Most D1 hockey schools drop the puck for real on Sat. Oct 5.

Arizona State took a trip to China in August and got 5 games against pros (went 4-1). Check out the sweater!






PS. ACHA club hockey is already underway.

In actual realignment news, ACHA D1 WCHL has invited UNLV, Utah and Grand Canyon who will join the Arizona schools in a Western Division.

https://universityofutahhockey.com/utah-...d-to-wchl/

Utah has a strong ACHA program. Almost all of their kids have junior hockey experience. Players come from about a dozen states & Canada (most obviously come from the western states). They have a great webpage. And they broadcast their home games on YouTube; I've watched a few (the late Mountain Time Zone starts work out good for my schedule).

If you don't think the ACHA players aren't serious about what they're doing, watch this Utah training video from last season.

Go Broncos!

Should be a force all year and make the NCAA Tourney!

Y'all ready for this?
17 days.
Time to get PUMPED!!

Another year of rebuilding for Omaha, though things are looking up on the recruiting trail, at least. I'm just excited to see a little progress on the ice.

Go Big Red.

Gonna be a regression year for UMass, but that was always going to be the case when you have a player like Makar (not to mention Ferraro) leaving the program. Looking forward to the year though. There's no reason the team can't qualify for the NCAAs again and at least make some noise.

Hopefully we can build on the momentum from last year and become a force in Hockey East for years to come though.

(09-18-2019 09:57 AM)e-parade Wrote:  Gonna be a regression year for UMass, but that was always going to be the case when you have a player like Makar (not to mention Ferraro) leaving the program. Looking forward to the year though. There's no reason the team can't qualify for the NCAAs again and at least make some noise.

Hopefully we can build on the momentum from last year and become a force in Hockey East for years to come though.

I was thinking of the story lines I'm interested in at the start of this new season.

UMass is near the top. They had an unbelievable turnaround. The Minutemen lost talent, but they still have NHL draft picks on the roster.
I'm interested in AIC: was last year a flash in the pan or will their program get a "bounce".
I'm curious about the WHCA 7 and the "left-out 3", and also the future in Alaska for UA-A & UA-F.
Will UM-Duluth get a "three-peat"?
The folks in North Dakota are a little restless (I mean they haven't won a natty in a whole 3 years). But they see Denver and Duluth passing them by.
Will the National Conference keep its slight edge over Hockey East?
Will the Big10 get their first natty in 12 years and validate their conference (and the chaos it caused in college hockey)?
The pressure is on Univ Minnesota getting left behind in their own state by the d2 schools of Duluth, St. Cloud, and Minn State.
Arizona State finished #15 last year. Will they continue to rise? Will they find a home in a conference?

Give me a few minutes, I'll think of some more. I gotta leave now. I'll check back later.

I just noticed this article about people to watch for on the Hobey Baker: https://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/...rd-2019-20

The list:
1) Alex Limoges – Penn State
2) Mitchell Chaffee – Massachusetts
3) Scott Perunovich – Minnesota Duluth

I was actually surprised to see Chaffee on there, but the way it was written makes sense. Anyone else to look out for outside of these three (I mean obviously yes, but the question is more "who" there)?

"The National" (NCHC) has been teasing their preseason poll for the past hour, posting on twitter a team every 10 minutes.
Here's what the sports writers say:
#8 Miami (OH)
#7 Omaha
#6 Colorado College
#5 St. Cloud
#4 North Dakota (I can feel the angst & anger 500 miles away)
#3 Western Michigan
#2 Denver
#1 Duluth

-----------
@TheNCHC 1m
And the favorite to win the 2019-20 #PenroseCup is UM-Duluth.
The Bulldogs earned 23 (of 28) first-place votes to sit atop the #NCHCHockey Preseason Poll a 2nd straight year
UMD returns 20 letterwinners from last year's NCAA championship team
-----------

Yesterday the NCHC released the preseason All Conference team:
4 from Duluth, 2 from WMU, 1 from St. Cloud.
Duluth is loaded. A 3-peat is not out of the question.

(09-18-2019 03:05 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  "The National" has been teasing their preseason poll for the past hour, posting on twitter a team every 10 minutes.
Here's what the sports writers say:
#8 Miami (OH)
#7 Omaha
#6 Colorado College
#5 St. Cloud
#4 North Dakota (I can feel the angst & anger 500 miles away)
#3 Western Michigan
#2 Denver
#1 Duluth

-----------
@TheNCHC 1m
And the favorite to win the 2019-20 #PenroseCup is UM-Duluth.
The Bulldogs earned 23 (of 28) first-place votes to sit atop the #NCHCHockey Preseason Poll a 2nd straight year
UMD returns 20 letterwinners from last year's NCAA championship team
-----------

Yesterday the NCHC released the preseason All Conference team:
4 from Duluth, 2 from WMU, 1 from St. Cloud.
Duluth is loaded. A 3-peat is not out of the question.

Surprised at the love for Western Michigan!

Thought for sure they'd put North Dakota ahead of us.

(09-18-2019 12:07 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 09:57 AM)e-parade Wrote:  Gonna be a regression year for UMass, but that was always going to be the case when you have a player like Makar (not to mention Ferraro) leaving the program. Looking forward to the year though. There's no reason the team can't qualify for the NCAAs again and at least make some noise.

Hopefully we can build on the momentum from last year and become a force in Hockey East for years to come though.

I was thinking of the story lines I'm interested in at the start of this new season.

UMass is near the top. They had an unbelievable turnaround. The Minutemen lost talent, but they still have NHL draft picks on the roster.
I'm interested in AIC: was last year a flash in the pan or will their program get a "bounce".
I'm curious about the WHCA 7 and the "left-out 3", and also the future in Alaska for UA-A & UA-F.
Will UM-Duluth get a "three-peat"?
The folks in North Dakota are a little restless (I mean they haven't won a natty in a whole 3 years). But they see Denver and Duluth passing them by.
Will the National Conference keep its slight edge over Hockey East?
Will the Big10 get their first natty in 12 years and validate their conference (and the chaos it caused in college hockey)?
The pressure is on Univ Minnesota getting left behind in their own state by the d2 schools of Duluth, St. Cloud, and Minn State.
Arizona State finished #15 last year. Will they continue to rise? Will they find a home in a conference?

Give me a few minutes, I'll think of some more. I gotta leave now. I'll check back later.

Arizona St doesn't need a conference because they can schedule cupcakes and end up being ranked just high enough to get in.

The WCHA preseason coaches and media polls have Minnesota State and Bowling Green one and two, respectively.

http://www.wcha.com/men/articles/2019/09...-polls.php

(09-18-2019 03:05 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  "The National" has been teasing their preseason poll for the past hour, posting on twitter a team every 10 minutes.
Here's what the sports writers say:
#8 Miami (OH)
#7 Omaha
#6 Colorado College
#5 St. Cloud
#4 North Dakota (I can feel the angst & anger 500 miles away)
#3 Western Michigan
#2 Denver
#1 Duluth

-----------
@TheNCHC 1m
And the favorite to win the 2019-20 #PenroseCup is UM-Duluth.
The Bulldogs earned 23 (of 28) first-place votes to sit atop the #NCHCHockey Preseason Poll a 2nd straight year
UMD returns 20 letterwinners from last year's NCAA championship team
-----------

Yesterday the NCHC released the preseason All Conference team:
4 from Duluth, 2 from WMU, 1 from St. Cloud.
Duluth is loaded. A 3-peat is not out of the question.

I'm surprised we're not #8. Still, here's hoping Omaha earns a little better on the ice, and finally wins a series in the conference tourney.

(09-18-2019 06:42 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  The WCHA preseason coaches and media polls have Minnesota State and Bowling Green one and two, respectively.

http://www.wcha.com/men/articles/2019/09...-polls.php

I'd say Minnesota State deserves better, but they turned down better. Probably because the WCHA is a free and easy tourney berth for them.

"The Eastern" (ECAC) released their pre-season media poll today:
1) Cornell (13 first place votes) 185 points total
2) Clarkson, 163 points
3) Quinnipiac (1) 162 points
4) Harvard (1) 150 points
5) Dartmouth (1) 123 points
6) Yale 108 points
7) Brown 96 points
8) Union 86 points
9) Colgate 54 points
10) RPI 52 points
11) Princeton 50 points
12) St. Lawrence 19 points

Don't sleep on The Eastern. They won nattys in 2013 (Yale) and 2014 (Union) and "The Q" was in the championship game in 2016.
--------------

"The Western" (WCHA) also released their pre-season poll today:
1. Minnesota State
2. Bowling Green
3. Northern Michigan
4. Michigan Tech
5. Bemidji State
6. Lake Superior State
7. Ferris State
8. Alaska
9. Alabama Huntsville
10. Alaska Anchorage

They had a conference call press conference. Obviously, the WHCA is feeling some stress. The Commish ignored it completely. HCs of UAA, UAF, and UAH dealt with it diplomatically. One of the coaches (I forget which, Lake State maybe) changed the topic real fast. That's going to be in the background all season.
-----

The Atlantic will have their media-day on Tuesday; that's probably when they will release their pre-season poll.

I can't figure out when Hockey East will release theirs. But I did see this Facebook post from July 31:
Did you know Hockey East had 96 alumni play in the NHL in 2018-19, more than any other college hockey conference. That number is 16 more than the second place league and nearly double the next-closest conference. The league also saw a record 27 players selected in the Entry Draft.

(09-18-2019 09:35 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  "The Eastern" (ECAC) released their pre-season media poll today:
1) Cornell (13 first place votes) 185 points total
2) Clarkson, 163 points
3) Quinnipiac (1) 162 points
4) Harvard (1) 150 points
5) Dartmouth (1) 123 points
6) Yale 108 points
7) Brown 96 points
8) Union 86 points
9) Colgate 54 points
10) RPI 52 points
11) Princeton 50 points
12) St. Lawrence 19 points

Don't sleep on The Eastern. They won nattys in 2013 (Yale) and 2014 (Union) and "The Q" was in the championship game in 2016.
--------------

The WCHA also released their pre-season poll today:
1. Minnesota State
2. Bowling Green
3. Northern Michigan
4. Michigan Tech
5. Bemidji State
6. Lake Superior State
7. Ferris State
8. Alaska
9. Alabama Huntsville
10. Alaska Anchorage

They had a conference call press conference. Obviously, the WHCA is feeling some stress. The Commish ignored it completely. HCs of UAA, UAF, and UAH dealt with it diplomatically. One of the coaches (I forget which, Lake State maybe) changed to topic real fast. That's going to be in the background all season.
-----

The Atlantic will have their media-day on Tuesday; that's probably when they will release their pre-season poll.

I can't figure out when Hockey East will release theirs. But I did see this Facebook post from July 31:
Did you know Hockey East had 96 alumni play in the NHL in 2018-19, more than any other college hockey conference. That number is 16 more than the second place league and nearly double the next-closest conference. The league also saw a record 27 players selected in the Entry Draft.

Hopefully Cornell can deliver on the expectations. Otherwise, the winter in Ithaca will be even longer than normal.

I work at Penn State.. They're excited after the showing last year.. I don't watch Hockey.

(09-19-2019 08:40 AM)gdunn Wrote:  I work at Penn State.. They're excited after the showing last year.. I don't watch Hockey.

Sounds like a personal problem. You should work on that.

(09-19-2019 09:59 AM)e-parade Wrote:  

(09-19-2019 08:40 AM)gdunn Wrote:  I work at Penn State.. They're excited after the showing last year.. I don't watch Hockey.

Sounds like a personal problem. You should work on that.

I'll try.

(09-19-2019 01:53 PM)gdunn Wrote:  

(09-19-2019 09:59 AM)e-parade Wrote:  

(09-19-2019 08:40 AM)gdunn Wrote:  I work at Penn State.. They're excited after the showing last year.. I don't watch Hockey.

Sounds like a personal problem. You should work on that.

I'll try.

Be careful, gdunn! After ignoring college hockey for years, I went to one game out of curiosity, "What's the big deal? Why do they have such passionate fans?". And then I went to another. And then another. Somewhere in there I got drawn in. Now I know the difference between the ACHA, the USHL, and the NAHL. I've got USCHO.com and CollegeHockeyNews.com bookmarked. Since you work at PSU, you should visit Pegula- the games vs. Wisky on Nov 1/2 would be a good start. But be careful! College hockey might draw you in too!