Wild to be tougher this season?

In reading Michael Russo's blog it appears that the Wild have found a decent replacement for their one dimensional stone handed goon Derek Boogaard that took the big money and the bright lights of New York. Reading this makes me happy.

The players got more and more crabbier as the scrimmage went on. Staubitz, taking exception to a hard hit from roster hopeful Justin Falk, dropped the gloves with the big defenseman. Remember, Staubitz, acquired for a draft pick from San Jose on the day of the NHL Awards ceremony (I remember because I was in Vegas), has had 20 fights in 82 NHL games.

Staubitz is a tough, good skating cookie, and he's only played forward for two years after spending his entire junior and minor-league career at defense. The one great strength of the Wild this year should be those third and fourth lines with good skating, hard-working guys like Nystrom, Staubitz, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck, John Madden and as of now Chuck Kobasew.

After further review the Vikings and Favre suck

I know this is a hockey focused blog for the most part but I am not happy with the Vikings play to date this season. In fact I wasted another afternoon watching a listless effort by the guys in purple. I think it's going to be a reoccurring theme this season. Earlier this summer when I looked at the Viking’s schedule I told a co-worker that the Vikings are going to go 5-11 this season. I didn't think they would go out and immediately try to prove me right.

I think the problem with the Vikings is the drama queen Brett Favre, It’s no mystery that Favre is a was a good player during his day but I think that his selfishness is finally catching up with the Vikings. Favre again missed all of the two a day training camp and after the two a day practices were finally over, the Prima Donna decided that he was well enough to practice with the team. I think after watching the past two weeks, I think Favre should have spent more time in Mankato and less on the farm back in Mississippi.

During the first quarter the Vikings had a chance to kick a field goal and take the three points, Favre waved the punting team off and the Vikings went for it. The Vikings didn’t get the fourth down and the ball was turned over on downs, that was a defining moment in the game. I blame Childress for that, because he is the coach and he should have taken the easy three points without even thinking twice.

I would actually take a losing season if we could get rid of Brad Childress. I am sick and tired of athletes getting paid a lot of money to put a poor effort on the field. What do you do? The Vikings have spent millions on a championship caliber defense and offense and they can't beat crappy team like Miami.

Lastly, when you in the Red Zone you can not turn the ball over two to three times, that is unacceptable. Also, when you have you opponent inside their one yard line, you can not allow yourself to give up a 50+ yard run, that's unacceptable, defensively, you pin your ears back and try to get a safety or force a three and out punt.

Mavs' WCHA move looks even better now

The Mavericks hockey blogger has a really good point, the Mavericks move to the WCHA is looking much better now. In case there is a Big Ten Hockey Conference, it's pretty obvious that the WCHA is a much better conference minus Big Ten teams Wisconsin and Minnesota, than the CCHA is minus Ohio State University, Michigan State University and Michigan.

Mavericks Today -- Penn State announced on Friday that it would be joining the Division I hockey ranks in 2012-13. Many people now believe it's just a matter of time before the Big Ten forms its own hockey conference, snagging Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State from the CCHA; Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA; and combining those five programs with the Nittany Lions. Big Ten hockey -- long the stuff of rumors -- appears to be an inevitable reality, and it might come into existence by 2014.

But UNO can take comfort in the fact that it still will be aligned with schools such as North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado College and Denver. A 10-team WCHA, minus Minnesota and Wisconsin, would still be a viable, vital conference. Not as good as the 12-team monster UNO fans will enjoy watching for the next couple of years, but good nonetheless.

The introduction of Big Ten hockey, however, potentially could destroy the CCHA. So it's a good thing that UNO got out when it did.

I'm of the opinion that college hockey would have a much brighter future, at least for the next two decades, if Penn State simply joined the CCHA and stayed there for awhile. This sport is a unique beast in the realm of NCAA athletics, and those at the highest levels need to think about the greater good before they act in the interest of six brand-name schools. This is not a situation equivalent to the conference craziness involving college football, because hockey is only played in select pockets of the country, and it isn't a strong enough entity on the national radar that it can make such seismic changes without considering the plight of smaller schools. Let Penn State build its foundation as a Division I program. Let a decade pass, and see what the ripple effects will be of the Nittany Lions' decision.

Bruce McLeod - the WCHA wont be diminish at all

I am going to ask my fellow WCHA fans, am I the only one that is not impressed with Bruce McLeod and his failed leadership? In reading McClown's statements leading up to and following the Penn State announcement, I find McLeod to be unimpressive and his comments to be some what puzzling. The WCHA wouldn't be diminished, are you kidding me? I think the WCHA might want to consider moving the Final Five to another location, of course I would recommend Grand Forks, ND.

Star Tribune --"If, in fact, [a Big Ten hockey conference] does happen, we would be different, but we would not be diminished at all," WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said.

"We are adding two new teams [Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha]. We will open two new buildings [in Bemidji and Duluth] that are going to be first class. We will be here after they leave."

The Final Five would stay in St. Paul, too, McLeod said. He said the Xcel is centrally located for the WCHA, and there have been years when the Gophers and Wisconsin have not qualified for it.

Perhaps the person most pleased outside Happy Valley with Penn State's announcement was Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey Inc., the education and marketing arm of Division I hockey.

"This is terrific," he said. "We've worked very closely with the folks at Penn State to help assist them. We've strongly encouraged this. And the rumblings Penn State was exploring hockey triggered other inquiries to us."

Kelly said he has discussed starting hockey programs with two other Big Ten schools that he would not identify.

Kessel says he's ready

Here is story about former Bruins and Gopher forward Phil Kessel. Looks like he has taken it up a notch during his off season conditioning. It will be interesting to see how the Leafs fans respond to Kessel if Tyler Seguin starts lighting it up for the Boston Bruins and Kessel stumbles.

Toronto Sun -- If Phil Kessel has a goal for goals this season, he’s not sharing.

But could being fit mean 40 for the lone, proven sniper on the Maple Leafs roster as training camp begins?

Kessel arrived for team physicals Friday at the Mastercard Centre looking noticeably trimmer, the product of an intense summer that saw him shed 10 pounds. Speedy already, his teammates say that in informal workouts the past few weeks, Kessel has had a jump on everyone on the ice.

“Just look at him, he looks really good, really fit,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said of Kessel. “When scrimmaging, you could see how fast he was then and we haven’t even started training camp.”

Whether a fitter Phil will lead to dramatically more production remains to be seen, but just having the chance to come to camp healthy is a huge boost for the 23-year-old Wisconsin native.

A year ago Kessel wasn’t yet a Leaf, still weeks away from the controversial trade that brought him here. While much of the off-season focus on that deal was Boston’s acquisition of Tyler Seguin with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft, Kessel was apparently working hard to help hold up his end of the bargain.

After missing the first 12 games last year while recovering from off-season surgery, Kessel was thrust into the lineup of a Leafs team that had staggered out of the gate without the benefit of either an off-season workout regimen or a pre-season schedule to get in shape.

He still responded with 30 goals in 70 games, the last half dozen or more while nursing another injury.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Kessel said when asked if he’s prepared to be the Leafs’ go-to goal guy. “Hopefully I can play a full season this year.

Penn State Joins College Hockey - Links

Today was a historic day in the college hockey world as Penn State University announced that they are going to start a Division I hockey program for the 2012-2013 season.

Penn State to play Division I hockey [Read article]

That could create a domino effect for college hockey throughout the Midwest.

Both the CCHA and WCHA have expressed interest in adding Penn State.

"They are a very attractive choice -- very attractive," CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos said earlier this month, according to the Detroit News. "They're in a different market than we're in, more and more U.S. players are on college rosters, and there's tremendous growth of the sport in Pennsylvania."

The addition of men's and women's ice hockey will increase the number of sports at Penn State to 31, one of the largest athletic programs in the country among BCS schools.

Curley said the new hockey facility is scheduled to be built by spring 2014, just west of the Jordan Center, home to the university's basketball teams. The arena will include two ice sheets, and university leaders hope to attract NHL and minor-league exhibition hockey games.

I guess I didn’t realize that the WCHA was interested in adding Penn State to the mix?

It’s Officially Official: Penn State Hockey Goes D-1 [Read article]

The new, state of the art. $75 million arena, is expected to be completed by 2013 and funded exclusively by private donations.

It will include two ice sheets and other features that will allow it to be used for a broad range of campus and community activities, from commencement ceremonies to kinesiology classes to public skating sessions and camps for youth. The facility will provide new training and performance opportunities for Penn State’s popular and successful figure skating club and for the University’s women’s ice hockey team. It also will offer ice time to recreational and high school hockey programs, as well as intramural and local speed skating and broomball clubs. The state-of-the-art arena will be able to host events such as professional ice shows and National Hockey League and American Hockey League exhibition games, generating tourism and other economic impacts in the region.

Penn State starting NCAA hockey program[Read article]

Penn State hockey fans can thank Terry and Kim Pegula, who donated US$88 million — the largest private gift in Penn State history — to fund a new multi-purpose arena and help upgrade the men's program. The athletic department will fund, or seek other private donations, for the women's program.

"So maybe someday in these hills of Pennsylvania, we're going to find a Pennsylvania (Sidney) Crosby," Terry Pegula said at a trustees meeting Friday morning, referring to the Pittsburgh Penguins' star. "Hopefully, he'll play hockey for Penn State, and I think that's awesome."

Players like Sidney Crosby don't grow on trees and the Penn State University will have to establish a recruiting a niche and it’s going to be harder than it looks. There are some good programs already pounding the turf to compete for top recruits.

Penn State's addition leads to Big Ten hockey speculation [Read article]

CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos issued a statement on behalf of his membership, welcoming Penn State into "the college hockey family" and saying the league will support the Nittany Lions' transition to Division I over the next few seasons.

Anastos did not mention speculation about what league Penn State might join but did say the CCHA will continue to exist for a long time.

"The CCHA's formation 40 years ago was based on the development of emerging programs and, as we set our sights on our next 40 years, we look forward to working with programs such as Penn State and, hopefully, others, in providing leadership that will increase the profile of college hockey and foster continued growth."

College hockey: Penn State to add Division I team [Read Article]

Five other Big Ten schools play Division I hockey, but there is no Big Ten hockey league.

Minnesota and Wisconsin play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

"We're all well aware of the ramifications ... of having a sixth Big Ten hockey school, and what that means for a lot of us," WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told insidecollegehockey.com, which reported Penn State's plans.

Leave it to the WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod to offer steady leadership with his inspiring and witty comments. I am not so sure McLeod is the best person to lead the WCHA through this transition (if there is one).

Penn State University will add varsity men's and women's hockey starting in 2012 [Read Article]

The Straight Edge: Penn State Div I program strengthens NCAA landscape [Read Article]

The nuts and bolts are still being worked out, but the Nittany Lions will likely begin their Division I life as an independent before joining up with a power conference. Geographically, the CCHA makes the most sense, but the major rumblings involved in this story is how a Big Ten Conference – featuring Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota – could now be formed. The Big Ten cable TV network is a huge cash cow and Big Ten hockey would bolster the schedule.

“The biggest thing any network wants is inventory,” said one insider. “College basketball usually runs Thursday and Saturday, so Friday nights are open. And Penn State comes in with half a million living alumni.”

That’s a lot of potential hockey fans tuning in, especially when the fans already have a hate-on for the Ohio States and Michigans thanks to football and basketball rivalries.

There has, of course, been worry about what taking the five best teams from the CCHA and WCHA would do to the college hockey landscape, but I think adding a conference will help. As it is now, Alabama-Huntsville is looking for a home and Bemidji State jumped through hoops to get into the WCHA. And with RIT’s miracle run to the Frozen Four (with Bemidji State preceding them the year prior), it’s obvious smaller schools can have an impact when given the chance. Kelly agrees with that sentiment.

“I think they’ll come together,” he said. “College coaches don’t want to see the loss of programs.”

Wherever the Nittany Lions end up, they’ll likely get knocked around the first year or so, but progress won’t take long.

“They’re going to have a natural flow of highly-skilled players into their program,” Kelly said. “Penn State will have an immediate crop of kids who want to play there.

Penn State To Add Division 1 Hockey [Read Article]

Penn State to add varsity hockey – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Penn State To Add Men's, Women's Hockey - [Read Article]

Penn State's hockey program jumps to Division 1-A, could lead to Big Ten hockey conference [Read Article]

Michigan coach Red Berenson said Friday afternoon that although Penn State's financial commitment to hockey is a "huge step in the right direction for any more future growth in college hockey" having the Nittany Lions join one conference over another doesn't make a difference to him.

Berenson expects a lot of speculation to take place over the next four years, but he doesn't think the answer is breaking up existing leagues with long-standing traditions.

"I don't think teams are anxious to leave their own conference and abandon them and start a new conference," Berenson said. "I don't think anyone wants to see a league take a hit.

A voice of calm from the Michigan head coach. I have to say Red that I agree.

One Super University

If you haven't seen this, there is the new fringe element/movement to get the other school Moo U and UND to merge into one super university. When I first read about it I thought it was a joke. I guess they aren't kidding. This idea seems like it was dreamed up in the back room of a bar somewhere between Fargo and Grand Forks. [Click to read the article]

The D-1 hockey at UND compares impressively with any collegiate hockey program in North America.

1. We (the Great State of North Dakota) can’t afford or need another one.
2. We don’t need duplication of other sports on a D-1 level either.
3. The Great State of North Dakota has ample resources to do this D-1 thing right once.
4. An athletic arms race will not be accepted by rank and file, hard working, common sense approach North Dakotans.
5. The University of North Dakota State Fighting Bison or the State University of North Dakota Fighting Bison, take-your-pick.
6. Two world class campuses, one super university.
7. Being a shark patrolling the National Beach or two walleye swimming in Devils Lake that is really our choice here.
8. This ultimately becomes a merger of two athletic departments and the consolidation of two offices of the presidency, cost savings immediately.
9. For openers; Hockey remains in Grand Forks, Football in Fargo, their historical championships would warrant that. Exhibition games or certain specialty games could be played in Grand Forks or Fargo. Any expansion or remodeling of the FargoDome would allow games to be played in Grand Forks during the transmission. State High School Football Finals could be scheduled annually in Grand Forks.
10. The next given would be wrestling in Fargo, swimming and diving in Grand Forks, both no-brainers as the other school doesn’t have the respective sport.
11. Men’s and Women’s Basketball could ultimately play in multiple home locations, precedent for that would be UCONN they play in both Hartford and their home campus facilities.
12. Baseball and softball play most of their games elsewhere because of the weather, but Fargo has baseball’s answer to the Ralph.
13. Track & Field and soccer could play in both, volleyball in both, tennis could play in both and golf could play in both, I hope you get the point.
14. Add an Equestrian team to deal with issues of Title IX when we go to 85 scholarship football. The equestrian approach would open vast new fundraising opportunities currently not being tapped.
15. The Fighting Bison solves the logo flap.

Big Ten Statement on Penn State's Plans to Establish NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Programs

Here is the official statement. I can't believe they are going to wait two season before they start their hockey team.

Sept. 17, 2010

The Big Ten Conference released the following statement today regarding Penn State’s plans to establish NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs.

The Big Ten Conference is excited about Penn State’s recent announcement regarding the establishment of NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs set to begin competition in the 2012-13 academic year. Our institutions have longstanding relationships with Division I, Division II, and Division III college hockey programs that have benefitted both our institutions and the entire national hockey community.

For many years, we have had five institutions sponsoring Division I men’s ice hockey programs – Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Big Ten rules allow for a championship whenever there are six institutions sponsoring a program in any given sport. This leads to the presumption that there will be a Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Championship at some point in the future. A decision of that nature, however, cannot be made without a significant amount of discussion both internally with conference chancellors, presidents, administrators and coaches, and externally with the hockey community as a whole. Whatever we do, we will communicate in a respectful and responsible way as we endeavor to balance all of the unique interests in play.

We congratulate Penn State and wish them well as they continue to provide the most broad-based opportunities possible for their student-athletes.

Penn State entry paves way for Big Ten hockey conference

My only comment is that Barry Alvarez should stick to football because he is a hockey illiterate. This is what happens when you let football guys run NCAA Division I Hockey.

Madison.COM --- When news of Penn State’s initiative broke earlier this month, CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos made it known that his Midwest-based league would love to accommodate the Nittany Lions. Instead, the CCHA figures to soon lose three of its most well-known programs.

During WCHA meetings held last week in Minneapolis, UW men’s coach Mike Eaves said there was “some angst” among his peers regarding the topic of a Big Ten presence in college hockey.

Eaves declined to get into specifics of what WCHA officials discussed about future developments. League commissioner Bruce McLeod said he’s aware of the situation at Penn State, but is waiting to hear more details Friday before offering his thoughts.

“There are a whole bunch of possibilities,” Eaves said. “I think we’re going to find out together what’s going to happen.”

With Penn State soon to be on board as the 59th Division I program, Alvarez was asked what road blocks stood in the way of the Big Ten creating a new college hockey brand.

“I don’t know,” he said. “You need six teams in the league. We will have six. They do govern us, the Big Ten. I don’t anticipate much of a hurdle other than getting out of your respective conferences.”

Alvarez said Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has spoken in the past of making men’s hockey a programming staple on the Big Ten Network. That notion will take a huge step forward Friday.

“We’ve talked about a Big Ten Conference for hockey,” Alvarez said. “I think that would be very appealing.”

Follow Ben Youds!

Ben Youds, a senior defenseman for the Mavericks, will be blogging all hockey season long. Be sure to check out his blog and see what he has to say all season! It can be found at: http://benyouds5blog.blogspot.com/

It'll be interesting to see what he writes about and if he keeps it up. Blogging seems nice and simple...and fun....AT FIRST. After that it really becomes a chore and quite annoying. Well, to me anyways. That's why I only occasionally post here and closed my own blog.

So, be sure to check out Ben's blog. Hopefully it's good!

Another dynasty in the making?

In case you haven’t seen this blog post about UND fan's favorite opposition coach George aka "the Dasher Troll" Gwozdecky, it does make for an interesting read. This blog post also drips with arrogance, smugness and is condescending to say the least. My first question to Mike Chambers would be; do you always soil yourself every time you write an article about George Gwozdecky? Sure we all know that Gwoz is a reputable coach but he is also just one of many qualified coaches in college hockey. Since he is a Big Ten guy maybe he can apply for the Gophers position after Lucia is shown the door.

Denver Post -- Please excuse my reach while I connect the dots.

Gwozdecky, who is seeking a new deal at DU, is/was a Big Ten guy, and you know Penn State is going to hire a veteran college coach with big-league roots and NCAA championship plaques on his walls. Gwozdecky, 57, could be that man. He won NCAA championships as a player at Wisconsin and an assistant coach at Michigan State.

His resume at DU includes two NCAA titles (2004, 2005), three WCHA regular-season titles (2002, 2005, 2010) and four WCHA playoff crowns (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008). He is a two-time national coach of the year (1993, 2005) and the reigning WCHA coach of the year, his fourth overall.

See the connection here? This is beyond speculation. For Gwozdecky, it’s leverage.

If Penn State adds hockey, six-team Big Ten could arise

Adam Wodon from the College Hockey News has confirmed that Penn State University is going to form a Division I Hockey team and that the announcement will be made this Friday.

Pioneer Press -- WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said he is waiting to hear from Penn State, and subsequently the Big Ten, before making any detailed comments.

"Having said that," he added, "we're well aware of developing circumstances at Penn State, and we've definitely done our homework regarding several scenarios that could play out."

Creating a Big Ten men's hockey conference would give the fledgling Big Ten Network some live programming on Friday nights, when men's basketball teams typically don't play.

"That's some major programming on Friday nights," Lucia said.

The WCHA is getting ready to play its first season with 12 teams, having just added Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha to a roster that includes the Gophers, Badgers, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State Mankato, North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech.

The conference boasted more than 1.5 million in attendance last season, and had the top three home attendance marks in the nation — Wisconsin (15,048 per game), North Dakota (11,654) and Minnesota (10,107).

Minnesota, with enrollment of 51,659, and Wisconsin (42,099) are the league's largest schools and have 11 national titles between them, but Denver (7), North Dakota (7), Michigan Tech (3) and Colorado College (2) also have won NCAA championships.

"The WCHA brand is very strong. People in hockey know we're a strong league," UMD athletics director Bob Nielson said. "At the same time, you never want to lose a rivalry because of the interest it generates."

Don Lucia’s comment about the television programming for Friday nights is a bit of a head scratcher. Seriously! What is stopping the Big Ten now? All the BTN has to do is start showing hockey on Friday’s, what is preventing them from showing hockey now? Why do they need a league to show BTHC hockey on Friday night?

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.



Read more:

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.