ASU to Add Division I Hockey

The story of the day -- the announcement that Arizona State University is going to add Division I Hockey. One of the places that ASU could land is the NCHC. As Brad Schlossman mentioned earlier this week, there's been some discussion between the commissioner and ASU.

House of Sparky --- Three years from now in 2017-18 the Sun Devils will join a conference and two stand out as the most likely landing spots. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has shown interest, as has the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). It is to be determined which one Arizona State chooses.

Of the two, the NCHC would boost Arizona State's profile the most. It would guarantee games against one of the NCAA perennial powerhouses in North Dakota, a school with 20 Frozen Four appearances and seven national titles. Last season North Dakota lost in the Frozen Four to Minnesota.

Geographically the NCHC makes sense as well. Included in it are Colorado College and the University of Denver, the two closest schools to Tempe in either the NCHC or WCHA. The third-closest, Nebraska-Omaha, is also an NCHC school.

The NCHA is the more popular conference as far as fan attendance as well. Last season the most popular WCHA team was Bemidji State with an average of 3,562 fans per game, according to U.S. College Hockey Online. That ranked 22nd in the NCAA.

#ASU promotes men's ice hockey program to NCAA Division I status: http://t.co/pdIRC6hmxj pic.twitter.com/tqyVJeq86n
— Arizona Sports 98.7 (@AZSports) November 18, 2014

Final version: ASU (@TheSunDevils) to launch Division I men's hockey program (18 new scholarships): http://t.co/gQFPAPU3lL via @FOXSPORTSAZ
— Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) November 19, 2014

Arizona State to sponsor NCAA Division I men's hockey program: ASU will become the ninth col... http://t.co/wSVEgUqrch #NCAAhockey #NCAA
— NCAA Wire (@ncaawire) November 19, 2014

USCHO Top 10 Round Up

As always, it should be interesting how USCHO will choose the men's top 10 tomorrow morning after yet another interesting weekend of college hockey. Here is how I think things will turn out:

1. North Dakota. UND split with Miami this past weekend and were close to sending Friday's game into overtime just missing on some chances late in the third.

2. Boston University. The Terriers had a one game series this weekend against Maine, and would find themselves in the winners circle with a 3-1 score.

3. Minnesota. The Gophers were swept in a home and home series against Minnesota Duluth this weekend so the Gophers lose the top spot.

4. Michigan Tech. The Huskies remain the lone undefeated team in the country with a sweep of Bemidji State this weekend.

5. Colgate. The Raiders beat St. Lawrence Friday and would tie the Clarkson Golden Knights Saturday.

6. UMass Lowell. Lowell split with Penn State this past weekend.

7. Miami. The Red Hawks come off of a split with UND.

8. Denver. The Pioneers come off of an 8-1 victory over Colorado College.

9, Boston College. BC lost in a Tuesday match up against Harvard 6-3 and would beat Michigan State on the road 3-2 Friday.

10. Minnesota Duluth. UMD looked very impressive this weekend in their sweep of the Golden Gophers.

NCAA Hockey: Six Part Must-See Non-Conference Series

Atlantic Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/oXAtQNjJFu
— NHLFantasyPlus (@NHLFantasyPlus) August 25, 2014

I just finished up six blog posts: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series. I am in the process of writing a 10 Must-See NCAA Hockey Series. It should come out this week. As we move towards the 2014-15 college hockey season, this has been the most uneventful off-season that I can remember. For those that are wondering, the NCHC CBSSN television schedule is going to come out sometime in the next six weeks.

Hockey East: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series - http://t.co/exzbOdnZOU #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/ddqwDiGwCx
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 15, 2014

WCHA Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series - http://t.co/NFnkuFtXDE #NHL pic.twitter.com/5S7jQy2ivf
— THW Hockey (@HockeyLinks) August 13, 2014

Big Ten Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/PEJLOVDELc #THW
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 9, 2014

ECAC Hockey: Five Must-See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/uZTLyjpxSn #THW
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 7, 2014

\

#NHL #Hockey NCHC Hockey: Five Must See Non-Conference Series http://t.co/oa1IDdmeVj
— Hockey Fan (@HockeyFanLV) July 30, 2014

College Hockey on Twitter

Official Team Accounts Official NCAA team accounts feed and list

Hockey East feed and list

Atlantic Hockey feed and list

Big Ten feed and list

Boston University Men's Hockey: @TerrierHockey

Boston University Women's Hockey: @BUwhockey

Merrimack College Men's Hockey: @MC_MHockey

Merrimack College Women's Hockey: @MerrimackWHKY

Harvard Men's Hockey: @Harvard_Hockey

Harvard Women's Hockey: @HarvardWHockey

Alabama Huntsville Hockey: @UAHHockey

North Dakota Men's Hockey:‏ @UNDMHockey

North Dakota Women's Hockey: @UNDWHockey

Nebraska Omaha Men's Hockey: @UNO_Hockey

UMass Lowell Men's Hockey: @RiverHawkHockey

Minnesota Duluth Men's Hockey:‏ @UMDHockey

Miami-Ohio Ice Hockey: @MiamiOH_Hockey

Dartmouth Men's Hockey: @Dartmouth_MIH

Dartmouth Women's Hockey: @dartmouthhockey

Clarkson Women's Hockey: @CUknights

Robert Morris Men's Hockey:‏ @RMUHockey

Robert Morris Women's Hockey: @RMUWHockey

Quinnipiac Women's Hockey: @QU_WomensIceHky

Princeton Women's Hockey: @PWIH

AIC Hockey: @AIC_Hockey

Niagara Hockey: @NiagaraUHockey

Mercyhurst Men's Hockey: @HurstMensHockey

RPI Women's Hockey: @RPIWomensHockey

University of Denver Hockey: @DU_Hockey

UMass Hockey: @UMassHockey

Maine Men's Ice Hockey: @MaineIceHockey

Ohio State Men's Hockey: @OhioState_MHKY

Ohio University Men's Hockey (probably one of the next D1 teams): @BobcatsHockey

Ohio State Women's Hockey: @OhioState_WHKY

Northern Michigan University Hockey: @NMUHockey

Wisconsin Men's Ice Hockey:‏ @BadgerMHockey

Wisconsin Women's Hockey: @BadgerWHockey

Northeastern Men's Hockey:‏ @GoNUmhockey

Northeastern Women's Hockey:@GoNUwhockey

Yale Women's Hockey: @YaleWhockey

Colgate Men's Hockey:‏ @Colgate_Hockey

Colgate Women's Hockey: @gatewhockey

Boston College Ice Hockey: @BCHockeyNews

Union College Men's Hockey: @UnionHockey

Union Women's Hockey: @UnionWHockey

Michigan State Hockey:@MSU_Hockey

RIT Men's Hockey:‏ @RITMHKY

RIT Women's Hockey: @RITWHKY

Providence College Men's Hockey:‏ @FriarsHockey

Providence College Women's Hockey: @PCWHockey

Notre Dame Hockey: @NDHockey

UConn Men's Hockey: @UConnMHOC

UConn Women's Hockey: @UConnWHOC

Bemidji State University Men's Hockey: @BSUMHockey

Vermont Men's Hockey: @UVMmhockey

Vermont Women's Hockey: @UVMwhockey

UNH Men's Hockey: @UNHHockey

UNH Women's Hockey: @UNHWomensHockey

Penn State Men's Ice Hockey: @PennStateMHKY

Penn State Women's Ice Hockey: @PennStateWHKY

Princeton Hockey:‏ @puhockey

Michigan Tech Hockey:‏ @mtuhky

Western Michigan Men's Ice Hockey: @WMUHockey

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey: @SCSUHUSKIES_MH

Holy Cross Ice Hockey:‏ @HCHockey

Canisius Ice Hockey: @GriffsHockey

Army Ice Hockey: @army_hockey

Cornell Men's Ice Hockey: @CUBigRedHockey

Cornell Women's Hockey: @CornellWHockey

Sacred Heart Men's Hockey: @SHUHockey

Brown Men's Hockey:‏ @BrownMensHockey

Brown Women's Hockey: @BrownWHockey

University of Michigan Hockey:‏ @umichhockey

Ferris State Hockey:‏ @FerrisHockey

Minnesota Men's Hockey: @GopherHockey

Minnesota Women's Hockey:‏ @MNWomensHockey

Official League/Conference Accounts Official NCAA conferences list and feed

NCAA Ice Hockey: @NCAAIceHockey

Big Ten Hockey: @B1GHockey

CCHA (sadface):‏ @CCHAhockey

The NCHC:‏ @TheNCHC

ECAC: @ECACHOCKEYMWD1

WCHA Hockey: @wchahockey

Atlantic Hockey: @Atlantic_Hockey

Hockey East: @hockey_east

Reporters, News, Blogs and Interesting Accounts

College Hockey News: @chnews

USCHO.com: @USCHO

College Hockey, Inc: @collegehockey

Quinnipiac Ice Hockey Podcast: @HamdenHkyNight

D3 NESCAC account: @nescachockey

Independant Alabama Huntsville twitter: @WeLoveUAHHockey

Wisconsin State Journal UW Hockey Reporter: @AndyBaggotWSJ

BU sports blog (run by my dear friends) "Bloggin' On Babcock": @blogginbabcock

Everything University of Michigan Hockey: @MichiganHockey

ESPN anchor and college hockey proponent John Buccigross: @buccigross

Another Michigan hockey blog: @YostBuilt

UMass hockey blog "Fight Mass" @FightMass

Penn State Hockey coverage by The Daily Collegian: @TDC_MHockey

University of Minnesota Duluth Hockey Blog: @UMDHockeyBlog

Boston College blog "Around The Res": @AroundTheRes

Former BU hockey reporter, still tweets a lot about college hockey, Scott McLaughlin: ‏ @smclaughlin9

College hockey television analyst Dave Starman: @DStarmanHockey

Voice of Bowling Green hockey Kevin Meyers: @KevinMeyersBG

Bowling Green hockey correspondent Evan Pivnick: @EvanPivnickBG

College Hockey News writer Joe Meloni: @JoeMeloni

CHN and Merrimack writer Mike McMahon: @MikeMcMahonCHN

Cornell Men and Women's hockey blog "Big Red Faceoff": @BigRedFaceoff

SCSUHockey.com fansite: @scsuhockey

BU centric blog (without the blog):‏ @BurntBoats

NCAA Hockey's Future coverage:‏ @DJPowersHF

UMass blog "Fear The Triangle":‏ @FearTheTriangle

Quinnipiac University Hockey Blog: @QUHockeyBlog

ECAC Hockey Blogs:‏ @ECACHockeyBlog

Clarkson Hockey Blog: @ClarksonHockey

Union Hockey Blog: @UnionHockeyBlog

Nanooks Hockey Blog: @NanookHockey

BU Hockey Blog:‏ @TheBUHockeyBlog

Boston University Terrier Hockey Fan Blog: @thfblog

College Hockey News reporter Josh Seguin: @JoshSeguin24

SB Nation College Hockey: @SBNCollegePuck

UMD Bulldog commentary: @runwiththedogs

In-Game Updates for St. Lawrence Hockey: @SLUhockeylive

St. Lawrence Hockey Blog: @sluhockeyblog

Union Hockey News: @unionhockeynews

ECAC College Hockey News and QU hockey reporter Bryan Lipiner: @Bryan_Lipiner

Very biased BU blog "BayState RoadSports": @bsrs_blog

Yale and Quinnipiac hockey reporter Chip Malafronte: @ChipMalafronte

NCAA, NCHC, College Hockey, thehockeywriters: @goon48

North Dakota hockey for the Grand Forks Herald:‏ @SchlossmanGF

Rensselaer Hockey news: @rpihockeydotnet

Northeastern hockey blog "Husky Hockey News":‏ @HuskyHockeyNews

Cornell men and women's hockey blog "Where Angels Fear to Tread": ‏ @CornellWAFT

NBC Sports Network college hockey announcer Dave Goucher: @DavidCGoucher

Over the Boards, college hockey recruiting news: @OTBPuckWatch

UMaine twitter, good guy John Forsyth: @blackbear93

Union and RPI writer for the Albany Times Union Ken Schott: @slapschotts

Maine student sports radio: @SportsWMEB

Lowell fan, CHN contributor, and sarcastic hockey pundit Ryan Lambert: @twolinepass

Northeastern's Ryan Lambert and "good fan" Sean Hathaway: @seanphathaway

Boston University Terrier Hockey Pictures: @BUTerrierPics

USCHO writer Pat Bradley:‏ @PatBradleyUSCHO

USCHO writer Alex Faust: @alex_faust

USCHO writer and RIT commentator Chris Lerch:‏ @chrislerch

USCHO writer Jimmy Connelly: @jimmyconnelly

USCHO writer Paula Weston: @paulacweston

USCHO Hockey East writer Dave Hendrickson: @HendricksnUSCHO

USCHO writer and tech Ed Trefzger: @EdTrefzgerUSCHO

USCHO ECAC writer Brian Sullivan:‏ @SullivanHockey

All things Michigan Tech hockey: @TechHockeyGuide

Boston University's Boston Hockey Blog: @BOShockeyblog

Wisconsin Ice Hockey reporter Andy Johnson: @AndyJohnsonB5Q

St. Cloud hockey blog "Center Ice": @CenterIceClub

UND hockey blog "Sioux Tradition" ‏ @SiouxTradition

Princeton hockey blog "Eye On The Tigers": @PUHockeyBlog

Minnesota Gophers Hockey stats: @GopherPuckStats

CHN/SBCollegePuck and Minnesota writer Nate Wells: @gopherstate

Minnesota Duluth radio guy and blog writer Bruce Ciskie: @BruceCiskie

RIT Mens Hockey live updates:‏ @RITMHLive

College Hockey News writer Adam Wodon: @CHN_AdamWodon

UMaine hockey reporter Matt Booth:‏ @Mainely_Hockey

St. Cloud men and women's hockey news:‏ @KVSCHockey

UMD and NCHC reporter Andrew Craig: @CollegeHockeyHH

Everything Minnesota hockey (High school, college, NHL):‏ @MNState0fHockey

North Dakota Hockey and Minnesota writer @SchlossmanGF

Wisconsin fan, but ECAC reporter Jason Klump: @Jason_Klump

Providence hockey reporter Mark Divver: @MarkDivver

Gopher Puck Live: @GopherPuckLive

Clarkson hockey reporter Cap Carey: @CapCareyWDT

UMD hockey writer Matt Christians: @Matt_Christians

BU hockey blog "Bleed Scarlet": @BleedScarletBU

Student-run Quinnipiac hockey twitter: @QUBobcatHockey

UMass Lowell hockey news "Hawk Squawk"‏: @UMLHawkSquawk

Unofficial Bowling Green hockey twitter: @BGSU_Hockey

Miami hockey blog "Blog of Brotherhood": @MiamiHockeyBlog

Hockey East blog "The Puck Drop": @HockeyEastblog

Hockey East/Atlantic Hockey/ECAC radio show "Hockey on Campus": @HockeyonCampus

Bentley Falcons hockey blog "JAR Pride": @JARpride

RPI hockey blog "Without a Peer":‏ @without_a_peer

BU's unofficial mascot Sasquatch: ‏ @busasquatch

"Cawlidge Hawkey Organization":‏ @CawlidgeHawkeyO

College hockey (among other things) writer Joshua Kummins: @JoshuaKummins

CollegeHockey.info, a larger directory of current and former players:‏ @USCollegeHockey

UML hockey blog "View From 123":‏ @VIEWFROM123

Student Sections/Fan Groups

Michigan's Children of Yost: @ChildrenOfYost

Wisconsin's Crease Creatures: @CreaseCreatures

Minnesota Duluth's Penalty Box: @umdpb

Ohio State's Knucklebucks: @OSUKnucklebucks

Union College's Messa Faithful: @MessaFaithful

New Hampshire's Cat Pack: @UNHCatPack

Boston University's Dog Pound: @BUDogPound

Cornell's Lynah Faithful: ‏@LynahFaithful

Bowling Green's Falcon Fanatics:‏ @FalconFanatics1

Ohio University's Gang Green: @GangGreen14

Michigan Tech's Mitch's Misfits: @mitchsmisfits

Northeastern's DogHouse: ‏@NUDoghouse

Bowling Green's Bleacher Creatures:‏ @bg_creatures

RIT's Corner Crew:‏ @ritcornercrew

North Dakota's NoDak Nation: @NoDak_Nation

Providence College's Friar Faithful: @PCFriarFaithful

RPI's First Church of RPI: @FirstChurchRPI

Nebraska Omaha's The Red Army: @RedArmyUNO

UMass Lowell's RiverHawk Nation: @RiverHawkNation

Penn State's Roar Zone: @TheRoarZone

Minnesota Duluth's Hockey Cheerleaders: @UMD_HockeyCheer

Official Arena Accounts

Union College's Messa Rink: @MessaRink

North Dakota's Ralph Englestad Arena: @TheREA

Boston University's Agganis Arena: @AgganisArena

UMass Amherst's Mullins Center: @MullinsCenter

UMass Lowell's Tsongas Center: @TsongasCenter

Bentley's Ryan Arena: @RyanArena

Coaches

Providence College Head Coach Nate Leaman:‏ @CoachLeaman

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Anastos: @TomAnastos

Princeton Head Coach Bob Prier:‏ @coachbobprier

St. Lawrence Head Coach Greg Carvel: @SkatingSaints

Army Head Coach Brian Riley: @Coach_BRiley

Merrimack Head Coach Mark Dennehy: @MarkD4224

Miami Head Coach Rico Blasi: @CoachBlasi

RPI Head Coach Seth Appert: @SethAppert

UMass Head Coach John Micheletto: @CoachMicheletto

Ohio State Associate Head Coach Brett Larson: @BrettLarson18

Dartmouth Associate Head Coach Dave Peters: @AcademicHockey

Princeton Assistant Coach Greg Gardner: @coachgards

Wisconsin Assistant Coach Gary Shuchuk: @gshuchuk

Boston University Assistant Coach Steve Greeley:‏ @SGreeley8

Cornell Volunteer Assistant Coach Matthew Michno: @MMichno30

Quinnipiac Assistant Coach Bill Riga:‏ @BillRiga

Quinnipiac Assistant Coach Reid Cashman: @ReidCashman

Northeastern Assistant Coach Jerry Keefe: @KeeferJ_

Miami-Ohio Assistant Coach Nick Petraglia: @NickPetraglia

UMass Amherst Assistant Coach Ryan Miller: @rkmillertime

Michigan State Assistant Coach Tom Newton:‏ @CoachNewtonMSU

St. Lawrence Assistant Coach Kristofer Mayotte: @Mayotte_K

UConn Assistant Coach Joe Pereira: @JoePereira91

S/T to @BartRhett for supplying the list. Any omission should be addressed to him. 

Related articles

• NCAA Women's Hockey Morning Skate: December 6th, 2013 (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Sub-Par Faceoff Numbers Plague Team (thehockeywriters.com)

Ruh Roh! Small school complaining

I was reading this article in USCHO and it's interesting, but not all is equal. The Atlantic Hockey Association while they have made big-time improvements, they still aren't on the same level as the other major conferences. That's the brutal reality. That doesn't mean that they're not going to win games in the NCAA tourney, because they have in a few isolated cases.

Also, these schools in most cases, just  don't have the facilities a lot of the other big schools have, I checked on line and not one of the current schools in the AHA has an arena that seats over 3000 fans.  So, good luck getting the bigger schools to visit the R.I.T., Sacred Hearts and or the Bentley's of the AHA.

Chris Lerch, USCHO.COM -- Atlantic Hockey posted the highest number of non-conference wins (25) and tied for the best non-conference winning percentage (.365) in the league’s history. That was despite AHA teams playing the vast majority of their non-conference games on the road.

And that, according to Wilson, is where change has to happen.

Atlantic Hockey teams hosted 23 non-conference home games (16 with conference-affiliated teams; seven against either Alabama-Huntsville or Penn State) plus three more neutral-ice games where AHA squads were the designated home team (RIT’s game with Penn State at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena and Robert Morris’ contests with Penn State and Ohio State at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center).

In contrast, the league’s 12 teams played 52 pure road games and another five on neutral ice (not including NCAA tournament games). That’s more than a two-to-one disparity.

Mercyhurst played all seven of its non-conference games on the road. Niagara played six of its seven non-conference contests away from Dwyer Arena, where the Purple Eagles were 15-0-2 last season.

In comparison, teams that will form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference played 35 non-conference home games to just 15 road games and 10 neutral-site games. Denver did not play a road non-conference game; no NCHC school played more than two.

Big Ten teams (not including Penn State) played 20 non-conference home games, eight road games and nine neutral-site games out of league. Wisconsin and Michigan did not play any non-conference road games.

Sure, it's true that AHA allows the NCAA tourney to have 16 teams in the NCAA tourney, but now it appears that the smaller schools in college hockey want to start dictating the terms to the bigger schools of college hockey. Yeah, okay! We'll see how that works for them.

I have a feeling this isn't going to play well for these smaller schools and I really don't see them setting the terms. I mean, what's next? The smaller schools start asking that we move the start of the season back a couple of weeks? Or that we start limiting that number of scholarships that teams can give out to level the playing field. The AHA isn't fully funding their hockey teams to the maximum scholarship levels that the other schools are.

Of course that's going to change, a little bit. It was announced back in May, that the Atlantic Hockey beginning with the 2014-15 season will add one additional scholarship bringing the total allowed to 13 scholarships. The following season, Atlantic Hockey will again add one more scholarship for the 2015-16 season, bringing the total number of scholarships to 14.

UND travels on a couple of non-conference series every season. Last year, UND went to the Alaska Goal Rush Tourney in Fairbanks Alaska and played at Notre Dame. So, actually, Mr. Lerch’s article isn’t exactly correct, one NCHC team played three non-conference games away from home. Alaska Fairbanks was the host for the Goal Alaska Rush Tourney.

Break down of UND travel in recent years.

UND traveled to Kendall Classic in Anchorage, Alaska and to Maine for the 2010-11 season.
UND traveled to Cornell during the 2009-10 season.
UND traveled to Boston for the Ice Breaker during the 2008-09 season to play BU and UMass and also played a two game set at Harvard as well. So, that team made two trips to Boston.

Related articles

• Is this the list of NCHC refs? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Josh Fenton Named Commissioner Of NCHC (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• CCHA & Atlantic Hockey Meet To Discuss Alignment Possibilities (stupidhockey.typepad.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Current NCHC Television Deal is Unacceptable (getrealhockey.com)
• NCHC to launch new web page on August 1, 2013 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Nchc Announces Inaugural Television Schedule (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

AHA Commissioner explains stiff suspension for Griffins forward

English: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) logo. Source: http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/Public/mlp/promotions_special_events/pe_web/promo_manual/memos/identity.pdf Converted by User:King of Hearts from :Image:National Collegiate Athletic Association logo.png using Inkscape. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Sunday, Atlantic Hockey commissioner Robert DeGregorio explained his very lengthy suspension to Canisius sophomore forward Matthew Grazen for his check from behind on Air Force Academy junior Forward George Michalke who is still out with an apparent head injury.

Ben Kirst, USCHO Arena Reporter --- On Sunday, DeGregorio explained the punishment.

“I know that people are trying to compare this to what happened in other leagues,” DeGregorio said. “But I am the commissioner for Atlantic Hockey. My job is to provide a safe environment and to apply the rules of the NCAA to our league.

“I’m not responsible for what happened in Minnesota a year ago,” the commissioner continued, in apparent reference to Gophers forward Kyle Rau’s one-game suspension for an illegal hit on Denver’s Jason Zucker, “or in Hockey East or in any of the other leagues. Nor do I comment when I get calls. I am responsible for my league. In viewing what had happened, and the extent of the injury — and one of the things that I do and others don’t, is they don’t weigh the extent of the injury — I felt it was important.”

DeGregorio took a unique approach to the suspension. Grazen, who missed the Griffs’ road trip to Minnesota on Oct. 28 as part of his NCAA-mandated suspension for a disqualification penalty, was prohibited from playing in Canisius’ two-game series against Clarkson last weekend and will miss upcoming contests with Robert Morris on Nov. 9, RIT on Nov. 10 and archrival Niagara on Nov. 16.

Grazen will then complete his punishment later in the season when the Griffs travel to Colorado Springs to face Air Force on Feb. 15-16, a move made by DeGregorio in an attempt to diffuse potential on-ice retribution.

Frist, I have not been able to find video of the hit in question any but everything that I have read is that the hit was vicious and violent and worthy of a suspension.

I have to applaud the AHA Commissioner for having the stones to make a tough call. I believe that Degregoiro is right; his job is to ensure that the league provides a safe environment and to apply the rules of the NCAA to his league. Unlike another league office that comes to mind – almost immediately – whose threshold for handing out a suspension has to be very high before he will act upon an on ice hit or incident. Thank God, my favorite school is leaving said league after this season.

Hockey is a physical game but unnecessary and dangerous hits need to be addressed. You can have a physical game without decapitating an opponent or causing him to be a drooling vegetable.

College Hockey to fill the void left by the NHL

s/t Fargo Sioux from Sioux Sports. 

The NHLPA and the NHL owners have not scheduled any more negotiations and there appears to have been little progress made during the recent CBA talks this past week.

As each week goes by, I get the feeling that NHL hockey fans are in for a long winter with no hockey. 

No NHL Hockey – no worries – hockey fans have some great options tonight. 

So what would have been the opening week of hockey in the NHL – hockey fans can turn their attention to a pretty nice schedule of Division I college hockey on the television screen tonight.  

Here are the channels these games are all times are Central Standard Time and the games are on Directv. 

603 (6:00 pm) - Maine @ Notre Dame – NBC Sports Net

603 (9:00 pm) - Army @ Nebraska-Omaha– NBC Sports Net

623 (6:30 pm) - St. Cloud @ New Hampshire – Fox College Sports

626 (7:30 pm) - USA U18 @ North Dakota– Fox College Sports

668 (6:00 pm) - Michigan State @ Minnesota – Fox Sports North

Related articles

• Updated College Hockey Television Schedule (thehockeywriters.com)
• NHL prospects represented by many current and former College Hockey players (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NHL Fans Do Have Other Options (insidehockey.com)

UConn Men's Ice Hockey To Join Hockey East for the 2014-15 season

STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut has been offered and has accepted an invitation to join the Hockey East Association in the sport of men's ice hockey in a joint announcement made on Thursday. Connecticut will join the league for men's ice hockey in 2014-15 and is already a member of the league in women's ice hockey.

Connecticut's membership in the men's league will put the conference at 12 teams for the 2014-15 season, including: Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Merrimack, UMass-Lowell, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Notre Dame (beginning in 2013-14), Providence and Vermont.

The Huskies will continue to compete in the Atlantic Hockey Association for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

"This is a historic day in the history of the University of Connecticut and its Division of Athletics," said Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. "Hockey East is the premier men's ice hockey conference in the country and we are proud to say that the Huskies are now part of it. I would like to thank Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna and the Athletic Directors at the institutions that comprise Hockey East for providing us this special opportunity.  We are committed to developing a men's ice hockey program that can and will perform successfully on the national level and compete for Hockey East and NCAA championships.

"I would also like to recognize Commissioner Robert DeGregorio and our fellow Atlantic Hockey institutions for their support during this decision making process."

The Hockey East Association was founded in 1984 and league teams have won eight NCAA championships in the past 20 years. Hockey East teams have made 37 appearances in the Frozen Four and 21 appearances in national championship games in the 28-year history of the league. Since 1999, Hockey East has won six NCAA Championships and has placed 20 teams in the Frozen Four, along with 53 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Thirty-two Hockey East alums have won the Stanley Cup with their respective NHL teams.

"This is one of the most historic and significant days in the history of our conference," said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. "We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with the University of Connecticut for more than a decade through our involvement with its women's hockey program. Today we start a new chapter in this relationship and we couldn't be more pleased.

"Warde Manuel and his staff did a commendable job in preparing for this moment and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the role played by the state's biggest hockey fan, Governor Dan Malloy. Our directors have always said that we would welcome growth through any institution that brings value to our conference. No other school was better positioned to do this than the University of Connecticut."

UConn plans to play its home Hockey East conference games at the XL Center in downtown Hartford and will continue to play non-conference games in Storrs at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. The XL Center is the longtime off-campus home of both the UConn men's and women's basketball teams.

"The State of Connecticut is very excited that UConn is joining Hockey East and will be bringing the passion of college hockey to downtown Hartford," said Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. "I have been a longtime fan of college hockey and believe that this is an incredible opportunity for the University. It is also a great opportunity to bring more top-flight events to the XL Center and further enhance the quality of life in downtown Hartford."

"We are thrilled with the University of Connecticut's decision to join Hockey East," said Chuck Steedman, AEG Management CT/XL Center Senior Vice President and General Manager. "AEG is extremely excited about the opportunity to play host to UConn Hockey at the XL Center and will support UConn's program in a variety of areas.

"We commend the forward-thinking vision of both the University of Connecticut and Governor Malloy, as Hockey East represents a major win for the state of Connecticut and the capital region will see the direct impact of these games being played downtown."

Connecticut currently does not offer athletic scholarships in men's ice hockey, but plans to elevate to the NCAA maximum of 18 scholarships as a participant in Hockey East. UConn will also add additional athletic scholarships to women's sports to ensure compliance with gender equity regulations.

UConn joins an elite group of seven other schools that compete on the national level as a member of the BCS Conference in football and play college basketball and college hockey in a national elite conference. Those other schools with their future conference hockey affiliation are: Boston College (Hockey East), Michigan (Big Ten), Michigan State (Big Ten), Minnesota (Big Ten), Notre Dame (Hockey East), Ohio State (Big Ten) and Wisconsin (Big Ten).

"It is a very exciting time to be part of the University of Connecticut and the joining of Hockey East is a reflection of the continuing efforts to advance our great university," said President Susan Herbst. "UConn is one of the top 20 public research institutions in the country, and our athletic prowess has been a terrific part of our overall success.  I would like to thank Governor Malloy for his support of our membership in Hockey East.   I am also extraordinarily grateful to the leadership of Hockey East, and to the university presidents of the league.  We are honored to stand alongside such excellent institutions and look forward to meeting them on the ice." 

The University of Connecticut first fielded a varsity men's hockey team in 1960-61. UConn elevated its program to Division I status in 1998-99 as a founding member of both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Atlantic Hockey in 2003-04.

"The entire UConn men's ice hockey family is very excited about this announcement," said UConn head coach Bruce Marshall. Marshall is a 1985 UConn graduate and former men's ice hockey student-athlete. He has been the head coach of the program since 1988 and is the winningest coach in program history as he enters his 25^th season in 2012-13. "We are very grateful to the administration of the University and to the entire state for bringing Connecticut into Hockey East. From our current student-athletes to our dedicated hockey alumni base, there is great anticipation about this move. I believe that there is a strong appetite for this level of college hockey here in Connecticut and that Husky fans will embrace our entry in Hockey East."