Pre-Season Predictions (by Sioux 7)

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS The last WCHA season as we currently know it is about to start, this season will mark the end of epic an era. The WCHA has been one of the top conferences for as long as I can remember, and it will be reborn with some schools remaining (Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Alaska-Anchorage, and Bemidji State) and new ones (Alaska (Fairbanks), Northern Michigan (they return after leaving the WCHA in ‘92), Ferris State, & Lake Superior State) joining. Before I get into this year’s predictions, let’s look back on how last year finished up, below are the final regular season records.

WCHA FINAL STANDINGS 2011-2012

Team………………..……W-L-T………Points
1. Minnesota…………...…20-8-0…..…….40
2. Minnesota-Duluth……..16-7-5….……..37
3. Denver…………...........16-8-4………....36
4. North Dakota.………....16-11-1….….…33
5. Colorado College …….15-12-1…….….31
6. St. Cloud St…………...12-12-4……..…28
7. Nebraska-Omaha……...11-12-5…….....27
8. Michigan Tech………..11-13-4………..26
9. Bemidji State……..…..11-14-3.…….....25
10. Wisconsin…....………11-15-2..….…..24
11. Minnesota State……...8-18-2..…….....18
12. Alaska-Anchorage…...5-22-1………...11

The Final 5 in St. Paul featured MTU, SCSU, UND, DU, UMD, and UM. The WCHA tournament went like this – Thursday, DU defeated MTU 3-2 in OT, and UND defeated SCSU 4-1 – Friday DU beat UMD 4-3 in a 2-ot thriller, and UND defeat UM in an exciting 6-3 comeback win – Saturday UND defeated DU 4-0, to claim their 3rd consecutive Broadmoor Trophy. With that in mind here are my less than well-educated guesses as to who will finish where…

12 – Alaska-Anchorage – Let’s face facts, the Seawolves have been in the bottom half of the standings every year. That doesn’t mean they are doormats though, they are in most of their games and they don’t give up. Dave Shyiak is a good coach; he keeps his teams competitive with the recruits/players he gets. Alaska isn’t high on most kid’s list of places to go to college, and all the long flights taking their toll on these college students. I don’t see them in the top half of the standings, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished out of the twelve spot.

11 – Minnesota State – The Mavericks will have a new coach this year, Mike Hastings, he replaces Troy Jutting, who was at MSUM for the previous 12 years. Hastings was an assistant coach with UNO the past 3 years, and was with Minnesota before that, he is a 1993 alumni of SCSU. With a new coach at the helm, players will have to adjust to their new leader. I think a year or two down the road these purple pucksters could make a run up the new WCHA standings.

10 – Bemidji State – The Beavers were one of four teams last year that had eleven wins in league play and where three games below .500. Like most of the bottom half teams, they need to get more scoring from their top lines, if they want to finish with a winning record.

9 – Michigan Tech – The Huskies from Houghton almost made it to an even record to end the season. But they did make the Final Five and gave DU all they could handle in their play-in game. You could say that BSU has a “favorable” schedule this year, in that they don’t play four games against many of the “powers that be”. Don’t be too surprised if you hear the Huskies do some howling this year.

8 – Wisconsin – The Badgers struggled last year, we’ll call last season a rebuilding year. They have been a defense first team, starting with the goalie and working out from there. Now that they have some experienced goaltending in their Badger burrow, they can start building themselves back up. Coach Eaves knows what it takes to win, so we’ll all have to watch and see how fast they put it all together in Madison.

7 – Nebraska-Omaha – The Mavericks lost assistant coach Mike Hastings to Mankato in the off season, but gained Mankato’s old head coach Troy Jutting as an assistant. MSUM and UNO games could turn into a rivalry now that they have swapped coaches. UNO needs to be more consistent across the board, last year it seemed as if the offense was good, then defense and goaltending were off, and vise versa. If they get that squared away they could be a top half team.

6 – Colorado College – The Tigers won four of their last twelve games to finish out their year, and lost their first round playoff series at home to visiting MTU. Last year they started off hot and cold off, I’m sure they want the same start this year, but a different finish…We’ll just have to wait and see…

5 – St. Cloud State – The Huskies have a heavy sophomore class this season, which means they should all be improved from their freshman campaign. They have three seniors and they will be the backbone for the team, seniors Hanowski and Lee will be the keys to taking this year’s Huskies back to the Final Five and beyond. This season will also mark head coach Bob Motzko’s 8th season as the lead musher of SCSU hockey.

4 – Minnesota Duluth – The Bulldogs are coming off a strong season, unfortunately they watch last year’s McNaughton cup slip away from them and into the hands of Minnesota. When you look at the losses of seniors from last year, you might think of this season as a rebuilding year. I think it’ll be more of a reloading year.

3 – Minnesota – The Gophers had excellent year last, capturing the WCHA regular season title and advancing to the Frozen Four. The maroon and gold return plenty of talent from last year team. The big question will be goaltending, with the little or no college game experience; luckily they have some seasoned d-men.

2 – North Dakota – The teams formerly known as the Fighting Sioux, now just know as North Dakota (I’ll just use ND), will be in a similar boat as Minnesota. They have a question mark about the goaltending and how that will develop through the season. Also this year ND will have brothers playing for them at the same time, the MacMillan men, Mark and Mitch. (I believe that last time that happened was 03-04, with the Parise’s Zack and Jordan.) This will be coach Hakstol’s 9th season with ND, the coach staff has changed in the off season with Cary Eades departing the program.

1 – Denver – The Pioneers are my preseason predicted number one. How can I give them that honor over my favorite ND team, you ask? They return their goalie’s from last season and they both had playing time. And as for scoring, let’s just say DU has always been offensive, wink, wink. Win or lose the last WCHA title as we currently know it, coach Gwozdecky will still be the snazziest dressed coach in the league.

NHL Hockey fans you have options

This post was originally posted at the Hockey Writers.

Due to the impending and inevitable NHL lockout this season a lot of hockey fans of the National Hockey league are going to be looking for other options to fill their NHL hockey void.

May I suggest, giving college hockey a try to fill your NHL hockey void.  

For the college hockey fans this is going to be a very exciting season. First time fans are also going to find out that this is going to be very historic season in the college hockey world as well.

Let me get you up to speed on what is happening in the college hockey world.

Historic Season

The landscape has changed drastically since the summer of 2011 – this was due to a very generous donation from Penn State University alumnus Terry Pegula in September of 2010  – that very large and generous donation allowed Penn State University to start a men’s and women’s division I college hockey team.    

With Terry Pegula, who is the founder and chief executive of East Resources Inc., opened his “rather large” wallet and wrote Penn State a check for $88 million to help the Nittany Lions build Pegula Ice arena.  None the less, that donation rocked the college hockey world, now that the Big Ten “will have” six teams that play college hockey – the B1G by conference rules is required to have a B1G hockey conference – with this generous donation by Pegula – this new conference will begin play during the 2012-13 season. 

With the addition of one University joining college hockey – a tidal wave of change came to college hockey landscape that set the ball in motion for what ended up being a very chaotic summer. With a swipe of a pen – the big name/money schools from the Big Ten Schools that were in both the WCHA and the CCHA dedided to leave the WCHA and CCHA conferences and form the Big Ten Hockey Conference.

On the outside, it would “appear” that the transition for the B1G schools was for the most part seamless.

Not to be out done and in response to the Big Ten hockey conference formation; Miami University from the CCHA decided to join North Dakota, Denver University, Colorado College, and University of Nebraska Omaha to form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The NCHC transition was seen as a little rockier as the NCHC schools made what some in the media perceived as a few unimpressive stumbles out of the starting blocks. One of these perceived blunders was in the NCHC’s attempt to lure Notre Dame to become a member of the six team super conference.

That effort fell short when the NCHC leadership didn’t wasn’t too keen on the idea of Notre Dame having their own television deal – the NCHC was looking at inking their national television deal with a sports network.

Hockey East had no problem with Notre Dame having their own television deal and Notre Dame decided to join Hockey East in October of 2011.  

While some fans were perplexed with why the NCHC didn’t look past Notre Dames TV deal the NCHC decided to move on and signed a television deal of their own with CBS Sports Network in the February of 2012. League fans of the NCHC weren’t happy with this deal because many of them thought an exclusivity deal with the NCHC that guarantees at least 18 games was as step down from their current television deals.

In some cases it was.

While the NCHC lost the Fighting Irish, they gained Western Michigan University of the CCHA and Saint Cloud State University of the WCHA.  

If your head is still spinning you’re not alone, the college hockey world wasn’t done changing – the remaining schools from the WCHA and CCHA merged into the WCHA – the CCHA which has been in existence for almost 40 seasons the league will disband after the 2012-13 season.

The new WCHA which will begin play during the 2013-14 season will have the following schools; Bemidji State University, Bowling Green University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Minnesota State University Mankato, Michigan Tech University, Northern Michigan University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage.

If you thought the movement was over, it wasn’t.  Hockey East with the addition of Notre Dame was sitting at an unattractive and uneven number of 11 schools which makes conference scheduling more difficult. On June 21^st, 2012 Hockey East solved that scheduling issue and accepted the University of Connecticut Huskies of the Atlantic Hockey Association. The UCONN Huskies will begin Hockey East play during the 2014-15 season.

With what has happened the last few summers – this season could shape up to be an exciting season of college hockey – especially with a long term labor dispute – college hockey could take center stage.

The CCHA will play it’s final conference tourney of their history at the Joe Louis Arena on March 21-23 in Detroit and the WCHA will play their final conference tourney the same weekend at the Xcel Energy Center under the current WCHA. Old rivalries will have one more opportunity to renew themselves before teams go their separate ways.

There will be many opportunities to watch college hockey on television, if the NHL gets involved a long term lockout and ends up losing the whole season.

No one knows how long the NHL work stoppage will be if the NHL owners lock the players out.

That being said, an NHL lockout is bound to benefit of Division I college hockey. As we get closer to the season a full television schedule will come out and this is especially handy if you have the sports pack on DirecTV where you  can watch numerous games in three time zones.

Related articles

• Few things before bed...
• Big Ten lacks a page for their hockey teams too...
• UND's Andrew MacWilliam and Nate Ewell on the Pipeline show
• No NHL Hockey this season?

Enter caption for this picture....

I found this picture on line today and I thought I would share it with you to get you into the mood. Since this is the last season of the WCHA as well we will take a little time to look back at some of the buffoonery that we have seen from the strips. 

Seriously, I would like to have heard what coach Dave Hakstol told Derek Shepherd during this conversation. I am sure that Hak wasn't asking Derek where he was going to go after the game so the two could discuss the game over a few drinks. 

Related articles

• Hakstol, 'Joe Gleason the epitome of a great teammate'
• UW and UND to continue series after both teams leave the WCHA
• UND's Andrew MacWilliam and Nate Ewell on the Pipeline show
• WCHA Unveils All-New Mobile Website

2012 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp Final Roster

The WJC Evaluation Camp Final Roster is out and UND hockey recruit Jordan Schmaltz is not on the roster for the USA.

GOALIES (4)

John Gibson, Kitchener Rangers (OHL) ANA (’11, 2nd rd., 39th overall)
Jon Gillies,. Indiana Ice (USHL) CGY (’12, 3rd rd., 75th overall)
Garret Sparks, Guelph Storm (OHL) TOR (’11, 7th rd., 190th overall)
Anthony Stolarz, Corpus Christi (NAHL) PHI (’12, 2nd rd., 45th overall)
the USA Hockey

DEFENSEMEN (11)

Shayne Gostisbehere, Union College (ECACH) PHI (’12, 3rd rd., 78th overall)
Matt Grzelcyk, U.S. National Under-18 Team BOS (’12, 3rd rd., 85th overall)
Garrett Haar, Western Michigan Univ. (CCHA) WSH (’11, 7th rd., 207th overall)
Seth Jones,. National Under-18 Team 2013 Draft Eligible
Jake McCabe, Univ. of Wisconsin (WCHA) BUF (’12, 2nd rd., 44th overall)
Connor Murphy, Sarnia Sting (OHL) PHX (’11, 1st rd., 20th overall)
Mike Reilly, Penticton Vees (BCHL) CBJ (’11, 4th rd., 98th overall)
Patrick Sieloff, U.S. National Under-18 Team CGY (’12, 2nd rd., 42nd overall)
Brady Skjei, U.S. National Under-18 Team NYR (’12, 1st rd., 28th overall)
Jacob Trouba, U.S. National Under-18 Team WPG (’12, 1st rd., 9th overall)
Andrew Welinski, Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) ANA (’11, 3rd rd., 83rd overall)


FORWARDS (19)

Cole Bardreau, Cornell Univ. (ECACH) Free Agent
Tyler Biggs, Miami Univ. (CCHA) TOR (’11, 1st rd., 22nd overall)
Colin Blackwell, Harvard Univ. (ECACH) SJS (’11, 7th rd., 194th overall)
Reid Boucher, Sarnia Sting (OHL) NJD (’11, 4th rd., 99th overall)
Travis Boyd, Univ. of Minnesota (WCHA) WSH (’11, 7th rd., 177th overall)
Thomas Di Pauli, 5-U.S. National Under-18 Team WSH (’12, 4th rd., 100th overall)
Steve Fogarty, Penticton Vees (BCHL) NYR (’11. 3rd rd., 72nd overall)
Alex Galchenyuk, Sarnia Sting (OHL) MTL (’12, 1st rd., 3rd overall)
John Gaudreau, Boston College (HEA) CGY (’11, 4th rd., 104th overall)
Ryan Hartman, U.S. National Under-18 Team 2013 Draft Eligible
Nicolas Kerdiles, U.S. National Under-18 Team ANA (’12, 2nd rd., 36th overall)
Sean Kuraly, Indiana Ice (USHL) SJS (’11, 5th rd., 133rd overall)
Mario Lucia, Penticton Vees (BCHL) MIN (’11, 2nd rd., 60th overall)
Stefan Matteau, U.S. National Under-18 Team NJD (’12, 1st rd., 29th overall)
J.T. Miller, Plymouth Whalers (OHL) NYR (’11, 1st rd., 15th overall)
Stefan Noesen, Plymouth Whalers (OHL) OTT (’11, 1st rd., 21st overall)
Blake Pietila, Michigan Tech Univ. (WCHA) NJD (’11, 5th rd., 129th overall)
Vince Trocheck, Saginaw Spirit (OHL) FLA (’11, 3rd rd., 64th overall)
Jim Vesey, South Shore Kings (EJHL) NSH (’12, 3rd rd., 66th overall)

UW and UND to continue series after both teams leave the WCHA

There is some really good news to pass along. According to the beat writer for the Wisconsin Badgers Andy Baggot – UND and Wisconsin will continue their historic and heated rivalry after both teams leave the WCHA for the B1G and the NCHA after next season.

2014-15 -- UW has tentative agreements to host North Dakota.

2015-16 -- UW has tentative agreements to play a series at North Dakota.

2016-17 -- UW has tentative agreements to host a series North Dakota.

2017-18 -- UW has a tentative agreement to play a series at North Dakota.

This is good news for Badger and Fighting Sioux hockey fans, the Wisconsin and UND series is one of the most heated rivalries in all of college hockey. Both programs also have a lot of respect for each other.

During his career at UND, head coach Dave Hakstol has a 12-14-2 record against the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is one of two WCHA teams that Dave Hakstol does not have a winning record against, the other team is Denver 12-15-1. During his tenure at UND Hakstol has also compiled a 3-1 record against Wisconsin in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs.

Not all WCHA members are thrilled about the new Mystery Alaska plan

The WCHA leadership has been in full spin mode since the league announced their “Mystery Alaska” plan. It’s been interesting to watch as the WCHA commissioner spins this unattractive playoff plan. This would be a text book definition of a “gong show” – there is no way to explain this – it is what it is.

Today we have found out that the new format might only be around for a two year rotation – to me this suggests that the league has taken an idea and thrown it up against the wall to see if it sticks, but to also see how the nWCHA’s fan base responds to the new playoff format.

Todd D. Milewski, USCHO.COM --- The plan was born from financial and geographical issues related to Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage being in the same conference for the first time when conferences reshuffle in 2013, McLeod said.

But the league committed to it for only two seasons, possibly further illustrating the trepidation WCHA members felt about making an outside-the-box change to postseason seeding.

“Some years if they both finish in the lower half, that’s not going to taste very good,” McLeod said. “But if they both finish in the upper half, it’s going to be not good for them. They might have been able to get two in [to the Final Five] otherwise and they’re only going to get one. That’s why we did it on a two-year rotation to see how things shake out and how people feel about it. It’s not a very long commitment.”

Including all nine teams in the postseason wasn’t a foregone conclusion, McLeod said. Eight- and six-team plans were also discussed at the meeting in Detroit before the full field was approved.

Perusing the fan message boards - I have seen a mixed response from the nWCHA fans about the new “Mystery Alaska” playoff format.

It would also appear that a big number of the nWCHA fans are siding more with the ‘we don’t like the new playoff format’ or they have just basically blamed the NCHC for the nWCHA’s fortunes.

Based on what we have seen transpire in the last week in Detroit. I believe is one of the major reasons that UND, SCSU, UMD, DU, C.C. and UNO decided to leave the WCHA and go out on their own to form a new league.

There seems to be a major divide between the schools that are strapped for cash and the schools that aren’t as strapped for cash; especially in the present economy. Schools are experiencing financial constraints and reduced budgets and this is not new to college sports or to college hockey.

Let’s also not forget there there’s always going to be the “haves” and “have nots, ” this was true even in the old North Central Conference and will be true in the Big Sky Conference as well. The present WCHA schools are never really going to be able to compete financially with the schools in the NCHC, B1G or even a majority of the Hockey East schools.

The question I pose is; is it the big school’s responsibility to prop up the small schools in Division I athletics?

Also, does the nWCHA hold the moral high ground?

Another school in their geographic template UAH (BGSU is 629 miles from UAH - it's rougly 4000 from BGSU to UAA) needs to find a conference home and it would appear from the side lines that the nWCHA is basically stalling or dawdling, almost hoping that the Chargers go away.

The UAH Chargers basically have one viable option, conference membership in the WCHA where they would be able to be with other schools (except BGSU who is DI); who outside of hockey are also Division II in all their other sports.

But I digress.

Lastly, Division I college hockey is currently resembling the other major Division I college sports right now with all their conference re-alignment. It has been really ugly with the other sports changing conferences leaving teams to scramble to find a new conference home. It’s almost like natural selection, or a survival of the fittest.

I also don’t know if there are any answers or quick fixes to what ails college sports – there doesn’t seem to be any magic pill that could just fix everything. Some say that the WCHA would have been fine if the schools that left had stayed. The CCHA still might have been a conference in shambles, Miami and Notre Dame still probably would have wanted out. There would still be other issues out there that would still be unresolved.

There is also another elephant sitting in the room – the commissioner of the WCHA Bruce McLeod – no one seem to want to talk about it right now. Eventually, I believe the WCHA is going to have to cut ties with McLeod and go a different direction. Keeping him on board past the 2013-14 season is detrimental to the WCHA going forward. The WCHA needs an infusion of new blood.

A Rant on the future of NCHC Officiating (RW77)

With the recent post on Don "The Imagineer" Adam and his life as a police officer (which, as an aside, I would have thought would have made him an excellent official since police officers know the value of rules and enforcement therein but I digress) I thought I would chime in (again) on officials and what the NCHC should be looking for (but they probably will not listen to me anyways).

The NCHC should start fresh

There is nothing saying that the current officials in the WCHA and soon-to-be-defunct CCHA wouldn't want to be in the NCHC... especially the CCHA officials as they would undoubtedly be out of work otherwise.  However, I think the NCHC did something wise:  They hired outside the established officiating infrastructure.  Though Novak has experience with college hockey, he hasn't been mired in the beaurocacy that bogs down the WCHA and whatnot that hiring someone like Greg Shepherd or Steve Piotrowski does.  The Big 10 hired Steve Piotrowski to run their officiating.  Despite mixed reviews lately (which I believe those negative reviews were erroneous thanks to the WCHA's dire ideal of what makes a good officiating system), Piotrwoski will be a great leader in that field but...I believe Novak will be able to see what the entire officiating "world" really is like and hire accordingly.

Therefore, the NCHC can pick and choose and there is no obligation otherwise.

The Silver Lining of the Transferring Official

What if the NCHC does hire the buffoons in black and white that call themselves WCHA on ice officials?  Well, they may not entirely be buffoons, they may merely be products of the King Buffoon himself:  King Idiot Greg Shepherd. 

Here's a case in point:  I remember when Jon Campion came to the WCHA.  I watched him call a game at the REA and said to myself "This guy gets it."  He called it pretty evenly and when he did call a penalty, it was clearly a penalty.  He was as consistent as you can reasonably expect from an on-ice official (especially since at that time there was only 1 official and 2 ARs).  But as he spent more and more time around the beaurocracy and "Old Boy's Network" Greg Shepherd set up in the WCHA (with the blessing of Bruce McLeod), he started to "buy in" to Shepherd's system and his "game" deteriorated gradually until it reached the cliff:  That fateful night at the REA where Campion went awkwardly into the boards and tore his ACL.  When he returned he was a half step slow and his judgment became skewed such that it was hard to differentiate Campion from Anderson and Randy Schmidt (now fired thanks to his idiocy being caught on tape and garnering almost national attention). 

So, the official may not be all that bad, just a warped cog in a defective machine. 

So what do I think the NCHC should do (in summation)?

Hire the right guys.  Do not give excessive weight to pre-existing college hockey experience but do not turn them away.  The NCHC should mold itself more in the fashion of the NHL and USA hockey while embedding the NCAA mandate.  They should endeavour to uphold all NCAA crackdowns consistently and equally throughout the season regardless of whether or not it is a problem specific to the NCHC or otherwise.  Likewise, they should endevour to NOT be the reason behind a crackdown (such as the Don Adam Rule otherwise known as the mandatory major for CFB).  In the end, we do not want to become complacent like the WCHA as that has been the undoing to quite a few NCAA Regional trips by WCHA teams as of late. 

I am curous though:  Do American officials officiate in foreign leagues such as the Finnish Elite League or the Swedish Elite League or even the KHL?  If so, would it be feasible to try to attract those American officials back to the States?

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir or whatnot but I'd love to know what you'd like to see in the running of the NCHC officiating corps.

Don Adam balances careers as hockey referee, police officer

I found this little news nugget on line today that college hockey  fans might find interesting. When he is not on the ice 'making up stuff as he goes,' Don Adam is a City of Louisville,Colorado police officer.

Mike Chambers, Denver Post --- On the streets or inside an ice arena, excitement and drama seem to follow Don Adam, a genuine Front Range-raised cop. The hockey referee and Louisville police officer is one of the state's most versatile law-enforcement officers, often conducting his business in a heated college game between rivals or a civil dispute in the small city east of Boulder.

The one-time NHL referee has been a police officer for nine years and is approaching his 24th year with the Denver-based Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He is no stranger to the intense University of Denver-Colorado College rivalry, and he wore the orange referee stripes during the 1992 and 1998 Winter Olympics, five world championships and the 1993 NHL preseason.

He was the first NHL video replay official at Avalanche games, which he did from 1995 until the league began to rule on all its replays from its home office in Toronto at the start of the 2003-04 season.

"In hockey, we work from the rule book, and as a cop we work from the Colorado Revised Statutes, but to interpret those things in the two respective jobs, there's a lot of similarities," Adam said from his patrol car. "Both professions require a lot of quick decisions in pressure-filled situations. Experience, judgment and common sense are a huge part in how you apply it all."

It will be interesting to see who the officials in the NCHC are going to be when the conference starts play during the 2013-14 season. One of the questions on fan’s mind is are the WCHA officials going to officiate games in the NCHC.

I also know that a lot of fans would rather not have the conga line of questionable officials that are currently officiating in the WCHA. Most fans that I have talked to on line or in person would rather be done with them and start fresh with the new league with a different set of officials and linesmen.

When the NCHC commissioner Jim Scherr was interviewed this past winter at the REA, Scherr was asked about who was going to be officiating hockey games in the NCHC and he said that there is going to be a competition for officials because there are now three leagues instead of two. Scherr also had said that a lot of officials had reached out to the commissioner to inquire about officiating for the new league.

Update on “Mystery Alaska” playoff plan

My last blog post was to an older link that was updated last night. So basically this story even gets better - this story seems to evolve more by the minute. I almost think that the WCHA needs a P.R. person that is media savvy because the WCHA seems to be shooting themselves in the foot right now.

Here is another thought, maybe the WCHA should have not released their playoff format till they had all of the bugs ironed out of it. What's the rush? The nWCHA doesn't start play until the 2013-14 season so why do you have to release the plans to your conference tourney, especially if the format is still in the planning stage and there is a good possibility that it might change even more in the next couple of days or months. 

Matt Wellens, Mining Journal --- UPDATE: Information provided by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod may not have been accurate concerning the league playoff structure. According to a source, Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage would receive a first-round bye if either wins the WCHA regular season title. McLeod told The Mining Journal otherwise, that both will meet in the first round no matter what and that the next highest seed not from Alaska would receive a bye. Here is how McLeod explained it: McLeod: "Let's just say Anchorage and Fairbanks are 1 and 2. Well they're going to play. You know what I mean? So who gets the bye? We got to take a closer look at it. Right now, it would be No. 3. You know what I mean?" The source asked not to be named because the league told all coaches, athletic directors and presidents to let the league office handle inquiries.

This latest revelation is even worse - why play the regular season? Also, if two teams finish one and two, the top bid would deserved it's playoff bye and the second place team should be afforded the opportunity to play the eight place team on their home ice. It's doesn't matter if they have to play a few more dollars to fly that team to Alaska, the integrity of the tourney should not be sacrificed.

UAH not in WCHA plans?

If you read the press release from the WCHA that I received today, It would appear that WCHA is going ahead with a nine team league and it would appear that aren't interested in adding another team such as UAH, or at least during the first season.  

2013-14 WCHA Men’s Membership Concludes Productive Meetings in Detroit
MADISON, Wis. – The nine member teams that will make up the men’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association beginning in 2013-14 concluded a series of positive and productive meetings in Detroit this week and continue to move forward on a number of key issues.

“This is certainly an exciting time for the newly-integrated WCHA,” said Minnesota State University, Mankato President Richard Davenport, who is the chair of the league’s President’s Council. “Our meetings this week were spirited and full of camaraderie, and we are all looking forward to the 2013-14 season. Across the board we are 100% committed to putting a highly competitive product on the ice in the WCHA, to compete for championships, to give our student-athletes the best possible experience and to provide our fans with a great game-day experience. The WCHA brand is strong, historic and full of rich tradition and we will carry on that tremendous tradition and also build upon it.”

Among the many topics covered in the meetings,
    •    the membership discussed and approved a 28-game league schedule for 2013-14
    •    the membership discussed and approved a nine-team post-season tournament format
    •    the membership discussed and updated the league’s by-laws
    •    the membership discussed and continues to explore several potential venues for the annual WCHA Final Five playoff championship.

“We have accomplished a great deal and feel tremendously upbeat about where we are at as we look ahead to the 2013-14 season,” said WCHA Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod. “We have had very productive meetings with the coaches, athletic directors and presidents all present and we are united in moving forward to ensure the continued success of the WCHA and its member teams. We are also engaged in on-going discussions with various venues for our flagship event – the WCHA Final Five – and hope to finalize those championship plans as soon as possible.”

The league agreed on a change in governance that will have the Presidents Council act as the Board of Directors and the Athletic Directors serve as the Management Council. The President’s Council also created a Steering Committee to coordinate and handle major issues going forward. The Steering Committee consists of Minnesota State President Richard Davenport, Ferris State President Dave Eisler, Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret and Bowling Green State Athletic Director Greg Christopher.

Other topics of discussion at the meetings included expansion and identifying potential future member teams and future public relations and marketing initiatives to coincide with the 2013-14 campaign.

Founded in 1951 and home to a collegiate record 37 national championship teams, the men’s WCHA beginning in 2013-14 will consist of the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bemidji State University, Bowling Green State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan Technological University, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Northern Michigan University.

UND’s Brad Eidsness Named Recipients of WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarships for 2012-13

MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today (June 13, 2012) announced that seniors Brittany Toor of St. Cloud State University, Montana Vichorek of Bemidji State University, and Brad Eidsness of the University of North Dakota are the recipients of annual WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarships for 2012-13.

               

“We are both exceedingly pleased and tremendously proud to announce our latest WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners in Brittany Toor, Montana Vichorek and Brad Eidsness,” said Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod and Associate Commissioner Sara R. Martin in a joint statement. “Representative of the best of collegiate athletics, these three outstanding student-athletes add another distinguished chapter to the league’s long-standing tradition of recognizing and honoring it’s players both on and off the ice.

               

“The WCHA has been blessed  to have had Montana, Brittany and Brad competing in the league on the ice at the highest levels the past four seasons as well as making their mark in the classroom and setting the stage for future success. Today we salute their tremendous accomplishments and on behalf of the entire Association, we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

               

Eidsness, a senior goaltender at North Dakota who hails from Chestermere, Alberta, competed in 104 collegiate games and 5,871 minutes between the pipes while compiling an impressive 58-27-10 record, a 2.41 goals-against average, a .906 saves percentage and five shutouts. In his final campaign in 2011-12, he was 8-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA and .919 SV%. His 58 career victories rank third all-time at UND and he is fourth all-time in career games played by a goaltender, fifth in career goals-against average, sixth in career saves percentage and tied for fifth in shutouts. He was a member of North Dakota’s WCHA regular season championship teams in both 2008-09 and 2010-11 and of UND’s record three consecutive WCHA Final Five championship clubs in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, earning all-tournament team honors as a junior.

               

Over his four seasons, Eidsness has earned numerous honors, including the prestigious WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award as a senior. (The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award is determined from nominations made by the member institutions and the nominee must be a senior student-athlete, must consistently display outstanding sportsmanship on and off the ice, must be a good student making satisfactory progress toward a degree; and must be a good hockey player who has performed consistently as a regular member of the team.) He is also a three-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete, a three-time member of the All-WCHA Academic Team, was a 2011-12 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award nominee, was a 2011 NCAA Elite 88 Award recipient, was UND’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2011-12, earned All-WCHA Second Team honors in 2009-10, both All-WCHA Third Team and All-WCHA Rookie Team honors in 2008-09, and was UND’s Rookie Athlete of the Year (male) in 2008-09.

               

Over the course of his four years at UND, he not only stayed on track with progress towards a degree but also completed both a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree. Eidsness graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.779 cumulative GPA in undergraduate work and has a 3.625 cumulative GPA in graduate school. His leadership activities included the UND Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from 2008-12 and the UND Master of Business Administration Student Association (MBASA).

               

“Brad is an outstanding young man who has become a leader, not only on his team but also across our campus,” said head coach Dave Hakstol. “His athletic performance and abilities are second to none and his dedication to his sport, his team, and his academics is that of a unique and first class character.

               

“He is a very talented young man, with his strongest qualities involving his work ethic, focus and drive to achieve success in all areas of his life. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of this young man’s life … to watch as he has evolved as a man by growing through both daunting adversity and great success. He is committed to doing his best and doing it the right way, with honor. He has been an incredible leader for our team and a teammate that other players think very highly of.”

               

In addition to his stellar work on the ice and in the classroom, Eidsness has also been active on campus as a team representative to SAAC and has been routinely involved in community service. His contributions include the Sioux Kids Club events, the Northland Rescue Mission – Pucks for Plates, annual food drives, the National Honor Society, fan fests, and speaking engagements at a number of different area events.

               

“Brad has applied for admission to law schools at both the University of Calgary and the University of Victoria and hopes to combine his love of hockey with his business acumen,” said UND Faculty Athletic Representative Sue Jeno, who nominated him for the WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarship. “The life lessons learned from participation in collegiate sports have provided him with the ability to work effectively with different types of people, to get along well with people from many varied backgrounds and beliefs, and to recognize when attention needs to be given to different individuals and to relationships. He has also learned that adversity can be as valuable as success in maintaining focus on a goal.”

                 

                 

UAH to the WCHA?

150px px (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers need a home - the WCHA  appears to be their only option -   the Chargers are in dire need of a league  - the WCHA is currently sitting at nine teams and would like to expand to 10 teams so they would have an even number of teams. I think UAH would fit in nicely in the nWCHA and is a natural rival with BSU.

Adam Wodon, College Hockey News --- Meanwhile, Alabama-Huntsville, a program pulled from the grave recently but still in need of help, will be the only independent and needs a home.

The WCHA is lining up as UAH's only option, and getting a 10th team is appealing to the league. But UAH faces the usual hurdles — questions over facility, commitment and distance.

"We're not making any bones about it — we're committed to Division I hockey and trying to get in a hockey conference," UAH athletic director E.J. Brophy said.

Brophy and other officials from Alabama-Huntsville had meetings with numerous interested parties at the April coaches convention in Naples, Fla., and the recent Frozen Four. Brophy believes the lobbying efforts were successful to a point, but no one has committed to bringing in UAH yet.

"We are discussing things with them. I'd put it as unofficial," WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said. "I've met with (coach) Chris (Luongo), their president, E.J. (Brophy). We've discussed the process and what it would take. They did not officially apply, and we didn't ask them to. We wanted to find out how we learn more about one another, and how do we get a good feel for their commitment, where they're at with their building, and so on."

This tweet just came across Twitter as I was posting this blog post.

WCHA Issues Suspension to MSU Women’s Hockey Coach

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This can be marked up as being the head scratcher of the week. The WCHA has suspended MSU-M Women’s coach Eric Means for five games. The suspension isn’t that head scratcher, but the fact that he was suspended two months after the season was over, so much for swift justice.

 April 23, 2012/For Immediate Release

MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today announced that head women’s hockey coach Eric Means of Minnesota State University, Mankato has been issued a five-game suspension from coaching due to a violation of the WCHA Code of Conduct.

The decision was reached by the WCHA Women’s Executive Committee after a review of his actions during the February 17 (2012) game versus the University of Minnesota Duluth. The five-game suspension, which includes one first round WCHA playoff game that Means sat out voluntarily back on February 24, will consist of the first four conference games (no exhibition or non-conference games) of the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Minnesota State University issued a statement in response to today’s announcement from the Association that said “We understand and accept the decision made by the Women’s WCHA Executive Committee. MSU Athletics supports the underlying principles of sportsmanship, respect, and fair play and insists on integrity, ethical conduct, and accountability from all staff, coaches, and student-athletes. This decision suggests that the WCHA is committed to similar principles and ideals and this outcome sends a strong message to member institutions underscoring those expectations.”

The WCHA will have no further comment on this issue.

2012 U.S. Women’s National Team – IIHF Women’s World Championship Roster

United States forward Jocelyne Lamoureux in a game against the ECAC All-Stars on January 3, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Congrats to UND Fighting Sioux forwards Jocelyne Lamoureux and Monique Lamoureux-Kolls of North Dakota for making the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship, which will be held on April 7-14 in Burlington, Vermont.

GOALTENDERS (3)              

29   Brianne McLaughlin   6/20/87   L Sheffield Village, Ohio            

 1    Molly Schaus   7/29/88  L  Natick, Mass.  Boston Blades (CWHL)

31   Jessie Vetter   12/19/85   L  Cottage Grove, Wisconsin

DEFENSEMEN (7)

22   Kacey Bellamy    4/22/87   L       Westfield, Mass.  Boston Blades (CWHL)

25   Megan Bozek    3/27/91     R      Buffalo Grove, Ill.   University of Minnesota (WCHA)

11   Lisa Chesson  8/18/86     L       Plainfield, Ill.

19   Gigi Marvin    3/7/87      R      Warroad, Minn.    Boston Blades (CWHL)

23   Michelle Picard   5/27/93   L       Taunton, Mass.    Harvard University (ECACH)

24   Josephine Pucci 12/27/90    R      Pearl River, N.Y.   Harvard University (ECACH)

15   Anne Schleper   1/30/90  L   St. Cloud, Minn.   University of Minnesota (WCHA)      

                        

FORWARDS (13)

20   Hannah Brandt    11/27/93    R      Vadnais Heights, Minn.    Hill-Murray School (Minn.)

13   Julie Chu    3/13/82      R      Fairfield, Conn.   Montreal Stars (CWHL)

26   Kendall Coyne  5/25/92    L    Palos Heights, Ill.   Northeastern University (HEA)

14   Brianna Decker   5/13/91  R    Dousman, Wis.   University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

6    Jillian Dempsey  1/19/91   L    Winthrop, Mass.  Harvard University (ECACH)                                 

28   Amanda Kessel    8/28/91  R   Verona, Wis.  University of Minnesota (WCHA)                                                     

21   Hilary Knight  7/12/89  R  Sun Valley, Id.  University of Wisconsin (WCHA)                                   

17   Jocelyne Lamoureux   7/3/89   R   Grand Forks, N.D.  University of North Dakota (WCHA)

 7    Monique Lamoureux-Kolls   7/3/89   R   Grand Forks, N.D.  University of North Dakota (WCHA)

 2    Erika Lawler   2/5/87   R    Fitchburg, Mass.     Boston Blades (CWHL)

12   Jenny Potter 1/12/79  L   Edina, Minn.    Minnesota Whitecaps (WWHL)                                  

16   Kelli Stack 1/13/88  R   Brooklyn Heights, Ohio  Boston Blades (CWHL)       

3    Taylor Wasylk   2/21/92  L Port Huron, Mich.  Boston College (HEA)  

Team Staff                                                                                                            

Director, Women’s Hockey: Reagan Carey, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Head Coach: Katey Stone, Arlington, Mass.
Assistant Coaches: Laura Halldorson, Minneapolis, Minn.; Bobby Jay, Burlington, Mass.

Goaltending Coach: Robb Stauber, Medina, Minn.

Head Strength & Conditioning Coach: Michael Boyle, Reading, Mass.

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Kevin Neeld, Philadelphia, Pa.

Team Doctor: Liz Matzkin, Boston, Mass.

Athletic Trainer: Jill Radzinski, Davis, Calif.

Video Coordinator: Sean Andrake, Glen Rock, N.J.

Massage Therapist: Jennifer Chee, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Equipment Manager: Brent Proulx, St. Paul, Minn.

Communications: Courtney Welch, Colorado Springs, Colo.