WCHA season preview

Image via WikipediaThis is the story I submitted for Inside Hockey. 
The WCHA is set for another great season of hockey. This is the projected order of finish from the Grand Forks Herald’s coach’s poll. Added is my analysis of the league’s 12 teams as I see it. I didn’t include recruits because I have watch none of them play as of yet. As the season continues we will cover freshman players of note that are making an impact in the WCHA. I did include some recruits that might be worth a look as the season unfolds.

1.Denver– Pioneers have been picked to finish first in all three WCHA preseason polls (Media, Writers and the coach’s polls). The biggest question facing the Denver Pioneers this season is their inexperienced goaltending. Starting goaltender and 2010-11 All WCHA rookie team goalie Sam Brittain suffered a knee injury last season during the playoffs and had surgery during the off-season to repair that knee. In Brittain’s absence junior goalie Adam Murray, who posted a 6-3-0 record and a 3.46 goals against average with a .879 save percentage, will be expected to step into the starting goaltenders role for the Denver Pioneers.

While the Denvermedia would like us to believe that the Denver Pioneers aren’t going to be very good this season, there is no reason to believe that the Pioneers are going to be able to fly under the radar this season. I am not buying it and don’t think it’s being very realistic, Denver is a stacked team up and down the forward lines and will be one of the tops teams to beat in the WCHA and the nation this season.

From the fun fact department, the Pioneers have five players from the USNTDP on this season roster.

Leading the offensive attack for the Denver Pioneers are forwards Drew Shore 23g-23a—46 pts, Jason Zucker 23g-22a—45 pts, Beau Bennett 9g-16a—25 pts and Nick Shore 7g-11a—18 pts.

Gone from last season’s team, Matt Donovan 9g-23a—32 pts, Anthony Maiani 8g-28a—36 pts, Kyle Ostrow 15g-13a—28 pts, Chris Nutini 0g-8a—8 pts.

2. UND – The defending MacNaughton Cup and Broadmoor Trophy winners are missing many key elements from their 2010-11 squad that went and impressive 32-9-3. The Sioux were one of the best teams in the nation for most of the year. That was all for not as the Fighting Sioux had their dream season ended prematurely in the quarter finals of the Frozen Four at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines.

From the fun fact department, Fighting Sioux defenseman Dillon Simpson while a sophomore in college is the youngest player on the Fighting Sioux roster this season.

Leading the offensive attack for the Fighting Sioux, Danny Kristo 8g-20a—28 pts, Sophomore Brock Nelson 8g-13a—21 pts and Corbin Knight 14g-30a—44 pts are expected to have big season for the Fighting Sioux from the forward position.

The Fighting Sioux return an impressive blue line corps of Ben Blood 2g-10a—12 pts, Andrew MacWilliam 0g-8a—8 pts, Dillon Simpson 2g-8a—10 pts and Derek Forbort 0g-15a—15 pts that would probably play in any teams top four defensive paring.

In the net for the Fighting Sioux, there is no shortage of experience between Senior Brad Eidsness and last season’s All-American and the Inside College Hockey Goaltender of the Year  junior Aaron Dell who posted a 30-7-2 a save percentage of .924 and a goals against average of 1.79. 

Gone from last year’s team, Jason Gregoire 25g-18a—43 pts, Matt Frattin 36g-24a—60 pts, Chay Genoway 6g-31a—37 pts, Brad Malone 16g-24a—40 pts, Evan Trupp 17g-24a—41 pst, Brett Hextall 13g-16a—29pts.

3. Colorado College – The Tigers turned a lot of heads last spring when they easily defeated the Boston College Eagles 8-4 in the NCAA West Regional Semifinal. Moving forward this season there is a renewed optimism surrounding this season’s Colorado College Tiger hockey team that went 23-19-3 and finished sixth during the regular season.

From the fun fact department Jaden Schwartz scored nine more points than his older brother Rylan Schwartz while playing in nine less games than is older brother.

Leading the offensive attack for the Tigers, a very potent one – two scoring punch from Jaden Schwartz 17g-30a—40pts and Rylan Schwartz 10g-28a—38 pts.

Leading the defense for the Tigers, Gabe Guentzel 2g-22a—26pts, Joe Marciano 3g-8a—11pts, Eamonn McDermott 2g-12a—14pts, lead the Colorado College Tigers on defense. If there is a weakness on this Tigers squad their defense isn’t as experienced on the blue line and that showed in the West Regional Final last season againstMichigan.

In net for the Tigers, they have a proven goalie in Joe Howe who played in 36 games posting a 18-15-2 record with a 2.94 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Also available to log some time is backup goalie Josh Thorimbert who posted a 5-4-1 record a 2.57 goals against average with .906 save percentage.

Gone from last season, Stephen Schultz 17g-28a—45pts, Tyler Johnson 20g-17a—37pts.

4. Nebraska-Omaha – In their first year in the WCHA theUniversityofNebraska Omaha Mavericksproved to a solid team that was very tough to play against, the Mavericks finished in third place in the WCHA standings one point out of second place. Coach Dean Blais’ Mavericks resembled his Fighting Sioux teams from the past; small fast forwards up front and a couple of Oak trees on defense.
Leading the offensive attack for the UNO Mavericks are Alex Hudson 13g-18a—31pts, Terry Broadhurst 11g-19a—30pts, Matt White 14g-11a—25pts.

Leading the defense, Bryce Aneloski 2g-17a—19pts, Michael Young 3g-11a—14pts.

In the net for the Mavericks, goalie John Falkner 2.56 goals against average and .906 save percentage.

Gone from last season’s team, Joey Martin 11g-24a—35pts, Matt Ambroz 17g-17a—34pts, Rich Purslow 13g-20a—33pts, Eric Olimb 3g-24a—27pts.

5. Minn.-Duluth – The Bulldogs are the reigning NCAA champion, that’s not a miss print folks. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that the Bulldogs had a bit of a ho-hum regular season, they weren’t bad but they didn’t light the league on fire by any stretch of the imagination. The Bulldogs finished the regular season in fourth place of the WCHA standings two points out of second place. Following a WCHA home playoff series win against the SCSU Huskies, the Bulldogs’ appearance at the WCHA Final Five was short lived as they were sent home early after losing their quarterfinal game to the upstart BSU Beavers in the Final Five.

From the fun fact department, the Bulldogs went an unimpressive 2-4-1 against C.C., UND and DU. I guess that record didn’t matter in the end because UMD went on to win the NCAA championship.

Bold prediction at the post game press conference

What stuck in my mind most was the post game conference after the loss in the quarter finals to BSU Beavers, the Bulldogs were obviously agitated over losing the game to the BSU Beavers. I can clearly remember Bulldog junior defenseman Brady Lamb comments, he said, “That the Bulldogs needed to go home and get refocused and that they [Bulldogs] had four games left to play this season.” Those comments caught my attention because that meant Lamb intended to be playing in the Frozen Four championship game. Lamb’s profound and bold prediction ended up being true.

Lamb was right the Bulldogs went home, got refocused and went on to win the East Regional in Bridgeport,Connecticutthe following weekend. Two weeks later the Bulldogs followed up that East Region championship by winning 2011-12 NCAA championship inSt. Paul,Minnesota. The Bulldogs breezed through the quarterfinals beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and then followed up that win two night later by beating the University of Michigan Wolverines in the Championship game of the Frozen Four 3-2 in overtime.

Leading the offense attack, Jack Connolly 18-41—59 pts, J.T. Brown 16g-21a—37 pts, Mike Seidel 8g-6a—14 pts.

Leading the defense, Brady Lamb 1g-9a—10 pts, Wade Bergman 3g-7a—10 pts.

In the net for the Bulldogs, Kenny Reiter 16-7-5 save percentage .914 and goals against average 2.30.

Gone from last season’s team, Mike Connolly 28g-26a—54 pts, 37 Justin Fontaine 22g-36a—58 pts, Justin Faulk 8g-25a-33 pts, Mike Montgomery 0g-10a—10 pts.

 6.Minnesota– The Minnesota Gophers have missed the NCAA tourney three seasons in a row and the Final Five the past two seasons and if the Gophers don’t improve this season there could be a major house cleaning in the spring inMinneapolis,Minnesota. Last March the Golden Gophers lost their first round series against the UAA Seawolves in two games, this loss ended the Gophers season causing them to miss the WCHA Final Five and the NCAA tourney. The Gophers have let assistant coach John Hill go and have re-hired former Gopher assistant coach Mike Guentzel.

From the not so fun fact department, none of the Gophers senior class has ever been to the NCAA tourney. Historically, the Gophers used to be a shoe in for the WCHA Final Five and the NCAA tourney.

Leading the offensive attack for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Erik Haula 6g-18a—24 pts, Nick Bjugstad 8g-12a—20 pts, Zach Budish 2g-4a—6 pts.

Leading the defense for the Gophers, Justin Holl 1g-6a—7 pts, Seth Helgeson 1g-6a—7pts.

In the net for the Golden Gophers All-WCHA Second Team, senior goalie Kent Patterson who took the reins from Alex Kangas an posted a 13-5-5 record with goals against average of .926 and save percentage 2.31.

Gone from last year’s team, Jacob Cepis 12g-17a—29pts, Jay Barriball 12g-16a—28pts, Mike Hoeffel 13g-11a—24pts, Max Gardiner 1g-2a—3 pts, Cade Fairchild 6g-18a—24 pts, Aaron Ness 2g-12a—14 pts, Alex Kangas 2-5-0 record, .894 save percentage and a 3.71 goals-against average.

7. St. Cloud State – The SCSU Huskies had so much promise when they started the 2010-11 season and finished the season with what most would consider an off year finishing tied for eighth in the WCHA standing tie with UAA Seawolves. The Huskies were picked to finish second in the 2010-2011 pre-season coaches poll.

Leading the offensive attack for the Huskies, are Drew LeBlanc 13g- 26a—39 pts, Cam Reid 8g- 21a—29 pts, Jared Festler 12g-12 a—24 pts.

Leading the defense for the Huskies, Nick Jensen 5g-18a—23 pts, Kevin Gravel 1g-5a-6 pts.

In the net for the Huskies, Mike Lee 9-10-4, .915 save percentage, and a 2.75 goals-against average.

Gone from last year’s team, Aaron Marvin 9g-6a—15 pts, Garrett Roe 10g-26a—36 pts, Tony Mosey 3g-3a—6 pts, Oliver Lauridsen 1g-8a—9 pts, Chris Hepp 1g-2a—3 pts, Brian Volpei 1g-4a—5 pts, Brett Barta 3g-11g—14 pts, Nick Oslund 3g-1a—4 pts, Dan Dunn 2-3-0, .864 save percentage, and a 3.52 goals-against average.

8.Wisconsin– The Wisconsin Badgers start the season with a stable of goalies that has no college hockey experience what-so-ever, none of them have played a game at the college ranks.  This is the first time this has happened to the Badgers since the 1964-65 season. Landon Peterson and Joel Rumpel are the two freshmen goalies vying for time along with junior Mitch Thompson. So whoever ends up being the starting goalie for the Badgers on opening night; they will have zero college experience, it should be an interesting season inMadison,Wisconsinthis year.

The Badgers are coming off a less than successful season where the Badgers missed the Final Five and the NCAA playoffs, the Badgers also had to play their first round series on the road because they finished the season in seventh place of the WCHA standings. This year’s Badger hockey team seems to be flying under the radar as well as all three WCHA polls have the Badgers in either seventh or eighth place, I do expect the Badgers to finish higher than seventh or eighth in the WCHA.  Wisconsin Badgers head hockey coach Mike Eaves is known for getting the most out of his players.

From the fun fact department the Badgers went 2-11-1 against the teams above them in the standing (DU, C.C., UMD, UND and UNO) those numbers will need to improve if the Badgers are to finish in the top half of the league standings.

Leading the offensive attack for the Badgers, Mark Zengerle 5g-31a—36 pts, 25 Michael Mersch 8g-11a—19 pts,   Tyler Barnes 5g-12a—17 pts, Derek Lee 3g-14a—17.

Leading the defense for the Badgers, Justin Schultz 18g-29a—47 pts, Jake McCabe freshman; John Ramage 1g-10a—11 pts.

In goal for the Badgers, there are three goalies vying for the starting position for the Badgers, Joel Rumpel, Landon Peterson and Mitch Thompson.

Gone from last year’s team, Craig Smith 19g-24a—43 pts, Jake Gardiner 10g-31a—41 pts,   Scott Gudmandson 10-9-1, .917 SV% and 2.46 goals-against average, Brett Bennett 2-4-2, .902 save percentage, and a 2.70 goals-against average.

9. Alaska-Anchorage - The Seawolves are coming off their second-best season in the history of their program. The Seawolves made a statement during the WCHA playoffs as the Seawolves knocked off the Minnesota Gophers in Mariucci Arena in two games during the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The series win sent the Seawolves to the WCHA Final Five for only the second time in their school’s history.

The Seawolves season ended when they were beaten by the Colorado College Tigers 4-2 in the quarter finals of the WCHA Final Five. The Seawolves “should” have a balanced scoring attack from their forward lines as they return six of their top 10 points getters from the 2010-11 season.

From the fun fact department, Seawolves sophomore goalie Chris Kamal could be called a Gopher killer as he went an impressive 3-0-0 against the Golden Gophers last season. Kamal registered two shutouts and only gave up only three goal against in three games against the Golden Gophers.

Leading the offensive attack for the Seawolves, Jordan Kwas 4g-20a—24 pts, Matt Bailey 10g-10a—20 pts.

Leading the defense for the Seawolves, Curtis Leinweber 4g-6a—10 pts,  Brad Gorham 1g-5a—6 pts, Wes McLeod 2g-4a—6 pts.

In goal for the  Seawolves, Rob Gunderson 7-13-2,  .897 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average.  Chris Kamal 9-5-1, 895 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average.

Gone from last year’s team, Tommy Grant 16g-16a—32 pts, Craig Parkinson 8g-13a—21 pts, Sean 10g-7a—17 pts.

10. BemidjiState– The BemidjiState University Beavers took their lumps during their inaugural season in the WCHA, the Beavers finished in season in 10^th place. The Beavers did, however, beat the UNO Mavericks inOmaha during the WCHA playoffs to advance to the Final Five in their first season. In their next game the Beavers beat eventual NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in overtime. The next night the Beavers fortunes changed and the Beavers ended up beat by the Denver Pioneers 6-2 ending the Beavers magical run.

From the Fun fact department the BSU Beavers went an impressive 5-0-1 against the UNO Mavericks last season and eliminated them from the WCHA playoffs by sweeping the Mavericks inOmahatwo games to none. The Beavers were also the last team to beat the UMD Bulldogs before they went on their run to a national title.

In net for the Beavers, Dan Bakala 14-13-4, .919 save percentage and a  2.47 goals-against average, Mathieu Dugas 1-5-1 .899 save percentage and a  2.59 goals-against average.

Leading the offensive attack for the Beavers, Jordan George 17g-19a—36 pts, Shea Walters 1g-13a—14 pts.

Leading the defense for the Beavers, Brad Hunt 3g-18a—21 pts.

Gone from last year’s team, Matt Read 22g-13a—35 pts, Ian Lowe 12g-16a—28 pts.

11. MSU-Mankato – The Mavericks have a tough task ahead of them, they lost a four high end players that played a key role in their 14-18-6 season; so the prospects of the Mavericks having a good season this year is not very good, five of the top 11 scorers were seniors.

From the not so fun fact department, the Mavericks lost eight one goal games last season, so they were in a lot of hockey games up until the end. All things considered, it still could be a very long season for the Mavericks inMankato.

Leading the offensive attack for the Mavericks, Mike Dorr 12g-14g—26 pts, Eriah Hayes 11g-11a—22 pts, Chase Grant 8g-12a—20 pts.

In net for the Mavericks, Austin Lee 4-5-2, .911 save percentage and a  2.59 goals-against average, Phil Cook 10-13-4, .903 save percentage and a  3.01 goals-against average.

Gone from last year’s team, Kurt 9g-18a—27 pts, Ben Youds 7g-14a—21, Rylan Galiardi 7g-12a—19 pts, Andrew Sackrison 5g-14a—19 pts, Channing Boe 5g-5a—10 pts.

12.MichiganTech – the Michigan Tech Huskies have nowhere to go but up this season. It would be an understatement to say that the Huskies have had three horrible seasons (six wins, five wins and four wins) in a row including last seasons unimpressive 4-30-4 run. Following the season, the Michigan Tech athletic director had seen enough of Jamie Russell and decided to go in a different direction and hire formerMichiganassistant and MTU alum Mel Pearson.

From the fun fact department, if there is a silver lining for the Huskies, going into this season the Huskies return eight of their top 10 point getters from a year ago. Three of Tech’s top players last seasons were also underclassmen.

Leading the offensive attack for the Huskies, Jordan Baker 9g-9a—18pts (2009-10), Brent Olson 4g-6a—10 pts, Millos Gordic 15g-6as—21 pts, Ryan Furne 12g-9a—21 pts, Jacob Johnstone 4g-15—19 pts.

Leading the Huskies on defense, Daniel Sova 0g-9a—9 pts, Steven Seigo 4g-13a—17 pts.

In net for the Huskies, Kevin Genoe 3-17-2, .883 save percentage and a  4.03 goals-against average, Josh Robinson 1-13-2, .884 save percentage and a 4.58 goals-against average.

Here are some of the incoming recruits to watch for this season.

DU
Joey LaLeggia
Scott Mayfield

Mankato
Matt Leitner

Minnesota
Kyle Rau
Travis Boyd
Seth Ambroz

Nebraska Omaha
Jayson Megna

North Dakota
Rocco Grimaldi
Nick Mattson
Mark MacMilian

Fullerton doesn't care if Sioux Indians want to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname

Image via WikipediaWhile Fullerton doesn't come out and say it, this is what his comments really say. The Big Sky has it's marching orders from the NCAA and they will only take the University of North Dakota "if" they are no longer called the Fighting Sioux or if they get the Standing Rock Tribe to agree to let UND use the Fighting Sioux nickname. Seriously, this argument is over, the Big Sky Conference doesn't  care and they are unmoved if the Spirit Lake Sioux wants UND to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname or not.

In my opinion UND can't afford to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname or they will get ostracized by the NCAA and the Big Sky Conference. That's what the crux of this argument is, if the name is not gone soon UND's invitation to the Big Sky could be.

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- The Big Sky Conference continues to watch with concern as debate persists over whether UND can or should retain its Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said today.

“I don’t want to get into the debate itself over what’s happening in the state of North Dakota,” Fullerton said. “What I’m concerned about is that the University of North Dakota is going to become a marginalized Division I program” if the dispute over the nickname continues.

“Already I’m aware of schools that will not play UND” because of the name dispute, he said.. “Their ability to schedule already is being limited, and the longer this stays an issue the worse it will be.

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41st annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA coaches poll

Image via WikipediaHere is the much awaited WCHA coaches poll.
Coaches poll
1. Denver (7) 115
2. UND (4) 110
3. Colorado College (1) 105
4. Omaha 89
5. Duluth 75
6. Minnesota 74
7. St. Cloud State 61
8. Wisconsin 54
9. Anchorage 36
10. Bemidji State 30
11. MSU-Mankato 29
12. Michigan Tech 14

Preseason player of the year
Jaden Schwartz, Colorado College (8)
Justin Schultz, Wisconsin (2)
Terry Broadhurst, Omaha (1)
Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth (1)

Preseason rookie of the year
Rocco Grimaldi, UND (10)
Joey LaLeggia, Denver (1)
Jayson Megna, Omaha (1)

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Peters; If Hockey East gets the Irish it's a stiff slap in the face and a stumble out of the gates...

I usually love what Chris Peters owner of the United States of Hockey has to say and probably agree with what he has to say about 85 percent of the time but I couldn't disagree more with this recent blog post.

Let's break this down further; five of the top ten teams in all three preseason polls (CHN, USCHO, USA Today) are going to be in the newly formed NCHC to start the 2013-14 season. The teams that make up the NCHC have a combined 17 NCAA titles (DU 7, UND 7, UMD 1, C.C. 2). Tell me what leagues is currently more stacked than the NCHC is? The B1G is only other league that is going to have more NCAA titles (Michigan 9, Wisconsin 6, and Minnesota 5). Whether you want to admit it the NCHC has the making of being a pretty good hockey league.

Chris Peters; United States of Hockey --- From where I sit, the NCHC needs Notre Dame more than Hockey East does. The eight teams within the NCHC do not possess the national recognition required to garner a lucrative television deal, which presumably was a reason for forming the new league. Hockey East at the very least has the Boston media market pinned down, to go along with nationally known Boston College.

So, as tough a pill as it would be to swallow for perennial hockey powers at North Dakota and Denver, conceding some to Notre Dame is not the worst thing in the world. Without Notre Dame, was it worth breaking up the WCHA? Will the NCHC reach it’s full potential as it currently stands?

If the Irish get what they want from Hockey East, it’s by no means a fatal blow to the NCHC, but it’s a stiff slap in the face and a stumble out of the gates for the new league.

Lastly, I want to say that say again that I respect Chris Peters and his awesome work and this isn't personal what-so-ever but the new league hasn't even played a game yet and we have some people (not Chris) writing an eulogy before the NCHC has even played their first game.  

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The NHL throws the book at James Wisniewski

I must applaud NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan for suspending Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski, first, this is a senseless move because the game is officially over and there is no reason to make that gutless play. Second, Columbus is a conference opponent so Wisniewski will have ample opportunity to get another crack at Cal Clutterbuck and if he must challenge him to a fight. Third, Wisniewski needs to learn how to take a check and get over it, I am sick and tired of this mentality that if you get hit by someone with a legal check that you need to fight them. Take their number and get them back later. There is no room for these kind of hits in the NHL and they are being dealt with. In reading the Columbus Blue Jackets beat writer blog and the comments of the Columbus fans it would appear that the Columbus Blue Jacket nation does not agree with the ruling.

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Color me surprised, Stu Bickel mixing it up in the NHL...

Gopher fans must be pleased that one of their former players is making an impression in the NHL preseason, albeit in a negative way. One of my least favorite Golden Gopher hockey players of all time; Stu Bickel. I suppose that this will be one of the only ways this guy will be able to stick/play in the NHL, being a third defensive pairing and having to fight on a regular basis to stay in the line up.

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Sand bagging at it's best.

Image via WikipediaIf this isn't sand bagging I don't know what is? Denver University Pioneers even with their questionable goaltending will still be a top team. Nice try Mike.

Mike Chambers; The Field House --- Thus, I’m willing to bet many of the 25 voters who participated in a Duluth, Minn.-based media poll has no idea that DU sophomore goalie Sam Brittain will most of the season, if not all of it, after undergoing major knee surgery June 17 in Denver. After all, how can you pick the Pioneers to win the toughest league in the country without their best goalie? It wouldn’t be shocking to suggest DU will make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year, or even advance to the Frozen Four. Because by then they MIGHT have Brittain back.

But how do you pick the Pios to win a marathon conference season with it’s No. 2 and No. 3 goalies for at least half of the marathon?

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Poll time. Sioux third in both polls...

Fun Fact: If you look at the two polls five out of the top ten schools are future NCHC schools.

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UND third in the WCHA media poll.

Image via WikipediaHere is the results of the WCHA media poll.

WCHA FINAL STANDINGS

1. Denver
2. North Dakota
3. Colorado College
4. Nebraska-Omaha
5. Minnesota
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Alaska-Anchorage
8. Wisconsin
9. St. Cloud State
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan Tech
12. MSU-Mankato


Here is how I think the WCHA is going to shake out.

1. Denver
2. Colorado College
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska-Omaha
6. Wisconsin
7. Minnesota-Duluth
8. Alaska-Anchorage
9. St. Cloud State
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan Tech
12. Minnesota State

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Notre Dame close to a decision?

According to Mike McMahon of the Eagle Tribune, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are close to picking a college hockey conference, it's between the Hockey East and the newly formed NCHC. I like most college hockey fans would like to know where the Golden Domers are going to end up. I guess we will find out soon enough. Here is a link to the story in the Warrior Rink Rat.

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Blame the NCHC crowd...

Image via WikipediaWow, I am not sure what the point of this article is, Ferris State University has a new conference and honestly the new refabbed WCHA would probably be a more attractive option than the CCHA with the left overs. Also, I find it funny that the FSU beat writer assigns no blame what-so-ever to Notre Dame, why not? If anyone is acting in an arrogant and elite manner it would also be the Fighting Irish, have they not abandoned the CCHA for greener pastures? They also showed no interest in joining the WCHA..

Sandy Gholston; MLive.com --- No, I lay blame squarely at the feet of the six schools (Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha, Miami and Minnesota Duluth) who formed the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (and, to a slightly lesser degree, the two schools (St. Cloud State University and Western Michigan University) who most recently pledged their hockey programs to this new conference after being extended invitations.

Those first six are to blame for, in all likelihood, jumping at the change to further define an unsavory class structure in college hockey that divides the perceived elites from those who are considered lesser programs. Once the Big Ten formed a league for hockey, one has to think these schools saw the situation as the floodgates opening to elitism in the sport. The Big Ten was destined to be viewed as an elite league in college hockey with strong television and general media exposure.

The schools that formed the NCHC felt they could not be considered elite if they were playing what they may have perceived as lesser schools (the institutions that they broke away from in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association). So, gripped by an unattractive blend of envy (for the future status of the Big Ten) and arrogance (believing they are somehow above schools like Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Minnesota State University and others), the schools that formed the NCHC broke off from those two packs.

Related articles

• WCHA to expand... (mvn.com)
• LSSU Lakers face crucial decisions... (mvn.com)
• What's up SCSU? (mvn.com)
• Tuesday evening free for all (mvn.com)
• Waiting to Exhale, the WCHA is Back (mvn.com)

UAH program on the brink part II

Image via WikipediaWow, just when it couldn't get anymore crazy there is still all kinds of college hockey news breaking, this past summer has been a proverbial whirl wind. I have been out of the pocket for a few days, no internet connection at the hunting shack and I come back to find out this news nugget. While the leadership at UAH is considering killing college hockey there is a chance that the Chargers could end up in the WCHA, John Turner interviewed Bruce McLeod about the possibility of UAH joining the WCHA, you can read the interview here.

John Turner; Huntsville Times --- The creation of the Big Ten and National Collegiate Hockey Conference have rocked the foundation of the sport, creating an opportunity for the Chargers to file into an existing conference.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association remains the most logical landing place for the Chargers. With nine teams and counting to date - invites extended to Bowling Green State University and another school McLeod wouldn't name have so far gone unanswered - the WCHA's growing pains could be UAH's gain.

"The perfect number for me is eight (teams), but we're way past that," WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said. "It's a little different world for us, waiting on these dominoes to fall. Our feet are planted firmly in midair right now, but we are making progress. Sometimes it seems slow, but it's just a matter of who falls and when they fall."

McLeod said he has not yet received an application for membership from UAH as of last week, nor has an invite for membership been extended.

However, McLeod noted that he has spoken with Portera and felt that he was interested in finding Charger hockey a home. Whether or not that opportunity presents itself is anyone's guess.

Related articles

• WCHA commish has no guarantees for MSU Moorhead (mvn.com)
• University of Alaska Fairbanks to the WCHA? (mvn.com)
• Save UAH Hockey - a program on the "brink" (mvn.com)
• WCHA to expand... (mvn.com)
• Save - UAH Hockey (mvn.com)

What a Twist.... Maybe (RW77)

I just read on Bruce Ciskie's blog about another possibility begin BGSU's foot-dragging: They're trying to start up a league of their own. You can read the article here.

BGSU was given an extension on its 30-day deadline and claims that, per USCHO, they will announce their intentions by Friday, October 7th. If an extension were that easy to come by, why have the deadline in the first place? Oh well.

In any case, the article cites that BGSU officials met with, or invited, 6 AHA schools: Air Force, RIT, Canisius, Niagara, Mercyhurst, and Robert Morris. RIT apparently declined as being not interested. Air Force officials did not attend the meetings.

The reason for the meetings? The possibility of forming their own league. The impetus behind this comes at an interesting rumor and potential new program: University 'at' Buffalo (I guess the official name is The State University at Buffalo). The teams mentioned all have similarly sized arenas to each other and Buffalo is a MAC Conference member (MAC in all sports but hockey). Buffalo currently has a Club hockey team with a 1400 seat arena close to campus.

The rumor could be legit, especially since the start up costs for Buffalo would be comparatively cheaper than other programs rumored to being courted for DI hockey based upon most of the other prospective members arenas being similarly sized.

What IS NOT mentioned is that this new conference would be simply stupidity incarnate if there is no Autobid attached to it. That being said, I'm sure that DI hockey is looking excitedly at having a SECOND AHA conference.

HOWEVER: This idea does pose some interesting solutions to problems. I already mentioned the stadium thing. Similar to the exposure the NCHC gets with WMU in their conference, this new conference would get exposure from the BGSU market AND (potentially) Buffalo should they decide to join. Also, the members listed are all geographically reasonably close together. Bruce mentions that BGSU to Buffalo is a lengthy 300 mile bus trip. This is FAR more appealing to BGSU than a trip or two to Alaska.

I also think this would be another ideal potential conference for UAH. Unfortunately, the big issue is the same as if UAH were to join the NCHC or WCHA: Travel costs. There is a real possibility that UAH would have to do something similar to what UAA does: Subsidize travel. This new alleged conference would feature BGSU as the shortest distance from UAH at 500 miles. That's about a 7 hour plus bus ride.

However, I think UAH would be wise to consider this conference if it becomes a reality simply because it will be cheaper than the WCHA (two Alaska trips on top of their geographically inconvenient locale).

Any which way you cut it, if UAH doesn't find a conference within the next, say, 12 months, I'd say 2013 comes around and UAH is back in Club hockey.

NHL throws the book at Jody Shelley

For his undisciplined and knuckle headed play Flyers tough guy goon Jody Shelley has been suspended by the NHL for the rest of the preseason and for the first five games of the regular season, while some will say it's too long, these types of suspensions should change aggressive illegal hits. I applaud NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan for making this tough call. I think that the NHL could cut down on the number of questionable/dirty hits if they keep handing out this type of punishment. If you watch the video you will see that former UMD Bulldog Jay Rosehil come to the defense of his fallen player.

More Movement in the college hockey world

Image via WikipediaThis is the article I submitted to Inside Hockey.

Today the National Collegiate Hockey Conference added two more teams bringing the number of league teams to eight, Western Michigan University and Saint Cloud State University officially accepted invitations to join the NCHC. Here are some of the comments and themes that emerged from today’s press conference that was held at Saint Cloud. With the subtraction of SCSU the WCHA now has eight teams; Bemidji State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Minnesota State University Mankato, Northern Michigan University, Michigan Tech University, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks. The WCHA is waiting to see if Bowling Green State University will accept an open invitation to join the WCHA.

Not originally in the Mix:

When the NCHC was first announced this past summer the SCSU Huskies were originally left out of the mix and were not one of the founding charter members of the NCHC. After being originally snubbed by the NCHC, there were a lot of things that were said by the SCSU President Dr. Earl Potter; frankly some of his comments were puzzling and bordered on stupidity. Ironically today, SCSU accepted an invitation to join the NCHC. I have always been told that you don’t want to burn bridges that you might have to cross again as you retreat. Today the SCSU athletic department was in full retrograde mode as they gladly accepted a bid to join the NCHC without reservation. I think that’s what rubs some fans from other teams in the NCHC the wrong way. Their administration said a lot of things when the National was first announced and today it was like they had never made those comments.

Here is what Saint Cloud State University President Dr. Earl Potter had to say today about the selection process. During this past summer we had heard from Potter how SCSU was not interested in joining the NCHC and how the teams in the NCHC were only concerned about themselves. This is what he had to say today.

“They [National] needed room to come together to think to create a process, which they did, in the middle of the summer, a rational fact based process that would be based on the core principles of the new conference and then gather information from potential members that they could use; hold up against their core principles and determine whether or not there was a good fit. “

UND athletic director Brian Faison was asked the following question; “now that the conference is at eight members do you see that as being an optimum number or do you see it growing beyond that.” I think in reading these comments, I think most of us know which team Faison is talking about when he talks about the prospects of future teams being added to the mix.

Yes and no. I don’t think there is a set number in our mind, eight works very well in the sense that it’s a a perfect round robin schedule right now because everyone is in everyone rink. From a conference post season perspective, eight works well, in terms in how you structure that, but at the same time that doesn’t preclude us from looking at nine and if it’s the right team is out there for number nine, we would definitely look at that.

Where do we go from here:

If I were a betting man I would say that there are a few more dominoes yet to fall yet this year. Bowling Green State University has one day left in their 30 day period where they need to tell the WCHA commissioner if the Falcons intend to join the league or not, some seem to think that they’re not on a hard dead line and might still be looking for an invitation to join the NCHC. The other team that has yet to pick a conference is Notre Dame and the Irish seem to be waiting to find out where the rest of their sports teams are going to up when Division I football and Basketball are done blowing their conferences up. This isn’t done yet folks.

Related articles

• RW77′s Take on Conference Realignment Part 2 (mvn.com)
• Waiting to Exhale, the WCHA is Back (mvn.com)
• NCHC Extends Membership Invitations to St. Cloud State and Western Michigan (mvn.com)
• What's up SCSU? (mvn.com)
• WCHA to expand... (mvn.com)

UPDATE: Video from the St. Cloud State presser

Watch live streaming video from

Here is the video from the SCSU press conference that was held earlier today. The press conference starts at about 26 minutes.

St. Cloud, Minn. - St. Cloud State University has accepted an invitation to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference beginning with the 2013-14 season. The acceptance of this invitation for St. Cloud State’s hockey program was announced today by University President Dr. Earl H. Potter III.

“We are delighted to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference,” Potter said. “We believe that the conference’s strength of play and commitment to college hockey and student athletes is strong and deep and we look forward to an exciting future with The National.”

The Huskies along with Western Michigan University were extended invitations to join the The National on Sept. 21. The Huskies will join current league members Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of North Dakota when the league begins play in 2013-14.

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RW77's Take on Conference Realignment Part 2

Ok, Conference Realignment is the 2011 Storyline of the Year. It's all over the place in Football, basketball (by default due to schools switching in one sport usually go in all sports), and hockey. Ok, all college sports, but I could care less about DI basket weaving.

The latest is that the NCHC invited WMU and SCSU to join its conference (scroll down to read the story). WMU is one of the purely financial and exposure based moves we've come to expect from an NC$$ entity, so I am not going to say much more than I don't think WMU is going to be as bad as everyone thinks and I think with current coaching and the competition level the other teams provide, WMU will improve as well.

I will say that inviting SCSU is a VERY bad move. I know I'll get flamed for it, but I do not care. Why am I against it? Not because of what the hockey team has or has not done over its tenure in DI. I think Motzko is a good coach and though they are on what seems like a downward spiral at the moment, they do seem to be competitive in hockey since Motzko's hiring. I'm against SCSU joining the NCHC due to institutional reasoning. Here's a few reasons:

1. Entitlement Attitude: This summer SCSU's President Potter III, came out and flamed the NCHC and acted what could only be described as a spoiled child who believed he deserved better though he did not earn such a privilege. It has always been a joke (at least since I got into College Hockey) that SCSU was derogatively called "Jan Brady State University" or "JBSU" for its attitude of being the red headed stepchild of Minnesota hockey who is always and forever jealous of UMTC (among other WCHA teams). They (especially the fans) hate this attribution because it is not flattering to SCSU. Uh, that's obvious folks. It's not supposed to be flattering. The problem is, they've never once did anything to try to distance themselves from the attribute through institutional actions. They always seemed to be the ones who felt just as entitled to whatever it is as UMTC and, what seems to really grind their gears, that UND gets afforded the courtesy they feel they should have gotten when it comes to the whole rivalry and intra-conference respect that UMTC garnered towards UND. And I know what you are thinking: "UMTC always goes out of its way to put down UND." True, but they also have shown respect at times to UND as well. SCSU, to my knowledge, has never been that much of a team player... unless you consider teaming up with MSUM, MTU, and UAA against the schools like UMTC, UND, DU, CC, and UW to be a team player.

2. SCSU enjoys conflict as a means of self promotion. It seems to me that they, over their DI history, have thrived on making themselves known or felt through controversy and conflict. It's not the Anti-Semitic tendencies that they've shown in their academic realm that highlights the fact. It is the fact that SCSU was one of the pioneers in leading the whole racism campaign. This pointed Myles Brand into his second Bobby Knight crusade: The Nickname issue. I'm not sure if they are the point of the proverbial spear in this issue, but they certainly are flag wavers. Originally they made the most noise about this issue about the same time as the Antisemitism issue... interestingly enough. Seems like a political circus maneuver to blow the smoke of disdain away from St. Cloud and pointed somewhere else. Again, the jealous tendencies prevailed and pointed (with the liberal agenda already fanning those flames) to colleges like William and Mary, UND, and a few others.

Goon has claimed that the NCHC is only looking for "like minded" institutions to join the NCHC and he's right... until now. Because SCSU does not have the same minded approach to collegiate athletics altogether let alone hockey as the original six who split. They do not add anything to the NCHC except for a voice of jealous contempt and stubbornness that got us to this point in the first place.

I have nothing against the players and coaches of SCSU. Goon dislikes Aaron Marvin and I can't say that he handled himself very well on the ice, but overall, I thought their program was on the up swing after they fired the Dahl-li Llama.

I just feel that the NCHC should have waited until Notre Dame made its move. SCSU, to me, is an adequate fall back option even with their attitude problems, but they shouldn't have been pursued until Notre Dame decided between the Big 10, Independent (long shot), HEA (long shot apparently), and the NCHC.

Actually, I think they should have also waited until they found a commissioner. With a commissioner in charge, the direction of the NCHC gets further streamlined and then we know for sure if teams like SCSU fit better than a say, BSU or even UAH.

Now, on the other hand, if Notre Dame still decides to come to the NCHC, perhaps the NCHC should investigate throwing a bone to UAH. Sure, they'd surely be a cellar dweller, but every conference has one or two. Even the vaunted SEC in college football has Vanderbilt.

I only wonder if Gino had something to do with it.

NCHC Extends Membership Invitations to St. Cloud State and Western Michigan

Here is the official press release from today’s announcement of WMU and SCSU joining the NCHC. I will add my thoughts on this decision later this afternoon when I get a chance.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The National Collegiate Hockey Conference today announced that it has invited St. Cloud State University and Western Michigan University to join the new NCAA Division I men's hockey conference which will begin play in the 2013-14 season.

St. Cloud State, located in St. Cloud, Minn., and a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and Western Michigan, located in Kalamazoo, Mich., and currently competing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, would join conference founding members Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha, and University of North Dakota.

"After a thorough and deliberate evaluation process, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is delighted to extend invitations to St. Cloud State and Western Michigan to become members of what we believe will be the premier college hockey conference in the United States," said Brian Faison, director of athletics at North Dakota and spokesperson for The National's Athletic Directors Committee.

"Both universities fit perfectly with the established goals of our conference membership," said Faison. "Their programs are highly competitive and produce quality student-athletes. Each institution has made significant commitments to the continued success of their hockey programs and they are both located in tradition-rich hockey states. St. Cloud State and Western Michigan, with their passionate fans, will add a great deal to The National and we look forward to welcoming them."

"With the launch of the inaugural season for The National just two years away, and with greater clarity regarding membership, we are confident the strength of our schedules and the success of our teams will produce outstanding hockey with regional and national appeal, and strong contenders for the national championship on an annual basis," Faison added.

In addition to advancing its membership process, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference has been conducting a national search for its first commissioner and expects to have its top executive in place by the end of the calendar year.

Notre Dame to the ACC? Part 2...

Image via WikipediaI have been watching this story unfold and I have to admit that it's been like a car accident, you don't want to look, but you have to. I am still holding out hope that Notre Dame doesn't end up in the B1G, so once again a certain Gopher know it all fan will be wrong on another prediction. This was the same person that said Scott Sandelin to Penn State was a done deal.

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports --- If I’m Notre Dame today I’m on the phone to Atlantic Coast Conference headquarters in Greensboro, N.C. because tomorrow may be too late.

If I’m Notre Dame today, and I see the Big East in mid-implosion, see that the ACC has essentially left a spot for me (temporarily) and see the long-term demographic trends for the Midwest, I’m spending the afternoon having a long, soul-searching look in the independence mirror.

And then I’m starting negotiations to join the ACC, not the Big Ten, my persistent local suitor and the one everyone assumes I’ll eventually marry.

“Obviously they are the most attractive option out there,” one ACC athletic director told Yahoo! Sports on Monday, noting he had no knowledge of any discussions between the school and the league. Speaking generally, however, he added: “every league would want Notre Dame and we’re no different.”

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More on Notre Dame's conference selection.

Image via WikipediaOmaha Sioux posted this article in the comments of another article earlier today. It appears that Notre Dame would like to remain a independent in football.

ESPN.COM --- The Fighting Irish compete in the Big East in all sports but football. "I think college football has just taken control of everything," former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said in an interview with "Outside the Lines" host Bob Ley. "All these moves are about football and money and greed. And I think, you know, I'm embarrassed ... about the whole thing. And not just because it's affected the Big East. It just seems that things such as integrity and loyalty and congeniality are gone. And our problem is quite simple. We have no one in charge.

"What we have are little fiefdoms who have conference names and we're living in a society where it's almost like it's Wall Street. Greed is good and I'm Gordon Gecko," he added.

According to a source close to Notre Dame, the Irish's first choice is to remain as an independent in football and stay in the Big East in all other sports.

If the Irish decide they can't remain as a football independent then the choice would be to pursue the ACC before the Big Ten.

But the latter is not the ideal scenario for the fiercely independent Irish. The Irish don't want to give up independence unless forced.

Dustin Byfuglien charged with boating while intoxicated

Image via WikipediaDustin Byfuglin was charged with BWI, seems like this case has gotten a little more complicated. Maybe this is why Dustin Byfuglin had refused to take a blood or urine test?

TORONTO - Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was charged Tuesday with boating while intoxicated three weeks after his arrest in Minnesota.

According to a criminal complaint from the Hennepin County Sheriff's office, a water patrol officer on Lake Minnetonka stopped Byfuglien's boat the evening of Aug. 31 because the navigational lights weren't on. According to the officer, Byfuglien's speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and watery, he was unsteady on his feet and he smelled of alcohol. There were three people in the boat with him.

Authorities also said Byfuglien admitted to taking a muscle relaxant but couldn't remember the name of the drug and he said he takes a "handful of supplements from 16 or 17 different bottles every day."

Byfuglien was charged with third-degree boating while intoxicated, a gross misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail, and refusing to submit to a test. He was also charged with failing to display the proper warning lights on the boat and not having enough flotation devices for everyone on board.

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2011-12 NHL rule changes

Brendan Shanahan and of the NHL and Mathieu Schneider of the NHLPA explain the rule changes for the 2011-12 season. The rule that one that everyone is concerned about is rule 48, illegal hits to the head. Gone are the words, lateral and blindside, also, the head can not be target or a principle point of contact. If a player puts themselves in a vulnerable position that will be taken into consideration as well. There is also some flexibility to call a 2 minute penalty instead of a 5 minute major.

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Notre Dame to the Big Ten?

Image via WikipediaThis would be an interesting turn of events but not unpredictable because there has been a lot written on this subject during the past week.

Neil Hayes; Chicago Sun Times --- The tectonic plates beneath the college football landscape may soon be shifting, which could increase the likelihood of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten in the future.

Brian Kelly is aware that Big East Conference members Pittsburgh and Syracuse have submitted letters of application to the Atlantic Coach Conference, which could impact Notre Dame basketball and other sports. With other significant changes to major conferences expected, joining the Big Ten might make sense now than it did a decade ago, especially if Texas is involved.

Imagine a Big Ten “Western” division that includes Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, llinois and Northwestern and an “Eastern” sub-conference featuring Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue and Indiana. Such a scenario would maintain many of the Big Ten’s geographical rivalries as well as allowing Notre Dame to continue to play traditional foes such as USC and/or Navy.

“I know personally as the head coach, you’re always listening to what’s going on out there,” the Notre Dame coach said. “How it affects our day-to-day operation is none. It doesn’t affect what we do. Nothing is going to be decided during this season.

So if Notre Dames decided to join the B1G that would mean that the Fighting Irish would join the B1G in all sports to include Division I hockey as well, meaning that the Fighting Irish would not be in the NCHC. I don't think it's as devastating to the NCHC as some hockey fans have predicted or hoped. Let's get real, the NCHC in it's current form is still more of an attractive option than the WCHA. One scenario I would like to see happen is, if Notre Dame ends up going to the B1G, I would hope the NCHC would extend an invitation to BGSU and WMU to join the NCHC. I would also caution the NCHC about offering an invitation to SCSU to join the NCHC.

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Waiting to Exhale, the WCHA is Back

This season I will be writing for Inside Hockey with a big blog from out east run by Tim Rosenthal… I will be one of the WCHA writers this season. Here was the first article that I submitted.

The whirl wind summer that saw a bunch of realignment in college hockey has finally come to an end and now college hockey fans can worry about... watching college hockey games as the hockey season is once again upon us. Most college hockey teams have already started their captain’s practices and college hockey coaches are allowed by NCAA rules to practice for two hours each week with their teams until October 1st 2011.

The college hockey season will officially kick off their exhibition games during the first weekend of October. The following weekend all 12 WCHA teams WCHA teams will kick off their non-conference and preseason tourney games. Here is the link composite WCHA schedule for the 2011-12 season. [Link to the composite WCHA schedule]

Re-alignment almost set?

As mentioned in the preceding paragraph; this past summer has been a whirl wind for college hockey fans of the WCHA with the defections of teams to the B1G (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and the defections of teams to the newly formed and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (Colorado College, Denver University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota), the WCHA in its present form will change after the 2012-13 season.

Starting in 2013-14 the WCHA will consist of the following teams, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bemidji State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan Tech University, Minnesota State University Mankato, Northern Michigan University, and Saint Cloud State University. Two other schools have been given invitations to join the WCHA from the CCHA, Western Michigan University and Bowling Green State University have been given invitations to join the WCHA but neither school has accepted or declined the invitation at this point. The WCHA would like to add WMU and BGSU as members to the WCHA because without either school, none of the schools in the WCHA are Division I in any other sport besides hockey.

Teams bolting for super conferences:

We already have an idea what the new WCHA will look like; there may be an addition or subtraction in the future. Based on the moves that have taken place this summer, it also appears that there will no longer be a CCHA. While re-alignment is almost over for the WCHA there are still a few moves yet to be played out. While holding up the show for most of the summer, Notre Dame has yet to pick a home for its college hockey team; there have been rumblings that the Fighting Irish are close to selecting a conference. Stay with me now; there are three or four scenarios in play for them right now, Notre Dame could join the NCHC, Hockey East, go independent or join the Big Ten. The later scenario has surfaced in the last week or so.

Big Ten driving re-alignment:

Due to a very generous donation from PSU alumnus Terry Pegula; Penn State University will now have a college hockey team to start the 2012-13 college hockey season. Peulla opened his rather large wallet and wrote Penn State a check for 88 million to help the Nittany Lions build Pegula Ice arena. That donation rocked the college hockey world, now that the Big Ten “will have” six teams that play college hockey, they are required by conference rules to have a B1G hockey conference. The addition of one college hockey team set the ball in motion for a very chaotic summer. The Big Ten Schools that used to be in both the WCHA and the CCHA are now going to form the Big Ten Hockey Conference.

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 University Nebraska Omaha to form the NCHC. The NCHC schools have been trying to lure Notre Dame to become a member of the six team super conference. WMU is also said to be very interested in joining the NCHC, and they have spent the summer trying to convince the NCHC that they would be a worthy suitor in the NCHC. If WMU is unable to join the NCHC they will probably join the WCHA. BGSU has yet to make decision but are leaning towards joining the WCHA.
There have been rumblings that if Notre Dames doesn’t join the NCHC that SCSU “might” get an invite to the NCHC but at this time they are still on the outside looking in. This move would stink with hypocrisy especially after Saint Cloud State University President Dr Earl H. Potter III said he wouldn’t join the NCHC even if his school was offered a spot in the conference. Potter has since backed off this statement.

How will things shake out?

While I don’t get a vote in the WCHA media pre-season poll, this is how I think the standings will shake out for the 2011-12 season. The top six – seven teams in the WCHA are pretty equal and could finish anywhere from first to seventh. Like last season, we could see one or both B1G schools failing to make the Final Five once again. I believe Denver, Colorado College and North Dakota are cream of the crop in the WCHA this season. In the future I will break down the teams to watch in the WCHA.

1. Denver
2. Colorado College
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska-Omaha
6. Wisconsin
6. Minnesota-Duluth
8. Alaska-Anchorage
9. St. Cloud State
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan Tech
12.MinnesotaState

Jaroslav Halak's mask honor's Pavol Demitra

s/t to In Goal Magazine. St Louis Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak's mask will honor the memory of his former Slovakian teammate Pavol Demitra who was killed last week when his KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team flight crashed after take off.

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