The only game in town?

Original NHL logo, used until 2005. A version of the logo features it in the shape of a hockey puck. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The NHL lockout has been a buzzkill so far this fall and it appears that there is no end in sight to the second NHL lock out in eight seasons.

The two sides are literally squabbling over millions of dollars, but have no idea how to come to an agreement on how they’re going to split up their hockey related revenues. While these two sides bicker, college hockey seems to be taking the center stage.

Hockey fans need options and are looking to college hockey to fill their NHL Hockey void.

I have compiled a National Collete Hockey Television Schedule that you can use a guide. I update it, when more games are added to the schedule. In the US, college Hockey might be the only viable option we have this winter, if they two sides don’t come to an agreement soon.

The NHL will cancel the first two weeks of December very soon, if not in days,  if an agreement between the two sides isn’t reached. This is a true fact, that cancellation will probably come after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Dan Tencer@dantencer

Heard from @JSportsnet tonight that the next cancellation from the NHL is December 1-15 + All Star Game. Could be as early as tomorrow.

19 Nov 12

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So how big has college hockey been in absence of NHL Hockey, one team in Grand Forks, North Dakota is the most watched hockey team in North America.

UND hockey is king with the NHL hockey locked out.

If you don’t believe me, check out the article that Brad Schlossman wrote in today’s Grand Forks Herald, which says that UND Hockey is the most followed hockey team in North America.

I don’t think it’s a shock to any of us who have followed UND hockey, which has had a very big following since the team moved the Ralph Englestad Arena for the start of the 2001-02 season.

This season, UND hockey drew it’s 5 millionth fan. That’s pretty good for college hockey, which UND is historically in the top three nationally for attendance every season.

Those fans that come through the turnstiles of the Ralph Englestad Arena  to watch UND hockey are enthusiastic and fired up about watching their favorite team and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by UND head coach Dave Hakstol.

“I don’t know about the attendance marks, but I know about the energy our fans bring,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “It’s the best student section in the country. When we leave for pregame meal, there’s 1,000 students already lined up at 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. When we come back for the game, that student lineup out in the cold wraps halfway around the back of the arena. That, in itself, brings some excitement when you get to the rink.

“Inside the arena, the passion all our fans bring is second to none. I can compare that to almost any sporting event I’ve been at. What continually strikes me is the new people that come into the building — NHL people and hockey people from all over different parts of North America. No matter what they’ve heard about the building, no matter how many positives they’ve heard, by the end of the hockey game they are still in disbelief about what they just witnessed. That’s due to the passion and excitement of our fans. Their loyalty is second to none.”

So while the NHL is locked out, you do have options. Here is the television is the National College HockeyTelevision Schedule for the next two weeks. If you have DiecTV and don’t have the sports pack, get it. Check your local cable television listings for the games and channels listed below.

Fri.	Nov. 23		Minnesota at Vermont	FS North +	7 p.m.	TBD
Fri.	Nov. 23		Colgate at Merrimack	FOX College	7:30 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Nov. 24		Minnesota at Vermont	FS North	7 p.m.	668 / 436
Fri.	Nov. 30		Boston College at Boston University	NBC Sports Net.	7:30 pm	603 / 159
Fri.	Nov. 30		Ohio State at Michigan State	BTN	8 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Fri.	Nov. 30		Vermont at Maine	CBS Sports Net.	8 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Fri.	Nov. 30		Nebraska-Omaha at Minnesota	FS North +	8 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Dec. 1		Boston University at Boston College	NBC Sports Net.	7:30 p.m.	603 / 159
Sat.	Dec. 1		Nebraska-Omaha at Minnesota	FS North +	8 p.m.	TBD

Holding out hope for an NHL season.

So, to review, NHLPA is prepared to go to 50-50 immediately, but wants $393M over four years as part of so-called "Make Whole."
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 21, 2012

I think many NHL fans are holding out hope that this could finally be the beginning of an agreement. It will be interesting to see how the NHL Owners respond.

Jonathan Toews finally back to 100 percent

English: Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews during warm up prior to a National Hockey League playoff game against the Calgary Flames, in Calgary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is one person the lockout probably helped. Former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews suffered a concussion during the 2011-12 season and is now just finally getting back to normal.

Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune --- The Blackhawks captain wasn't 100 percent healed in July. Or October. In fact, it wasn't until late last week that Toews was convinced he's completely over the concussion that caused him to miss the final two months of the 2011-12 regular season before he returned in the postseason against the Coyotes.

While Toews was symptom-free and had cleared all the NHL-imposed concussion protocols before returning to the Hawks' lineup, there were lingering effects from the injury that even the 24-year-old center didn't realize were affecting him. They included balance and eyesight issues that were discovered and solved during a five-day stint at an Atlanta-area chiropractic neurology facility last week.

"Even if you don't feel something and you think you're symptom-free, there's probably still something there that's kind of hindering you and affecting the way your brain works," Toews told the Tribune on Wednesday. "It was just a lot of eye-movement things. My eyes didn't track very well. They didn't look from one target to the next very well. My balance with my eyes closed and my head turned a certain way was terrible. (There were) little things that I would think were normal because I didn't feel something in my head.

Can we have some F'N NHL Hockey?

We just went through what seems like the longest election of our time...At least the American's did.  To make things worse, the NHLPA and the NHL owners are still locked in a labor dispute and we still don't have an agreement after 52 days. Can we please get this thing settled? Lock both sides a room until they can come up with an agreement.

Winter Classic to be cancelled

Original NHL logo, used until 2005. A version of the logo features it in the shape of a hockey puck. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Michael Russo, beat writer for the Star Tribune also said on tweeter today the Winter Classic is dead. Russo is one of the most in tuned beat writers for an NHL team and if he says that the Winter Classic is going to get cancelled, I will believe that it’s true as well.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)--- A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the NHL has cancelled the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the league had not yet announced the cancellation of its signature event. The person also the NHL will schedule its next Winter Classic at the iconic stadium that seats more than 100,000 people.

Last week, the NHL wiped out all of its previously scheduled games through the end of November.

Detroit and Toronto, two of the league's Original Six teams, were going to play outdoors on Jan. 1 at the stadium known as the Big House. The league was hoping the matchup would break the world record for hockey attendance. Michigan and Michigan State's hockey teams drew a record 104,173 fans in 2010.

 Nice to see that the NHL is finally becoming the No Hockey League... One has to wonder if and when will the two sides finally put their differences aside and come to an agreement so we can have an NHL season. It's obvious that the NHL Owners are trying to get the NHLPA to crack and I don't see it happening this time around.

More lockout humor?

I am not sure that there is anything humorous about this picture.

Winter Classic to be cancelled soon...

RT @csnne: #BruinsTalk Reports are saying the Winter Classic could be canceled very soon. ow.ly/eRrBN #lockouttalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 29, 2012

If you have been following your twitter feed or glancing at your favorite NHL and college hockey sites, you will see that the NHL is close to cancelling the Winter Classic, actually it sounded like the Hurricane Sandy might have actually postponed the cancelling of the Winter Classic.

@drewc_78 @csnne Yes. They also reported last week that it would be today. So there's that
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 29, 2012

Since rejecting the union's trio of proposals, the league has made two rounds of game cancellations. The latest, announced on Friday, wiped out the regular-season schedule for November. A source familiar with the league's plan told ESPNNewYork.com that the league is expected to cancel the Winter Classic on Thursday, the source said.[Katie Strang, ESPN.COM]

So if the NHL cancels the Winter Classic, that would mean all the other events that were supposed to take place during that time frame will also be cancelled or moved to other venues as well.

The bigger loss to the city of Detroit is the Winter Festival, a two-week event set to start in late December at Comerica Park and featuring a slew of hockey games ranging from high school to juniors to college to a Wings' alumni doubleheader.

While it may seem like that could still be held regardless of the state of the NHL, it is the NHL that would be building and funding an ice rink at Comerica, a trade-off the Wings agreed to in exchange for having the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor rather than Detroit.

So here is the schedule of everything that is supposed to take place during the Winter Classic. There is a full slate of game from the NCAA, OHL, AHL and the NHL scheduled. That is set to be cancelled on Thursday if no agreement is reached.


DEC. 15-26: Celebration of Hockey featuring amateur games, corporate outings and open skates. Information on booking ice time can be obtained by visiting DetroitRedWings.com/icetime.

DEC. 27-31: Outdoor Festival featuring interactive games, autograph signings, face painting and ice sculpture exhibits as well as musical performances and entertainment.

DEC. 27-28: Great Lakes Invitational featuring the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Western Michigan Broncos and Michigan Tech Huskies all competing for the 2012 MacInnes Cup.

DEC. 29: Ontario Hockey League doubleheader featuring the Windsor Spitfires taking on the Saginaw Spirit, and the Plymouth Whalers battling the J. Ross Robertson Cup champion London Knights.

DEC. 30: American Hockey League Game featuring the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliates of the Red Wings and Maple Leafs, respectively.

DEC. 31: Red Wings-Maple Leafs Alumni Showdown featuring legendary players from two of the National Hockey League’s most storied franchises going head-to-head.

Related articles

• Report: Winter Classic will be canceled Thursday (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• NHL will reportedly cancel Winter Classic (boston.sbnation.com)
• NHL's Winter Classic could be cancelled Thursday: report (cbc.ca)
• Source: NHL to cancel Winter Classic Thursday (espn.go.com)

Is there an end in sight to the NHL lockout?

I have been reading some of the articles that have popped up in my twitter feed group/list that I created and I am not sure what to make out of some of the tweets and stories that have appeared this afternoon and into this evening.

One of the questions that I think that is starting to come up is did the NHL owners over play their hands and are they finally realizing that the players aren’t going to break? So are the owners ready to crack?

Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.com --- Fehr reiterated to ESPN.com on Tuesday that he believes the league in that meeting Thursday told the NHLPA there isn't much wiggle room on the rest of the deal, apart from "make whole," other than "minor and insubstantial" tweaks.

Not helping things is the growing distrust between the two sides, the controversy over the league’s 48-hour window allowing GMs to talk to players being the latest example. It’s the kind of thing that doesn't inspire either side to believe anything the other side is saying.

Having said that, all rhetoric aside, I believe the ability of both sides to figure out "make whole" is paramount to having any chance of ending this lockout.

This is the article that makes me think that the end to the lockout might be closer than we all think. I mean seriously, we know that there are some NHL owners that aren’t doing that well financially and last year one blog said that there were a half dozen teams that might not make if there is a lockout that lasts for a whole season.

James Mirtle, Globe and Mail --- So the NHL is tired of talking to “a baseball guy” and trying to take its message directly to the players, looking for a sympathetic ear.

Such an end-around isn’t unusual – after all, it happened during the last lockout – but it usually comes as part of an endgame strategy.

Are we that far along already? Maybe.

But this time around it is as much to do with (a) testing the players’ resolve and (b) frustration with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr’s dour consistency as anything.

It’s also a sign the league is getting a little anxious – and that a compromise that can end this lockout could actually not be as far away as the rhetoric suggests.

What the NHL is really doing here is fishing for weak points in the membership: players who really don’t want to miss paycheques and are willing to consider the not quite 50-50 offer on the table.

I guess only time will tell and here are a few more tweets that popped up tonight, that you can peruse and see what I am talking about.

@helenenothelen @michaelgrange I do. And I suspect Bettman and Fehr settle this long before we hear about meeting that seals it.
— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) October 24, 2012

likely this deal gets done before either #NHL or #nhlpa confirm meeting that ends #lockout. This was never ending in public view. #quietgood
— Rob Rossi (@RobRossi_Trib) October 24, 2012

Related articles

• NHL Lockout: NHLPA Counteroffer Seems to Makes Sense, What's the Hold Up? (bleacherreport.com)
• NHL lockout 2012: NHLPA counter-proposal expected Thursday (sbnation.com)

Not so fast - NHLPA and NHL Owners no closer to a deal

English: NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman in 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Tuesday the NHL owners put forth another proposal for a new CBA – shortly thereafter there was a lot of excitement that finally we might get an NHL season.

Donald Fehr came out on Tuesday and said, "Simply put, the owners' new proposal, while not quite as Draconian as their previous proposals, still represents enormous reductions in player salaries and individual contracting rights."

Today, the NHLPA put forth three (3) counter proposals to the NHL owners and Gary Bettman and the NHL owners balked at all three of them.

TORONTO — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received three counterproposals from the players’ association on Thursday and left the negotiating table “thoroughly disappointed.”

No new talks have been scheduled, and the possibility of a full hockey regular season is quickly shrinking.

The union offered multiple options in response to the NHL’s offer on Tuesday that called for an 82-game season and a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenues between owners and players.

Bettman said that proposal was the “best that we could do” and added that the two sides are still far apart.

“None of the three variations of player share that they gave us even began to approach 50-50, either at all or for some long period of time,” Bettman said. “It’s clear we’re not speaking the same language.”

After today's revelations, I think we're right back where we were before the lastest round of proposals and counter proposals. This tweet by the Breaking News Twitter feed give me pause to think that we're not going to have an NHL season this year.

NHL owners reject 3 counter-offers from players; commissioner says sides 'nowhere close' to deal - @globeandmail bit.ly/RbCL0W
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) October 18, 2012

Sidney Crosby: when you make 3 proposals and get shut down in 10 minutes it's hard to think the other side really wants to negotiate.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) October 18, 2012

Crosby says he will look a little harder at playing in Europe.
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 18, 2012

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