College Hockey Roudup: Penn State’s Momentum, Weirdness in 2012-13, NCAA’s Most Dominant Team

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Chris Peters

College hockey may be taking a backseat once again as the NHL has made its triumphant return, but it’s still as compelling as ever. The 2012-13 season is utterly unpredictable and in some cases that’s good, in others bad.

The games have been mostly entertaining, but the results continue to shock fans on a weekly basis it seems. Top teams are faltering, while some of the mid-majors are really starting to push for the spotlight.

That’s the joy of college athletics I suppose. It’s never perfect and it seems like no team can ever feel safe as the top dog, but I don’t recall a year that’s been so confounding.

Either way, it’s still fun. There are still plenty of big games on TV late in the season and there are a lot of games that are going to matter a lot in these coming weeks.

More on the weirdness that is 2012-13, the rapid growth of Penn State’s hockey program and find out which team is college hockey’s most dominant this year.

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Posted in NCAA | 1 Comment

Next Stop in Stefan Matteau’s Wild Year: The NHL

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Chris Peters

A pair of American-born 18-year-olds have made NHL opening-night rosters. One of them is winger Stefan Matteau, who found out Friday that he is part of the lineup for the New Jersey Devils coming out of camp. The other is Milwaukee-born forward Alex Galchenyuk, who will suit up for the Montreal Canadiens.

Stefan Matteau (Photo: Tom Sorensen)

It’s pretty rare to see American prospects get the call up so quickly, so lockout help or not, this is a major accomplishment for both players.

Both are likely to get see a minimum of five games on the NHL roster before the team will have to decide whether to keep them or send them back to junior. Normally it would be 10 games, but in the lockout-shortened season, they’ll have to impress quickly. Anything played beyond the fifth game will activate the first year of that player’s entry-level contract. Should either be sent back to junior, their clock remains at three years on their entry-level deals.

Matteau’s inclusion on the Devils roster comes as a bit of a surprise given the fact that he was the last forward cut for the U.S. National Junior Team just a month ago. Soon, he’ll be pulling an NHL jersey over his head.

It’s just another crazy turn it what has been a wild, roller coaster of a calendar year for the Chicago-born Matteau.  Continue reading →

Posted in Junior Hockey, NHL, NTDP | 4 Comments

WCHA Admits Alabama-Huntsville for 2013-14, Realignment Complete?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Chris Peters

College hockey’s sweeping realignment left little room for feel-good stories in its wake, but that changed Thursday. With a unanimous vote, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association granted full membership to the University of Alabama-Huntsville men’s hockey team starting in 2013-14, saving the program from near-certain death.

With so much of the recent maneuvering in college hockey tied to money, this is a move that was not an obvious one for the WCHA, which will have to find a new identity starting next season. Having lost all of its big-name programs in realignment, the WCHA has gone from elite status to mid-major. Adding a program so far from its geographic footprint (though both Alaska schools are also quite far) was a decision that caused much deliberation over months and probably years. However, it was a decision that meant life or death for Alabama-Huntsville.

The Chargers had played the last three years as an independent after the College Hockey America conference dried up and the CCHA denied UAH membership soon thereafter. The program was essentially shut down by the chancellor of Alabama universities before fundraising efforts preserved the team just last year. On life support, without a conference to call home and a way to guarantee home games and give recruits a reason for signing on with the program, UAH was at the mercy of the WCHA. Had it not been approved for membership, there really wasn’t any realistic scenario in which the hockey program could survive at the Division I level.

The WCHA has been lauded, and rightly so, for making this decision and the fact that “it’s the right thing to do,” but it is a decision not without risk in the still highly uncertain future of realignment. Whether the WCHA added UAH or not, what comes next for the conference is still up in the air.

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Posted in NCAA | 2 Comments

New CBA Unlikely to Bring Relief to College Hockey

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Chris Peters

Coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, college coaches were optimistic that the new collective bargaining agreement coming out of that dispute would benefit college hockey. As they soon found out, it didn’t. In fact, it might have done more harm than good for the college game.

Many coaches were hopeful that the new CBA in 2013 could bring positive change, even if subtle. The big hope was that some adjustments would be made to perhaps curtail the incentives for players leaving school earlier than maybe they should. In fact, several college coaches met with a group of NHL GMs in June of 2011 to explain the issues they faced in the now former CBA.

It may not have mattered. If the summary of terms for the new agreement is any indication, there doesn’t appear to be much relief coming to college hockey in the NHL and NHLPA’s new agreement.

According to the terms, the current rules for signing drafted college players remains the same from the previous CBA.

Additionally, coaches has hoped to see some alterations to the NHL Entry Draft, either increasing the minimum age to 19 and/or the return of a nine-round draft. Hockey Canada had also proposed raising the draft age to 19 on behalf of the Canadian Hockey League.

According to the terms, the only alterations made to the draft involved the weighted lottery system, which only changes things a little bit for the NHL and not at all for college or junior hockey.

Further explanation of how the new CBA will impact college hockey coming up after the jump.

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Posted in NCAA, NHL | Comments Off on New CBA Unlikely to Bring Relief to College Hockey

Hockey is Back, But Where Did it Go?

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Chris Peters

“Hockey is back,” the National Hockey League proudly proclaimed late Saturday night to go along with its stunningly produced return video. That’s the new marketing slogan coming out of the lockout at least. Really that’s all it is, a marketing slogan.

Like any marketing slogan it has its successes and failures. Of course, in the American sports consciousness at least, the NHL is the only thing most people associate with hockey. Therefore, it’s a slogan that easily resonates with the casual sports fan.

The slogan also succeeds in its simplicity. “Hockey is back” is the NHL’s bat signal to its fans. At the same time, it reminds you that your favorite teams and players and games were gone, of course. Probably not the best idea, but one without much choice.

Where it fails, however, is in its arrogance. It might as well be “Hockey is back. And we bet you will be, too.” There’s no conciliatory tone, no apology and there doesn’t need to be one in that first message, I suppose. But shouldn’t there be?

It also forgets that while the NHL was gone, hockey didn’t stop. While the NHL’s games were being played in board rooms and hastily-organized press scrums, hockey was being played on ponds, in arenas big and small and still mattered.

It seems as though the NHL leans on hockey like a crutch, not wanting to tie its now sullied brand to the reason hockey had to come back from something. That doesn’t quite feel right. It pulls the entire game into the mess that was the lockout. The fact is the game was injured by the NHL’s sabbatical.

The league is the lifeblood of the sport and when it has its failures such as the one we’re about to come out of, the game as a whole is negatively impacted from the NHL’s bottom line to the grassroots youth hockey organizations.

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Posted in Grow the Game, Junior Hockey, Minor League Hockey, NCAA, NHL, USA Hockey | 4 Comments

VIDEO: North Dakota’s Mark MacMillan Scores on Stunning End-to-End Rush

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Chris Peters

North Dakota may have skated off the Ralph Engelstad Arena ice with a loss at the hands of Colorado College, but the highlight of the night belonged to the boys in green and white.

Sophomore Mark MacMillan is a fourth-round draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens, but is often overshadowed by senior linemates and Hobey Baker contenders Corban Knight, a Panthers prospect, and Danny Kristo, also a draft pick of the Habs. Well the spotlight ended up on MacMillan Friday night.

With UND trailing Colorado College early in the third period, MacMillan took the puck in his own zone and turned on the jets…

The speed, the subtle move around the D, the concentration and the patience on the finish (while falling even) all remarkable on this goal in a key situation for UND. MacMillan’s breathtaking rush will go down as one of the top goals from the college hockey season for sure.

Unfortunately for North Dakota, CC scored 10 minutes later to claim a 4-3 lead and held it for a big WCHA win. It marked North Dakota’s first loss after a seven-game unbeaten streak. UND’s last loss prior to Friday was on Nov. 30… to Colorado College.

(s/t to @UNDMHockey)

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World Junior Wrap: What Team USA’s Win Means in Big Picture, Look Ahead to 2014

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Chris Peters

Coverage for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship began on United States of Hockey in August. Almost a week after the U.S. National Junior Team claimed gold in Ufa, Russia, it has reached its conclusion.

2013_IIHF_U-20_Championship_logoWith one final look back at the tournament that was for Team USA, it’s also time to look at the bigger picture and what lies ahead for USA Hockey at the World Junior level and beyond.

The American victory in 2013 was an improbable one, due mostly to the fact that the competition was not depleted by the NHL as it so often is.

I’ve always found the excuse that a team’s lack of success due to their best players in the birth year being unavailable due to the NHL a bit nonsensical. The World Junior Championship has always featured the best players not currently in the NHL, which to me, is a level playing field.

There’s always going to be some reason players are unavailable, whether it’s due to the NHL or an injury or a suspension. That makes it a lot tougher to have a best-on-best, but it was close this year.

That makes Team USA’s win all the more meaningful in both the small and big pictures.

Coming up after the jump, a deeper look at what a win like this means for USA Hockey in the long term and a quick look ahead to 2014.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 7 Comments

World Junior Rewind: Team USA’s Defensemen and Goalies

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Chris Peters

Team USA’s World Junior Championship triumph had a lot to do with the seven guys on the back end and a lot more to do with the guy between the pipes. The two expected strengths for the U.S. coming into the tournament were just that. With better-than-expected offensive firepower from the guys up front, Team USA surpassed expectations and claimed the gold medal.

Logo_USA_hockeyFor the defense, it was a bit of a weird ride to start the tournament with only six of them dressed for the first game while USA staff weighed its decision for who would be the final defenseman rostered. Just before against the Russia game, Patrick Sieloff was the final add and the rest, as they say, is history.

In goal, there was never any doubt. It was always going to be John Gibson’s net. The only concern was whether or not he’d be healthy after a hip flexor strain earlier in the month. Gibson was 100 percent and dominated as a result, claiming MVP honors and the directorate award as the tournament’s best goalie.

Team USA allowed just nine goals all tournament. That’s nine goals in seven games, or an average of 1.29 per game. Stifling.

Coming up after the jump, a look at Team USA’s stingy defense and goaltender(s).

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, U.S. National Teams, Uncategorized, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | Comments Off on World Junior Rewind: Team USA’s Defensemen and Goalies

World Junior Rewind: Team USA’s Forwards

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Chris Peters

Today continues our look back at Team USA’s gold-medal performance, this time taking a look at all 13 forwards for Team USA. Coming soon, thoughts on the defensemen and goaltenders.

Logo_USA_hockeyComing into the 2013 World Junior Championship, the biggest question marks for Team USA rested with the forwards. Without the depth of scoring of several of the other WJC entrants, this was viewed as a potential weak spot for the U.S.

That was only compounded when projected top-six winger Stefan Noesen was ruled ineligible for the tournament due to his OHL suspension. Because of that, the Team USA staff had very little time to make the appropriate alternate decisions.

Both pre-tournament games and even the first three games of the tournament did very little to calm concerns about the forward crop. The U.S. wasn’t getting much production out of its perceived top line and the bottom lines weren’t generating many chances with much consistency.

As it turned out, it was the right ingredients all along, but the wrong mix. Once several adjustments were made among the forwards, the U.S. began realizing its full offensive potential. As that materialized, so did the results.

Coming up after the jump, notes on all 13 forwards from the World Junior Championship.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, U.S. National Teams, Uncategorized, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 2 Comments

VIDEO: Garret Sparks Takes You Inside Team USA’s Celebration, “Oh Mama” Chant

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Chris Peters

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be on the bench in the closing minutes or on the ice for one of those classic championship celebrations, wonder no more. U.S. National Junior Team emergency backup goaltender Garret Sparks brought his camera along for his ride during the gold-medal game, from his spot in the press box to the bench for the empty-net goal to the ice for the final pile up.

It’s that first-hand account you don’t normally get, so let the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick take you along for the ride.

Among the highlights of the video…

— Sparks is rolling just after Rocco Grimaldi’s first goal, catching the replay on the video screen then turning the camera on himself as he accurately states “That was the momentum changer.”

— Then his view from next to the bench as Vincent Trocheck scored the game-sealing empty-net goal.

— Inside the pile, he catches a few nice moments as well, including an embrace between former NTDP teammates and a pair of Team USA’s most valuable players, Jake McCabe and John Gibson.

It’s a pretty cool little look inside one of the great moments in sports.

Also, after 2010, one of the most popular videos coming out of the gold-medal win was the “Oh, Mama Don’t You Cry” chant. It was originated by Kirk Culik, assistant strength and conditioning coach at the National Team Development Program. It was a chant for the teams to sing after wins.

This year, Jacob Trouba led Team USA in the victorious chant.

(h/t USA Hockey, @GSparks40)

Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 2 Comments