College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

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.

The final Western Collegiate Hockey Association meetings this past weekend in Florida were a bittersweet occasion for Colorado College coach Scott Owens.

It served as the transition for the WCHA-founding Tigers as CC enters the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference it helped form last summer.

”It was not awkward but it was a little sad and a little more business-like (than usual),” Owen said. “The league was already meeting with the new members and the NCHC metearlier in the week.”

The transition affects the WCHA as well. Longtime commissioner Bruce McLeod, who has led the league for 20 years, said this coming season will ‘”probably” be his last, multiple sources have reported.

The NCHC met with all eight schools fully presented – athletic directors, coaches, faculty representatives – on hand for the first time and gave an update on the league office’s progress.

“You can’t believe all the things that need to be done to set up a new league,” Owens said.

The officiating program grabbed plenty of attention on a full slate. The deadline to apply to hockey operations head Joe Novak and supervisors of officials Don Adam to become a league official is May 15.  A system that would hold officials accountable and get them better training si expected.

“I think the fans will be pleased with the changes,” CC athletic director Ken Ralph said.

The league bylaws, postseason tournament and the 18-game TV package with CBS Sports Network also drew praise.

“I could not be more pleased with our first meetings in Naples,” NCHC Commissioner Jim Scherr said. “It was great to get everyone in the same place and on the same page as we prepare for our inaugural season. We have some tremendous individuals at each of our institutions that are highly motivated and very professional. We are just a couple of months from dropping the puck on opening weekend and I could not be more excited to get the season underway.”

The American Hockey Coaches Association annual meetings followed with talk of changing the NCAA regionals from neutral sites to the home arena of the regional top seed sites as last done in 1996. Tweaking the Pairwise rankings was discussed with no action made on either topic.

“About 35 to 40 percent of the Western coaches wanted to look at institutional sites but a lot like the neutrality,” Owens said. “We talked about other ways to help attendance, such as lowering ticket prices and student ticket discounts. I would like to see permanent western sites so fans can plan on attending in advance.”

No rule changes were proposed for the NCAA to consider.

The waiting game continues for six Colorado College seniors looking to take the next step into professional hockey careers. A few have had a taste with Andrew Hamburg playing one game for ECHL San Francisco, Joe Marciano three for ECHL Orlando and goalie Joe Howe making the ECHL Idaho squad for a week due to an injury roster shuffle starting at the NHL and AHL level.

Marciano said Orlando expressed an interest in having him return next season.

“I played my game,” he said. “I would have liked to have done more offensively but they liked what they saw.”

Hamburg hopes to get another opportunity after an influx of players from AHL Worcester bumped him from the ECHL roster.

“I played well when I got the chance and it is a league I could do well in,” he said.

Howe liked his first taste of the pros and hopes he made a good enough impression in the seven days he spent in Boise with the Idaho Steelheads.

Mike Boivin, William Rapuzzi and Scott Winkler are all waiting to see what options emerge after the NHL Draft and training camps as organizations fill out their minor league rosters. Rapuzzi hopes to recover completely from offseason surgery on his left shoulder (torn labrum). He suffered the injury in September 2012 and had a career year (35 points).

“I should be ready to just in time for training camp, maybe a little earlier,” he said.

Winkler, a Dallas draft pick, is unsure what the future holds after another leadership change atop the Stars organization.

“Right now, it’s just a waiting game,” the Norwegian said.

Boivin, who led Division I defensemen with 14 goals this past season, said his agent is working hard to line up his best options.

“He’s doing what he was hired to do,” Boivin said. “Things will fall into place this summer. Right now, I am just enjoying my final few weeks of college.”

The seventh Tigers senior, Rylan Schwartz, played seven games (five points, four assists) for AHL Worcester and is in a prospects camp in San Jose this weekend.

In other news, former Denver coach George Gwozdecky is one of the leading candidates for the open UConn job. Keep in mind the Huskies are moving up to Hockey East with the start of the 2014-15 season after one more campaign in Atlantic Hockey. A decision is expected today with an announcement early next week.

Meanwhile, Alaska-Anchorage announced it is revamping its hockey coach search committee after state and alumni hockey associations expressed no confidence in the athletic director and in the search committee, which did not have any hockey connections.

UAA Chancellor Tom Case told the Anchorage Daily News that the revamped search will be open to new candidates, and that he hoped the initial four finalists — Air Force associate head coach Mike Corbett, Michigan Tech assistant coach Damon Whitten, Augsburg College (Minn.) head coach Chris Brown and Utica College (N.Y.) head coach Gary Heenan — would remain interested in the job.

“I want to emphasize this expresses no lack of confidence in the four candidates, and we will certainly work to keep them in the pool,” Case said.

At public forums in which each finalist introduced himself, shared his background and philosophies, and answered questions, each emphasized the need for UAA and its next coach to repair the rift with alumni and the wider hockey community.

Case said the university has not yet set a timetable for hiring Shyiak’s replacement.

“We’re not in a big rush,” Case said. “It’s more important to get it right than get it quick.”

Here is an updated list of NCAA players who left school early for the pros.

College hockey players now make up 30 percent of the NHL, a number that continues to tick upward each season. Here is a list of all 271 alums who played this past regular season. Here is an easy way to find out how many former collegians are in an NHL playoff game.

Ohio State filled its vacant head coach position.

New Denver coach Jim Montgomery is featured by USCHO.

The CCHA media guides and memorabilia are now on sale if fans are looking for collectibles.

Former CC assistant Norm Bazin is the USCHO Coach of the Year for the second season in a row.

The Anchorage hockey community continues to criticize Alaska-Anchorage athletic director Steve Cobb. The UAA hockey alumni association, made up of 300 former Seawolf players,  issued a vote of no confidence. It has raised $100,000 for the athletic department in the past.

Cobb has been criticized for not having a member of the local hockey community on the head coach search committee, which picked Air Force associate coach Mike Corbett as one of four finalists.

Here is a look back at this season and a gander at next year’s Hobey Baker Award contenders. Please comment with anyone you think is missing.

Retired Boston University coach Jack Parker is honored by the school.

Well-regarded former Northern Michigan athletic director Ken Godfrey is remembered in this obituary article.

Western Michigan announced its team awards.

Former Tiger Mike Testwuide continue to find the score sheet with the Abbotsford Heat. Jack Hillen is on a roll for the surging Capitals.

Richard Bachman gets some well-deserved love for his backup work for Dallas. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week after winning each of his three starts with a 1.08 GAA and a .963 save percentage prior to Monday’s 5-2 loss to Chicago. The NHL correspondent said he played well.

Mark Stuart knows that this could be his last run at the playoffs with Winnipeg.

Joey Crabb recorded a career-high four points, including a hat trick in Sunday’s win for AHL Hershey.

The Denver athletic director told the Denver Post George Gwozdecky was fired because the contract talks went on too long. Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery talks about his new job. Here is the USCHO article on the Monday press conference.

Beat writer Mike Chambers has an article and three blog posts from the press conference: an interview with Denver AD Peg Bradley-Doppes; two Pioneers express support for their new coach and George Gwozdecky has plenty of job openings to consider.

Ohio State is one of those high-profile (the school, not the program) openings.

Here is my feature on Air Force backup goalie David Bosner and his efforts to stay in the program, which led to a rare law school appointment.

Ohio State announced it fired head coach Mark Osiecki, who took over the Buckeyes after a semi-public flirtation between the program and former Denver coach George Gwozdecky that may have soured his relationship with the Denver athletic director.

New Denver coach Jim Montgomery will be introduced as the new coach in Denver at 11 a.m. MT Monday. The chancellor and athletic director will be on hand, perhaps, to field a few questions. The video is available at the link.

The UCCS club inline hockey team won the Division II national championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Northeastern (Mass.) Sunday night.

Former Tiger Paul Frank (1991-95) is the new Menomonie High School coach  in Wisconsin.

According to multiple reports, including the Denver Post, former Maine standout and current Dubuque coach Jim Montgomery, 43, is the new Denver coach.

The USHL coach is a former assistant coach at RPI and Notre Dame. A press conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. MT on Monday.

Montgomery is Maine’s all-time leading scorer (301 points). Both current DU assistants are expected to be retained.

Montgomery was a favorite to take over in Orono after that Hockey East program fired Tim Whitehead earlier this week. That makes George Gwozdecky, who was fired by Denver earlier this month, the likely leading candidate to take over the Black Bears.

Former Alaska-Anchorage coach John Hill wants his old job back. The other candidates include Air Force associate coach Mike Corbett.

Denver junior Nick Shore has left the program to sign with the Los Angeles Kings.

Yale blanked Quinnipiac 4-0 to claim its first NCAA championship as senior Bulldogs goalie and birthday boy Jeff Malcolm out-performed Hobey finalist Eric Hartzell.

Hobey Baker winner Drew LeBlanc signed with Chicago hours after receiving the award as college hockey’s best player. The SCSU honoree makes it nine WCHA players in the past 12 years to win the sport’s top award. Ben Hanowski moved on to the Flames.

Here is a list, started by the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Schlossman, that I have added to this morning in an attempt to keep up with the offseason comings and goings.

 NCHC early signings

Denver

Scott Mayfield, so, D, N.Y. Islanders

Juho Olkinuora, so. G, Winnipeg Jets

Nick Shore, jr., F, Los Angeles Kings

Minnesota Duluth
Chris Casto, so, D, Boston Bruins

Nebraska Omaha
Andrej Sustr, jr, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

North Dakota
Derek Forbort, jr, D, Los Angeles Kings

Western Michigan
Dan DeKeyser, jr, D, Detroit Red Wings

Big 10 early signings

Michigan
Jacob Trouba, fr, D, Winnipeg Jets
Jon Merrill, jr, D, New Jersey Devils

Minnesota (four of top 5 scorers)
Mark Alt, jr, D, Philadelphia Flyers

Zach Budish, jr, F, Nashville Predators

Nick Bjugstad, jr, F, Florida Panthers

Nate Schmidt, jr, D, Washington Capitals

Erik Haula, jr, F, Minnesota Wild

Ohio State
Chris Crane, jr, F, San Jose Sharks

NCHC departures (seniors)

Colorado College

Andrew Hamburg, F, ECHL San Francisco

Joe Marciano, D, ECHL Orlando

Rylan Schwartz, F, San Jose Sharks

North Dakota

Corban Knight, F, Florida Panthers

Danny Kristo, F, Montreal Canadiens

Andrew MacWilliam, D, Toronto Maple Leafs

St. Cloud State

Ben Hanowski, F, Calgary Flames

Drew LeBlanc, F, Chicago Blackhawks

Western Michigan

Dane Walters, F, San Jose Sharks

Luke Witkowski, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

Raise your hand if you thought before the season began that the teams in the ECAC third-place game would be the ones playing for a national championship on Saturday? Be honest.

Yale edged UMass-Lowell 3-2 in overtime and No. 1 Quinnipiac blew past St. Cloud State 4-1.  That means the ECAC will have its first national champ since Harvard in 1989.

The composition of the Frozen 4 teams are good hints at what kind of recruiting it takes to win a national title; older, less-talented players who develop over a full four years.

SCSU’s Drew LeBlanc was named as the Hobey Baker Award winner, a first for the Huskies program.

The Denver Post cleared up some of the rumors by disclosing the four finalists for the open Pioneers job: Seth Appert, a former DU assistant under fired coach George Gwozdecky and the current head coach at Rensselear; Derek Lalonde, who succeeded Appert at DU before becoming the coach of the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers; Jim Montgomery, a former Maine star and NHL player who is head coach and general manager of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints; and Boston College associate head coach Greg Brown.

The Troy (N.Y.) Record writes about Appert’s chances.

Montgomery is also a leading candidate for the open Maine job, which Gwozdecky is interested in. Meanwhile, the Alaska-Anchorage job remains open.

East First Team

West Second Team

UMass-Lowell will use its physical defense to slow down Yale’s strength: its transition game in this analysis on the opening semifinal. Vegas bookies thinks UML is the odds-on favorite.

Here are USCHO’s individual school previews: No. 1 Quinnipiac, No. 3 UML, No. 9 St. Cloud State and No. 15 Yale.

The Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan talks about his favorite event; the Frozen Four. The TD Ameritrade (formerly Boston) Garden is bidding to host the 2015 and 2016 Frozen Fours. The 2014 is in Philadelphia.

The rumored top candidates for the open Denver job are RPI coach Seth Appert and Green Bay Gamblers head man Derek LaLonde, both former DU assistants and U.S. NTDP coach Don Granato is one of the three contenders.

Granato will lead this U-18 team to Russia next week for the world championships.

Air Force associate coach Mike Corbett remains in the picture but Granato looks like a strong candidate judging from this Denver Post article, which also details possible player departures.

George Gwozdecky may not be out of a job for long. Maine just fired coach Tim Whitehead with one year left on his contract.

Mark Zengerle is returning for his senior season at Wisconsin.

The Colorado Tigers Elite club girls hockey 19U team, which include 10 college commits I wrote about last week, reached the USA Hockey national championship semifinals this past Sunday before falling 2-1 to the Keewenaw (Mich.) Storm.

Emily Coupe scored the lone goal after the Tigers trailed 2-0 in the first period.

The Tigers rallied to defeat the Charles River (Mass.) Blazers 3-1 in the first-round of tournament play in San Jose, Calif. after Coupe tallied a goal and two assists, including a helper to Colorado Springs’ Ashley Krajcovic.

The Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association team went 2-1 in pool play to reach the single-elimination tournament.

The Rylan Schwartz signing is generating some buzz among the San Jose bloggers. Here is one take on his NHL potential and another on all the college free agent signings.

Schwartz, who will wear No. 24 for Worcester,  did not play Saturday or Sunday. His next chance is Tuesday night at AHL Bridgeport.

In the span of 26 hours this weekend, former Tiger Jack Hillen had a child, played two hockey games, assisted on a goal, fell down, and assisted on another goal. What did you accomplish on your days off?

“A lot going on, a lot going on,” Hillen said. “I’m blessed. I just need to get some sleep.”

Bill Sweatt was sent down to AHL Chicago after one game played for Vancouver (no points, minus-1 rating).

In the wake of coach George Gwozdecky’s firing, U.S. NTDP U18’s Gage Ausmus has decommitted from Denver, futureconsiderations.ca is reporting.

DU has a serious PR problem according to the Denver Post’s Terry Frei.

Some folks view of the ECAC, often called the EZAC, may change their view of the league since there is a chance of an all-ECAC national championship game this weekend.