Rocky Mountain news on expansion.

Interesting Point I can't imagine what a 11 team league could do for scheduling? I guess you could say that I have never seen the word poach(es) used this way very many times. Interesting play on words; poaching is the activity of making an employee or customer switch from a competing company to your own company. When I think of poaching I think of taking a deer with a flashlight or poaching an egg. It would also appear that the league schools are more open to expansion than they have been in the past.

EXPANSION: Don't be surprised if the 10-team WCHA eventually poaches a team from another league, such as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, to become a 12-team league in a few years.

Last week, the WCHA voted unanimously to rescind a moratorium barring league expansion, opening the door for Bemidji State to join the league after College Hockey America disbands. Because Air Force has found a comfortable niche in the AHA and the other soon-to-be CHA refugees - Niagara, Alabama- Huntsville and Robert Morris - are neither a competitive nor logistical fit for the WCHA, the league likely will look to bring another team into the fold to avoid an unwieldy 11-team format.

"There was a lot of conversation about a year ago, including myself, where we didn't think (expansion) was a good idea," University of Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. "We didn't want the CHA to disband. We really wanted the CHA to continue operations and expand. But, obviously, that proved fruitless and that changed not only my stance, but a lot of others', too.

"An 11-team league would be difficult. I would not want the job of putting together an 11-team schedule."