College Hockey Tonight, formerly The Hockey Show, features KBUN co-hosts Scott Williams and Moose Richards, and airs Friday’s at 5 p.m. with a replay Saturday’s at 9 a.m. The program focuses on Bemidji State hockey and the WCHA.
The 2010-’11 season of College Hockey Tonight will debut on October 15th and feature the grand opening of the Bemidji Regional Event Center and BSU’s first ever WCHA series vs. North Dakota.
The players are saying that Matt Frattin has won the Iron Man competition this year. Frattin was one of the only guys who didn’t spend the summer here in Grand Forks. He went home to Edmonton, got in a routine, lifted weights with a trainer, and has returned in great shape. In fact, apparently trainer Mark Poolman has nicknamed him the X-Factor because of his fitness.Here is what beat writer for the Bemidji Pioneer Eric Stromgren had to say about Chay Genoway.
Some good news about Chay Genoway: It sure doesn’t look like he’s lost a step. He was flying around on the rink today.
I expect Chay Genoway to be the preseason player of the year and he’s quite deserving. I picked Read for a few reasons. He’s an exceptional player who has helped make BSU a great hockey team in his time so far. Read could have signed an NHL contract in the offseason. But he chose to return to Bemidji State to complete his degree and remained committed to his team. He also appreciates the Bemidji community and I’ve seen his dedication to the fans here through a few uncertain years for the program. His commitment to the program, game, academics and community are what Beavers and WCHA hockey is all about. Those are reasons enough for me to vote him Preseason Player of the Year.
Daytondailynews.com -- Which begs the obvious question: After that, which conference will Penn State join?One thing that I have seen mentioned on the internet is that you could combine the teams into a "SUPER" conference and then you could have four six team divisions.
“It’s certainly going to create speculation,” Cady said. “The good thing is that there is going to be three years to figure it out.”
He doesn’t like to speculate, even a little bit, but when asked about the possibility of Penn State joining fellow Big Ten Conference teams Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association — the Big Ten doesn’t have a hockey conference, yet — he was only a little hopeful.
“Yes, it would be tremendous for the CCHA,” Cady said of the conference in which Miami competes. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen.
“If you look at the history of the Big Ten once they get six teams (in any NCAA sport), they try to bring those six teams under their Big Ten umbrella,” he explained.
There are a couple other possibilities.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, another major hockey conference which has two Big Ten schools, Minnesota and Wisconsin, could merge with the CCHA into a mega-conference and bring all the Big Ten schools together.
The aforementioned drama is that nearly every other program and college hockey fan is against the Big Ten forming their own conference. Many are upset about the loss of traditional rivals, many are upset that the CCHA and WCHA are already desperately chasing Penn State after denying the University of Alabama-Huntsville entry into their club, and most think that a Big Ten Hockey Conference is nothing more than the rich getting richer and leaving behind some smaller schools with programs reliant on existing conferences and rivalries.There has been a lot of stuff thrown out there over the summer and don’t you think if USC or UCLA or insert ___________ University were going to have hockey they would already? As we saw with the PSU announcement it takes a lot of money to start a Division I hockey team. On the flip side of this, how many college hockey teams have folded in the 1990’s and 2000’s? I can think of a few; Wayne State, UIC, Fairfield, Iona and the University of Findlay
I believe that Penn State's arrival is going to remake the CCHA and WCHA and create two new conferences alongside the Big Ten which won't be ideal for some of those programs and fanbases, but it's best for hockey in the NCAA moving forward. Change is inevitable in college sports. Last season saw the demise of College Hockey America as Robert Morris and Niagara were absorbed into Atlantic Hockey and Bemidji State joined the WCHA. In college football, Nebraska and Colorado left what was considered a power conference in the Big 12 to join the Big 10 and Pac 10, respectively. Utah and Boise State are also on the move in search of a better situation and a bigger payday.
Ann Arbor.COM-- Michigan coach Red Berenson said Friday afternoon that although Penn State's financial commitment to hockey is a "huge step in the right direction for any more future growth in college hockey" having the Nittany Lions join one conference over another doesn't make a difference to him.Since when is Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hershey considered hockey hotbeds? Michigan, Minnesota and Massachusetts are considered hockey hotbeds with thriving youth hockey programs. Some of the stuff I have read surrounding the Penn State University announcement recently is absolutely ridiculous.
Berenson expects a lot of speculation to take place over the next four years, but he doesn't think the answer is breaking up existing leagues with long-standing traditions.
"I don't think teams are anxious to leave their own conference and abandon them and start a new conference," Berenson said. "I don't think anyone wants to see a league take a hit."
The Daily Collegian-- The Big Ten released a statement saying a decision on the formation of a Big Ten hockey conference will not be made without significant discussion.Again the move the UNO Mavericks is looking better and better all of the time for the UNO hockey program.
As far as appointing a head coach, Curley said he would begin reviewing candidates within the next year.
Commenting on the speculation, Curley said he had preliminary talks with the five Big Ten schools who currently offer Big Ten hockey and they agreed to begin discussions about a possible conference at the October Big Ten meetings.
While the decision hasn’t been made yet, Curley does anticipate the varsity teams to go by the university’s signature name, the Nittany Lions, rather than their current name, the Icers.
The next step the university will take is appointing an architect for the construction of the state-of-the-art facility. The new facility has not been named yet but Curley said he plans to sit down and talk with the Pegulas about a possible title within the next three-six months.
Curley also believes the teams will be financially self-sustaining, citing the university’s majority population from hockey hotbeds including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hershey.
Besides collegiate hockey, Curley said the new rink could also be used for figure skating and NHL exhibition games, as well as for concerts and other university events.
Omaha World-Herald --- With speculation swirling of another conference shakeup down the road, the Mavs' move to the WCHA might've happened at an ideal time. Penn State just announced that it will begin playing Division I men's hockey in 2012-13, making the formation of a long-rumored Big Ten hockey conference a strong possibility.Ah the speculation, why not a team in Iowa City as well?
But even if Minnesota and Wisconsin eventually depart the WCHA, UNO still will be aligned with North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth. The introduction of Big Ten hockey would seemingly have a far more negative impact on the Mavs' old conference, with the CCHA waving goodbye to high-profile programs Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and possibly even Notre Dame.
In the here and now, it's a certainty that the puck will drop on a new season in October, and UNO will get after the goal of making it to the WCHA Final Five. The league's showcase event — now featuring a six-team format — happens in March at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
When it comes to positioning the Mavs for WCHA success, it's hard to imagine a better power structure for the program.
Goal Gophers -- Two other Big Ten teams have made inquiries about doing the same, But Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey, Inc., the education and marketing arm of NCAA hockey, isn't saying which teams.
One team supposedly in the mix is Illinois.
Makes sense if someone is looking at the top club teams. The Illini have played in the ACHA national tournament in 13 of the past 15 years and have made the semifinals seven times. Illinois won the national title in 2005.
So are the Illini a Division I prospect? Publicly, no.
The Daily Collegian --- Current Icers head coach Scott Balboni said he definitely would throw his name into the coaching search if he was asked.
Athletic Director Tim Curley said the university will initiate its search for a coach in the next 6-9 months.
“It’s a dream job,” Balboni said. “It’s going to be the premiere job in the country and that’s something that I would consider.”
As far as the current state of the men’s club teams, the Icers and Ice Lions, Curley said Friday his tentative plan is to have a club hockey team that plays on a lower level, as long as there is interest from the students.
Since this means there are only two remaining seasons for the Icers at the Division I club level, Balboni said the Icers are even more determined to leave a lasting impression on the ACHA and Division I club.
“We want to go out on top and win back-to-back national championships,” Balboni said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
MacLean opened training camp yesterday by assembling what could be one of the great lines in hockey, putting Kovalchuk on right wing with Zach Parise on the left and Travis Zajac in the middle.
"To play with those two guys, I'd play in goal," Kovalchuk said. "That's my first experience [as a right wing]. Hopefully it's a good one."
Part of Kovalchuk's success has been his ability to play the off-wing, a righty on the left, where speed affords better-angle shots.
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"Thinking all summer of the different combinations you could have, we'll see what they can do," MacLean said. "There's definitely enough pucks."
"I didn't see it coming," Parise said. "I was assuming he'd be playing left wing, so it was a nice surprise.
"Hopefully, it will give us some time to develop chemistry among the three of us. I don't think anyone's reading anything into it. But it would be a fun line if we did play like that."
Parise said he teased Zajac that he "might not get 100 shots this year."
"He may have 100 assists," MacLean countered. [Read more]
The players got more and more crabbier as the scrimmage went on. Staubitz, taking exception to a hard hit from roster hopeful Justin Falk, dropped the gloves with the big defenseman. Remember, Staubitz, acquired for a draft pick from San Jose on the day of the NHL Awards ceremony (I remember because I was in Vegas), has had 20 fights in 82 NHL games.
Staubitz is a tough, good skating cookie, and he's only played forward for two years after spending his entire junior and minor-league career at defense. The one great strength of the Wild this year should be those third and fourth lines with good skating, hard-working guys like Nystrom, Staubitz, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, John Madden and as of now Chuck Kobasew.
Mavericks Today -- Penn State announced on Friday that it would be joining the Division I hockey ranks in 2012-13. Many people now believe it's just a matter of time before the Big Ten forms its own hockey conference, snagging Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State from the CCHA; Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA; and combining those five programs with the Nittany Lions. Big Ten hockey -- long the stuff of rumors -- appears to be an inevitable reality, and it might come into existence by 2014.
But UNO can take comfort in the fact that it still will be aligned with schools such as North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado College and Denver. A 10-team WCHA, minus Minnesota and Wisconsin, would still be a viable, vital conference. Not as good as the 12-team monster UNO fans will enjoy watching for the next couple of years, but good nonetheless.
The introduction of Big Ten hockey, however, potentially could destroy the CCHA. So it's a good thing that UNO got out when it did.
I'm of the opinion that college hockey would have a much brighter future, at least for the next two decades, if Penn State simply joined the CCHA and stayed there for awhile. This sport is a unique beast in the realm of NCAA athletics, and those at the highest levels need to think about the greater good before they act in the interest of six brand-name schools. This is not a situation equivalent to the conference craziness involving college football, because hockey is only played in select pockets of the country, and it isn't a strong enough entity on the national radar that it can make such seismic changes without considering the plight of smaller schools. Let Penn State build its foundation as a Division I program. Let a decade pass, and see what the ripple effects will be of the Nittany Lions' decision.
Star Tribune --"If, in fact, [a Big Ten hockey conference] does happen, we would be different, but we would not be diminished at all," WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said.
"We are adding two new teams [Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha]. We will open two new buildings [in Bemidji and Duluth] that are going to be first class. We will be here after they leave."
The Final Five would stay in St. Paul, too, McLeod said. He said the Xcel is centrally located for the WCHA, and there have been years when the Gophers and Wisconsin have not qualified for it.
Perhaps the person most pleased outside Happy Valley with Penn State's announcement was Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey Inc., the education and marketing arm of Division I hockey.
"This is terrific," he said. "We've worked very closely with the folks at Penn State to help assist them. We've strongly encouraged this. And the rumblings Penn State was exploring hockey triggered other inquiries to us."
Kelly said he has discussed starting hockey programs with two other Big Ten schools that he would not identify.
Toronto Sun -- If Phil Kessel has a goal for goals this season, he’s not sharing.
But could being fit mean 40 for the lone, proven sniper on the Maple Leafs roster as training camp begins?
Kessel arrived for team physicals Friday at the Mastercard Centre looking noticeably trimmer, the product of an intense summer that saw him shed 10 pounds. Speedy already, his teammates say that in informal workouts the past few weeks, Kessel has had a jump on everyone on the ice.
“Just look at him, he looks really good, really fit,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said of Kessel. “When scrimmaging, you could see how fast he was then and we haven’t even started training camp.”
Whether a fitter Phil will lead to dramatically more production remains to be seen, but just having the chance to come to camp healthy is a huge boost for the 23-year-old Wisconsin native.
A year ago Kessel wasn’t yet a Leaf, still weeks away from the controversial trade that brought him here. While much of the off-season focus on that deal was Boston’s acquisition of Tyler Seguin with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft, Kessel was apparently working hard to help hold up his end of the bargain.
After missing the first 12 games last year while recovering from off-season surgery, Kessel was thrust into the lineup of a Leafs team that had staggered out of the gate without the benefit of either an off-season workout regimen or a pre-season schedule to get in shape.
He still responded with 30 goals in 70 games, the last half dozen or more while nursing another injury.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Kessel said when asked if he’s prepared to be the Leafs’ go-to goal guy. “Hopefully I can play a full season this year.
That could create a domino effect for college hockey throughout the Midwest.I guess I didn’t realize that the WCHA was interested in adding Penn State to the mix?
Both the CCHA and WCHA have expressed interest in adding Penn State.
"They are a very attractive choice -- very attractive," CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos said earlier this month, according to the Detroit News. "They're in a different market than we're in, more and more U.S. players are on college rosters, and there's tremendous growth of the sport in Pennsylvania."
The addition of men's and women's ice hockey will increase the number of sports at Penn State to 31, one of the largest athletic programs in the country among BCS schools.
Curley said the new hockey facility is scheduled to be built by spring 2014, just west of the Jordan Center, home to the university's basketball teams. The arena will include two ice sheets, and university leaders hope to attract NHL and minor-league exhibition hockey games.
The new, state of the art. $75 million arena, is expected to be completed by 2013 and funded exclusively by private donations.
It will include two ice sheets and other features that will allow it to be used for a broad range of campus and community activities, from commencement ceremonies to kinesiology classes to public skating sessions and camps for youth. The facility will provide new training and performance opportunities for Penn State’s popular and successful figure skating club and for the University’s women’s ice hockey team. It also will offer ice time to recreational and high school hockey programs, as well as intramural and local speed skating and broomball clubs. The state-of-the-art arena will be able to host events such as professional ice shows and National Hockey League and American Hockey League exhibition games, generating tourism and other economic impacts in the region.
Penn State hockey fans can thank Terry and Kim Pegula, who donated US$88 million — the largest private gift in Penn State history — to fund a new multi-purpose arena and help upgrade the men's program. The athletic department will fund, or seek other private donations, for the women's program.Players like Sidney Crosby don't grow on trees and the Penn State University will have to establish a recruiting a niche and it’s going to be harder than it looks. There are some good programs already pounding the turf to compete for top recruits.
"So maybe someday in these hills of Pennsylvania, we're going to find a Pennsylvania (Sidney) Crosby," Terry Pegula said at a trustees meeting Friday morning, referring to the Pittsburgh Penguins' star. "Hopefully, he'll play hockey for Penn State, and I think that's awesome."
CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos issued a statement on behalf of his membership, welcoming Penn State into "the college hockey family" and saying the league will support the Nittany Lions' transition to Division I over the next few seasons.
Anastos did not mention speculation about what league Penn State might join but did say the CCHA will continue to exist for a long time.
"The CCHA's formation 40 years ago was based on the development of emerging programs and, as we set our sights on our next 40 years, we look forward to working with programs such as Penn State and, hopefully, others, in providing leadership that will increase the profile of college hockey and foster continued growth."
Five other Big Ten schools play Division I hockey, but there is no Big Ten hockey league.Leave it to the WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod to offer steady leadership with his inspiring and witty comments. I am not so sure McLeod is the best person to lead the WCHA through this transition (if there is one).
Minnesota and Wisconsin play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
"We're all well aware of the ramifications ... of having a sixth Big Ten hockey school, and what that means for a lot of us," WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told insidecollegehockey.com, which reported Penn State's plans.
The nuts and bolts are still being worked out, but the Nittany Lions will likely begin their Division I life as an independent before joining up with a power conference. Geographically, the CCHA makes the most sense, but the major rumblings involved in this story is how a Big Ten Conference – featuring Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota – could now be formed. The Big Ten cable TV network is a huge cash cow and Big Ten hockey would bolster the schedule.
“The biggest thing any network wants is inventory,” said one insider. “College basketball usually runs Thursday and Saturday, so Friday nights are open. And Penn State comes in with half a million living alumni.”
That’s a lot of potential hockey fans tuning in, especially when the fans already have a hate-on for the Ohio States and Michigans thanks to football and basketball rivalries.
There has, of course, been worry about what taking the five best teams from the CCHA and WCHA would do to the college hockey landscape, but I think adding a conference will help. As it is now, Alabama-Huntsville is looking for a home and Bemidji State jumped through hoops to get into the WCHA. And with RIT’s miracle run to the Frozen Four (with Bemidji State preceding them the year prior), it’s obvious smaller schools can have an impact when given the chance. Kelly agrees with that sentiment.
“I think they’ll come together,” he said. “College coaches don’t want to see the loss of programs.”
Wherever the Nittany Lions end up, they’ll likely get knocked around the first year or so, but progress won’t take long.
“They’re going to have a natural flow of highly-skilled players into their program,” Kelly said. “Penn State will have an immediate crop of kids who want to play there.
Michigan coach Red Berenson said Friday afternoon that although Penn State's financial commitment to hockey is a "huge step in the right direction for any more future growth in college hockey" having the Nittany Lions join one conference over another doesn't make a difference to him.A voice of calm from the Michigan head coach. I have to say Red that I agree.
Berenson expects a lot of speculation to take place over the next four years, but he doesn't think the answer is breaking up existing leagues with long-standing traditions.
"I don't think teams are anxious to leave their own conference and abandon them and start a new conference," Berenson said. "I don't think anyone wants to see a league take a hit.
The D-1 hockey at UND compares impressively with any collegiate hockey program in North America.
1. We (the Great State of North Dakota) can’t afford or need another one.
2. We don’t need duplication of other sports on a D-1 level either.
3. The Great State of North Dakota has ample resources to do this D-1 thing right once.
4. An athletic arms race will not be accepted by rank and file, hard working, common sense approach North Dakotans.
5. The University of North Dakota State Fighting Bison or the State University of North Dakota Fighting Bison, take-your-pick.
6. Two world class campuses, one super university.
7. Being a shark patrolling the National Beach or two walleye swimming in Devils Lake that is really our choice here.
8. This ultimately becomes a merger of two athletic departments and the consolidation of two offices of the presidency, cost savings immediately.
9. For openers; Hockey remains in Grand Forks, Football in Fargo, their historical championships would warrant that. Exhibition games or certain specialty games could be played in Grand Forks or Fargo. Any expansion or remodeling of the FargoDome would allow games to be played in Grand Forks during the transmission. State High School Football Finals could be scheduled annually in Grand Forks.
10. The next given would be wrestling in Fargo, swimming and diving in Grand Forks, both no-brainers as the other school doesn’t have the respective sport.
11. Men’s and Women’s Basketball could ultimately play in multiple home locations, precedent for that would be UCONN they play in both Hartford and their home campus facilities.
12. Baseball and softball play most of their games elsewhere because of the weather, but Fargo has baseball’s answer to the Ralph.
13. Track & Field and soccer could play in both, volleyball in both, tennis could play in both and golf could play in both, I hope you get the point.
14. Add an Equestrian team to deal with issues of Title IX when we go to 85 scholarship football. The equestrian approach would open vast new fundraising opportunities currently not being tapped.
15. The Fighting Bison solves the logo flap.
Sept. 17, 2010
The Big Ten Conference released the following statement today regarding Penn State’s plans to establish NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs.
The Big Ten Conference is excited about Penn State’s recent announcement regarding the establishment of NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs set to begin competition in the 2012-13 academic year. Our institutions have longstanding relationships with Division I, Division II, and Division III college hockey programs that have benefitted both our institutions and the entire national hockey community.
For many years, we have had five institutions sponsoring Division I men’s ice hockey programs – Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Big Ten rules allow for a championship whenever there are six institutions sponsoring a program in any given sport. This leads to the presumption that there will be a Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Championship at some point in the future. A decision of that nature, however, cannot be made without a significant amount of discussion both internally with conference chancellors, presidents, administrators and coaches, and externally with the hockey community as a whole. Whatever we do, we will communicate in a respectful and responsible way as we endeavor to balance all of the unique interests in play.
We congratulate Penn State and wish them well as they continue to provide the most broad-based opportunities possible for their student-athletes.
Madison.COM --- When news of Penn State’s initiative broke earlier this month, CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos made it known that his Midwest-based league would love to accommodate the Nittany Lions. Instead, the CCHA figures to soon lose three of its most well-known programs.
During WCHA meetings held last week in Minneapolis, UW men’s coach Mike Eaves said there was “some angst” among his peers regarding the topic of a Big Ten presence in college hockey.
Eaves declined to get into specifics of what WCHA officials discussed about future developments. League commissioner Bruce McLeod said he’s aware of the situation at Penn State, but is waiting to hear more details Friday before offering his thoughts.
“There are a whole bunch of possibilities,” Eaves said. “I think we’re going to find out together what’s going to happen.”
With Penn State soon to be on board as the 59th Division I program, Alvarez was asked what road blocks stood in the way of the Big Ten creating a new college hockey brand.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You need six teams in the league. We will have six. They do govern us, the Big Ten. I don’t anticipate much of a hurdle other than getting out of your respective conferences.”
Alvarez said Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has spoken in the past of making men’s hockey a programming staple on the Big Ten Network. That notion will take a huge step forward Friday.
“We’ve talked about a Big Ten Conference for hockey,” Alvarez said. “I think that would be very appealing.”
Denver Post -- Please excuse my reach while I connect the dots.
Gwozdecky, who is seeking a new deal at DU, is/was a Big Ten guy, and you know Penn State is going to hire a veteran college coach with big-league roots and NCAA championship plaques on his walls. Gwozdecky, 57, could be that man. He won NCAA championships as a player at Wisconsin and an assistant coach at Michigan State.
His resume at DU includes two NCAA titles (2004, 2005), three WCHA regular-season titles (2002, 2005, 2010) and four WCHA playoff crowns (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008). He is a two-time national coach of the year (1993, 2005) and the reigning WCHA coach of the year, his fourth overall.
See the connection here? This is beyond speculation. For Gwozdecky, it’s leverage.
Pioneer Press -- WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said he is waiting to hear from Penn State, and subsequently the Big Ten, before making any detailed comments.Don Lucia’s comment about the television programming for Friday nights is a bit of a head scratcher. Seriously! What is stopping the Big Ten now? All the BTN has to do is start showing hockey on Friday’s, what is preventing them from showing hockey now? Why do they need a league to show BTHC hockey on Friday night?
"Having said that," he added, "we're well aware of developing circumstances at Penn State, and we've definitely done our homework regarding several scenarios that could play out."
Creating a Big Ten men's hockey conference would give the fledgling Big Ten Network some live programming on Friday nights, when men's basketball teams typically don't play.
"That's some major programming on Friday nights," Lucia said.
The WCHA is getting ready to play its first season with 12 teams, having just added Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha to a roster that includes the Gophers, Badgers, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State Mankato, North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech.
The conference boasted more than 1.5 million in attendance last season, and had the top three home attendance marks in the nation — Wisconsin (15,048 per game), North Dakota (11,654) and Minnesota (10,107).
Minnesota, with enrollment of 51,659, and Wisconsin (42,099) are the league's largest schools and have 11 national titles between them, but Denver (7), North Dakota (7), Michigan Tech (3) and Colorado College (2) also have won NCAA championships.
"The WCHA brand is very strong. People in hockey know we're a strong league," UMD athletics director Bob Nielson said. "At the same time, you never want to lose a rivalry because of the interest it generates."
If the Big Ten hockey schools were to break away from the WCHA and the CCHA, they would be creating a power Big Ten conference that I don't think Hockey East could compete with in terms of being the premiere college hockey conference. Over time, we might see a geographic shift in NCAA Tournament locations where more regionals are played in Big Ten markets. Currently, the Eastern hockey teams typically benefit from two of the four Regionals being played in their backyard (typically, Worcester, Manchester, Providence and locations in Connecticut). A Big Ten hockey league would also garner more revenue (through a BTN television agreement) and exposure than leagues like Hockey East and the remnants of the CCHA and WCHA ever could.
The programs in a six-team Big Ten hockey league would also be looking for quite a few non-conference opponents to fill the schedule. BC, however, is afforded just a handful of non-conference scheduling slots after Hockey East play and the Beanpot. The Eagles could miss out on the exposure and revenue potential of scheduling non-conference opponents from a Big Ten hockey conference.
In the end, while any sort of college hockey expansion is good for the sport, Penn State adding Division I men's ice hockey could set in motion a complete re-write of the college hockey conference landscape. If the CCHA doesn't pick up Penn State as the league's twelfth member and the Big Ten creates their own six-team conference, there may be significant changes to college hockey that won't be in the best interest of the Boston College program.
OTTAWA — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged Wednesday there is a limit to the league’s patience in propping up the troubled Phoenix Coyotes franchise.
“We’ve been at this now for a year and a half,” Bettman told The Citizen when asked about the league’s attempts to find a new owner for the Coyotes.
“At some point, just like if you think back to Quebec and Winnipeg (relocating to Denver and Phoenix, respectively), you run out of options and you don’t have a choice. We fight as hard as we can to avoid being in that situation, but at some point, you deal with the realities.”
If the city of Glendale, Arizona — the Coyotes' home — can’t work out a lease agreement with a buyer willing to keep the franchise in Phoenix by Dec. 31, the NHL will accept an existing offer from a purchaser aiming to move the franchise. The Winnipeg Free Press has reported that group as being Winnipeg-based Truth North Sports and Entertainment.
Few details have emerged from Phoenix in the past two weeks, ever since ESPN.com reported that Matt Hulsizer could be a potential new owner of the franchise, perhaps working in partnership with Ice Edge Holdings.
The latest reports suggest the club has sold 4,000 season tickets and only one-quarter of its luxury suites have been booked for the 2010-11 season.
The franchise, which has lost between $200 million and $300 million since leaving Winnipeg, has been bankrolled by the NHL since January 2009.
Read more:
PENTICTON, B.C. -- Though later to the party than most other prospects here, Vande Velde is proving he belongs as a pro.
"I definitely think I' m ready to take the next step after a full college career," Vande Velde said. "I think UND got me prepared really well, and obviously that's a great program and I'm excited to get in here and maybe crack the big team."
Oilers center Chris Vande Velde scored a second-period power-play goal to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead.
-- Ryan PinderEdmonton Director of Player Development Mike Sillinger played more than 1,000 NHL games and watched Vande Velde last season with the Fighting Sioux and followed him when Vande Velde moved to AHL Springfield when the NCAA season ended.
"He's definitely ready for the American Hockey League," Sillinger said. "He played a couple of games at the end of last year with the farm system, he finished four years (of college). He's a big guy, strong guy, protects the puck really well, plays his position really well. He's not overly flashy, but he's very noticeable in doing the little things well. Decent on the faceoffs and, with his size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), he's just so big and strong in front of the net."
Vande Velde's description doesn't seem to overlap very much with the skill set of Edmonton's "Big Three" prospects -- Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi -- which may be a good thing for Vande Velde as he tries to crack the Edmonton roster this season.
Persistently battling with the Canadian Hockey League for the top developing prospects, the area landscape of NCAA hockey is soon to change. Beginning with the 2014-15 season, Penn State plans to ice a full-fledged hockey program and will join the newly-formed Big Ten Hockey Conference.Some of these comments by Wisconsin Badgers Head hockey coach Eaves are kind of puzzling to me. The Big Ten Network could show more hockey games than it does right now, however, the BTN fails to do so. All you have to do is look at their programming over the last few years; hockey takes a back seat to Division I Basketball. Last season the BTN didn't even show the hockey show case games.
“Like a lot of things, it’s money driven,” said Wisconsin Badgers coach and former Riverside resident and Assumption high school student Mike Eaves. “You’ve got the Big 10 Network that needs programming (beyond football and basketball). They need more stuff on the air to make it work. The next income sport is hockey, so if we had our own league, that’s going to be something that’s going to draw people to the network, and that’s going to drive the dollars in terms of advertising. That’s something the athletic directors and the (university) presidents realize needs to happen.”
Hockey became a viable program for the Nittany Lions thanks to a very generous benefactor, a Pennsylvania businessman named Terry Pegula, who recently sold his natural gas company for US $4.7 billion. An avid hockey fan, Pegula made a reported US $80 million gift to the school, which is expected to fund the construction of a 6,000-8,000-seat arena.
A formal announcement of Penn State’s plans could come as early as Friday. “Penn State has been knocking on the door since the mid-90s,” Eaves said. “But now, this donor has been able to sell his company and do what he wanted to do to get it going. It’s going to happen in the relatively near future.”
Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley declined to comment on these reports when reached by phone Monday.Brad Schlossman has a pretty good articles of the pros and cons of the Big Ten Hockey Conference. I have to agree scheduling is going to be a major headache for the BTHC teams.
Currently, the Icers play as an ACHA Division I club team, but are not recognized as a Division I program by the NCAA.
Penn State would instantly become the second-largest university, in terms of enrollment, in the country to offer men's hockey, trailing only Ohio State. The Lions would become the 59th Division I men's hockey program.
Last month, The Altoona Mirror reported Penn State is planning on building a new rink that would replace its current home -- the Penn State Ice Pavilion. The Pavilion holds 1,350 fans while the new arena would accommodate 6,000 to 8,000 people.
2. Scheduling is the major issue. The more teams, the easier it is for scheduling. The sixth team means you can make 20 league games (playing everyone twice) instead of 16. That’s big, but is it big enough? With a six-team BTHC, those teams will get 20 league games and 14-16 nonconference. Your schedule is almost just as heavy with nonconference games and it won’t be a piece of cake filling them out.
3. The schedule isn’t going to be any more attractive. Take Minnesota or Wisconsin for example. You think you are getting a sexy schedule with the “name” schools on it by joining BTHC. But how are you going to fill out the 14-16 nonconference games? Schools like St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, UND and Denver? Well, then you’re schedule really doesn’t look any different than it does now, does it?
ESPNBoston.com ---Chiarelli acknowledged Friday that he did indeed have trade discussions regarding Savard, but apparently they weren't enough to entice the GM to pull the trigger on a deal. Chiarelli also acknowledged that teams have inquired about other Bruins players, as well.
"There is all these things that happen and there are always things that swirl around about moving guys, and I cannot respond to anything in kind because I don't directly comment on trade rumors," Chiarelli said. "I can tell you, though, that there was discussion and inquiries on Marc and they became public.
"There has been a number of inquires on a lot of the players, some become public and some don't for obvious reasons, but as we told Marc, that's part of the business and he understood that. I made sure he knows what we think of him: He is a Boston Bruin and an elite offensive player we're happy to have on this team."
Since the NHL entry draft back in late June, Savard's name has been constantly bandied about in trade rumors. Due to the Bruins' salary-cap woes and the anticipated addition of another talented center in Tyler Seguin to an already deep center corps, Chiarelli reportedly was open to trading his star pivot, who led the team in scoring in three of the past four seasons.
Duluth New Tribune --- WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod addressed the possible changes last weekend at league coaches meetings in Bloomington, Minn., said Minnesota coach Don Lucia on Monday. The WCHA will start 2010-11 with 12 teams with the addition of Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha.
“The strength of the WCHA has been the commitment of member schools, and if Minnesota and Wisconsin were to leave, the league will still be a good, strong league. It will not be a drastic change,” Lucia said. “But right now this is all speculation. Will Penn State add hockey? Will the Big Ten schools want to form their own league? Will they be interested in adding affiliate members?”
Penn State of University Park, Pa., has plans to build a rink that seats 6,000 to 8,000 and costs $60 million to $80 million, according to a report last month in the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror. The school has men’s and women’s club teams that play in the 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Rink.
Inside College Hockey is reporting that Penn State could announce the addition of varsity hockey as soon as Friday.
“I can’t imagine Penn State going to the effort of adding hockey without the understanding it will be playing other Big Ten schools,” Lucia said.
For starters, a Big Ten hockey league would include WCHA members Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Central Collegiate Hockey Association members Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, for a total of six schools. That’s the number the NCAA requires for an automatic entry into the Division I playoffs.
“We’ve all heard the talk of a Big Ten Conference in hockey for the last four or five years, and it picked up more steam in the last year,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “If Penn State starts hockey, then the league looks like a good possibility.
“If that happens, the WCHA will survive. Bruce McLeod was already proactive, in a sense, by adding two teams this season.”
In a move that will significantly alter the college hockey landscape, the formal announcement of Penn State’s plans to launch of a men’s hockey program is imminent, sources tell Inside College Hockey.If for some reason there is a Big Ten Hockey Conference I think you will see a realignment of college hockey. If that happens I would like to see more of a super conference with the WCHA and the CCHA schools. Then we could find a place for UAH to go as well. Contrary to the self absorbed elites there would still be some nice schools left in spite of the Big Ten. Maybe you could re-align the WCHA to include Northern and Fairbanks.
Multiple sources in college and junior hockey, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the plan; one source told INCH that the university will make a formal announcement this Friday. A Penn State spokesperson late last week declined to comment on the matter.
With an enrollment of approximately 45,000 students at its State College campus, including nearly 39,000 undergraduates, Penn State would become the second-largest institution in the United States to offer Division I men’s college hockey—only Ohio State, with more than 52,000 students at its Columbus campus, is bigger. The Nittany Lions would become the 59th Division I men’s hockey program.
“It is great for the sport,” WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said, while stopping short of confirming the plans. “A program of that stature to potentially add a Division I men’s hockey program is an exciting thing for the sport.”
While a university with the name recognition of Penn State adding a varsity program can only help the profile of college hockey, the impact on current conference configurations, especially the CCHA and WCHA, could be significant. Penn State would join Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin as the sixth Big Ten Conference institution to sponsor varsity hockey. That’s the minimum number of schools required by the NCAA for a conference to award automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the Big Ten covets hockey for its wildly successful television network.
LONDON, Ont. - Amid a report that minor league officials have been contacted to work in the event of a labour disruption by NHL referees and linesmen, the league insists that a new collective bargaining agreement will be reached before opening night.
The Hockey News says American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League officials who do not already work part time for the NHL have been approached about possible employment, as CBA talks continue with the NHL Officials Association. The officials and the league have been without a deal since Aug. 31.
“We don’t anticipate any game disruptions and I don’t believe the officials do either,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Toronto Sun via e-mail. “We are continuing in the process of getting a new deal and have every expectation we will get one done in due course.”
The unnamed official contacted by THN.com said he would not become a scab but added “there are a lot of my colleagues that are surprisingly jumping at the chance.”
Fargo Forum ---Former Force assistant Jason Herter was hired this morning by the Force to take over the team days before training camp starts Monday. The 39-year-old Saskatchewan native replaces Steve Johnson, who resigned Monday to become an assistant coach at St. Cloud State.
"Hockey is in my blood and I've always been looking for a good opportunity," said Herter, who was an assistant during the Force's first season. "I am established in the community and in the world of hockey, if a good opportunity comes up, you take advantage of it."
Herter takes over a team that returns nine players from last year's squad that advanced to the Clark Cup Finals for a consecutive season.
He becomes the team's third coach in as many years.
Herter was an assistant under Dean Blais in the team's first season.
Grand Forks Herald ----- The NCAA said Friday it was satisfied with UND’s plan to retire its Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, an important step officials say will help the university as it schedules athletic contests and works to get accepted into the Summit League.
In a Friday statement, the NCAA cited an April 8 decision by the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education to direct UND President Robert Kelley to officially retire the nickname and logo.
“Therefore, UND has been removed from the list of schools subject to the policy regarding Native American nicknames and imagery at NCAA championship events,” the statement said.
Athletic Director Brian Faison said Friday it was “the next step” for the NCAA after the state board’s decision earlier this year.
“We’ll be communicating that to our head coaches and be moving forward,” he said.
‘A matter of when’
Faison said the announcement resolves scheduling issues with several institutions across the country, including the University of Minnesota and University of Iowa, which would not arrange anything except hockey games (Minnesota) against UND until the university was taken off the list of schools that violated the NCAA policy.
“This will open up the opportunities to schedule, and will be a big help for some of our programs,” he said.
The NCAA statement says no member institutions “should use the policy and its prior application to UND as a factor in scheduling.”
UND and 17 other schools were added to the list of institutions subject to new policies in 2005 after the NCAA banned the use of American Indian nicknames and imagery it considered to be “hostile or abusive.”
Minneapolis Star and Tribune ---- Head coach Todd Richards has hired Hendrickson, who scored the first home goal in Wild history, on Oct. 11, 2000 in a 3-3 tie vs. Philadelphia --, to be his third assistant. It is a full-time gig, which means Hendrickson will have to give up his job as a divisional representative with the NHL Players Association and his gig with Fox Sports North as part of the Wild broadcasts.
"You walk into it new," Hendrickson said of the transition from being on-ice to being a part of the coaching staff. It hasn't been that long since Hendrickson finished playing; he played his last NHL game with Colorado during the 2003-04 season and played professionally in Austria during the 2006-07 season.
"We feel he is a young guy, energetic," Richards said. "He's a guy who is recently retired from the game. He knows a lot about the game, about the players. We feel there is a lot he can add to our staff."
REFEREES:
3-Derek Shepherd; 4-Todd Anderson; 5-Justin Brown; 7-Don Adam; 8-Tom Sterns; 9-C.J. Beaurline; 10-Peter Friesema; 11-Tim Walsh; 12-Butch Mousseaux (R-L); 14- Brian Thul; 15-Marco Hunt; 17-Craig Welker; 18-Max Battimo; 20-Brad Albers; 22-Bill Mason; 23-Matt Ulwelling (R-L); 24-Jon Campion; 25-Mike McCreary; 27-Jonathan Morrison; 29-Scott Bokal; 31-Brett Klosowski; 33-Brad Shepherd.
LINESMEN:
at UAA: 36-Kent Asplund; 73-Scott Sivulich; 74-Steve Glines; 75-Travis Jackson.
at CC & DU: 52-Scott Staudte; 57-Bob Keltie; 67-Greg Rockenback; 80-Butch Mousseaux; 82-Stephen Stankevich; 86-Gary Pedigo; 88-Tim Swiader.
at MTU: 35-Dan Juopper; 85- Sean Jacques; 98-Damon Beirling.
at UM, UMD, MSU, SCSU: 38-Joe Harris; 44-Chris Olson; 45-Jerome Krieger; 50-Tony Lancette, Jr.; 53-Rick Nelson; 55-Jeff Schultz; 61-Luke Huggett; 62-Jarod Moen; 68-Chris Perrrault; 80-Tony Czech; 90-Matt Anderson; 91-Sterling Egan; 96-Eric Whisler.
at UND: 37-Tom Lund; 71-Brian Novlesky; 76-Brandon Schmitt; 77-Mike Eslinger; 78-Nathan Freeman; 79-Matt Ulwelling; 83-Justin Hills; 84-Phil Stodgell; 92-Andy Carton.
at UW: 34-Ed Moberg; 38-Dan Carey; 42-Dan Dineen; 51-Mike Gulenchyn; 65-Matt Gerlach; 87-Brad Roethlisberger.
Analysis
Colborne possesses an enticing blend of size and skill, especially now that he's begun to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame. He was a self-described "beanpole" when he was drafted in 2008 as a 190-pounder, but two years in the weight room at the University of Denver has helped him bulk up to 216 pounds. Now he just has to learn how to make the best use of that size.
He's not an overly physical or aggressive player, but he does use his body well to protect the puck. While he needs to improve on his consistency, Colborne has good hands, great vision and excellent hockey sense. That combination makes him a crafty playmaker, but he also possesses a strong shot and quick release, so he's also adept as a finisher.
A natural center, Colborne played most of last year on the wing, and with Boston's depth down the middle, a move out wide is probably his best bet to make the big club in the near future. That's not a problem for Colborne, who's willing to play any position to get a shot in the NHL. He's a left-handed shot but has played both wings, giving him even more versatility. He also showed great character and leadership at this summer's development camp. It was Colborne's third camp, and he took it upon himself to call the newcomers before camp to let them know what to expect, then served as a mentor to the younger campers during the week of drills and off-ice activities.
New York Times --- Princeton University committed a major rule violation when a booster paid $33,000 toward the educational expenses of a tennis player, the N.C.A.A. announced Wednesday. It was the first time in 36 years that the N.C.A.A. found an Ivy League institution guilty of committing a major infraction.
The case involved a Princeton alumnus and former member of the men’s tennis team who helped pay a female tennis player’s tuition in the 2007-8 academic year and the fall of 2008. The alumnus and the student were not named. In addition to being publicly reprimanded, Princeton is required to vacate all tennis matches that the student won, in either singles or doubles, during the 2007-8 academic year and through part of the 2008 fall semester, when the violation was discovered.
Just a quick note. The Aeros have announced today the signing of former San Antonio Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman to a one-year contract. Along with Tordjman, the team also signed center Rylan Kaip to a one-year deal. Kaip spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Wolves.[The Third Intermission]
Star Tribune ---- Less than two weeks before the most pivotal training camp of his NHL career, Wild center James Sheppard was in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday and could miss up to four months.
Sheppard, in Vail, Colo., to train at high altitude in preparation for the Sept. 17 opening of training camp, broke his left kneecap and underwent surgery Saturday night.
The circumstances of the incident were being investigated by the Wild on Tuesday, as well as the next course of action. An exact timetable won't be known for a few weeks.
Sheppard's agent Mark Guy said that during a "guided tour" with other NHL players after training, he swerved to avoid a truck on the path and hit his knee.
"Personally, we're really disappointed in what happened," coach Todd Richards said. "I met him before he went out. It looked like he was in great shape. It looked like he had done everything physically to get himself ready for this camp, and then something like this happens.
Fargo Forum---- A St. Cloud State spokesperson said this morning an announcement regarding Fargo Force head coach Steve Johnson should be coming in the next few days.
Johnson is expected to leave the Force, a little more than a year after being hired by the team. He was hired in July 2009 to replace Dean Blais, who resigned to become the head coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Should Johnson leave, the Force would have to find a third coach in its three-year existance.
CBC Sports --- Ilya Kovalchuk's contract ordeal is over.
The NHL and NHLPA have reached an agreement to revise the rules that regulate long-term contracts as part of a global settlement on Friday, allowing Kovalchuk's contract with the New Jersey Devils to pass.
Jay Grossman, Kovalchuk's agent, confirmed the news in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Both parties agreed to extend the 5 p.m. ET deadline in order to complete the formal paperwork, which was finished in the early Saturday morning hours according to a report on NHL.com.
The agreement means Kovalchuk's revised 15-year, $100-million US contract with the New Jersey Devils will be approved by the league.
The agreement comes after more than a month of disputes between all parties. Kovalchuk agreed to a monstrous 17-year, $102-million deal with the Devils on July 19.
The NHL quickly moved to reject the contract, claiming it circumvented the league's salary cap. An arbitrator upheld that decision on Aug. 9 after the union filed a grievance on July 26 in response to the league's rejection.
The new deal will put a $6.67-million annual hit on the Devils' salary cap and put the team roughly $3 million over the league limit ($59.4 million) with only 21 players under contract, two under the league limit.
[Read the whole article]
On favorable schedule:To top it off the Gophers are loading up on cup cakes to play in the Dodge Holiday Cup Cake classic as well, when they play Union College and Ferris State University. To their credit the Gophers do play Michigan and Michigan State, albeit at home. I know the University of Minnesota doesn’t like to travel from the friendly confines of “the John” but playing non conference games in hostile arenas build character.
* The Gophers only play four series this season outside the state of Minnesota. They play at CC Oct. 29-30, at Michigan Tech Nov. 19-20, at North Dakota Jan. 14-15 and at Wisconsin Feb. 18-19.
All six non-conference games are at Mariucci Arena as well as an exhibition game on Jan. 7 against the under-18 U.S. national development team.
Lucia joking around: "We go to Grand Forks, that's in another country. ... We don't have a real heavy travel schedule. All of our non-conference games are at home. So we have a real good schedule this year. It's hard to believe that basically in a month and a day or two we will be starting hockey season."
The Gophers' first official practice is Saturday, Oct. 2.
Of Minnesota's 34 regular-season games, 20 are at home. The Gophers also play two exhibition games at home, the first on Oct. 3 against British Columbia. [Goal Gophers]