College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

It looks like the four finalists may be joined by a few more as Alaska-Anchorage looks to revamp its earlier selection process that put Air Force associate coach Mike Corbett in the top four.

ESPN put out an opinion piece that lists North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol as the NCAA coach most ready to take over an NHL team.

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz will coach his old junior team as part of an exhibition fundraiser for his late sister Mandi’s organization and other charities.

St. Cloud State received its first commit since its historic NCAA Frozen Four run.

It seems less likely that former Denver coach George Gwozdecky will take the reins in Maine. New Denver coach Jim Montgomery is profiled.

Incoming Tiger freshman Gustav Olofsson was named to the United States Hockey League’s all-rookie team for this past season.

Here is the writeup for the Broomfield resident, who is projected as a second or third-round NHL draft pick on June 30.

Gustav Olofsson (D), Green Bay Gamblers

A native of Sweden, the defenseman played all but one of the 64 regular season games for Green Bay and collected 23 points (2g, 21a) while posting a plus-11 rating.  He dished out two assists in the first game of the season on September 28^th.  His first USHL career goal was the game-winner in the 5-2 victory against Muskegon on November 23^rd.  Twice this season he finished a game with a plus-four rating.  Olofsson is a top prospect for the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft and was selected by scouts to compete in the 2013 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.  He is committed to Colorado College.

Here is a look at the upcoming Nebraska-Omaha schedule and a brief take n the other NCHC teams.

College Hockey News got a response from former Alaska-Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak about allegations of abuse put forward in a recent lawsuit.

Former Denver coach George Gwozdecky is interested in coaching in the pros.  He remains a leading candidate for the Maine opening.

Assistant Steve Johnson has left his position at Nebraska-Omaha as did Boston University’s Mike Bavis.

National Collegiate Hockey Conference commissioner Jim Scherr is under consideration to become the chief operating officer of the inaugural 2015 European Games in Baku.

Scherr said there was no deadline on a decision but said it would be “in the interest of everyone involved that it would be made sooner rather than later.”

European media reported that he would take on the new position later this month.

“That announcement is premature and incorrect at this time,” Scherr said, adding that negotiations are ongoing.

Scherr did not rule out holding both his current position as league commissioner and COO of the Games.

“That would be up to (the NCHC Board of) Directors to decide,” he said.

The NCHC was not surprised by the development.

“He (Scherr) has been forthcoming with information regarding a competing bid for his services,” the league said via email. “Since this is an internal personnel matter, the conference will offer no further comment at this time.”

The University of Rhode Island, often rumored to be considering a move into NCAA Division I men’s hockey, and Division III St. Anselm were confirmed by multiple sources as the programs looking to fill the vacancy in the Atlantic Hockey Association following this coming season.

Air Force plays in the AHA. Connecticut enters its final AHA season this fall before joining Hockey East with the start of the 2014-15 season.

URI plays home games at the 11-year-old Bradford R. Boss Arena (capacity 2,500) in Kingston, R.I.  Club coach Joe Augustine is 505-231-43, including the 2006 national championship, in 23 seasons coaching the URI program. 

The Boston Herald is reporting there is a R.I. group trying to raise $5 million to start the varsity program.

Saint Anselm, a very successful ECAC East program, plays in the 11-year-old  Thomas F. Sullivan Arena (capacity 2,400) in Manchester, N.H.. Coach Ed Seney is 326-301-44 in 25 years.

There was no confirmation available that either program had officially applied of how Title IX concerns (equitable scholarship offerings) would be addressed.

Atlantic Hockey will have a 28-game league schedule beginning in 2014-15 with each team facing 10 league opponents twice for a total of 20 games, plus an eight-game rotation. The AHA also will increase scholarships allowed to 13 in 2014-15 and 14 in 2015-2016.  Many western schools have pushed for the full 18 NCAA limit in order to be more competitive.

The addition of another Division I program would increase the national total to 60.

While looking over Atlantic Hockey schedules I came across this nice story out of Robert Morris, who has Sam Zimmerman, a young hockey player battling illness, on next year’s team as an honorary member.

The incoming North Dakota freshman class was announced. Minnesota has the USHL Player of the Year and Forward of the Year coming in this fall.

The CHL’s Denver Cutthroats have a unique idea of putting their season ticket holders’ names on the glass for its home games.

Air Force junior goalie Jason Torf was named to the Jewish Sports Review’s Division I All-America team. 

He is joined by  Lake Superior State junior defenseman Zach Sternberg and junior forward Dan Radke;  Princeton junior forward Andrew Calof, Robert Morris freshman forward David Friedmann and senior goaltender Eric Levine,  and Bentley sophomore defenseman Steve Weinstein.

Blues forward and former Tiger Jaden Schwartz had a short stay with Team Canada for the 2013 IIHF World Championships.The Canadians lost in the quarterfinals only a day after Schwartz arrived.

Schwartz previously participated in IIHF competition at the 2011 and 2012 World Junior Championships.

In 45 games this season, Schwartz scored seven goals and six assists for the Blues (13 points). He had a plus/minus rating of -4 and registered four penalty minutes. Schwartz was drafted by the Blues in the first round (14th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. The  tournament ends May 19.

Here is a roundup blog post on Minnesota-Duluth captains, team awards and 2013-14 schedule.

Minnesota State renovations include shrinking its ice sheet from Olympic size to a hybrid close to the NHL.

The Maverick fans should be thankful their coach search went so well. The school also announced its 2013-14 schedule.

The lawsuit involving former Alaska-Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak has been ‘exaggerated’ according to the player hit in the incident.

The USHL Sioux City coach is moving on to work for Ohio State.

Sioux City forward Jake Guentzel, younger brother of former Tiger Gabe and a Nebraska-Omaha signee, was named the 2012-13 USHL Rookie of the Year after finishing sixth in league scoring and tying a USHL Tier 1 era (2002-present) record with a 21-game point streak.

Amarillo beat Wenatchee 5-0 in the NAHL Robertson Cup championship game less than a day after losing 7-0 in pool play to the same Wild. You may recall some accusations were flying that the Bulls threw that earlier game. The Wild have since announced they are moving to Hidalgo, Texas to become the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

It is the time of year I start compiling the upcoming Air Force season schedule, which is typically released in late July.

Here is what I have stumbled across so far. I have included links to each school’s schedule so you can check out their full slate and see where I got my information.

Air Force opens its 2013-14 season in Anchorage for the Kendall Hockey Classic in Sullivan Arena. The Falcons play Alaska-Fairbanks at 5:05 p.m. Alaska time on Friday, Oct. 11 followed by host Alaska-Anchorage at 7:07 AT on Saturday. NCAA runner-up Quinnipiac is the other team participating.

The Falcons travel to World Arena for a Tuesday, Nov. 19 game against Colorado College,  host Denver Nov. 22 and then travel to Magness Arena for a Nov. 23 game to conclude the two-game series.

AFA likely will host Canadian university New Brunswick for its exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 5, time TBA. UNB plays CC Saturday and Denver Sunday that weekend, so a Monday date is a possibility, though unlikely with a trip to Alaska the following weekend.

Army is the only Atlantic Hockey school to release its schedule. The Black Knights host Air Force Jan. 10-11, 2014 for their only regular-season games.

Nebraska-Omaha released three players and added more depth to its lineup. Leading scorers Ryan Walters and Matt White have said they will return for next season, Mavericks coach Dean Blais, pictured, said.

Incoming North Dakota offensive defenseman Paul LaDue, a Kings draft pick, was named as the USHL Defenseman of the Year.

UND has dropped a defenseman commit from the BCHL.

Wisconsin took the interim tag off assistant coach Matt Walsh‘s job title.

St. Scholastica 6-foot-5 defenseman Brenden Kotyk is the first Division III player to transfer to Minnesota-Duluth, boosting an already strong incoming class.

Former Tiger Chad Rau was called up to the Minnesota Wild practice squad during the team’s short NHL playoff run.

Incoming Tiger forward Luc Gerdes, the Jamestown Ironmen’s leading scorer, was scoreless during his team’s 0-3 showing at the 2013 NAHL Roberston Cup tournament in Texas.

The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL and the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets  announced they will not renew their affiliation agreement for the 2013-14 season. The two clubs, along with the Jets’ American Hockey League affiliate the St. John’s IceCaps had operated as affiliates since the 2011-12 season.

Eagles President & General Manager, Chris Stewart said the Eagles will consider several options for the upcoming ECHL season.

“Eagles fans can rest assured that we have many opportunities to explore for next season,” he said. “We have already had NHL clubs express interest in potentially forming an affiliation with the Colorado Eagles. We will also investigate the possibility of being independent of an NHL affiliation. We will do our due diligence in making the best possible decision moving forward and allow that decision to put us in the best possible position to win a championship.”

Former Tiger Arthur Bidwill played for the Eagles this past season.

Former Alaska-Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak is accused of hitting one of his players during a 2011 practice in a lawsuit.

Accusations abound that  an NAHL Robertson Cup rule quirk prompted Amarillo to throw its pool play game 7-0 in order to advance to the championship game. A one-goal loss to Wenatchee meant another team (Bismarck) advanced. Perhaps a more traditional playoff format is in order?

Former Tiger Brian McMillin is the Central Hockey League playoff MVP after recording 20 points (12 goals) in 19 playoff games for the Allen (Texas) Americans, who won the pro league’s title Saturday night.

Allen defeated the Wichita Thunder, 3-2 in overtime, in Game 7 of the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup to win series four games to three.

“Obviously this is something special,” McMillin told the Plano Star. “I don’t … I don’t even know if I can really explain it.”

Click here for more from McMillin and details of the game. Allen was backstopped by former North Dakota goalie Aaron Dell.