College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

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.

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?

Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc of SCSU is a Sports Illustrated College Athlete of the Year finalist.

Minnesota-Duluth announced its 2013-14 captains.

Humboldt Broncos goalie Matt Hrynkiw, pictured with a national anthem singer, committed to North Dakota earlier this week for this upcoming season, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Canada junior leagues Goaltender of the Year went 27-11-2 record, including six shutouts for regular-season champs, with a .939 save percentage and 1.83 goals against mark.

St. Cloud State received a verbal commitment from defenseman Clark Kuster, 18, 5-10, 180, who played for Cedar Rapids in USHL last season, according to Times beat writer Mick Hatten.

The deadline to apply to become an official with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is May 15.

Sioux City defenseman Cliff Watson, a San Jose draft pick, and fellow blue-liner Nolan Valleau, formerly of USHL Des Moines and Chicago, have both de-committed from Ohio State after the coaching change in Columbus.

The Big Ten announced its 2013-14 conference schedule. Here is a look at Minnesota’s slate.

Brush Christiansen is back to help the Alaska-Anchorage hockey program.

Niagara goalie Carsen Chubak has left school and signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Hobey Baker finalist went 23-7-5 with a 1.91 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

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.

Here is a brief summary of the NCHC Board of Directors Officers for the 2013-14 season as announced by the league office:

        Chair of the Board – Representing the University of North Dakota, Brian Faison. Faison is in his fifth year as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for the University of North Dakota. In addition to securing membership in the Big Sky Conference for 14 of UND’s sports, Faison played a key leadership role in the formation of the NCHC.

        Vice-Chair of the Board – Representing Western Michigan University, Monty Porter. Porter is the Associate Athletic Director of Business Operations for Western Michigan University. Porter oversees the operation budgets, finances and human resources activities for WMU’s athletic program. In addition, he serves as supervising athletic director for football, hockey, gymnastics, golf, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, ticket office operations and equipment operations.

        Treasurer – Representing Colorado College, Ken Ralph. Ralph is in his sixth year as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Colorado College. Ralph oversees 17 varsity programs and a budget of more than seven million dollars. Under his direction, the construction of the $27 million El Pomar Sports Center is nearly completed. Ralph was instrumental in the formation of the NCHC.

        Secretary – Representing the University of Denver, Ron Grahame. Grahame is in his eighth year as Assistant Vice-Chancellor/Senior Associate Athletics Director. Grahame is responsible for the overall supervision of all varsity sport programs for the University of Denver on a day-to-day basis. He manages all student-athletes and coaches on and off the playing fields while upholding the mission and goals of DU’s Athletic Department and credits the student-athletes and coaches for their dedication and leadership demonstrated in the classroom and in competition.

Other members of the NCHC Board of Directors include: Peg Bradley-Doppes, Director of Athletics, University of Denver; David Sayler, Director of Athletics, Miami University; Josh Fenton, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Miami University; Josh Berlo, Director of Athletics, University of Minnesota Duluth; Trev Alberts, Director of Athletics, University of Nebraska Omaha; Mike Kemp, Associate Athletic Director, University of Nebraska Omaha; Jayson Hajdu, Assistant Athletics Director, University of North Dakota; Heather Weems, Director of Athletics, St. Cloud State University; and, Kathy Beauregard, Director of Athletics, Western Michigan University.

In addition to naming the Board of Directors Officers for the upcoming season, the NCHC also named its College Hockey, Inc., representative (North Dakota Head Coach Dave Hakstol), its American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) representative (Minnesota Duluth Head Coach Scott Sandelin), and the FAR Board of Directors’ advisor (Ralph Bertrand of Colorado College).

All positions are on a rotational basis based on the institution, not the individual, and all shall serve a one-year term.

The NCHC begins conference play on Oct. 18 with Miami vs. North Dakota and Colorado College vs. Minnesota Duluth in a CBS Sports Network doubleheader.

Colorado College dedicated the Adam F. Press Fitness Center Friday afternoon to complete a three-stage, $27-million renovations and new construction project of the El Pomar Sports Center.

Seed money for the project started with a $10 million grant in 2007 slated for campus facility improvements from the El Pomar Foundation.

Press, a member of the CC Board of Trustees, donated $3.5 million to his alma mater and for that, he had the new fitness center named for him.

“I was the skinniest kid at CC so I enjoy the irony of the fitness center being named for me,” Press told a crowd of about 350 for the ribbon cutting. “To be honest, I’m not sure if the college had a great fitness facility at the time that I would have even known where it was.”

“Besides there are very few buildings where you can get your name that big,” he joked, pointing to the building sign behind him.

In addition to the3 0,000-square-foot fitness center addition, an 11,000-foot  southern addition along Cache La Poudre Street houses the athletic administration offices.

Extensive renovations to the existing facility created room for the new Jerry Carle fitness center and weight room (6,200 square feet) for varsity athletes and a larger sports medicine center named for former CC hockey great Bill ‘Red” Hay

The architects were Oz Architecture, which provided the image of the new fitness center.  The contractor was Gerald H. Phipps.

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.

One of the tidbits of news from the CC team award brunch dealt with the strong  likelihood the annual Colorado Springs Sports Corp. Face-off Luncheon will be held during the NCHC meetings Sept. 12-13 with all eight league coaches in attendance.

Also, Wisconsin will be coming to World Arena during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

The first official National Collegiate Hockey Conference meeting is in Naples, Florida Tuesday and Wednesday with full representation (coach, AD, faculty representative) from all eight member schools for the first time.

The league will discuss the officiating pool, communication between the league and coaches, operations manuals, and setting gameday standards to be met by each school and other procedural loose ends.

CC athletic director Ken Ralph said the coaches will have a lot of say in which officials are brought into the league.

The annual coaches convention at Marco Island, Fla. follows Thursday through Monday. Nothing binding will come out, but the coaches will weigh in on changing the NCAA regional format to go with home sites for top seeds, according to CC coach Scott Owens.  Other topics include honoring verbal commitments and tweaking the Pairwise rankings formula, he added.

The final WCHA banquet for CC and the other five schools leaving will be Sunday.

“There will be a little bit of awkwardness but its’ important to recognize and honor our 61 years together,” Owens said. “I think most people have moved on.”

Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc of St. Cloud State is in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd feature this week. he was added to the U.S. men’s national team earlier this week.

WCHA’s Minnesota State announced its team awards.

USCHO compiled a list of the 80 current and future NCAA players ranked by NHL Central Scouting for the June 30 draft.

College Hockey News is reporting that UConn will fill the vacant women’s job in the next few weeks before focusing on the men’s position.

Here is an article on the new CC captains and the team awards.

Junior Ryan Walters hauled in three Nebraska-Omaha team awards.

He also told coach Dean Blais he will be back for his senior season, setting himself up as a Hobey Baker hopeful.

The Alaska-Anchorage chancellor praised his embattled athletic director after two no-confidence votes from state and alumni hockey associations.

The remaining two coach interviews are Monday and Wednesday of this week.

Longtime Yale and U.S. coach Tim Taylor died over the weekend.

Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves’ five-year contract was extended through  June 30, 2018.

SCSU’s Garrett Milan is featured by his hometown newspaper.

The WCHA’s Bemidji State is bringing in eight freshmen this fall, including the program’s first Russian. Tracy Dill is BSU’s new athletic director after 27 years at St. Cloud State, where he has served as associate director since 1999.

Here is a Q&A with new Denver coach Jim Montgomery.

Big 10 Wisconsin is bringing in a BCHL player a year early.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Gophers has the top two USHL scorers coming in this fall; Taylor Cammarata and Justin Kloos. Minnetonka’s Vinnie Lettieri of Lincoln is expected to play for Minnesota next fall. Plans are for Louie Nanne, a top scorer for Penticton, to spend another year in junior hockey.

North Dakota announced its team award winners.

Hockey East announced it will host outdoor doubleheaders over two weekends at Boston’s Fenway Park in 2014.   Frozen Fenway will include doubleheaders on Jan. 4 and Jan. 11 and two free public skating days for residents.

On Jan. 4, Merrimack will play Providence, followed by Notre Dame against Boston College.

The following Saturday, Massachusetts-Lowell will face Northeastern and then Maine plays Boston University.

The 2013 Icebreaker Tournament will be hosted by Minnesota and  will take place Oct. 11-12 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., and feature Clarkson, Mercyhurst and New Hampshire.

College Hockey Inc., which manages the event on behalf of the Hockey Commissioners Association, will partner with the Minnesota to host the event, which is in its 17th year in 2013.

“Next year will be the beginning of a new era for the Gopher hockey program, and we’re excited to open the season at Mariucci Arena with the Ice Breaker Tournament,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “It’s a great event for college hockey as a whole, and considering we haven’t seen these teams for a few years, I think it will be an exciting weekend for our program as well as our fans.”

“Mariucci Arena is one of the best venues in college hockey and a terrific location to celebrate the start of the 2013-14 season,” College Hockey Inc. Executive Director Mike Snee said. “The four participating programs have storied histories, outstanding coaches and talented student-athletes who will showcase our sport in the Ice Breaker.”

The four schools in the 2013 field have combined for 89 NCAA Tournament appearances, with both Minnesota and New Hampshire coming off trips to the national tournament. The field will feature representatives from the Big Ten, Atlantic Hockey, ECAC Hockey and Hockey East.

Ice Breaker Tournament tickets will be included in season-ticket packages for Minnesota season-ticket holders. Single-day and standing-room tickets will be available at a date to be determined.

Minnesota is hosting the Ice Breaker Tournament for the third time and appearing in the event for the third time. In 1998, the second year of the tournament, Boston College won the title at Mariucci Arena. In 2007 the event took place at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, with the host Golden Gophers winning the tournament.

Clarkson and New Hampshire are each making their third Ice Breaker appearances, with UNH capturing championships in both previous appearances (2000 at Michigan, 2004 at UNH). Clarkson was part of the first Ice Breaker Tournament, in 1997, and in 2001 at Maine. Mercyhurst will be making its first Ice Breaker appearance.