Eizenman Voted to ACHA Hall

Alon Eizenman (wearing the C) celebrates the 2001 ACHA national championship with (left to right) Greg Held, Joe Battista and Mike Blevins.

 
Former Icers forward Alon Eizenman was announced on Monday as the sole member of the ACHA Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. He will become the third representative of Penn State with the honor, joining Joe Battista (Class of 2008) and Josh Brandwene (Class of 2009) once his formal induction takes place at the ACHA meetings in Naples, FL on April 28th.

Since the ACHA Hall of Fame was established in 2007, only nine people have been inducted, and only three have gotten in on the basis of their playing career (Oakland forward/Icers nemesis Will McMahon and Michigan-Dearborn forward Jesse Hubenschmidt are the other two). How does one join such exclusive company? Try this list of accolades, taken from the press release.

1997-1998 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Champions
1997-1998 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Honorable Mention All-American
1998-1999 ACHA Men’s Division 1 1st Team All-American
1998-1999 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships 1st Team All-Tournament
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Champions
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships Tournament MVP
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships 1st Team All-Tournament
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Player-of-the-Year
1999-2000 Bob Johnson Award Winner
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 1st Team All-American
1999-2000 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Academic All-American
2000-2001 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Champions
2000-2001 ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships Tournament MVP
2000-2001 ACHA Men’s Division 1 2nd Team All-American
2000-2001 ACHA Men’s Division 1 Academic All-American
2000-2001 Penn State University Team Captain
2007 Penn State University Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee

In addition to those awards, he was the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 Ted Caufman Icers Most Valuable Player, the 1998-1999 Jon Shellington Offensive Player award winner, the 1997-1998 team rookie of the year and awarded for the best academic performance on the team in 1999-2000. He was the team's leading scorer in both 1998-1999 and 1999-2000.

Eizenman arrived at Penn State for the 1997-1998 season from Toronto and the Wexford Raiders organization, where he totaled 79 points in a 59-game Midget AAA career before reeling off the glut of accomplishments above. His 165 assists as an Icer (to go with his 95 goals) still rank third in Penn State's record book, but that obviously doesn't scratch the surface of his impact on the program or his dynamic abilities as a player.

His goal 15:49 into overtime of the 2000 ACHA championship game against Eastern Michigan capped the Magic City Miracle, probably the most memorable tournament run in Icers history. He also scored with 1:37 left in the semifinals against Michigan-Dearborn to force overtime and began a comeback from a late 4-2 deficit against Minot State in the game previous to that by scoring with 4:47 remaining. The following season, he helped the Icers go from nail-biters to flat-out domination in winning a second consecutive national championship. In arguably the most one-sided tournament in ACHA history, PSU won all four games it played by at least four goals - and even the two four-goal wins (6-2 over Kent State and 7-3 over Illinois) were deceptively "close." Eizenman, as mentioned, was named MVP of both tournaments. He graduated from PSU with an honors degree in finance in 2001.

Before, during and after his time at Penn State, Eizenman competed internationally for Israel. He won gold at the IIHF Group D World Championships in 2000 and again at the IIHF Division II World Championships in 2005, the latter coming with Eizenman skating on a line with brothers Erez and Oren (who played collegiately at RPI and professionally in the AHL and ECHL). He also was team captain of the 1997 Israeli team in the World Under-20 Championships in 1997.

Following a brief pro career in France, Eizenman ended up in law school at the University of Toronto, receiving his J.D. in 2007. He now practices in his hometown, where he resides with his wife Erin and two-year-old daughter Sophie, at the firm of Stikeman Elliott LLP.

Three Stars: April 2-8

3. An unscientific sampling of fan opinions about college hockey realignment
(USCHO)

This just in: some people are rather displeased about Penn State's very existence in their precious realm. Here's one opinion taken from the article which, by the way, very accurately captures the range I've observed.

Chris, a Minnesota fan: “It’s [expletive removed]. Look, we have years and years of alignments. We’ve got teams that we’ve played, teams that are rivals, teams that are together. Minnesota is all of a sudden the most western team and at least four hours away from its closest rival and [now will travel] all the way to Pennsylvania? Penn State decided that all of a sudden they want a team? No. Look, be in Hockey East. I don’t care. It’s very simple.”

I think Boston College just scored again. I guess maybe we should go to Hockey East if we want to compete with the best.

2. Gadowsky chooses 11 Icers for Division I squad
(The Daily Collegian)

Christine Newby does her usual fantastic work in providing the most depth of anyone out there regarding the selection of 11 Icers to next season's roster. To be specific, she got quotes from one of the cuts (Josh Daley, who sounds like he's headed elsewhere) and examined the Title IX implications of the roster's size.

1. Boston College Wins Third Title in Five Years
(College Hockey News)

Helped by Pittsburgh native and Most Outstanding Player Parker Milner, BC (yawn) won yet another national championship. Other takeaway: the last NCAA Division I season without Penn State is now complete.

Best of the Rest

Campus Athletics Announces New Head Coach for Ice Hockey A Team
(lehighsports.com)

Congratulations are in order to Tom Laessig - father of Ice Lions T.J. and Neil - on his new gig as the boss of Lehigh's ACHA Division 1 hockey team.

Men's Hockey Season Tickets
(gopsusports.com)

Guess what? They're taking down names of those interested in season tickets for the inaugural season at Pegula Ice Arena. If that doesn't blow your mind, I'm not sure what will.

Click to view.

Where Do D1 Hockey Players Come From?
(sixteenwins.com)

This is brilliant. And as I've been saying all along, Pennsylvania rates extremely well - perhaps second behind Illinois - when looking at player production per major-conference program.

Fight on State
(ESPN)

I'm sure most people associated with Penn State have read this article by now, but if you haven't, it underscores - in thick, black Sharpie - how little regard Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has for PSU, or even morality and common decency. Why do I bring this up? Well, if you're not aware...

Corbett's leading donors are Terrence and Kim Pegula, who have given $280,000.

I realize that the Pegulas don't owe me anything, and they're certainly free to support whichever politicians they prefer for whatever reasons matter to them. At the same time though, I would like to see some evidence that Corbett's treatment of PSU (not to mention his other shortcomings) bothers them more than they value his protection of hydrofracking. That said, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting. If it didn't happen when Corbett tried to slash the school's appropriation in half (that's $88 million times two per year if you're keeping score), it certainly won't happen over the ouster of a coach TPegs evidently didn't care for anyway (at the very least, he didn't hesitate to throw Joe Paterno under the bus in an ill-conceived interview with TSN while simultaneously trying to bury his own skeletons).

M.F. Schurman named ACHA D1 National Coach of the Year
(delaware.goalline.ca)

A little late on this, but Delaware's Schurman took home well-deserved coach-of-the-year honors. He's UD's first with the accolade since...Josh Brandwene.

Here's an unexpected surprise, from the display of all NCAA Division I jerseys that appears annually at the Frozen Four. I didn't expect PSU's inclusion due to not actually participating in this NCAA season, but I'll take it. Courtesy of former Delaware forward Dave Lombardi's locked Twitter account. 

UAH will be seeking conference affiliation while serving as NCAA Frozen Four host
(al.com)

Alternate headline: other than the whole "the program was killed, then un-killed thing, nothing's really changed in Huntsville."

Breakout Past: Icers Jersey History

Because I'm not sure how many people know anything about the subject, because I'm a card-carrying jersey geek and because most of these were on display at the Icers alumni banquet in February, here's an (admittedly incomplete) look at the jerseys worn by the Icers over the years.

The original Icers jerseys, which lasted from 1971 until the mid-1970s. It took me quite a while to figure the crest out, and the blue is an incorrect shade, but nevertheless these were the jerseys of the team pioneers and as such are to be respected. It's hard to tell from the picture, but these also featured a tie-down, back when having them wasn't retro.

By the late 1970s, the Icers figured out the proper shade of blue and how to win things, like four consecutive MACHC regular season or playoff championships (1977-1980). The jersey, generally, also witnessed the opening of the Ice Pavilion in 1981 as well as the 1984 National Invitation Tournament championship (retroactively called an ACHA national championship, PSU's first). This jersey, specifically, belonged to an offensive defenseman named Joe Battista.

While this jersey wasn't worn for very long over the late 1980s and early 1990s, at least compared to the previous two), it was a part of some of the great moments in Icers history, including the 1989 ICHL playoff championship and the 1990 NIT championship (again, retroactively referred to as an ACHA title).

Beginning in the early 1990s through the 1995-1996 season, these jerseys were the order. The look, an arched "Penn State" over the chipmunk logo, should be rather familiar. Among the highlights with this set: the 33-1-0 1992-1993 team (still a program record for wins in a season) that won the ACHL regular season and playoff titles, then suffered their sole defeat at the wrong time to finish as national runners-up.

By 1996-1997, Nike had officially entered the world of Penn State hockey. These jerseys, though gave way after a season and a half to...

...something very similar, although one that was a little lighter and a lot shinier. The 1998 and 2000 ACHA national championships (as well as the infamous 1999 robbery at the hands of Iowa State) followed after several seasons of almostness.

The Icers' final jerseys had the longest life of any, as they arrived in the middle of the 1999-2000 season and lasted through the end of the 2011-2012 season. Curiously, though, they were considered bad luck by the 1999-2000 Magic City Miracle team, who ditched them in favor of the previous uniforms after a closer-than-expected win over Illinois to open the ACHA national tournament that season. Championships while wearing these, of course, did follow in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

I can't finish this post without including some of the one-off alternate jerseys worn by the Icers in recent years...

2007-2008

2009-2010

2010-2011

... as well the two known jerseys of the original varsity team.

Making the Jump

Today, Penn State hockey introduced 11 members of the 2011-2012 Icers ACHA team that will play for the school's inaugural NCAA Division I team beginning this fall. They are (links are to Facebook videos of the players introducing themselves):

• Junior goaltender Matt Madrazo
• Sophomore goaltender P.J. Musico
• Sophomore forward Tommy Olczyk
• Sophomore forward Jake Friedman
• Senior forward George Saad
• Senior forward Michael Longo
• Senior forward Eric Steinour
• Junior forward Michael McDonagh
• Sophomore defenseman Peter Sweetland
• Senior defenseman Rich O'Brien
• Senior defenseman Brian Dolan

The excluded non-senior players listed on last season's Icers roster are forwards Tim Acker, Josh Daley, Dan Meiselman, Dominic Morrone and Forrest Dell as well as defensemen Ryan Seibolt, Steve Edgeworth and Brandon Russo. While it's obviously of little consolation to them at this point, and in my opinion, the coaching staff is to be commended for for making the transition as painless as possible on the ACHA players. I, along with several others, predicted a much more dire fate for the "true Icers" than what actually transpired last season and this season.

Recall, of course, that defenseman Nate Jensen and forwards Justin Kirchhevel, Bryce Johnson and Taylor Holstrom were previously introduced as "the first members" of Penn State's NCAA team back in September. Furthermore, in November, ten incoming players signed National Letters of Intent for the coming season, including forwards Casey Bailey, Kenny Brooks, David Glen, Reed Linaker, Curtis Loik and Jonathan Milley, defensemen Luke Juha, Connor Varley and Mark Yanis and goaltender Matt Skoff. With all three announcements in mind (and an extra boost from the known unsigned but committed players), here's a very, very early first draft of Penn State's 2012-2013 roster.

Defensemen (8)    Yr Ht   Wgt Hometown         Previous Team
Brian Dolan       Sr 6-1  175 Havertown, PA    Monsignor Bnnr. HS
Nate Jensen       Jr 6-0  185 Shorewood, MN    Mercyhurst (NCAA)
Luke Juha         Fr 5-11 180 Mississauga, ON  Vernon (BCHL)
Joseph Lordo      Fr 5-11 185 St. Louis, MO    Sioux Falls (USHL)
Rich O'Brien      Sr 5-10 180 Furlong, PA      Team Comcast AAA
Peter Sweetland   So 6-2  205 Newtown, PA      Green Mtn. (EJHL)
Connor Varley     Fr 6-0  190 Lansdale, PA     Des Moines (USHL)
Mark Yanis        Fr 6-2  195 Gr. Pt. Wds., MI Muskegon (USHL)

Forwards (16)     Yr Ht   Wgt Hometown         Previous Team
Casey Bailey      Fr 6-3  195 Anchorage, AK    Omaha (USHL)
Kenny Brooks      Fr 6-2  195 Las Vegas, NV    Tri-City (USHL)
Jake Friedman     So 5-10 170 W Bloomfield, MI South Shore (EJHL)
Max Gardiner      So 6-2  175 Minnetonka, MN   Dubuque (USHL)
David Glen        Fr 6-0  175 Ft. Sask., AB    Spr. Grove (AJHL)
Taylor Holstrom   Jr 5-9  185 Yorba Linda, CA  Mercyhurst (NCAA)
Bryce Johnson     Jr 5-10 165 Grimes, IA       Omaha (USHL)
Justin Kirchhevel Jr 5-10 187 Brookings, SD    AK-Anch. (NCAA)
Reed Linaker      Fr 5-9  165 Edmonton, AB     Brooks (AJHL)
Curtis Loik       Fr 6-1  205 N. Vancouver, BC Penticton (BCHL)
Michael Longo     Sr 6-1  180 Allison Park, PA Youngstown AAA
Michael McDonagh  Jr 6-1  180 Wilmington, MA   Winchenden (Prep)
Jonathan Milley   Fr 6-4  220 Ottawa, ON       Pembroke (CCHL)
Tommy Olczyk      So 5-8  184 Long Grove, IL   Sioux City (USHL)
George Saad       Sr 6-2  200 Wexford, PA      Youngstown (NAHL)
Eric Steinour     Sr 6-3  195 Carlisle, PA     Boston (AtJHL)

Goaltenders (3)   Yr Ht   Wgt Hometown         Previous Team
Matt Madrazo      Jr 5-10 165 Sea Cliff, NY    Kent (Prep)
P.J. Musico       So 6-2  185 Orange, CA       Flin Flon (SJHL)
Matt Skoff        Fr 6-0  186 McKees Rocks, PA Sioux City (USHL)

Futures Draft

Marsh and his New Jersey Rockets team won the MJHL championship and competed at Tier III nationals.

Penn State now has a recruiting class of 2015, as New Jersey's Alec Marsh became the first to commit to PSU for that year on March 29th.

Alec Marsh

Forward
New Jersey Rockets (MetJHL)
5'10", 165 pounds
Bridgewater, NJ
DOB 11/1995

EliteProspects.com

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------------------------------------
2009-10  New Jersey Colonials   Bntm   36   21   37   58   88
2010-11  New Jersey Colonials   Mdgt   20    8   13   21   36
2011-12  New Jersey Rockets     AtJHL   4    0    0    0    2
2011-12  New Jersey Rockets     MetJHL 35   36   43   79   79

Let's start, as we usually do, with the press release.

“This was the reward for all of the work Alec put in for the season,” commented New Jersey Rockets Head Coach and Director of Player Development Bob Thornton. “From the first game this year, Alec has been an integral part of the Rockets offense and we expect big things from Alec at Penn State.”

“I’m excited to be a part of a new program,” said Marsh.  “This has been a great year for both myself and the team and I hope that it continues. I’d like to thank the entire Rockets organization for getting to this point in my career. I’m excited to be a Nittany Lion.”

Most recently, the Rockets competed at the USA Hockey Tier III national championships from March 30th through April 1st in Rochester, MN. While they won their first game, 2-1 over the South Oregon Spartans, they departed the tournament after subsequent losses to the Missoula Maulers and the Rochester Ice Hawks.

New Jersey earned its spot at nationals by winning the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League's Keegan Cup final on March 18th over the Long Island Royals by a 4-3 count. Marsh had a goal and an assist in that game, as well as a hat trick in the championship weekend's opening win, 7-3 over the Hartford Junior Wolfpack.

“Getting off to a good start was vital,” said Thornton. “Getting four points [over the course of the weekend] would guarantee a spot for us in the finals and a trip to Nationals and Marsh, as he has done all year long, got us off to a great start.”

Following a loss to Long Island and a tie against Central Penn, the Rockets gained a rematch with the Royals and rallied from a 2-0 hole to take the title with four third-period goals.

Marsh was certainly no small part of the Rockets' success this season. In 35 league games, he put up 79 points to tie for the scoring crown (for what it's worth, he played two fewer games than his co-winner) and take rookie of the year honors. He had at least three points in six consecutive games from November 27th through December 16th and burned the New York Saints for a season-high five in a 12-0 romp on February 27th. He developed instant chemistry with linemate Ryan Hitchcock, a 2014 Yale commit who will play for the U.S. National Team Development Program next season - in fact, both Marsh and Hitchcock cracked the century mark in points over the Rockets' full schedule (MJHL league games plus showcases, exhibitions, etc.). In some cases, one great player can carry a lesser-skilled linemate, but that's definitely not the case here.

“He is a natural goal scorer,” said Rockets assistant coach, and strength and conditioning coordinator Tony Samms. You don’t teach that skill. Combine that with the little bit of edge that he plays with on the ice and an amazing off-ice work ethic, and Alec really has some special moments ahead.”

U.S. Hockey Report offered this assessment at the Junior Bruins Shootout last September:

Always around the puck. Seems to have a knack for scoring goals. Good stick and vision. Scored the OT winner on a penalty shot in the U19 semi-finals.

So he scores goals, eh? Good thing the team with the most of those wins.

Prior to 2011-2012, Marsh was with the New Jersey Colonials organization, and he also played for Seton Hall Prep, his high school. He made the move to the Rockets, essentially, for increased exposure.

“In spite of Alec being on the ice and enjoying the high school playing experience, there was something missing,” said Greg Marsh, Alec’s father. “In spite of playing good competition, there were hardly any scouts at the Seton Hall games. Scouts were coming to watch the travel tournaments and showcases and, upon review at the end of the season, in order for Alec to advance onto higher playing levels, we needed to go the junior route. … We received such high recommendations from other players and coaches that Coach Thornton and the Rockets were the place for Alec to be and, nearly a year later, the results speak for themselves.”

They certainly do. One tremendous season and one accepted NCAA Division I offer later, all that's left is for Marsh to continue to progress (he's mentioned the USHL as a possible future location for that progression) - and for us to wait through another three hockey seasons for his services.