College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

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.

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz has emerged from the shadow of more well-regarded rookies now that the NHL playoffs have arrived.

Jack Hillen has a prominent role for the Washington Capitals these NHL playoffs.

The Detroit Red Wings announced that St. Cloud State defenseman Nick Jensen signed a two-year entry-level deal with the club. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

Jensen, 22, was Detroit’s fifth-round selection in the 2009 NHL draft. The 6-1, 195-lb. rearguard spent the past three seasons with SCSU, appearing in 119 career games and posting 86 points (15G-71A-86P). The Rogers, Minn., native skated in 42 games for St. Cloud State in 2012-13, collecting 31 points (4G-27A-31P) and 14 PIM. Jensen earned First Team All WCHA honors and was named a First Team NCAA (West) All-American this season. He was also named the 2012-13 WCHA Defensive Player of the Year.

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.

St. Cloud State officials and a representative of the Herb Brooks family announced that the National Hockey and Event Center is now the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

Renaming the 23-year-old arena honors the late hockey coach’s vision and legacy at St. Cloud State.

“Just as Herb Brooks saw Division I hockey as important to the State of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University sees this facility as important to Central Minnesota,” said St. Cloud State President Earl H. Potter II.

Dan Brooks said of his father: “He wasn’t a flashy guy. He wasn’t a materialistic guy. It wasn’t about the money for him. He was grass roots, build the game from the ground.”

“He looked at the opportunity at St. Cloud, to turn that into a Division I hockey program, and he took it on 110 percent,” said Dan Brooks. “He was his happiest when he was in St. Cloud.”

Brooks coached the 1986-87 Huskies (25-10-1) to third-place at the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. And, acting on a promise he made to the late hockey great John Mariucci, Brooks worked with St. Cloud State officials to elevate Husky Hockey to a NCAA Division I program. He also helped secure construction funding for the arena that bears his name.

The $14.7 million renovation and expansion, including a four-story atrium, expanded suites, club-level seating and more, is expected to be complete by mid-June. A campaign to fund remodeled locker rooms and a training area for men’s and women’s hockey is under way. Plans call for additional suites, club lounges and further development of a concert and event-ready facility.

The NCAA hockey signing period starts today.

Here is the season wrap-up for St. Cloud State’s historic run to the Frozen Four.

Drew LeBlanc’s Hobey Baker win proved a good tonic for the Huskies the day after their elimination.

Huskies junior defenseman Nic Dowd confirmed he will return for his senior season as did Wisconsin forward Michael Mersch.

Yale, the No. 15 seed, winning the NCAA Tournament was surprising, but not shocking considering that the parity in the tourney field is the new normal.

Mike Provenzano (Tutt award) and Jeff Sauer (inductee) are two local hockey icons who will be recognized by the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame Oct. 29.

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.

Midwest regional

No. 4 St. Cloud State 5, No. 1 Notre Dame 1

Freshman forward Joey Benik scored two goals and added an assist and senior forward Ben Hanowski had a goal and an assist to help pace St. Cloud State to a 5-1 win against Notre Dame on Saturday in the NCAA Midwest Regional at Huntington Center.

SCSU scored three in the second period to pull away for a 4-0 lead. The Huskies take on No. 2 Miami, which downed Minnesota State 4-0, a 2 p.m. MT on Sunday.

No. 2 Miami 4, No. 3 seed Minnesota State 0

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Minnesota State Mavericks were defeated by the Miami RedHawks, 4-0, in NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal action on Saturday at Huntington Center in Toledo. Four different players scored for Miami.

West regional

No. 4 Yale 4, No. 2 North Dakota 1

GRAND RAPIDS — Senior forward Corban Knight scored a goal but North Dakota surrendered four goals in the third period and was defeated by Yale, 4-1, in the NCAA West Regional final at Van Andel Arena.

Yale’s Josh Balch scored just his third goal of the season to get the Bulldogs on the board with 7:35 remaining in regulation, and Jesse Root – who scored the overtime winner against Minnesota in Friday’s other semifinal – notched the eventual winner on the power play with just 4:56 remaining.

A goal by Stu Wilson with 2:21 left put Yale up 3-1, and Kenny Agostino rounded out the scoring with an empty netter at the 19:00 mark.

UND opened the scoring 7:22 into the game on senior center Corban Knight’s 16th goal of the season , beating Bulldogs’ goalie Jeff Malcolm (24 saves), who benefited from three goal posts hit by UND.

UND junior Clarke Saunders made 35 saves against an aggressive Yale team that out shot UND 39-25, including a 28-17 edge over the final two periods. It could have been worse if not for 16 blocks by North Dakota.