Blais on the BTHC

I have to agree with Dean Blais on this one, what does Barry Alvarez really know about hockey? I think the Big Ten should concentrate on things that they do well;  like Basketball and Football championships. These athletic directors are messing with college hockey that is already successful and there is a delicate balance that they could upset if they get greedy.

Q: What's your take on the Big Ten possibly starting a hockey league?

A: I don't know what's going to happen for sure. I hear Penn State is starting a program and building an arena. It's hard, hard to get into a conference. They are talking about it. There's got to be a lot of thought that goes into it if the Big Ten schools are going to get together at the expense of hurting college hockey. If you have 55 (58) schools playing hockey and five fold because of that, you better know what you're doing.

(Five programs would fold? Blais said it could happen in the CCHA if it loses three teams to the Big Ten. He had some strong words for the Big Ten schools in the WCHA. “Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin athletic director, has been pushing this. He's a football guy. Does he know anything about hockey? This could really hurt the sport. Minnesota and Wisconsin have to think about the backlash in future schedules. What's keeping everyone from blackballing them and making them look east?”)

Chorney headed to Oklahoma City

Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Taylor Chorney is head to the AHL to start the season. Chorney played in 42 games last season and was a horrific -21 and became a whipping boy for the Oiler’s faithful.

Edmonton Oilers Press Release --- Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the club has assigned the following four players to Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League:

Taylor Chorney (D)
Colin McDonald (LW)
Jeff Petry (D)
Alex Plante (D)

Is that Bettman or Booman?

When will the NHL come to the realization that Gary “Buttman” Bettman is ruining the image of the NHL? When ever Bettman is asked a question by fans or the press he sounds like a condescending American politician or high priced trial lawyer. What really bothers me and other is his smugness and arrogance as well.

To a chorus of boos, of course.
Why does Bettman insist on putting himself through the humiliation of hearing the catcalls? He heard them on the biggest stage when he presented the Chicago Blackhawks with the Stanley Cup in June. Tuesday he heard them at the 1,200-seat venue, which was full of children.

We understand why Bettman needed to be in the building on both occasions. Obviously, he needs to be in the house when the league’s champions are crowned.

In the Dundas instance, he wanted to show he believes in the grassroots of hockey. We get that. Not to be overly cynical about it, it was also an opportunity for TV time.

Yet in hindsight, does it really help the image of the NHL — and the future of the NHL — when the guy running the league is being booed in front of several hundred children? Why bring on the hatred by taking centre stage at centre ice?

Surely, Bettman couldn’t have imagined the crowd was going to seranade him. Remember, Dundas is only a long slapshot away from the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, the place where the NHL commissioner so steadfastly refused to consider as a landing spot for the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes franchise last year.

Dundas is, in fact, now part of the amalgamated city of Hamilton. (We can imagine Bettman was jumping for joy when a community connected to Hamilton won the rights to the game over every other Canadian possibility).[Read the whole article here]

Great Expectations - UND first in Media and Herald Polls...

94X WCHA MEDIA POLL
1. North Dakota (28 first-place votes) 347 points
2. Minnesota Duluth 300
3. St. Cloud State (1) 295
4. Denver 242
5. Wisconsin 218
6. Minnesota 203
7. Colorado College 182
8. Bemidji State 156
9. Nebraska-Omaha 125
10. Minnesota State 97
11. Alaska-Anchorage 51
12. Michigan Tech 46

Grand Forks Herald Coaches Poll
1. UND (10) 120
2. St. Cloud State (2) 105
3. Minnesota-Duluth 100
4. Denver 88
5. Minnesota 82
6. Colorado College 67
7. Wisconsin 64
8. Nebraska-Omaha 55
9. Bemidji State 46
10. MSU-Mankato 41
11. Alaska-Anchorage 19
12. Michigan Tech 15

Goon's Preseason poll
1. UND
2. SCSU
3. UMD
4. DU
5. UW
6. UMN
7. UNO
8. BSU
9. CC
10. MSU
11. UAA
12. MTU

Josh Birkholz, gets a chance to rejuvenate his career in Everett

This is a text book definition of a "prima donna." This is the problem with today's hockey players, some of them think they are entitled to play on the first line and when they don't play as well as they think they should they just change teams instead of working harder in practice.

HeraldNet.COM --- But Birkholz wasn't given his chance to shine. Instead he found himself buried on the depth chart, seeing just a handful of shifts per game while playing on the fourth line. In 36 games he managed just five goals and one assist.

Everett had added Birkholz to its 50-player protected list a year earlier, and as he rode the pine Birkholz's thoughts turned toward Everett. His mind was all but made up to leave Minnesota for Everett when he was slapped with a suspension by Minnesota for violating team rules. That erased any final lingering doubts about his decision.

“Growing up in Minnesota it's always a goal for the young hockey players to play for the University of Minnesota,” Birkholz said. “It's tough leaving that and tough leaving home. But it's part of the sacrifice you have to make to reach your goals.”

Now in Everett, Birkholz sees opportunity. He sees the chance to show the Panthers the full range of his abilities, something he says he was never able to do at Minnesota. And he sees a chance to move into the professional ranks as quickly as possible.

This was a perfect opportunity for a life lesson for the young Josh Birkholz, instead of facing the music, he just quit and went somewhere to escape his punishment.

Oilers assign Pitlick

This happened over the weekend when I was out but it's news worthy because it's technically another one and done player in the WCHA that left College Hockey to sign early and was sent down to a WHL team that owned his rights after he failed to make the Edmonton Oilers. I know there were rumblings that Pitlick was leaving school anyways, because college really wasn't for him or something like that.

NHL.COM --- Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the club has assigned centre Tyler Pitlick to the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

Pitlick, 18, played in 38 games for Minnesota State in the WCHA collecting 19 points (11G, 8A). The Minneapolis, MN native was drafted by the Oilers in the 2nd round, 31st overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Wild looking at Jose Theodore

I have a feeling it could be a long season for the Minnesota Wild if Niklas Backstrom were to get hurt or have another sub par season like last year. I am also not a big fan of Jose Theodore, I think he is past is prime in my humble opinion.

COLUMBUS, OHIO - If the Wild is interested in bringing in free agent Jose Theodore to replace injured Josh Harding, the longtime NHL goaltender would be interested in coming, his agent said Monday night.

Don Meehan, whose firm also represents Harding, said he spoke with Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher on Sunday about Theodore.

"When Chuck called to tell me Harding would be out for the season, Chuck said to me, 'Look, I've got to make a move.' And I said, 'Keep me in the loop. Jose Theodore is available,'" Meehan said. "He said, 'That's certainly an interesting possibility.'

"I told Chuck to keep me in mind. I think they'll probably get their staff together and assess where they go from here, but I'd say, 'It's a consideration for them, yes, and Jose would be intrigued by Minnesota.'"

Poll Monday

USA Today-USA Hockey Division I Men

1 Boston College
2 North Dakota
3 Miami of Ohio
4 Michigan
5 Yale
6 St. Cloud State
7 Maine
8 New Hampshire
9 Minnesota Duluth
10 Cornell
11 Denver
12 Alaska Fairbanks
13 Wisconsin
14 Boston University
15 Minnesota

Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame, Rochester Institute of Technology, Bemidji State, Ferris State, Union, Vermont, Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Colorado College, Northeastern, Nebraska-Omaha, Merrimack.

Wow! Yale must be a world beater sitting they're sitting at number 5 in the country. Personally, I would put SCSU ahead of them in the pre-season poll. Time will tell and this is why we play the game. Again two ECAC teams in the top ten.

WCHA Preview Final Part

Alright. It's the part that one or two of you have been anxiously waiting for: The top 3 preseason previews of the WCHA teams and their predicted finishes. Ok, enough of self-inflating my ego. The final three teams will be the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, the Huskies of St. Cloud, and the Sioux of Grand Forks, ND.

(the) University of Minnesota at Duluth Bulldogs
2009-2010 Overall Record: 22-17-1 WCHA Record: 16-11-1 (6-5-0 NC Record)

Key Losses: Brady Hjelle, Rob Bordson, Drew Akins
Key Returners: Jack and Mike Connelly, Justin Fontaine, Kenny Reiter, Brady Lamb, Travis Oleksuk, Mike Montgomery, and Dylan Olsen
Key Recruits: Justin Faulk, Joe Basaraba...

It's kindof telling when you are looking through the key losses and you find that, except for Bordson and Hjelle, the rest either were quiet or flat out played so little you had to double check the stat sheet to see who they even were.

What this means is that Minnesota Duluth returns a team with dynamic scoring and experience. Though there is dynamic scoring present, they're not all that flashy. This means they are a solid team up and down the ice and are assuredly cohesive. Though this doesn't necessarily guarantee good results, it rarely results in a trip to the cellar.

tUMD will not run away with the league or anything like that. They did really well last year but their record would show a different story. However, this season should be a fine one for the Bulldogs. Only one player, Bordson, bolted early for the pros. Brady Hjelle, the biggest head scratcher since Isaac Reichmuth in net, left for the juniors. I say head scratcher because he was scary good in juniors and showed tendencies that this would continue in the WCHA. Hjelle didn't exactly have a poor year in Duluth, but he didn't exactly take the town by storm either. In fact, he had a "freshman goaltender" type year. But instead of focusing on the problems and pushing surprise #1 goaltender Kenny Reiter, Hjelle bolted for the USHL. It's too bad. I guess it is for the better.

tUMD is similar to SCSU but for different reasons. tUMD could finish lower than where I predict them rather easily. I definitely cannot see them finishing higher than where I predict them though. I'm a big fan of Sandelin and excited to see Duluth finally get a new facility. Things should be interesting on Lake Superior this season.

Predicted Finish: 3rd

St. Cloud State University Huskies
2009-2010 Overall Record: 24-14-5 WCHA Record: 15-9-4 (9-5-1 NC Record)

Key Losses: Ryan Lasch, Garrett Raboin
Key Returners: Garret Roe, Mike Lee, Dan Dunn, Tony Mosey, Drew LeBlanc, Jared Festler, David Eddy*, Olivier Lauridsen, Chris Hepp
Key Recruits: Kevin Gravel, Mitch MacMillan

The Huskies are a scary team. They return probably the best tandem of goaltenders outside of Oxford, OH (Miami's duo is better). They return the reigning 2009-10 Robbie Earl Memorial Trophy (Best diving over the course of a season) winner Garrett Roe. They only lose their leading scorer and their leading scoring defenseman but return everyone else.

They gain a bunch of recruits that I've not heard of and one that has had a rocky junior career (Ravndalen... big hype, got cut to the NAHL for a season before returning to the USHL this past season). This isn't much of note because I doubt the freshmen will have key roles on this veteran team.

This team SHOULD be very very good. They have a lot of talent and scoring up front. They've got grit in Hepp and Marvin (despite his rather bad season last year). They even ended up winning an NCAA playoff game! Things are on the up and up in St. Cloud.... but then again, things have been looking up since Saigo retired.

The only question mark lies in depth defensively. However, depth will not be tested unless the proven players struggle or get injured. This means that, on paper, the Huskies will be tight on North Dakota's heels most (if not all) of the season. The reason why I bring this up is that Coach Motzko very much emulates Minnesota defensively in terms of game play style. However, they've been able to keep to their game plan and have successfully started including physical grit into their playbooks and the results were pretty obvious. They've also added former UND player Steve Johnson as an assistant.

I don't think SCSU's bottom dwelling days will be returning to them any time soon.

Predicted Finish: 2nd...barely

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (for now)
2009-2010 Overall Record: 25-13-5 WCHA Overall Record: 15-10-3 (10-3-2 NC Record)

Key Losses: Chris Vandevelde, Darcy Zajac, Corey Fienhage, David Toews
Key Returners: Chay Genoway, Jason Gregoire, Ben Blood, Danny Kristo, Andrew MacWilliam, Brett Hextall, Evan Trupp, Brad Malone, Derrick LaPoint
Key Recruits: Derek Forbort, Dillon Simpson, Brock Nelson

This team may be "my" team, but even the most ardent detractors of UND will have to admit that who the Sioux lost and who they return simply make UND hands down the best team in the WCHA on paper going into the season. UND fans take it one step further: they, of course, expect UND to show it on the ice.

The biggest news for UND was the return of Chay Genoway. Last year's Senior Captain was hit from behind by SCSU's Aaron Marvin and had his hockey career placed in jeopardy because of it at one point. Luckily, though the concussion was indeed severe, it wasn't as bad as originally thought. So Genoway only lost the entire season instead of the rest of whatever hockey career he has waiting for him after he graduates. Nevertheless, he medically redshirted and now he returns. He was Captain last year and I doubt things will change this year either.

They're extremely solid on defense and now they got two more recruits in 2010 1st Rounder Derek Forbort and 2011 Draft Eligible Dillon Simpson. This provides UND with depth...and controversy...sorta. Who plays and who doesn't? None of the defensemen that are returning have played particularly poorly over the season and yet we have 8 dedicated defensemen (and 1 converted one in Davidson...who has since, I'm told, reverted back to forward) and can dress only 6. When you are talking about high profile players like Simpson and Forbort, it's hard to say they'd sit. Yet to have them play means benching players who don't deserve it (despite no fan support) like LaPoint or players who won't be benched (including fan favorites) like Blood, MacWilliam, and especially Genoway.

They also return a solid goaltender in Bradley Eidsness. Now, I say solid and seemingly the rest of the Sioux faithful argue against it. I just see it like this: If you are relying upon your goaltender to carry the team or steal games for you, then your team is doomed to fail. Eidsness won't steal any games. He won't carry the team. But he shouldn't have to.

As with all teams, there are what ifs... What if Eidsness gets injured? What if we stop playing solidly across all four lines? What if we continue to have penalty problems?

That being said, I believe we're in line to do very well this year. It's not out of the question to think of winning it all. However, we're a ways away from that. Let's just hope the ride there is one filled with fun, excitement, and not a whole lot of players being thrown under the bus.

Predicted Finish: 1st

WCHA Preview Part III

We are going to delve now into the top half of the league. As I get closer to #1, the tougher it goes to determine who will finish where. For example, I'm pretty certain of UAA finishing dead last. However, I'm not certain where any of the top 6 will finish. As usual, the top 5 will be very tightly packed in terms of talent. It would not surprise me at all if my top 6 looks completely different than reality even by week 3 of the season.

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
2009-2010 Overall Record: 18-19-2 WCHA Record: 12-14-2 (6-5-0 NC Record)

Key Losses: Jordan Schroeder, Nick Leddy, Jay Barriball, Mike Carman, Ryan Flynn, Tony Lucia
Key Returnees: Jacob Cepis, Alex Kangas, Aaron Ness, Cade Fairchild
Key Rookies: Nick Bjugstad, Erik Haula, Max Gardiner(?)

Let's face it, 4 or 5 years ago, if you said Minnesota will end up barely in the top half of the league and have 2 or 3 straight poor seasons where they miss the NCAA playoffs and one where they didn't even make the Final Five, I'd've called you just another blind homer. Well, it's a reality. The Gophers enter into this season facing arguably the most important season in Coach Lucia's career. This season could be it for Lucia in Minnesota if he doesn't produce. And it is a shame, because his biggest fault is his blind loyalty to John Hill. Hill's incompetence is going to cost Lucia his job this year because I don't see the Gophers any higher than #5 with their current defense.

The Gophers, in my view, have been a finesse/puck possession styled team. They're not overly physical. They rely upon forechecking, outlet passing, a dynamic transition game in the neutral zone, and special teams. I argue that they are still a very good passing team. They're still pretty good at finishing if given the opportunity. However, their Team Defense and their Special Teams (especially their PK unit) is a train wreck. They are easily taken off of their game and that often results in goaltender Alex Kangas being left hung out to dry.

Alex Kangas' stats aren't good or great, and they're not accurate as to how well or poorly he's actually played in his time with the U. Kangas is probably the most consistent player the Gophers have. He's actually pretty good. I consider him to be better than just about every goaltender the Gophers have had since Weber left. In fact, though he's a work in progress, Kent Patterson has the potential to pick up the mantle left by Kangas (Kangas is a senior this year) with little drop. However, no one will notice given how, again, atrocious Minnesota is in their own zone.

They added Cepis mid season and he gave them a boost, thanks to an incredible knack for Cepis to manipulate the shoddy officiating the WCHA offers through the use of acting. Like Roe and Earl before that, Cepis has enough talent to be able to succeed without diving, but he chooses again and again to flop to the ice. Too bad. On a positive note, he finished runner up last season in the Louganis Freestyle Diving (Frozen Water Division) Award to SCSU's Garrett Roe. This year, I'm sure he'll use his first full year's eligibility in Minneapolis to pressure Roe to bring the Trophy to Dinkytown.

I don't see there being a lot of room in the upper echelon for the Gophers in their current configuration. Losing Schroeder was expected, but losing Leddy was a big hit. All Eyes will be on DU and UW's goaltending situations (DU's got a new goaltender and UW's goaltender is almost Carey Price-like in terms of Achilles' Heel). If DU falters and UW is exposed (which I predict they will be), Minnesota could finish as high as tied for 4th! Most likely though, they'll finish 6th.

(?) - I heard Max Gardiner is coming in for the departed Nick Leddy, but Heisenberg still lists him as coming in 2011.

Predicted Finish: 6th

University of Wisconsin Badgers

2009-2010 Overall Record: 28-11-4 WCHA Record: 17-8-3 (11-3-1 NC Record)

Key Losses: Blake Geoffrion, Michael Davies, Ryan McDonaugh, Derek Stepan, Brendan Smith, Cody Goloubef

Key Returners: Jake Gardiner, Craig Smith, John Ramage, Jordy Murray, Scott Gudmanson
Key Recruits: Jason Clark, Frank Simonelli, Chase Drake, Mark Zengerle

Truth be told, this team succeeded far beyond what I thought was possible last season and this season they'll be woefully exposed. Why? Gone is their defensive team that was just as good if not better than the defensive crews I watched dominate for the Sioux in the days of Matt Greene and the NC winning Sioux in 2000. They were simply stifling. Now they're pros. And the Badger faithful should worry. No, they'll not be cellar dwellers. Mike Eaves is too good a head coach to allow them to fall that far. However, they will be forced to revert back to the Badgers of the early 2000s: boring, trap/lock based, insomnia-curing hockey. Why? Because Scott Amundson is NOT Bernd Bruckler or Brian Elliott. In fact, he's, at best, mediocre. And when you don't have that team D ahead of you, all you're left is: exposed.

The Badgers went a long way last season, but they will not see the same success this year. They'll surprise a few and they may return to the NCAAs, but they won't win it all.

Predicted Finish: 5th

Denver University Pioneers
2009-2010 Overall Record: 27-10-4 WCHA Record: 19-5-4 (8-5-0 NC Record)

Key Losses: Marc Cheverie, Joe Colborne, Rhett Rakshani, Tyler Ruegsegger, Patrick Wiercioch
Key Returners: Adam Murray, Matt Donovan, Anthony Maiani, William Wrenn, Drew Shore, Kyle Ostrow
Key Recruits: Sam Brittain, Beau Bennett, Nick Shore, Jason Zucker

Interesting this: Denver loses as much talent, including arguably the best goaltender in the NCAA last season and I have them finishing ahead of the returning DI Hockey runner ups. Why? Because defensively, Denver is still more sound than Wisconsin. Adam Murray and Sam Brittain have more potential than Gudmanson and Bennett. And Gwozdecky, as deplorable he is to Sioux fans, always seems to get the most out of his players.

Sam Brittain has turned heads both in juniors and at the Combine. He's a big guy at 6'3" 190: something you usually use to describe defensemen. Beau Bennett seems to have an innate ability to score. I don't think DU is going to have much trouble in scoring and in Team D. The major question marks this season lies in consistency and goaltending. Murray looked shakey in spot duty last year, but this year is always different. Not every goaltender can tear the league apart like Cheverie did over his 2 years and 1 game he played in Colorado.

DU is going to beatable this year, but it won't be a cakewalk.

Predicted Finish: 4th

Hand gesture bad, leg check ok

I saw this over on Puck Daddy and former Boston Bruin Nick Boynton got a one game suspension for a hand jester towards Blair Jones who just finished kicking his ass. Seriously! What I am more concerned about is the questionable hit that Nick Boynton laid on former Michigan Tech Husky Chris Durno. I believe the NHL has it's priorities messed up again. Maybe I am missing the boat.

TSN --- The NHL has handed Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Nick Boynton a one-game suspension for gesturing a throat slash towards Blair Jones of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Boynton made the gesture after the two players fought during a preseason game on Wednesday.

Center duties await Wheeler

Oh goody, the ever soft Blake Wheeler at center for the Boston Bruins, that is almost as silly as putting Blake Wheeler on the top line like they did during the playoffs against the Flyers. Yeah, that didn't work so well either.

MONTREAL -- Blake Wheeler has spent most of his first two NHL seasons on the left wing. Tonight, Wheeler will get some shifts at center, a position he played in college at the University of Minnesota.

"He's a guy who's played center his whole career until he came to us, and we put him on the wing," coach Claude Julien said. "Right now, with [Marc Savard] not with us right away, I wouldn't mind seeing the different options. We want Tyler [Seguin] to have that opportunity. But here's another guy in Wheels who's played center before. We're going to look at different options. Joe Colborne is another guy who's having a good camp. So we're going to really look at those options. Hopefully they'll help us make some decisions."

Julien noted Wheeler's size and hands as two characteristics in his favor as a center.

Introducing College Hockey Tonight... On KBUN Sports Radio

I just got this announcement from a blue bird in Bemijdi and The Hockey Show is now College Hockey tonight. The show is hosted by Scott Williams and Moose Richards and they have some impressive guests on their show. I talked to Moose and they hopefully will have the show on I-Tunes as well.

College Hockey Tonight, formerly The Hockey Show, features KBUN co-hosts Scott Williams and Moose Richards, and airs Friday’s at 5 p.m. with a replay Saturday’s at 9 a.m. The program focuses on Bemidji State hockey and the WCHA.
The 2010-’11 season of College Hockey Tonight will debut on October 15th and feature the grand opening of the Bemidji Regional Event Center and BSU’s first ever WCHA series vs. North Dakota.

The Sky is the limit with Genoway

Here is some good news from Brad's blog about a few of the returning UND Fighting Sioux hockey players. Also, there has been an on going discussion in another blog post about Chay Genoway being left off snubbed by a few of the "media blogs" WCHA first or second teams ballots.

This blurb by Brad Schlossman should also put some of that discussion to bed. I mean seriously folks, Chay Genoway is a probable Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate and there is a very good chance that he will be a first or second team All-American, also Genoway's offensive skills are matched by few in college hockey. Genoway would have been all of these things last season if he hadn't been the recipient of the one the most blush leagues hits I have seen since the Paukovich hit on Bina.

The players are saying that Matt Frattin has won the Iron Man competition this year. Frattin was one of the only guys who didn’t spend the summer here in Grand Forks. He went home to Edmonton, got in a routine, lifted weights with a trainer, and has returned in great shape. In fact, apparently trainer Mark Poolman has nicknamed him the X-Factor because of his fitness.

Some good news about Chay Genoway: It sure doesn’t look like he’s lost a step. He was flying around on the rink today.

Here is what beat writer for the Bemidji Pioneer Eric Stromgren had to say about Chay Genoway.

I expect Chay Genoway to be the preseason player of the year and he’s quite deserving. I picked Read for a few reasons. He’s an exceptional player who has helped make BSU a great hockey team in his time so far. Read could have signed an NHL contract in the offseason. But he chose to return to Bemidji State to complete his degree and remained committed to his team. He also appreciates the Bemidji community and I’ve seen his dedication to the fans here through a few uncertain years for the program. His commitment to the program, game, academics and community are what Beavers and WCHA hockey is all about. Those are reasons enough for me to vote him Preseason Player of the Year.

Cady: Too early to tell how PSU program might affect CCHA

Here is an interesting idea thrown out there by Miami University senior associate athletics director Steve Cady. I kind of like this idea myself, It would be a scheduling nightmare, but it would be doable.

Daytondailynews.com -- Which begs the obvious question: After that, which conference will Penn State join?

“It’s certainly going to create speculation,” Cady said. “The good thing is that there is going to be three years to figure it out.”

He doesn’t like to speculate, even a little bit, but when asked about the possibility of Penn State joining fellow Big Ten Conference teams Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association — the Big Ten doesn’t have a hockey conference, yet — he was only a little hopeful.

“Yes, it would be tremendous for the CCHA,” Cady said of the conference in which Miami competes. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen.

“If you look at the history of the Big Ten once they get six teams (in any NCAA sport), they try to bring those six teams under their Big Ten umbrella,” he explained.

There are a couple other possibilities.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, another major hockey conference which has two Big Ten schools, Minnesota and Wisconsin, could merge with the CCHA into a mega-conference and bring all the Big Ten schools together.

One thing that I have seen mentioned on the internet is that you could combine the teams into a "SUPER" conference and then you could have four six team divisions.

Penn State Hockey And NCAA Expansion

Check out this blog post from the Rink. With the arrival of one single college hockey team in Penn State University, college hockey fans are possibly going to have two new conferences? Huh, I guess I have read almost every article out there leading up to and after the Penn State University announcement and that's a new one. Seriously, I haven't seen this one on any of the big time hockey blogs, USCHO, INCH or College Hockey News and those guys are dialed into the college hockey world.

The aforementioned drama is that nearly every other program and college hockey fan is against the Big Ten forming their own conference. Many are upset about the loss of traditional rivals, many are upset that the CCHA and WCHA are already desperately chasing Penn State after denying the University of Alabama-Huntsville entry into their club, and most think that a Big Ten Hockey Conference is nothing more than the rich getting richer and leaving behind some smaller schools with programs reliant on existing conferences and rivalries.

I believe that Penn State's arrival is going to remake the CCHA and WCHA and create two new conferences alongside the Big Ten which won't be ideal for some of those programs and fanbases, but it's best for hockey in the NCAA moving forward. Change is inevitable in college sports. Last season saw the demise of College Hockey America as Robert Morris and Niagara were absorbed into Atlantic Hockey and Bemidji State joined the WCHA. In college football, Nebraska and Colorado left what was considered a power conference in the Big 12 to join the Big 10 and Pac 10, respectively. Utah and Boise State are also on the move in search of a better situation and a bigger payday.

There has been a lot of stuff thrown out there over the summer and don’t you think if USC or UCLA or insert ___________ University were going to have hockey they would already? As we saw with the PSU announcement it takes a lot of money to start a Division I hockey team. On the flip side of this, how many college hockey teams have folded in the 1990’s and 2000’s? I can think of a few; Wayne State, UIC, Fairfield, Iona and the University of Findlay

No Genoway?

Western College Hockey blogger Chris Dilks posted his ballot for The WCHA Media Poll and there is no Chay Genoway on his ballet. I look forward to seeing how the other ballets shake out.

1st Team All-WCHA

F-Justin Fontaine, Minnesota-Duluth
F-Matt Read, Bemidji State
F-Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth
D-Matt Donovan, Denver
D-Mike Montgomery, Minnesota-Duluth
G-Brad Eidsness, North Dakota

2nd Team All-WCHA

F-Garrett Roe, St. Cloud
F-Jason Gregoire, North Dakota
F-Danny Kristo, North Dakota
D-Justin Schultz, Wisconsin
D-Ben Youds, Minnesota State
G-Alex Kangas, Minnesota

All-WCHA Rookie Team

F-Jaden Scwartz, Colorado College
F-Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin
F-Erik Haula, Minnesota
D-Derek Forbort, North Dakota
D-Justin Faulk, Minnesota-Duluth
G-Rob Gunderson, Alaska-Anchorage

EDIT: Let's break it down futher; Mike Montgomery's career stats are 91 games (4g- 24a-28pts)compared to Chay Genoway 123 games (16g-64a-80pts) are you kidding me? It's not even close.

A few more links - PSU adds hockey...

After reading this it would appear that Red Berenson has his head screwed on right. I would imagine that Red is right there probably are a few teams that don’t want to leave the WCHA or CCHA.

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

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."

Since when is Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hershey considered hockey hotbeds? Michigan, Minnesota and Massachusetts are considered hockey hotbeds with thriving youth hockey programs. Some of the stuff I have read surrounding the Penn State University announcement recently is absolutely ridiculous.

The Daily Collegian-- The Big Ten released a statement saying a decision on the formation of a Big Ten hockey conference will not be made without significant discussion.

As far as appointing a head coach, Curley said he would begin reviewing candidates within the next year.

Commenting on the speculation, Curley said he had preliminary talks with the five Big Ten schools who currently offer Big Ten hockey and they agreed to begin discussions about a possible conference at the October Big Ten meetings.

While the decision hasn’t been made yet, Curley does anticipate the varsity teams to go by the university’s signature name, the Nittany Lions, rather than their current name, the Icers.

The next step the university will take is appointing an architect for the construction of the state-of-the-art facility. The new facility has not been named yet but Curley said he plans to sit down and talk with the Pegulas about a possible title within the next three-six months.

Curley also believes the teams will be financially self-sustaining, citing the university’s majority population from hockey hotbeds including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Hershey.

Besides collegiate hockey, Curley said the new rink could also be used for figure skating and NHL exhibition games, as well as for concerts and other university events.

Again the move the UNO Mavericks is looking better and better all of the time for the UNO hockey program.

Omaha World-Herald --- With speculation swirling of another conference shakeup down the road, the Mavs' move to the WCHA might've happened at an ideal time. Penn State just announced that it will begin playing Division I men's hockey in 2012-13, making the formation of a long-rumored Big Ten hockey conference a strong possibility.

But even if Minnesota and Wisconsin eventually depart the WCHA, UNO still will be aligned with North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth. The introduction of Big Ten hockey would seemingly have a far more negative impact on the Mavs' old conference, with the CCHA waving goodbye to high-profile programs Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and possibly even Notre Dame.

In the here and now, it's a certainty that the puck will drop on a new season in October, and UNO will get after the goal of making it to the WCHA Final Five. The league's showcase event — now featuring a six-team format — happens in March at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

When it comes to positioning the Mavs for WCHA success, it's hard to imagine a better power structure for the program.

Ah the speculation, why not a team in Iowa City as well?

Goal Gophers -- Two other Big Ten teams have made inquiries about doing the same, But Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey, Inc., the education and marketing arm of NCAA hockey, isn't saying which teams.

One team supposedly in the mix is Illinois.

Makes sense if someone is looking at the top club teams. The Illini have played in the ACHA national tournament in 13 of the past 15 years and have made the semifinals seven times. Illinois won the national title in 2005.

So are the Illini a Division I prospect? Publicly, no.

Icers react to D-1 move

Here is what the head coach of the Penn State University Icers had to say on PSU going Division I in college hockey. I would imagine that Icer head coach Scott Balboni will be out of a job when PSU goes looking for a high profile head coach to run their upstart program. Of course Balboni is interested in the position, it's going to be a very good paying job, I am sure in the $200,000.00 - $300,000.00 dollar range.

The Daily Collegian --- Current Icers head coach Scott Balboni said he definitely would throw his name into the coaching search if he was asked.

Athletic Director Tim Curley said the university will initiate its search for a coach in the next 6-9 months.

“It’s a dream job,” Balboni said. “It’s going to be the premiere job in the country and that’s something that I would consider.”

As far as the current state of the men’s club teams, the Icers and Ice Lions, Curley said Friday his tentative plan is to have a club hockey team that plays on a lower level, as long as there is interest from the students.

Since this means there are only two remaining seasons for the Icers at the Division I club level, Balboni said the Icers are even more determined to leave a lasting impression on the ACHA and Division I club.

“We want to go out on top and win back-to-back national championships,” Balboni said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”

Best forward line in the NHL?

Check out this forward line for the New Jersey Devils. I predict that is going to be one of the top lines in the NHL this season. Travis Zajac is an up and coming stars in the NHL and Zach Parise is establishing himself as one of the top American forwards in the NHL. This line combination will have Devils fans licking their chops. Last season Parise and Zajac finished 1st and 2nd overall in the Devils scoring, Kovalchuk was picked up in a trade from Atlanta on 02/04/2010 and added 27 points in 27 games (10g-17a-27pts).

MacLean opened training camp yesterday by assembling what could be one of the great lines in hockey, putting Kovalchuk on right wing with Zach Parise on the left and Travis Zajac in the middle.

"To play with those two guys, I'd play in goal," Kovalchuk said. "That's my first experience [as a right wing]. Hopefully it's a good one."

Part of Kovalchuk's success has been his ability to play the off-wing, a righty on the left, where speed affords better-angle shots.
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"Thinking all summer of the different combinations you could have, we'll see what they can do," MacLean said. "There's definitely enough pucks."

"I didn't see it coming," Parise said. "I was assuming he'd be playing left wing, so it was a nice surprise.

"Hopefully, it will give us some time to develop chemistry among the three of us. I don't think anyone's reading anything into it. But it would be a fun line if we did play like that."

Parise said he teased Zajac that he "might not get 100 shots this year."

"He may have 100 assists," MacLean countered. [Read more]