Commit Cycle: April 17 (Men)

While hockey has become a year-round endeavor thanks to summer showcases, camps, etc., the primary hockey season (the one with easy-to-access info) is unfortunately winding down, and that of course includes the teams housing Penn State's recruits. As each player's season concludes, they'll be removed from this post as this feature fades into the offseason as well. So far, the removed players include:

• 2013 D Thomas Welsh. His top-seeded Salisbury Prep was stunned in the Stuart/Corkery Tournament (the New England prep championship) semifinals by Lawrence Academy.
• 2012 D Luke Juha. Juha played on the gold medal winning Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge. His Vernon Vipers, though, were 30-27-3 and missed the BCHL playoffs for the first time since 2000-2001, thanks in part to Juha's absence for most of the season due to injury.
• 2014 D Bo Pellah. The youthful Langley Rivermen also missed the BCHL playoffs at 19-35-6, although Pellah led the team's blueliners in scoring.
• 2014 D Kevin Kerr. Team Comcast missed the AYHL playoffs and then lost out to the North Jersey Avalanche for the Atlantic District bid to USA Hockey nationals on March 17th and 18th. Meanwhile Kerr's prep team, Holy Ghost, lost to La Salle College High School for the Flyers Cup title on March 14th.
• 2013 D David Thompson. Thompson's Chilliwack Chiefs put forward a valiant effort in the first round of the BCHL playoffs against the juggernaut-ish Penticton Vees, but ultimately fell in six games.
• 2012 F David Glen. The Spruce Grove Saints were 18 seconds from winning Game Seven of the North Division finals and advancing to the Enerflex Cup finals for the AJHL championship. Two goals by the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, the latter coming 7:06 into overtime, ended the Saints' dream of a third straight league title. Still, after a 46-6-8 regular season, that's hardly a valid source of shame.
• 2012 F Jonathan Milley. Behind a finally-healthy Milley, the Pembroke Lumber Kings shook off an up and down 32-24-6 regular season to advance to the CCHL semifinals where they gave top-seeded Nepean all they could handle before falling in seven games. Milley's playoff stats: seven goals and 10 assists in 12 games.
• 2012 D Connor Varley and 2013 F Zach Saar. The Des Moines Buccaneers slumped badly down the stretch (including losses in their last 14 games) and missed the USHL playoffs after finishing 20-33-7. Varley proved one of the steadiest defensemen on the team, although Saar's scoring hit the skids following a mid-season trade from Chicago with just six goals in 32 games as a Buccaneer.
• 2012 D Joseph Lordo. The captain of the Sioux Falls Stampede was one of the few bright spots for the USHL's worst team this season. His 21 points led the team's blueliners and were fifth overall on the offensively-challenged outfit while he also added his trademark physical element on the back end.
• 2012 D Mark Yanis. Yanis mirrors Lordo in being a physical defenseman on a team that struggled this year. His Muskegon Lumberjacks fell to the USHL's Eastern Conference cellar at 17-35-8, just one point better than the Stampede.

As always, for updated season stats of all recruits, visit the M Current Commitments page.

Casey Bailey

Forward
Omaha Lancers (USHL)
6'3", 195 pounds
Anchorage, AK
Class of 2012
DOB 10/22/1991


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   at Sioux City           W 3-1  1   0   1   4 [box score]
4/13  at Des Moines           W 4-3  1   1   2   0 [box score]
4/14  vs. Sioux City          W 5-2  0   0   0   2 [box score]

Bailey's overtime goal against Des Moines clinched second place in the USHL's Western Conference as well as the first-round playoff bye that goes with finishing among the top two in either conference... his 59 points were tied for 9th in the USHL while his 27 goals tied for 10th.

Kenny Brooks

Forward
Tri-City Storm (USHL)
6'2", 195 pounds
Las Vegas, NV
Class of 2012
DOB 12/11/1991


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   at Lincoln              L 1-4  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/7   vs. Sioux City          L 2-3  0   1   1   0 [box score]
4/13  at Waterloo             L 1-3  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/14  at Sioux Falls          W 3-2  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/16  at Waterloo             L 4-6  0   1   1   0 [box score]

The Storm took a loss to Eamon McAdam's Black Hawks in game one of their best-of-three first round series and will need to bounce back Tuesday night to avoid elimination.

Max Gardiner

Center/Left Wing
Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
6'2", 175 pounds
Minnetonka, MN
Class of 2012
DOB 5/7/1992


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   vs. Waterloo            W 4-3  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/7   at Muskegon             W 3-2  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/13  vs. Chicago             L 2-4  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/14  vs. Muskegon            W 7-6  0   4   4   0 [box score]
4/16  vs. Team USA            W 6-3  0   2   2   2 [box score]

After helping to fuel an offensive outburst in a regular-season closing OT win over Muskegon, Gardiner kept it going with a pair of apples in a game one win over the USNTDP Under 17s.

David Goodwin

Center
Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
5'9", 187 pounds
St. Louis, MO
Class of 2012
DOB 2/27/1992


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   vs. Omaha               L 1-3  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/7   at Tri-City             W 3-2  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/13  at Sioux Falls          W 3-1  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/14  at Omaha                L 2-5  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/16  at Fargo                L 1-2  -   -   -   - [box score]

With Goodwin unavailable due to injury, Sioux City suffered an overtime loss against Fargo in their playoff opener and now need to win two straight against the Force to advance.

Reed Linaker

Center
Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
5'9", 165 pounds
Edmonton, AB
Class of 2012
DOB 11/4/1991


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   vs. Fort McMurray       W 5-1  0   0   0   2 [box score]
4/7   vs. Fort McMurray       L 1-7  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/9   at Fort McMurray        L 2-3  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/10  at Fort McMurray        W 3-2  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/12  vs. Fort McMurray       W 4-1  -   -   -   - [box score]
4/14  at Fort McMurray        W 4-0  -   -   -   - [box score]

Linaker returned from a knee injury suffered December 3rd, in his first game with Brooks following a trade from St. Albert, in time to play in games one and two of the AJHL Enerflex Cup finals... with the AJHL title now in hand following the six-game series win, the Bandits will now play Curtis Loik and his BCHL champion Penticton Vees in the Doyle Cup beginning Friday... the Doyle Cup winner advances to the RBC Cup, Canada's Junior A national championship.

Related stories:
Early setbacks helped Bandits win first AJHL crown (Calgary Herald)

Curtis Loik

Forward
Penticton Vees (BCHL)
6'1", 205 pounds
North Vancouver, BC
Class of 2012
DOB 4/23/1993


Date  Opponent                Score  G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   vs. Powell River        W 3-1  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/7   vs. Powell River        W 2-1  0   0   0   0 [box score]
4/10  at Powell River         W 4-3  0   1   1   0 [box score]
4/11  at Powell River         W 3-2  1   0   1   0 [box score]

As already detailed in a separate post, Loik and the Vees finished their domination of the BCHL this year with a Fred Page Cup finals sweep of Powell River... Penticton will travel to Brooks for the first two games of the Doyle Cup series.

Loik attempts to protect his net in game one of the BCHL finals.

Eamon McAdam

Goaltender
Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
6'2", 180 pounds
Perkasie, PA
Class of 2013
DOB 9/24/1994


Date  Opponent               Score SA GA  Sv% GAA
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   at Dubuque             L 3-4 --  -  --- ---  [box score]
4/7   at Green Bay           W 5-3 12  1 .917 1.50 [box score]
4/13  vs. Tri-City           W 3-1 --  -  --- ---  [box score]
4/14  vs. Cedar Rapids       W 6-4 32  4 .889 4.00 [box score]
4/16  vs. Tri-City           W 6-4 --  -  --- ---  [box score]

McAdam entered the game against Green Bay at the first intermission facing a 2-0 deficit against the USHL's regular season champ and ended up leading the team to a nice win... he watched from the bench as Stephon Williams led the team to within a win of advancement versus the Storm.


Matt Skoff

Goalie
Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
6'0", 186 pounds
McKees Rocks, PA
Class of 2012
DOB 7/23/1991


Date  Opponent               Score SA GA  Sv% GAA
--------------------------------------------------------------
4/6   vs. Omaha              L 1-3 25  3 .880 3.02 [box score]
4/7   at Tri-City            W 3-2 --  -  --- ---  [box score]
4/13  at Sioux Falls         W 3-1 27  1 .963 1.00 [box score]
4/14  at Omaha               L 2-5 --  -  --- ---  [box score]
4/16  at Fargo               L 1-2 36  2 .944 1.91 [box score]

In Sioux City's first playoff game, Skoff was spectacular in dueling with North Dakota commit/Boston Bruins draftee Zane Gothberg... he gave up a goal 20 seconds into the game, but shut the door from there, allowing the Musketeers to force overtime before he was beaten by Force defenseman Willie Corrin.

Related stories:
Skoff named Musketeers MVP (Sioux City Journal)
My Team... (Slightly Chilled)

Three Stars: April 9-15

3. Brooks Bandits win first AJHL Championship
(juniorhockey.com)

2012 forward Reed Linaker's team took home the Enerflex Cup with a six-game finals win over the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (Enerflex, if you're wondering, sells products and services to the oil industry, which is obviously huge in western Canada...I had it between that and something sold at GNC, go me). The Bandits will now play 2012 forward Curtis Loik and the Penticton Vees, the BCHL champs, in the Doyle Cup beginning Friday. The winner of that series advances to the RBC Cup, Canada's Junior A national championship.

I downplayed the Bandits relative to the Vees and their solo-post status for an obvious reason: Linaker didn't play very much. Following a mid-season trade from bottom-feeding St. Albert (where he spent three and a half seasons), Linaker busted his knee 8:46 into his first game with Brooks on December 3rd and didn't play again until the first two games of the championship series. Hopefully a healthy Linaker can be a bigger part of two more Bandit accomplishments this season.

2. Pride of Pegula
(forumotion.com)

Hey look, it's a message board. Devoted entirely to Penn State hockey. Get after it.

1.Penn State Hockey- We will show them who we are
(YouTube)

Hey look, it's a YouTube pump-up video. Devoted entirely to Penn State hockey. Get after it.

Best of the Rest

IceDogs Sign 2011 2nd Round Draft Pick Anthony DiFruscia
(niagaraicedogs.net)

I think a reasonable argument can be made that Penn State isn't really an NCAA DI program until a recruit or player bails for major junior. DiFruscia doesn't technically count towards that - he wasn't a commit, he only had an offer - but still, it's a first taste of the frustration top programs experience more or less all the time. I don't like it.



Inside Pegula Ice Arena - Applied Research Laboratory CAVE Model
(YouTube)

I put this one later in the post simply because I assume that at least 68 percent of the free world has seen it by now. If not, it's pretty freaking cool and you should take this 808th chance to watch it. Although I imagine that the arena would cost about $78 million instead of $89 million without dropping some Disclosure-looking stuff on us. (Correction: I'm told that this pile of niceness has been on the house to this point.)

Okay, the technology's improved a little since 199whatever. Also, evil Demi Moore is evil.

Penn State Coaches Caravan To Hit The Road This Spring
(gopsusports.com)

The Nittany Lion Club and the Penn State Alumni Association will team up to provide fans the chance to meet and hear from some of the leaders of Penn State Athletics this spring when the Penn State Coaches Caravan hits the road for destinations across Nittany Nation, encompassing seven states and Washington, D.C.

Long story short and of interest to us: both Guy Gadowsky and Josh Brandwene will be at the Buffalo, NY stop at 6:00 p.m. on May 16th. Brandwene will also be in Pittsburgh at 6:00 p.m. on May 14th. The events cost $40 for alumni association members and $55 for non-members.

Gadowsky, program looking forward
(Lions247)

Worth a read, especially if you like Gadowsky or (in this cut/paste) Taylor Holstrom telling you you're awesome.

“The fan support was really growing too that was the coolest part about it. I started seeing hockey stuff pop up in the stores and seeing people wearing it around campus. The entire year almost every game was sold out, that was really impressive.”

Hastings Named New Minnesota State Coach
(College Hockey News)

In the only real news from elsewhere worthy of this post from last week, Minnesota State poached UNO assistant Mike Hastings to replace Troy Jutting.

@CoachBrandwene
(Twitter)

Speaking as one of those myself, I completely agree. Know who isn't a neutral observer?

#trollsohard

Loik, Vees Take BCHL Crown

If you like hockey because of its drama, the 2011-2012 Penticton Vees are probably not your favorite team. Behind sixteen NCAA Division I-committed players, including Wade Murphy (Merrimack), Joey Benik (St. Cloud State), Mario Lucia (Notre Dame), Travis St. Denis (Quinnipiac), Bryce Gervais (Minnesota State-Mankato), Ryan, Mike and Connor Reilly (Minnesota) and of course Curtis Loik (Penn State), the Vees were 54-4-2 in the regular season. Their 110 standings points were 26 ahead of the next best team in the BCHL. Eighty-four of those points came during a Canadian Junior A record 42-game winning streak that stretched from November 11th through March 9th. Yeah, they did okay.

On Wednesday night, they made official what would have taken an upset in the "all-time" category to prevent: the Fred Page Cup as playoff champions of the BCHL, via a finals sweep of Powell River.

Loik, for his part, contributed to all of that success as a tremendous shutdown forward with a penchant for scoring timely and usually dirty goals. Three happened during Penticton's fifteen game run through three playoff series. The first came in a pivotal game five of the opening round against Chilliwack (including 2013 defenseman David Thompson), the only team to pose a legitimate challenge to the Vees. His tally early in the third period gave Penticton a two-goal advantage and stood up as the winner in a 4-2 victory. The third came late in the second period of the championship-clinching 3-2 win over Powell River Wednesday night and also eventually became a game-winning goal. He was pretty happy about that one.

This is actually the second championship won by Loik this season. In November he, along with fellow PSU commit Luke Juha, helped Team Canada West to the gold medal at the World Junior A Challenge. I'm sure he wouldn't mind adding to the count, either. Up next: the Doyle Cup championship series, which pits the BCHL and AJHL champions against each other for the right to go to the RBC Cup, the Canadian Junior A national championship (2012 forward Jonathan Milley, incidentally, scored both goals in an RBC Cup clinching 2-0 win for the CCHL's Pembroke Lumber Kings over the BCHL's Vernon Vipers in last year's event). 2012 forward Reed Linaker and his Brooks Bandits are locked in a 2-2 series in the AJHL's Enerflex Cup finals, so they represent a possible next opponent for the Vees.

Other PSU commits still alive for championships this season include USHLers Kenny Brooks (Tri-City), Matt Skoff (Sioux City), David Goodwin (Sioux City), Casey Bailey (Omaha), Max Gardiner (Dubuque) and Eamon McAdam (Waterloo), all of whom will be in that league's playoffs beginning April 16th. Women's 2012 forward Hannah Hoenshell won the USA Hockey Tier II 19U national championship with her Alliance Bulldogs team on April 1st and 2012 forward Shannon Yoxheimer won the JWHL with NAHA, while 2013 forward Amy Petersen won a second straight Minnesota high school AA title with Minnetonka this year.

PIA Construction: April 10, 2012

Third in a series tracking Pegula Ice Arena construction every few weeks (February 7, 2012 / March 27, 2012).

Today's installment, which comes courtesy of a generous reader, shows that yep, there's still just a giant pit at the future PIA site. Look closely though - there's order in the chaos. Before more obvious progress is made, what are just piles of dirt to the untrained eye actually serve as a rough layout of the arena's floor plan. The second picture, for example, quite clearly shows the location of the community rink through some orderly digging and a few orange cones.

Click for full size.

Rasmussen Delivers Horsepower, Brainpower

As the moment of finalizing the 2012-2013 women's roster approaches, Sartell/Sauk Rapids (MN) forward Kendra Rasmussen has officially committed to Penn State for the coming year.

Kendra Rasmussen

Forward
Sartell/Sauk Rapids (MN) HS
Height/weight unknown
Sartell, MN
DOB unknown

MNgirlshockeyhub.com

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------------------------------------
2009-10  Sartell/Sauk Rapids    MN-HS  26   21   19   40    8
2010-11  Sartell/Sauk Rapids    MN-HS  24   32   17   49   10
2011-12  Sartell/Sauk Rapids    MN-HS  28   33   17   50    8

From the release:

“I fell in love with the campus,” said Rasmussen, the two-time Times Player of the Year and senior captain for the Sartell/Sauk Rapids Storm’N Sabres girls hockey team. “I first went out there in September and it just felt like home to me. I think I made a good decision."

She was also offered by Minnesota State-Makato and Quinnipiac, but decided on Penn State, largely due to its pre-med program. Her academic chops, as you might expect from someone who actually bases their college choice on academics, are pretty impressive - she'll already have 22 credits in the books when she begins classes this summer.

Hopefully she doesn't graduate too quickly, because she's not horrible at hockey either. Rasmussen was a scoring dynamo for the Storm'N Sabres (bad, bad things happen to nicknames when two high schools share hockey teams - Rasmussen attends Sartell, for what that's worth), and had nearly twice as many goals as anyone on a team that advanced to the Minnesota Section 8AA finals this past season before losing to Roseau. (here's video evidence that she's capable of making it look easy, and here are people talking about how she makes it look easy).

Sartell/Sauk Rapids was 18-8-1 overall, thanks in part to some eye-popping games from Rasmussen: a hat trick and an assist in the section playoffs against North Wright County on February 14th, another three-plus-one game against Hutchinson on December 20th and the reverse of that (one goal, three assists) against Alexandria on November 18th stand out among those. She was appropriately awarded with AP all-state honorable mention honors as the Storm'N Sabres won their league's title.

In 2010-2011, Rasmussen also led the team in scoring - in fact the next highest scoring player had 16 (!) points. They paid dearly for that lack of balance when they were quickly escorted from the 8AA playoffs by St. Cloud via a shutout after a 15-8-2 regular season. SSR was 16-9-1 in 2009-2010.

Rasmussen joins 2012 D Paige Jahnke and 2013 F Amy Petersen as future Nittany Lions produced by Minnesota high schools, a somewhat surprising outcome considering the coaching staff's eastern roots (that's not a complaint, particularly if they're all this complete of a student-athlete package).

The women's roster for 2012-2013 is in its final stages of construction. According to sources, there are 22 or 23 recruited players coming in, which breaks down as 13 forwards, seven defenders and two or three goalies. With Rasmussen, 10 forwards, five defenders and one goalie are counted on the Current Commitments page. That leaves six or seven to-be-identified recruits...and not a whole lot of room for last season's Lady Icers roster if the final roster size is in the range of 27 or 28 players. The tough decisions, again, according to sources, have been made and communicated to the affected players and we should have a good idea of who will lace up to face a tough College Hockey America schedule in the fall sooner rather than later.