Expansion linkorama

There have been a few interesting articles to come out since the WCHA went from 10 teams to 12 teams.

~BSU, Bemidji celebrate WCHA membership [Pioneer]

~McRae column: Our little town is never going to be the same with BSU in the WCHA [Pioneer]

~Nebraska-Omaha pulls out of CCHA [Newsminer.com]

~Bemidji State hockey travels the country in news of WCHA expansion [Pioneer]

Todd Milewski, a writer for United States College Hockey Online tweeted: “But seriously, the WCHA got this one right. Wouldn’t have been right to turn the other way while Bemidji faded away.”

But not everyone was happy. WCHA officials characterized BSU’s and UNO’s move to the WCHA as good for college hockey.

A sportswriter on the conference call challenged that generalization and asked: “The CCHA lost a team … the WCHA’s gain is the CCHA’s loss and how is that supposed to be good for college hockey?”

The writer also cited a statement issued by CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos.

“We are disappointed to hear of UNO’s decision to leave the CCHA as they have been a very good member of our league. We have an excellent league, with a very strong membership, and we will continue to focus all of our attention on being a great conference and a leader in helping to shape the future of college hockey,” Anastos said in a statement.

McLeod did not waver.

“Sometimes I have to look out for what’s best in college hockey in general,” he said. “We did not want to look at losing another program.”

~BG to hold 'hockey personnel' press conference [Sentinal Tribune]

~CCHA Issues Statement Regarding Nebraska-Omaha [CCHA]

June 26, 2009 ---- Farmington Hills, Mich. CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos today issued the following statement, on behalf of the CCHA Executive Committee and CCHA Council, in response to Nebraska-Omaha's announcement that it will be leaving the CCHA to join the WCHA in the 2010-11 season.

"We are disappointed to hear of UNO's decision to leave the CCHA as they have been a very good member of our league, and we wish them well. We have an excellent league, with a very strong membership, and we will continue to focus all of our attention on being a great conference and a leader in helping to shape the future of college hockey.

"At this time, it serves no purpose to speculate on how this latest decision will impact the future makeup of CCHA membership. There is a process being followed with respect to admittance of any new member and we are committed to following that process through to completion."

~UAH path clears for league entry. [The Huntsville Times]