Are we over analyzing this - impending PSU addition

B.C. Interrupted has an interesting perspective on PSU getting into the college hockey mix and what it would do to Hockey East.

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.

First off; I don’t agree with the premise that there would be more regional’s in Big Ten Country than there already is. For instance, Minnesota seems to be the recent golden boys by getting the last two West Regionals in a row, however, the Gophers missed both regionals anyways because of poor play on the ice causing them to be sitting at home watching two other teams dance around Mariucci Arena and the Xcel Energy Center with the regional championship trophy. There is the already perceived built in advantage, of course the Gophers haven’t made the most of the gift that was handed them.

If my research is right; the University of Michigan hasn’t had a regional in Yost Arena since the 2002 - 2003 season, causing Michigan fans to call foul. Wisconsin last had a regional game at the Kohl Center in 2008, it was well attended and stuff full of WCHA teams. In case you forgot, that was the year that the Badgers qualified for the NCAA tourney with a losing record, hence, causing the new rule to be made that basically reads you will not qualify for an at large bid for the NCAA tourney unless you had a winning record.

Last season a regional was held in Fort Wayne Indiana, which is pretty close to Big Ten territory (96 miles from South Bend, Indiana) that was sparsely attended, 3204 fans watched the University of Michigan and Miami and from all the reports that I got from people that were there said the ice was horrible. The Arena was dingy and run down and Fort Wayne was a horrible place for a regional.

What I am trying to say is that I am not sure how PSU and or the BTHC would affect B.C. and or Hockey East in its present form because Hockey East is pretty darn successful already and will probably remain successful no matter what the BTHC, CCHA or WCHA do. There is this mindset by some that think there is going to be this BTHC utopia that is going to dominate college hockey and somehow put 4 of 6 teams in the NCAA hockey tourney every year beating the heck out of each other. I believe that mindset is arrogant and ill conceived. If that was the case the NCAA tourney would be won by Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and or Wisconsin every year regardless. That is just not the reality, there are many other good teams that are playing hockey that are not members of the Big Ten. In fact Hockey East has won the last two NCAA Championships.

Bettman wants arena deal for Coyotes by Dec. 31 or else.

There comes a time when you have to cut your losses and move on, the NHL needs to move on in Phoenix, because it's apparent that this is a losing situation and it’s not getting any better. While I am not an economics major the Phoenix Coyotes aren’t going to make it selling only 4,000 regular season tickets. Finally; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is starting to get it, albeit he is late to the party but he is realizing that it's time to move on. Now, let’s move the team to Winnipeg.

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.



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College was great experience for Vande Velde

Here is an article that someone had posted on their twitter feed. Lets hope that Vande Velde can make the Oilers roster before the end of the season.

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.

A few links

Here are a couple of links relating to the PSU hockey announcement.

Penn State Receives a 88 million dollar donation to jump start Division I hockey program. [Click to read the article]

Penn State to Launch Division I Hockey Program [Click to read the article]

Coming Soon: The Big Ten Hockey Conference [click to read the article]

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.

“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.”

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.

Fans react to D-I move [Click to read the article]

Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley declined to comment on these reports when reached by phone Monday.

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.

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.

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?

Chiarelli 'happy' to have Marc Savard

There was some talk this past summer that the Boston Bruins were trying to trade Marc Savard after signing him to a cap friendly contract. I can imagine that there are a lot of Bruins fans relieved that Marc Savard is staying put.

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.

WCHA could lose Gophers and Badgers

Here is an interesting story written by Kevin Pates that was in today's Duluth New Tribune.

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.”

Will Penn State Add Division I Hockey?

According to Mike Eidelbes and Jess Myers Penn State is going to announce possibly this week that Penn State’s plans to launch a men’s Division I hockey program. The first word out of my mouth is yawn! Seriously, I am sick and tired about hearing about the potential of having a Big Ten Hockey Conference and how it's going to ruin the rest of college hockey but become a six team utopia in the same breath.

We heard for years from chest thumping Big Ten fans that if there ever was a Big Ten Hockey Conference the Big Ten is going to dominate the at-large bids for the NCAA tourney and dominate the college hockey world. Don’t forget this is the same league that has this awesome television channel but didn’t take the time to even broadcast the pretty match ups on the BTN. So before you get your knickers in a bunch, WCHA self proclaimed powerhouse Minnesota has had a hard time even qualifying for home ice for the WCHA playoffs let alone making the NCAA tourney, they have missed it the last two 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.

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.

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.

NHL and officials get serious in labor talks

Oh boy! Just what we need another labor dispute in professional sports especially with there being the potential for all three major sports to be locked out in the future (NBA 2011, NHL 2012, and NFL 2011), why not the refs eh? I propose that we could loan the NHL a few of the WCHA's buffoons finest on ice officials incase there is a shortage due to a potential walkout/strike.

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 Force hire former fighting Sioux Jason Herter as next head coach

Jason Herter will be the third head coach in three seasons for the Fargo Force. Herter will also is the third head coach to have connections to the Fighting Sioux hockey program (Dean Blais – Head Coach UND 1994-2004, Steve Johnson – Player 1984-1988, Jason Herter – Player 1988-1991). The last two head coaches have used their Fargo force coaching position to spring board to a coaching position in the college hockey ranks. It's nice to see UND alum doing well in their hockey careers. Here is the official press release.

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.

NCAA approves of UND plan to retire nickname, logo

I am sure that UND President Robert Kelley and Athletic Director Brian Faison are ecstatic that the NCAA has approved the North Dakota Board of Higher Education's surrender.

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.”

Darby gives up microphone for a coaching gig

Hum! Very interesting. I am sure that there will be a few people that are unhappy about Darby no longer being on the FSN broadcast team. Now the Minnesota Wild have two former Golden Gophers and a Fighting Sioux on their coaching staff.

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."

WCHA official's numbers

Here is the list of the WCHA hockey officials that we will be swearing at again this this season. Do you seen any names not on the list?

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.

Missing - Scott Zelkin

Joe Colborne's Versatility Could Be Biggest Asset in Reaching NHL

When I read this NESN article I get the feeling that former Denver Pioneer and Boston Bruins prospect Joe Colborne is just another Blake Wheeler type player, a big body player that isn't very physical. Oh goody.

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.

WCHA Preview Part II

Here's the second installment of the Preview. Sorry it's been so long. Today we will be previewing UNO, BSU, and CC.

University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks

2009 - 2010 Overall Record: 20-16-6 Conference Record (CCHA): 13-12-3 (7-4-3 NC record)

Key Losses: Nick Fanto, Jeric Agosta, Eddie Del Grosso
Key Returners: Matt Ambroz, Terry Broadhurst, John Faulkner, John Kemp, Joey Martin, Eric Olimb, Rich Purslow
Key Recruits: Matt White, Tony Turgeon, Brock Montpetit

A newcomer to the WCHA, one might claim that a team would go down before it goes up. To be sure, UNO will not be competing for the McNaughton it is inaugural year in the WCHA, but it won't be playing the McNaughton winner in the WCHA Play In game either. They come to the WCHA after finishing in the middle of the CCHA. However, I feel that they could probably have finished higher if it weren't for some bad luck and inconsistency in net.

They join the WCHA with one of the, if not THE, best coaching trios in the WCHA in Dean Blais, Mike Hastings, and Mike Guentzel. So, if they do finish in the bottom half of the WCHA this year, and history repeats itself with Blais, UNO won't stay there long. They also boast a very nice arena, despite it not being a truly hockey dedicated facility in the Qwest Center.

Problem is, Omaha isn't exactly a hockey hotbed despite boasting a nice hockey history (Hockey legend Gordy Howe began his pro career in Omaha) and a quality USHL team that has produced UND players Brett Bruneteau and Danny Kristo (among others).

However, they do have some quality players coming in to play with USHL Player of the Year Matt White on campus right now. John Faulkner can be a great netminder provided he can find consistency. He'll need it with a lot of untested players behind him in Bengstrom and Taffe. This is a team of lunch pail type players. They're not going to be flashy. They will be playing vintage Dean Blais hockey. That means they won't be a cakewalk. And I think they have a possibility of surprising quite a few.

Predicted Finish: Hard to say, but without any clear cut power and inconsistent goaltending, I'm putting them 9th. However, they could finish as high as 6th (ahead of BSU, CC, and even UMN).

Bemidji State University Beavers

Overall Record: 23-10-4 CHA Conference Record: 14-3-1 (9-7-3 NC Record)

Key Losses: Tyler Lehrke, Kyle Hardwick, Chris McKelvie
Key Returners: Matt Read, Brad Hunt, Dan Bakala, Mathieu Dugas, Jordan George
Key Recruits: Radislav Illo, Drew Fisher

The biggest news about BSU is that they come to the WCHA with having two NCAA Tourney visits in the last 2 years, including one trip to the Frozen Four under their belts. They've only put 2 goaltenders in the NHL in the last 3 years as well (Matt Climie and Matt Dalton). Funny you don't hear that much about a team coming from a "throw away" league such as the CHA. They also come to the WCHA with a Hobey Candidate in Matt Read.

Bemidji isn't top heavy, but they are kings at strategy and experience. They were dominant in the CHA and was decent in non conference play. However, the 9-7-3 record gives a good indicator of where to expect BSU this season, as they don't lose a whole lot in talent due to the pros or graduation. They have a real dynamic recruit coming into Bemidji in Radislav Illo. They also have experience coming into a depth/grinder position in Drew Fisher. Couple that with a couple of Swedish defensemen and some wingers from the NAHL (Ladd and Jubinville) and possibly USHL forward Matt Cain.

I expect that they'll more than likely be right in the mix in the middle of the WCHA pack. Tom Serratore is an excellent coach. If Chay Genoway doesn't get the Hobey, I'd love to see Matt Read get it. Like UNO, BSU's playing style is very complimentary to the WCHA and they should fit right in. However, whether they have a big future or not is up in the air. They did briefly get a big time recruit in Franko but he bolted for a career in the WHL.

Time will tell.

Predicted Finish: 8th (could be as high as 6th and as low as 9th)

Colorado College Tigers

Overall Record: 19-17-3 WCHA Record: 12-13-3 (7-4-0 NC Record)

Key Losses: Nate Prosser, Mike Testuide, Addison DeBoer, Brian McMillin, Bill Sweatt
Key Returners: Joe Howe, Rylan Schwartz, Andrew Hamberg
Key Recruits: Jaden Schwartz, Dakota Eveland, Eamon McDermott

This team lives and dies by Joe Howe. So when the freshman goaltender started out on fire, life was good. However, Joe Howe succumbed to the biggest problem freshmen goaltenders face: they're freshmen. He cooled off and so did the Tigers.

The Tigers bring in Eveland and Schwartz hoping to bring scoring to the team, but this team will need everyone to step up. There was even message board scuttlebutt (which means it's hardly worth mentioning) that Scotty Owens could be on the hot seat if things don't improve.

Unfortunately, the WCHA is again deep this year and there's not much room for CC to go up unless Joe Howe can pull a Marc Cheverie or Peter Mannino and simply be unbeatable for the majority of the season. I don't see them having enough of a team depth in scoring to be able to crack the top 5.

Predicted Finish: 7th

Next: UMN, UW, and DU

N.C.A.A. Penalizes Princeton for a Major Rule Violation

Here is my candidate for knucklehead(s) of the week. Think about this, Princeton University, an Ivy League school was caught cheating in men tennis. Wow!

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.

Kaip signed by the Houston Aeros

s/t Hockey Wilderness. Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Rylan Kaip has signed a contract with the Minnesota Wild's farm team the Houston Aeros.

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]

ATV accident knocks out Wild's Sheppard

Actually, I want to give props to Fire Helmet Guy 26 for bringing up this little news nugget on my facebook page today. As many of you know I am not a fan of Wild forward James Sheppard and I believe that he is a first round bust and a waste of a uniform and a roster space and that the Wild have held on to him way too long and have given him way too many chances and should have cut their ties with him after last season. It’s like someone in the Wild management believes one day Sheppard is going to wake up and become a star player in the NHL. Sheppard has scored an unimpressive 11 goals - 38 assists for 49 points in 224 career games. If I was the Wild GM for even one day I would trade his worthless ass for a bag of pucks and a dozen Christian Brothers hockey sticks.

To me Sheppard is a brutal reminder of the previous general manager and uber buffoon Doug Risebrough, who was a complete and utter failure as a general manager for the Minnesota Wild. Because of Risebrough’s incompetence he has single handedly ruined the Minnesota Wild and it will take years for Fletcher to dig out of the mess that Risebrough has created.

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.

Johnson to leave Force for St. Cloud State

Wow! This rumor had surfaced last week and now is finally coming to fruition. That means that the Force will have their third coach in their three year existence. That also means that the Huskies will have a much better coaching staff this season. While I have never been impressed with Motzko's finesse style of hockey, Johnson ads credibility and a great coach to the Huskies coaching staff. Here is the link to the official press release.

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.

Tale of Two Goaltenders: One stops Goals, the other Stops Dreams

Recently, three things happened in the NHL:

1. Kovalchuk finally signed with the Devils. Yawn.

2. Antti Niemi signs with the San Jose Sharks

3. Carey Price Gouged the Canadiens.

#1: Who cares. At least it is finally over. Now the Devils can start dismantling other key assets to try to make cap space. Probably Salvador, Rolston, and who cares. The only weird rumors revolve around Travis Zajac and Zach Parise. One rumor is that the Devils will try to trade or waive Zajac. That's ridiculous because he's much better than Rolston and younger to boot. The other is more plausible. Kovalchuk's signing may mean the end of the Parise era in NJ once Zach's contract is up.

#2: You can just hear Antero Niiitttiiimaaaakiiiii collapse in somewhat sad state. On one hand, Antero's gonna make some $$$ sitting on the bench. On the other hand, he comes skipping into Southern California singing "Zippadedoo dah!! Zippedi-AY! I finally get the #1 job hoo-ray!" only to have Niemi rain on his parade. So, oh well. At least most fans won't have to guess how many double vowels Antero's last name has. It's obvious I'm beyond caring. The only thing I don't understand is this: Niemi signs for 1 year, $2 million. If he offered that kind of a contract to Chicago, do you think they would have walked away? Admittedly, it's only $750K less than the arbitrator awarded him but it could have made a difference.

#3: Carey Price signed a 2 year, $5.5 million contract with the Canadiens. Wow. Hopefully that's $5.5 million in Canadian currency otherwise, the Habs seriously overpaid. Price is only Right when it amounts to about $1.5 million a year. The only positive Price brings to the table is his age. He's young. He could turn into a good goaltender someday... but he has to mature yet. Something he's shown time and time again that it's not possible. The good news for the Habs is that they didn't pull a Huet and signed Price long term. There is NO WAY IN HELL Price is worth as much as Halak is getting in St. Louis or what Niemi would have gotten in Chicago had Chicago not walked away. NO WAY.

It's a sad day when all Niemi can get is $2 million over 1 year and the most overrated goaltender in the NHL gets $2.75 million each year for 2 years.

CHN Preseason Top 10

College Hockey News has released a preseason poll. No surprise that B.C. is number one and UND is number two. I don't think that Yale is the number 5 ranked team in the country. I know we are going to hear; but, but, Goon Yale beat UND in last season’s playoff game, I think that fact is irrelevant because Yale is going to have to score a ton of goals to make up for their very bad goaltending and they got lucky in one game. What's also interesting is traditional powers Wisconsin, DU and or Minnesota are no where to be found in the preseason top ten. I am not surprised that more WCHA teams aren't in the top ten. As the season gets closer the NCAA round up will look at the preseason top ten.


1. Boston College
2. North Dakota --- “I feel like I let my teammates down a little bit last year, not having the opportunity to be out there with them,” senior Chay Genoway said when he announced his return to the team May 6. “I have a lot of high expectations for myself and for the team, and I'm pretty excited about this team, and there's a lot of motivation for this team.”

This is virtually the same team that won the WCHA postseason in 2010, minus seniors Chris VandeVelde and Darcy Zajac — and the lone early departure, 4-goal scorer David Toews. Those losses should be offset by the re-addition of Genoway (whom North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol called one of the top-5 players in college hockey last season — and that was before the exodus of talent across the NCAA this summer), who recieved a medical waiver after dealing with a concussion last season, as well as the continued development of Danny Kristo and Jason Gregoire, the second- and third-leading scorers from 2009-10. Junior Brad Eidsness will continue to be a force in net, and the D-corps — last year’s third-best squad (2.12 goals/game) in the country — should continue to be strong.

3. Miami
4. Michigan
5. Yale
6. St. Cloud State
7. Maine
8. Alaska
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. New Hampshire