYT, but I'm honored to be considered that legitimate. Here's the canned quote on Gadowsky:

"Guy Gadowsky is one of the top amateur coaches in North America. He built both the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Princeton University Mens’ programs into National contenders; however, it’s his track record of developing his players on the ice and in the classroom which sets him apart." said Aaron Wilbur, managing director of the Coaches Site. "His contributions to grass roots hockey are immeasurable and we are excited to have him represent the NCAA and Penn State University."

@TheoFleury14
(Twitter)

Correction: Tim Curley, Gary Schultz and Graham Spanier allegedly (for the time being, that word still needs to be in there) tried to cover this up to protect there [sic] 51 million dollar a year profitable football program. I've never done 28 tons of blow over a decade and a half, but not surprisingly, it apparently affects your cognitive abilities.

I try to stay out of the whole thing as much as possible unless it touches the hockey program in some way (AD changes, Terry Pegula reaffirming his donation, etc.) and like I just mentioned, I don't envy those who don't have a choice in the matter. But a hockey hall of famer guy who could have been a hockey hall of famer, had he not trashed his career, tweeting about it is noteworthy, I guess.

Ohio State men's hockey schedule coming together for last CCHA season
(examiner.com)

Included for the fact that an Ohio State guy semi-admits to his program's weakness. There's something that doesn't happen very often. Well, it doesn't in football, but maybe it does it hockey. Going to have to play the "I'm still new here" card on that.

The format [for the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational] has not been decided but if it’s one where the winners advance to the title game then Robert Morris would likely select OSU for its first game based on Miami’s better record the past few seasons.

It’s unlikely the Buckeyes and Miami would want to face each other in a nonconference game unless some hardware was at stake.

So...RMU wouldn't pick Miami because OSU sucks more. They wouldn't pick PSU - which, it has to be said, sucks more than everyone as a new program until otherwise proven - because OSU would throw a hissyfit about playing Miami in a non-conference game. Hey, here's an idea: pick Miami anyway and give us PSU-OSU, RMU-Miami. Because pairwise credit is fun and everyone gets two games regardless. And because it's the best draw of any of the arrangements. And because RMU plays both PSU and OSU in December.

Wait, that's what the Target Center looks like?

NCHC believes its on target with tournament site
(Omaha World-Herald)

Since the NCHC hitting the Target Center in Minneapolis for their tournament (opposite the Big Ten in St. Paul) is old news now, I searched for, and found, an article with something more interesting than the typical write-up.

"I’m sure the Target Center is willing to go head-to-head with the Big Ten, based on the teams," [Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean] Blais said. "Obviously if Minnesota is playing (in St. Paul), they’ll sell it out. But if fans can’t get tickets to that, or — nothing against Penn State or Michigan or Michigan State or the Big Ten — if those teams are playing, I think they’ll want to see our tournament."

Two can play at that game, Deano. If North Dakota's out of the NCHC tournament, you're left with a choice of: a) two branch campuses, b) two MAC schools (and I love the MAC as a current student at a member school), c) two schools 900+ miles away and d) St. Cloud State in e) a facility that's almost universally seen as second-rate for hockey compared to the Big Ten's Xcel Energy Center. So good luck with that. The Big Ten, without Minnesota, still offers three all-time top ten men's hockey programs and five schools with universal brand recognition. And (including Minnesota again) the main campuses of two NCHC schools, although Nebraska doesn't sponsor hockey yet.

Actually, it is worth pointing out that the Big Ten's entire tournament will be played in St. Paul (or Detroit, in alternating years). In other words, Minnesota will have at least one game at the Xcel Energy Center every single year the tournament is there. North Dakota, on the other hand, will have to get through a best-of-three campus site first round to make it to Minny. They probably will most of the time, but hey, no guarantees when you've recruited the eight best hockey programs in the country into one conference.

Quick break while I finish laughing from typing that last sentence...

ND vote lets school scrap Fighting Sioux nickname
(Yahoo!)

I'm. So. Pumped. And no, it has nothing to do with my opinion of Native American mascots, the NCAA's rule on them or the larger social and political issues involved. I just hate North Dakota, so things that make them sad make me happy, simple as that. All of that said, this is The Story That Will Never Die (TM), so I'm not throwing the party until what's apparently a minority of the state's residents are unsuccessful in their next avenue of appeal, an attempt at a constitutional amendment.

Back at ya, buddy.

NCAA Sends North Dakota State's Championship Banner To Rival UND
(SB Nation Minnesota)

This isn't a hockey story, but it's hilarious. Fun fact: North Dakota State has more hockey national championships than North Dakota. 8-7.

Ice Hockey Will Host Delaware in Outdoor Game
(godutchmen.com)

Lebanon Valley College is taking on the defending ACHA national champs at Hersheypark Stadium on January 22nd, following an AHL outdoor game between Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the 20th. If LVC gets their team up to standard, it should be a great event.

Three Stars: April 30-May 6

3. Black Hawks rout Stars, take 2-1 series lead
(wcfcourier.com)

Penticton Vees 2 - Humboldt Broncos 3
(hockeycanada.ca)

For the sake of staying in touch with the two men's recruits still playing, here's a quick status check:

2013 G Eamon McAdam hasn't played for the Waterloo Black Hawks during their USHL playoff run (he's the no. 2 goalie behind Stephon Williams), but the team is one win away from meeting the Green Bay Gamblers in the Clark Cup finals. Game four of their best-of-five Western Conference final series with Lincoln is Monday night.

Meanwhile, 2012 F Curtis Loik and his Penticton Vees have found themselves in early trouble at the 2012 Royal Bank Cup. The Vees opened with a 2-1 loss to the Soo Thunderbirds on Saturday (Loik had a charging penalty in the game), then fell in overtime to the Humboldt Broncos Sunday night. At 0-2 so far, Penticton will need to win their last two round robin games (Tuesday against the Woodstock Slammers and Wednesday against the Portage Terriers) to make the tournament's semifinals and with a decent seed.

2. April was Nice Trip Down Memory Lane
(statecollege.com)

Joe Battista's column wasn't primarily about hockey, but he's always a nice read regardless. Here's one of the hockey parts, just to keep on topic.

April came to a close with the annual American Hockey Coaches Convention and Big Ten Hockey meetings in Naples, Fla. It was the 25th time I have attended the meetings and this one was even more special with our entry into the NCAA beginning next year for our teams.

One of our best players to ever wear a Penn State jersey, Alon Eizenman, was inducted into the ACHA Hall of Fame on Saturday morning. As he gave his outstanding speech about his career and education at Penn State, tears rolled down my cheeks. He was one of many amazing young men I had the privilege to coach at PSU, and his heartfelt words meant the world to me and my wife.

1. With Hard Work, Comes Reward
(penguins.nhl.com)

About a month ago, I gave a Darby Kern interview on the very same Pittsburgh Youth Hockey Network first star honors, and said "if only they'd decide to hit Jill Holdcroft next week." Well, it took a couple weeks longer than I had hoped but here it is. Only problem: a picture of any value for replacing her brutal headshot was not included.

So...Steph Walkom next?

Best of the Rest



Penn State Ice Rink: Preparation For NCAA Hockey 
(YouTube)

For whatever reason, the Greenberg Ice Pavilion was front and center this week. Some guy named Christopher Gammon produced this video, which gets Bill Downey and rink manager Chris Whittemore on camera to essentially say "we're not going to spend much money prepping the rink for NCAA hockey, because there's no point to doing so when we're moving in a year." So why the video? <shrug>

Melting the Ice: Unlocking the Potential of The Greenberg Ice Pavilion
(tumblr.com)

Here's an in-depth look (with quotes!) at the three predominant options for Greenberg: a) demolish it, b) gut it and turn the place into a high-performance training facility and c) take out the ice and put in some sport court. This might just be the sentimental sap in me speaking, but c please.

Storm draft day an unforgettable event
(Kearney Hub)

A first-person account from the Tri-City Storm's war room during their drafting of a 2014 defense commit at the USHL Futures Draft last Tuesday.

The most nerve-wracking moment was when the team drafting ahead of them was making its pick, because they Storm knew who they were going to take. When it became clear the Storm had the player they wanted — Kevin Kerr from Team Comcast U16 — in the first round, there were high fives, cheers and relief.

The ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs (now known as the Greenville Road Warriors) were the last primary tenant of the Cambria County War Memorial, as PSU's director of hockey operations can attest.

City gets preview of new hockey team
(Johnstown Tribune-Democrat)

If you haven't heard yet, Johnstown, PA will be the home of a sparkly-new (well, relocated) franchise in the Tier II Junior A NAHL next season. Very cool. Hopefully someday soon, the legendary barn graced by Reg Dunlop and Ned Braden will be home to a future Penn Stater.

Hakstol Makes Coaching Staff Change
(College Hockey News)

Tumult at North Dakota. I don't hate it.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament II

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

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

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

East Region (Bridgeport, CT)

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


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

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

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

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

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Midwest Region (Green Bay, WI)

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


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

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

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

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

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Three Stars: February 6-12

3. Family always been there for Chroman
Captain overcomes injuries this season
(The Daily Collegian)

Long-overdue, much-deserved features on Lady Icers senior captains Sara Chroman and Kate Christoffersen.

Quick confession: one of the more embarrassing moments in TYT history was last September when the Lady Icers announced this season's roster. Noting Christoffersen's appearance, I said something like "oh, that's nice that they're still listing her on the roster this year, although she's obviously not playing." Then, after seeing the box score from the first game against Division I Robert Morris, I had to set an all-time record for backtracking. Feel free to laugh at me, but more importantly, understand just how much Christoffersen has overcome to play this year.

2. 

Groundbreaking ceremony announced for new arena
(The Daily Collegian)

If I was to put together an FAQ page of stuff people frequently ask me, this would be on it. Pegula Ice Arena's ceremonial groundbreaking will be on April 20th, also known as Blue-White Friday. Mark your calendars. Or don't, since I want to be able to see.

1. Women's Ice Hockey - Program Update 2-9-2012 
(YouTube)

Crazy week. The Collegian and sports information both acknowledged the existence of the women's program.

Best of the Rest

Photo Gallery: Alumni Weekend 2012
(pennstatehockey.com)

Curtiss Patrick made us laugh. Scott Curry made us cry. And, of course, Jay Paterno proved once again that he's better at public speaking than me. Here's a nice set of photos from Saturday's Festivities.

Penn State Hockey Moving On
(wearecentralpa.com)

Getting on TV is still a big deal, right?

Confirmed: Stars-Lancers to play outdoor game in 2013
(Black and Blue)

As first reported by Lincoln Stars (USHL) blog Black and Blue, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota will play outdoors at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park (best known as the place that hosts the College World Series). The Stars will meet archrival Omaha in the front end of the doubleheader.

North Dakota to resume use of Fighting Sioux nickname
(USCHO)

Can this story please just go away? I really don't care how you resolve it (short of eradicating whichever Sioux tribe it was that didn't approve the nickname), just figure it out.

Part of what's at issue: a crappier version of the Chicago Blackhawks logo.

Princeton, St. Lawrence meet while in a state of flux
(USCHO)

Just keeping a quick eye on the old school of Coaches Gadowsky, Fisher and Lindsay, which has struggled this year thanks to a plague of injuries.

Where Michigan Goes in Lacrosse, Will Others Follow?
(New York Times)

This isn't a hockey story (obviously), but I still thought it was interesting for its parallels to Penn State. Michigan was sort of the PSU of the club lacrosse world, now they've gone NCAA and we're talking about a domino effect, conference realignment, and the like (yet, as in hockey, nobody ever has enough money).

Three Stars: January 30-February 5

The Ice Lions seniors and head coach Josh Hand

3. Gadowsky says identity players are most important for Icers
(The Daily Collegian)

Sometimes it's tough to give the Collegian their due for the great work they're doing this year (on the men's side, anyway) because articles frequently become dated after the games over the weekend and before I run these posts on Mondays. Grinders, shot blockers, leaders and faceoff guys, however, never get dated.

2. Penstone marks decade as Icers’ voice
(Pennsylvania Puck)

PA Puck took a break from writing about the Hershey Bears' use of foam rollers to cover another team beyond the cursory "give the scores on Monday, and Mercyhurst had a couple CHA players of the week." Crazy, I know. The subject: new Icers Hall of Famer Steve Penstone.

1. On the Fly, Feb. 3
(hockeyyall.com)

First star goes to the Ice Lions, who beat Pittsburgh 4-3 Friday and Monmouth 9-0 Saturday to improve to 24-2-0, a record that includes an active 19-game winning streak. It wasn't easy though, particularly in that first game.

The Ice Lions, ranked No. 2 in the ACHA DII Southeast Region, found themselves trailing 3-0 to the No. 12 Panthers seven minutes into the second period. At that point, head coach Josh Hand made a goalie change to Ryan Demuth, and the Lions roared the rest of the way.

Mac Winchester fired a shot into the top corner of the Pitt net to trim the Panthers’ lead to 3-1 and set up another goal as the Lions closed to 3-2 at the second intermission.

Chris Lewis and Austin Wagoner scored in the third period to complete the comeback. No such drama was necessary the next night as PSU rolled to an easy senior night win.

The Ice Lions will next play St. Joseph's at home on Saturday. But more importantly, votes for the next D2 ranking are due that day. The significance of that particular poll is that the top two teams in each region earn an autobid to the ACHA national championships, while teams ranked 3rd through 10th play off February 24th-26th to determine the other half of the sixteen entries. Penn State, given its current position as the southeast's No. 2 team, its recent spotless record, and its head-to-head win over southeast No. 3 UMBC (3-1 on December 2nd) seems to be a lock to qualify for nationals.

Best of the Rest

@Cmen12
(Twitter)

Lady Icer fans Chris Kunitz and James Neal were at Boston's Prudential Center over the weekend. They ran into Jess Desorcie, Cara Mendelson and Tess Weaver, who graciously agreed to take a picture with them.

Former Wayne State women's players find home at Mercyhurst
(goerie.com)

It's nice to know that former Warriors Jill Szandzik and Gina Buquet are able to play out their college careers at one-time College Hockey America rival Mercyhurst. Others weren't quite as fortunate after the WSU program was ripped out from under them last May.

CBS Sports Network Signs Multi-Year Deal with National Collegiate Hockey Conference
(denverpioneers.com)

Well, there you go. The NCHC, the conference formed solely to attract a television deal, will be on a channel I don't get at least 18 games per year. And allegedly, the conference is paying for production costs. Congrats, guys.

More than anything I think, the NCHC was guilty of overestimating its value to broadcasters before nuking the college hockey landscape. Hockey people look at the conference and see some great programs. But most people look at the conference and see MAC teams, branch campuses, schools they've never heard of, and North Dakota. Fair? Probably not. But it's the hard reality of the situation. Hockey on TV in the U.S. has always been an uphill battle. Hockey played by Colorado College and St. Cloud State on TV in the U.S. is close to impossible.

Before you write off my opinion as Big Ten homerism, please note that I've questioned how lucrative hockey on Big Ten Network will be as well.

The Dark Side of Sports: Exposing the Sexual Culture of Collegiate and Professional Athletes
(amazon.com)

Former Icer Nick Pappas wrote a book that promises to be a pretty engaging (and topical) read.

Elite-level athletes are placed upon heightened pedestals in societies world-wide. At the same time, there is a dark side to these glorified competitors that remains hidden from those outside of exclusive athletic circles. Dr. Nick Pappas' athletic background in collegiate and professional sports has provided insider access, enabling him to uncover an array of disturbing sexually deviant and aggressive behaviors, which have silently thrived for decades in many athlete cultures. These findings, expressed through the athletes' own words, are the result of more than 10 years of cutting-edge research involving in-depth interviews with 142 collegiate, minor, and major league athletes from five prominent U.S. sports.

Tambellini Commits To North Dakota
(The College Hockey Blog)

PSU lost out on the son of Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini.

Vernon Vipers (BCHL) forward Adam Tambellini took an official visit to North Dakota during the series with Minnesota and liked it enough to the point where he decided Grand Forks was the best place to continue his hockey career. He’ll enroll either next year or in 2013. Tambellini is third on the Vipers in both goals and assists, and picked UND over Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State.

Nichols 5, Western New England 1
(USCHO)

Ex-Icer Tim Carr played in his second game at NCAA Division III Western New England College on January 28th. Starter Eric Sorenson was run from the game early after allowing three goals on Nichols' first seven shots, but Carr settled things down in relief by stopping 32 of 34 shots in 52:35 of action.

@MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

Since it's now the week leading up to Icers alumni weekend, here's Hall of Famer Don Coyne with Jaromir Jagr at the Pittsburgh Penguins' 1999 training camp.

Three Stars: January 16-22

3. Greeley teen Jeanette Bateman earns hockey scholarship to Penn State
(Greeley Tribune)

I usually save articles about future players for Commit Cycle, but then again, the articles usually aren't also about future biomedical engineers with a 4.3 GPA.

Special thanks to pennstatewomenshockey.com for posting this one.

2. Morrisville, Neumann given postseason bans for financial aid violations
(USCHO)

Pegula Ice Arena? Expected. Max Gardiner? Exciting, but recruits happen. The true shock bombshell of the week goes to Neumann, an opponent of both the Icers and Lady Icers this season, for receiving the pimp hand from the NCAA.

Neumann’s violations include awarding the majority of international student scholarships to student-athletes during the 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years, according to the NCAA. The Knights were sentenced to two years of probation, a $10,000 fine and a postseason ban.

At Neumann, a school financial aid program called the Canadian International Student Initiative Grant was used almost exclusively by men’s and women’s hockey players. In the four-year span, those grants went to student-athletes in all but one case.

It's highly unlikely that we'll cross paths with NU again, but in the event that we do, here's hoping for some creative chant concerning this situation during the national anthem. Karma's brutal, eh?

1. Joe Paterno passes away
(Lions 247)

I'm not sure he'd appreciate it, but among Paterno's immeasurable contributions to Penn State: this blog. Without him, I can say with near certainty that I would have pursued my education elsewhere. Rest in peace, Coach.

Best of the Rest

On the Fly, Jan. 21: UCF, FGCU Split; 16 in Row for PSU
(hockeyyall.com)

The Ice Lions kept rolling with a blowout of Delaware Saturday night.

Penn State scored five times in the first period, backed off the gas in the second and accelerated in the third for a 9-3 victory over Delaware and the Ice Lions’ 16th consecutive win.

It also boosted their Mid-Atlantic College Hockey North Division-leading record to 9-0-0-0. Overall, the Ice Lions are 21-2-0-0.

Penn State’s top two scorers, Chris Lewis and Jim Recupero, led the Ice Lions on the scoresheet with a pair of goals each. Recupero, who paced the ACHA DII Selects in scoring in Europe during the semester break, added an assist to give him 99 career points.

PSU is down to just four regular season games left: January 28th vs. Rowan, February 3rd at Pittsburgh, Feburary 4th vs. Monmouth and February 11th vs. St. Joseph's. The Ice Lions have already defeated each of those teams this season, with the 5-1 result over Rowan standing as the closest of those games. Also of note - the ranking that determines autobids to nationals will be out February 11th and PSU presently sits in the No. 2 slot in the Southeast (which, if this was February 11th, would get the Ice Lions through to nationals). Basically, barring a monumental upset, Josh Hand's squad seems headed to Fort Myers, FL on March 16th.



Joe Battista
(YouTube)

JoePa and JoeBa have something in common besides the structure of their nicknames. Do you know what it's like to devote your entire adult life to one purpose? Neither do I. That's why this interview (from the first intermission of the West Virginia game Friday, just after the Board of Trustees approved Pegula Ice Arena) is so compelling, despite my not even remembering anything Battista said. I spent the whole of it fixed on his expression. However happy we all are, he has to be roughly all of us put together, then multiplied by 30. And you can tell.

Kurt Collins Maintains Steady Rise as Icers Ready for NCAA
(statecollege.com)

I can't say enough about the job Collins has done this year after I considered him a bubble player to even be on the team. Glad to be wrong, and here's a nice feature worthy of his play.

Is the Big Ten Conference Good for College Hockey?
(chicagonow.com)

Haven't had one of these in quite a while.

UND lands Omaha recruit
(Grand Forks Herald)

File Chris Wilkie as one of those who got away after he committed to North Dakota last week.

Wilkie is a skilled forward who leads [the Omaha Lancers U16] with 46 goals, 69 assists and 115 points in 45 games. He also had interest from Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Michigan, Nebraska-Omaha and Penn State.

Shifting Big Ten hockey to neutral site would eliminate WIAA conflict
(Wisconsin State Journal)

Andy Baggot gets a solid whine on about the format of the Big Ten tournament (3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 in best-of-threes at the higher seed's rink, winners meet 1 and 2 at the top seed's venue for the semifinals and final). His solution? Hold it at a venue that's convenient to one of the six teams, St. Paul, MN's Xcel Energy Center. Solid call, bro.

UAH to provide less than 50 percent of budget for revived hockey program
(al.com)

Long story short, Huntsville gets to keep a hockey team, but they'd better start averaging more than 1,466 people per game.

@MarkHorgas
(Twitter)

The Pegula Ice Arena renderings? Fun, but largely theoretical. Actual work towards building a hockey arena at the site is taking place, and it's time to turn our attention to that.