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New York teams faceoff on New Year’s weekend

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PathFinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic
It’s the fifth year for this tournament which tries to get one team from New York State, another team from New England, and a team from out West. Now, if you look at this year’s field, you may think there are two teams from New York.

Well, technically that’s true. But since Hamilton is in the NESCAC, we’ll count that as a New England team. If Air Force can belong to Atlantic Hockey, TCU can join the Big East, the Big Ten can consist of 11 (soon to be 12) teams, and the Big 12 will soon consist of 10 teams, why not consider Hamilton as a New England team? Geography and math and higher learning obviously don’t go together…

Hobart will be the NYS selection and Wis.-Stevens Point is the Western representative. Hobart, of course, just ended Oswego’s undefeated season.

“They are good teams,” Oswego coach Ed Gosek said. “Hobart, obviously, is a quality team. Hamilton, Norm [Bazin} does a great job with them.  They’re always prepared. And Stevens Point is consistently always one of the top teams in the country.”

Oswego will face Hamilton at 7 p.m. on Thursday with the other two teams squaring off at 4 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be played on New Year’s Eve Day at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.

I expect to see Oswego make it to the championship game. Most Oswego fans will probably want to see Hobart on Friday to try to exact some revenge on the Statesmen. In any case, the fans will get to see an outstanding tournament.

“For the fans, it’s a fun tournament,” Gosek said. “It’s nice for people to see different styles, opponents we normally don’t face. We’re fortunate to have PathFinder Bank to sponsor the tournament as well as the EconoLodge and Best Western hotels. In these economic times, it’s nice our sponsors continue to step up to support one of the top tournaments in the country. It’s good for Division III hockey.”

Cardinal Classic
Plattsburgh will be hosting their annual holiday tournament on the last day of the old year (1 and 4 p.m.) and the first day of the new year (4 and 7 p.m.). The Cardinals will face Curry College in the semifinals while Neumann and New England College face each other in the early game.

“It’s a tough field,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “When we try to get teams, we try to get teams who we think will better our schedule. If you look at Curry, they’ve had a winning record for a lot of years. Neumann has had a great program in recent years. They won the national championship two years ago. New England College has in the past given us a lot of tough times. Our goal is to improve our strength of schedule. That’s what got us into the [NCAA] tournament last year.”

Interestingly, Curry has just picked up a slew of transfers for the second semester, including three from Plattsburgh — Mike Kavanaugh (D), Brad Devereaux (D), and Ian DeLong (F). It could make this match up much more intriguing than many would have thought at the start of the season.

Plattsburgh will be coming into this game with a lot more confidence than at the start of the season. The Cardinals have won their last five games, after going 2-4 in their first six.

“I liked the way we played all year,” Emery said. “We just had trouble keeping the puck out of our net. That’s what we’ve been emphasizing lately.”

They let up 4.5 goals per game in those first six, never allowing less than three in a game. In the previous five games, it dropped to 2.0, letting up two or less goals in four of the games.

I like the trend to continue and for Plattsburgh to make it to the championship game in their own tournament.

Morrisville Travels To A Tournament
The only other SUNYAC team in action this New Year’s weekend is Morrisville. They are entered in the St. Michael’s Tournament, using a pre-determined schedule. The Mustangs face Castleton on New Year’s and then the host team on Sunday.

I see Morrisville in a split, dropping the first game and coming back to take the second.

Schwartz to miss rest of World Junior tournament

USCHO Staff Report
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According to a report on TSN.ca, Colorado College forward Jaden Schwartz will miss the rest of the World Junior Championship with Team Canada after suffering a fractured ankle in Tuesday night’s win over the Czech Republic.

Schwartz left the game in the first period, but returned and later scored a goal in the 7-2 victory.

It’s believed Schwartz, the Tigers’ top scorer with 11 goals and 26 points, will be out of action up to six weeks.

Gallery: Great Lakes Invitational

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Photographer Erica Treais captured these images Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena, where Colorado College beat Michigan State 4-3 and Michigan beat Michigan Tech 4-2 in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Invitational:

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Palmieri using college experience well for U.S.

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Kyle Palmieri played only one season at Notre Dame, but that experience under the tutelage of Jeff Jackson helped him parlay his skills into the professional ranks as well as help lead the United States with two victories in the first two games of the 2011 World Junior Championship.

“It goes a long way,” Palmieri said of his college experience, which included nine goals and 17 points in 33 games last season. “Just the maturity of my game. Coach Jackson helped me out a lot, focused on rounding out my game. Playing as a complete player is one of the things he really focused on. That went a long way in making the transition to pro hockey. I think so far it made that transition a little easier. Hopefully, going forward my time at Notre Dame will go a long way.”

2010 IIHF World U20 Championship (Angelo Lisuzzo)
Kyle Palmieri impressed with a two-goal performance against Slovakia (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

Even though Palmieri did not get a point in the Americans’ first game against Finland, he wowed the crowd with his dazzling plays. Even the Canadian fans, with their anti-American rooting interests, were pulled out of their seats. Twice, he pulled a between-the-skates move to beat the defense and go in alone against the goaltender. However, a wide shot and a great save by the goaltender prevented him from finishing the play.

“It’s one of those things you kind of mess around with [in practice],” Palmieri said. “It was one of those times I got an opportunity to use it.”

Despite the key 3-2 win over Finland, it came in overtime, thus giving the Americans two points in the standings instead of three points for a regulation victory. Therefore, the next game against Slovakia was a key contest, especially with two talented forwards out with injuries. Team USA and especially Palmieri’s line, came out flying.

“The team was a little bit shaken up because of the injuries, but we knew we needed to get out there and get a good start,” Palmieri said. “Those first five minutes, we came out here and dominated the play.”

Dominate is an understatement. USA outshot Slovakia in the first period, 22-1. Palmieri scored twice in the first eight minutes. The first came on a cross-crease pass from Boston University’s Charlie Coyle as Palmieri crashed the net to redirect it in.

The next came from an impossible angle during a major power play. Nearly on the goal line off to the right side, he somehow squeezed it through an out-of-position goaltender and the near post.

After a couple of near misses that would have resulted in a natural hat trick in the first period, Palmieri assisted on a Coyle goal early in the second, also on the power play.

“It’s pretty good,” Coyle said of playing on the same line. “Each game, each day, we start clicking more and more. He knows how to play. He’s been at the top level before. I’m fortunate enough to be with him on the line. I’m fortunate enough that we’re clicking and have the chemistry we have right now.”

Needless to say, Palmieri was named the Americans’ player of the game in a 6-1 victory.

“Kyle has been terrific for us,” said Team USA coach Keith Allain, also the coach at Yale. “He’s given us what we hoped he’d give us. Obviously, he put us on the right foot by scoring two goals in the first period. But he’s also been good on the other side of the puck as well.”

“I was fortunate enough to get a couple,” Palmieri said. “My linemates were playing well, supporting me really well. We got fortunate enough to draw a couple of penalties by using our speed. We carried that momentum throughout the game. With the chemistry I have with my line going tonight, going forward, hopefully we can keep up that momentum, keep up that chemistry.”

Two more games remain in the preliminary round for the U.S. — versus Germany on Thursday and Switzerland on Friday. If the Americans win both in regulation, they’ll be guaranteed of the top spot in the group and a bye to the semifinals.

After the tournament is over, Palmieri will drive 2½ hours east on the New York State Thruway to rejoin the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. First, he plans on continuing to use his experience at Notre Dame and what he learned from Jackson to help lead Team USA to a second consecutive gold medal.

When teammates clash

2010 IIHF World U20 Championship (Angelo Lisuzzo)
Minnesota's Nick Bjugstad helped the U.S. beat Gophers teammate Erik Haula and Finland (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

In the Americans’ first game of the tournament, Nick Bjugstad took the opening faceoff as the center Team USA’s top line. Across from him as the center for Finland’s top line was a familiar face — Erik Haula, his teammate at Minnesota.

“We got to line up against each other quit a bit, taking faceoffs together,” Bjugstad said with a laugh. “He gave me a little chirp there, but we are good buds. That was fun playing against him. He had a good game. Finland played well, and I got to match up against him on faceoffs.”

“It was awesome,” Haula said with a chuckle. “It was a great experience. We had a couple of laughs on the ice. I tripped him a couple of times when I knocked him on his butt. It’s fun to play against your teammates. I’m sure it was a great experience for the both of us, and it’s going to benefit us going back to Minnesota.”

Bjugstad, the nephew of 1984 U.S. Olympian and former NHLer Scott Bjugstad, scored the winning goal against his friend’s team in overtime. He also picked up an assist against Slovakia. Haula, the only collegiate on Finland, registered an assist in each of his first two games.

Atlantic Hockey Picks 12/29

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Ready for some hockey? I had said in my last blog entry before Christmas that the picks wouldn’t returning until January 7. But peer pressure from my follow writers at USCHO.com has made me decide to do some quick picks.

The schedule this week is a smorgasbord of leagues games, holiday tournaments and straight-up nonconference affairs.

AHA Conference Games:

Air Force at Bentley (12/30 and 12/31) – In a battle of Falcons, I’m picking the visitors to sweep. Air Force 3, Bentley 1; Air Force 4, Bentley 3.

Holy Cross at Connecticut (12/29) – This game doubles as a league contest as well as the first round of the UConn Holiday Classic. I like the Crusaders to win a close one. Holy Cross 3, UConn 2.

RIT at Robert Morris (12/30) – This one is part of the NHL Winter Classic weekend and will be played at the Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh. I think Robert Morris will avenge an earlier loss to RIT and regain first place in the AHA. Robert Morris 4, RIT 2.

Touraments:

UConn Holiday Classic (12/29 and 12/30) – Assuming my first pick is correct, I think UConn finishes fourth and Holy Cross falls in the title game against either Bowling Green or Princeton.

Ledyard Bank Tournament (12/30 and 12/31) – Mercyhurst will face off against host Dartmouth in the semifinals, and I think the Lakers will spoil things for the home team. Mercyhurst 3, Dartmouth 2. I think Boston College will will this tournament, with the Lakers either falling to the Eagles in the title game or defeating Colgate in the consolation, based on what happens in the first round.

Catamount Cup (1/1 and 1/2) – Army plays three games in four days this weekend. After squaring off against Merrimack at home on 12/30, the Black Knights travel to Vermont and will face Harvard in the first round and Ohio State in the other game. I’m a split for Army. Army 3, Harvard 2; Ohio State 3, Army 1.
Non-Conference Games:

Canisius at Notre Dame (12/29) – I’m picking the Irish in a close one. Notre Dame 4, Canisius 3.

Merrimack at Army (12/30) – The No. 17 Warriors are enjoying their best season in quite some time. Merrimack 3, Army 1.

Merrimack at RIT (1/1) – The Tigers’ home ice advantage will be diminished, and along with it their chances of an upset. Merrimack 4, RIT 2.

Holy Cross at Yale (1/2) – The Crusaders will get their chance against the top team in the country. I expect Yale to pull away. Yale 5, Holy Cross 3.

St. Lawrence at Sacred Heart (1/3) – A rare Monday game and I have a feeling the Pioneers are going to jump on the Saints and earn an upset win. Sacred Heart 4, SLU 3.

Games Dec. 29-Jan. 4 pt. 1

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Last week Theresa: 2-2
Season Theresa: 63-43-11

Last week Tyler: 2-2
Season Tyler: 62-28-7

There are a lot of games coming up with the tournaments and due to holiday craziness, we’re splitting up our picks for the next week into two blog posts. Here’s part one.

No. 20 Colorado College and Michigan Tech at the Great Lakes Invitational (Detroit)
Theresa: The Tigers have been a bit of an enigma this year. I’m sure that in the GLI, they’ll want to regain their winning ways, but it may be hard without Jaden Schwartz. Still, I think they’ll win at least one game here. Michigan Tech, on the other hand … I want to pick them to do well, but they’ve got to prove it to me first. CC over Michigan State and Michigan over Michigan Tech; then, Michigan over CC and Michigan State over MTU.

Tyler: The Tigers managed to score five goals without Jaden Schwartz and beat UNO Dec. 19, but only had 24 shots in a shut-out loss two days later. CC took advantage of 11 power plays in Friday’s game and scored three PP goals. I still don’t think CC has the firepower on even strength without the younger Schwartz brother; only 37 even-strength shots all weekend against UNO. CC loses to Michigan State and Michigan beats Michigan Tech, Wednesday. The Tigers beat the Huskies in the consolation game Thursday.

St. Cloud State at the Florida College Classic (Estero, Fla.)
Theresa: At first glance, I had the Huskies pegged to lose both games they played in this tournament. Then, I looked closer to how the other three teams in the tourney are doing this year. Both Maine and Miami are doing well, but Cornell is, right now, floundering a bit in the ECAC. Therefore, I’m inclined to pick SCSU over Cornell, but for them to lose in the championship.

Tyler: Before the season began, this one looked more like a regional than a holiday tournament with SCSU ranked No. 4. The Huskies have fallen from grace and Wednesday’s game against Cornell might be their only chance to get a win with No. 6 Miami and No. 9 Maine waiting on Thursday. Maybe David Eddy’s return at forward Wednesday can spark something offensively for the Huskies. SCSU beats Cornell, loses Thursday.

Paula's picks: holiday tournament edition

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Happy holidays and welcome back to college hockey action. If you celebrated Christmas, I hope you laughed as much as I did with my family in Florida. If you’re stranded somewhere because of the storm on the East coast, I hope you’re safe and warm and have access to both the Internet and the NHL network for IIHF World Junior coverage.
No matter where you are or what you’re doing, Happy New Year!
It’s holiday tournament time. My picks this week are short, just scores. Regular picks will resume next week when all of USCHO’s regular coverage resumes next week. In the meantime, I’ll be covering the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament in Detroit with my buddy and USCHO’s arena reporter in Ann Arbor, Bob Miller. I’ll be blogging, too, so watch this space, so to speak.
All times listed are local. Here is USCHO’s complete preview of the tournament lineup.
Canisius at ND. This one is a single, nonconference game, Dec. 29, 7:05 p.m. ND 3-1.
NMU at Denver. This is a nonconference series, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, 7:07 p.m. Denver 4-2, NMU 2-1.
Florida College Classic, Dec. 29-30, Estero, Fla.
Dec. 29: Miami vs. Maine, 7:35 p.m. Maine 3-2.
Dec. 30: SCSU/Cornell vs. Miami, 4:05/7:35 p.m. No matter which opponent, Miami 4-2.
Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 29-30, Detroit, Mich.
Dec 29: CC vs. MSU, 4:05 p.m.; UM vs. MTU, 7:35 p.m. CC 4-2, UM 4-1.
Dec. 30: Third-place game, 4:05 p.m.; title game, 7:35 p.m. MTU 3-2, UM 2-1.
Toyota Connecticut Hockey Classic, Dec. 29-30, Storrs, Conn.
Dec. 29: BGSU vs. Princeton, 4:05 p.m. Princeton 3-1.
Dec. 30: Holy Cross/UConn vs. BGSU, 4:00/7:15 p.m. No matter which opponent, BG 3-2.
Dodge Holiday Classic, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, Minneapolis, Minn.
Dec. 31: FSU vs. BSU , 3:07 p.m. FSU 3-2.
Jan. 1: FSU vs. UMN , 7:07 p.m. FSU 4-3.
Catamount Cup, Jan. 1-2, Burlington, Vt.
Jan. 1: OSU vs. Vermont, 7:05 p.m. Vermont 4-2.
Jan. 2: OSU vs. Army, 4:05 p.m. OSU 3-1.
Shillelagh Tournament, Jan. 1-2, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Jan. 1: Minn. State vs. ND, 6:05 p.m. ND 3-2.
Jan. 2: BU/Brown vs. ND, 5:05 p.m. No matter which opponent, ND 2-1.
LSSU at Nipissing, Jan. 1-2, 1:00 p.m. Exhibition. LSSU 4-3, 3-2.
Check out this video preview of the Dodge Holiday Classic, produced by FSU athletics. The Bulldogs take their holiday tourneys very, very seriously.

ECAC Hockey picks: Week 13

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Happy holidays to all; I hope your delays and frustrations are minimal. There is a lot of action just ahead of us, so let’s get right to it.

Welcome back Clarkson ’03’s Benjamin Davis, who bested me a few weeks back by having minimal faith in Union. He really had to go all-out in his title defense, with 25 games to pick between December 29 and January 4.

To make it easier on… well, me… and also on our audience, we’ve split up our picks. This edition features the games of the 29th through New Year’s Eve, with New Year’s Day through the 4th to come later. I will preface all picks by proclaiming my disdain for post-break predictions, because you never know how a two- or three-week break will affect a team… but that’s all I’m going to say about that.

And awaaaaay we go!

Prediction precision

Season record: Me: 64-31-11 (.656)
Guest guessers: 42-32-6 (.563)

Benjamin Davis: 4-1-0 (.800)

Head to head: Sullivan 5, Guests 3*

This week

All times Eastern

Wednesday, December 29

St. Cloud State vs. Cornell – 4:00 Florida College Classic; Estero, Fla.

SCSU dropped four straight – with only five goals – before the break. Cornell is actually on a 2-0-1 unbeaten run (albeit with the win and draw at home against hapless Alabama-Huntsville), so maybe the Red will have a little smidgen of confidence entering the game. I’m going to take a flier on the Big Red, just for grins: 3-2 Cornell.

BD: Cornell is coming off a horrible first half of the season for that program. The Big Red haven’t won a game in Florida since the Semi”s in ’08. A win would be a bright finish for the end of 2010 but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Huskies win 4-2

Bowling Green vs. Princeton – 4:00 UConn Hockey Classic; Storrs, Conn.

Bowling Green simply doesn’t size up well against Princeton; the Tigers should roll as long as they come ready to play. 4-1 Tiggers. (No, that’s not a typo.)

BD: Bowling Green is going to have to play a complete 60 minutes in order to keep Princeton out of the W column. Princeton’s short trip to Connecticut is going to keep the bus legs to a lesser. Tigers in a big win 4-1.

Russian Touring Team vs. Yale – 7:00

Exhibition

Thursday, December 30

Maine vs. Cornell – TBA Consolation, Florida College Classic; Estero, Fla.

BD: Cornell has a bad ending to 2010. Black Bears 5-2.

-OR-

Miami vs. Cornell – TBA Championship, Florida College Classic; Estero, Fla.

I think the Maine-Miami game will be an offensive showcase, but I’m picking Miami to edge the Black Bears. If that’s true, I also believe that Cornell will see its short but lively unbeaten run come to an horrific end. 5-2 RedHawks.

Holy Cross vs. Princeton – TBA Championship, UConn Hockey Classic; Storrs, Conn.

Just like the BGSU matchup, I think Princeton has a decided edge… so long as they play with an edge as well. 4-3 Tigers.

BD: Princeton takes the championship 3-1.

Boston College vs. Colgate – 4:00 Ledyard National Bank Classic; Hanover, N.H.

Woe is Colgate! The Raiders get a much-needed break to regroup and refocus, and who do they get at the other end of the tunnel? The defending champs, who just seem to be hitting their stride. Great. 5-3 Eagles.

BD: Colgate is at the bottom of the ECAC and it doesn’t appear that their year is going to end on a good note. BC isn’t having a great year but shouldn’t be anything to complain about. Eagles win this one 4-1.

Mercyhurst at Dartmouth – 7:00 Ledyard National Bank Classic; Hanover, N.H.

Dartmouth ought to cruise into its home-tourney title game. 5-2 Big Green.

BD: Dartmouth is coming off a hard loss at home a couple weeks ago to Vermont. If Dartmouth can score early then this will be a W for them. Big Green win this one 3-2.

Nebraska-Omaha at Quinnipiac – 7:00

Sorry Bobcats, but UNO was the No. 1 team on my ballot for a period of time. The Mavs are legit, and it will take a tremendous effort to topple them. 5-2 UNO in the opener.

BD: Quinnipiac started the year out right but are losers of 5 of 6. If the Bobcats want any chance of winning this game they better stay out of the penalty box. I don’t think they have what its going to take to knock off the Mavericks though the first night. N-O in the opener 3-1.

Rensselaer at Alabama-Huntsville – 8:00

I try to make my picks before reading my guest-guessers’, but Mr. Davis’ first sentence below says it all. 5-1 RPI.

BD: Anyway you look at this series it should be all RPI. The Engineers should have no issues with the Chargers even in Alabama. Engineers in a close one due to travel legs 3-1.

Friday, December 31

Nebraska-Omaha at Quinnipiac – Noon

Read previous game’s comments re. UNO being good. Apply to current game. 4-1 Mavericks.

BD: Quinnipiac doesn’t get swept on the weekend as long as this is a close one. They are 3-0 in one goal games and after friday nights games an even .500 team at home. Bobcats win the closer 2-1.

Colgate vs. Mercyhurst – TBA Consolation, Ledyard National Bank Classic; Hanover, N.H.

Neither team is impressing much this year, but you know what? I’m going to go to bat for the league here, and hope the Raiders can do the same. 3-2 Colgate.

BD: Mercyhurst get redemption against the ECAC. Lakers 4-1.

Rensselaer at Alabama-Huntsville – 4:05

Second verse, same as the first (but a little bit louder and a little bit worse). Oh, Henry the eighth I am, Henry the eighth I am, I am… oh wait, wrong song. 4-2 ‘Tute.

BD: RPI runs all over the Chargers in the final on the week. Engineers 5-1.

Boston College at Dartmouth – TBA Championship, Ledyard National Bank Classic; Hanover, N.H.

This is my pick for Game of the Week. It’ll sound silly, but I’d feel much more confident in my prediction if I could somehow know the attendance in advance: if the Green are well-supported and enjoy that extra boost of environmental adrenaline, I think they just might pull this off. (Then again, BC is anything but flustered by road-team animosity. See BC 9 at BU 5, for example.) Tough, tough call… but I’m feeling the holiday spirit. Let’s see what the Green are really made of. 4-3 Dartmouth.

BD: BC beats the home team 4-2.

Union at Minnesota – 8:05 Dodge Holiday Classic; Minneapolis, Minn.

Union disappointed at Western Michigan a few weeks back; they’ll have to pull off something impressive in Minneapolis to regain that measure of national respect. As for me, I’m having my doubts: 4-2 Gophers.

BD: Minnesota wins 4-2 in a closer game then the score relates.

Think you can beat me? Or, for that matter, Ben? Give it a shot: hit me up at [email protected].

Still hate NESN’s Jack Edwards? Me too! Let’s bond over it at SullivanHockey on Twitter.

Q&A: College Hockey Inc. boss Paul Kelly, one year in

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A little over a year ago, the college hockey commissioners banded together to create an independent organization to market college hockey to both potential student-athletes and the general public. In doing so, they sought out the services of Paul Kelly, a Boston-based attorney who most recently had served as the executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

USCHO recently sat down with Kelly for a one-year check in, to see the progress he and his organization, College Hockey, Inc., made on behalf of the 58 Division I men’s ice hockey programs. Below is the conversation, in its entirety, as Kelly talks about issues including how he’s reaching potential college hockey players, his thoughts on expansion and conference alignment (including the future of Alabama-Huntsville), the increased number of players leaving NCAA programs early to sign professional contracts and the hamstringing NCAA rules surrounding major junior hockey.

Jim Connelly, USCHO.com: After one year, what are your thoughts on where you’ve taken this organization?

Paul Kelly, College Hockey, Inc.: We started from the ground up. The organization didn’t even exist on paper when we stepped in December of last year. We’ve actually created something from nothing. The fact that we now have some name recognition in the industry, an office, a staff and all the necessities to carry out our mission, that’s probably the first step that was important to us.

Paul Kelly (College Hockey Inc.)
Paul Kelly has been the executive director of College Hockey Inc. since late last year (photo: College Hockey Inc.).

What we’re most proud of after our first year is that we’ve been able to reach probably more than 2,000 elite young players from across the continent in a series of what we call “forums” or “summits.” We’ve traveled far and wide to get the message out about college hockey, the benefits of playing college hockey and the opportunity to answer questions about recruiting and scholarships to kids from three or four dozen major cities across the United States and Canada.

I thought it would take us a couple of years to see the results of that effort but we’re starting to see the results earlier. We’re hearing from not just the colleges, but also the prep schools as well that they’ve seen a real spike in the number of applications and the levels of interest from elite young players, particularly from Canada, expressing interest in pursuing the NCAA track.

JC: What would you say are your top three accomplishments in the first year?

PK: Our first is the reaching out to kids, like I just mentioned. We’ve done that and will continue to do that to a larger degree than we did in year one.

We’ve also been involved in helping promote and market the sport in a number of ways to help to create some new and better special events. We were involved in the Big Chill event in Ann Arbor. We were responsible for the Ice Breaker event. We’re working closely with USA Hockey to plan additional events. We’re currently talking about putting together an All-American event comparable to the McDonald’s All-American basketball tournament for elite young players in the 15-year-old age bracket as well as the 18-year-old age bracket.

Third, we’ve been working with a number of schools that have expressed the interest in taking the step up to Division I hockey. We were involved with Penn State over many months and we are currently talking with a number of schools that currently have club hockey but are seriously looking into Division I hockey. The role we play there is kind of an information resource. We try to gather information about budgets, costs, rink size, attendance, insurance, etc., and put it into a package and provide it to the schools. We talk to them about conference alignments and what it would take to get a program going. I do think that those efforts will help a few of those schools get over the hurdle and help other schools follow the Penn State approach and join the Division I ranks.

The last major area is bringing more attention to the sport. We can do that by doing media interviews when we’re in different parts of the country, using my past involvement with the NHL Players’ Association to help get attention, particularly up in Canada for college hockey. We’re going to try to do more of that in the months to come.

We do have a fairly ambitious agenda planned for the coming year. Last year we did roughly five major “summits,” which are these big all-day events where we invite in the top kids [in an area]. This year we’re planning to do 11 of these summits. We’re planning to do five across Canada and another six or seven across the United States. Those take a fair amount of efforts in terms of planning with the college hockey programs and the National Hockey League and NHL players who played college hockey. We’ve already started to prepare to run a whole series of those starting in early April and running right through to September.

JC: You talked about Penn State and it starting a Division I program. That might help build a Big Ten hockey conference. With schools like Penn State considering Division I hockey, do you see the breakdown of the more traditional conferences to align with larger, more powerful NCAA conferences like the Big Ten?

PK: My sense, from what I’m hearing, is that the Big Ten will start a hockey conference. Whether that’s motivated by their television interests or other factors, I’m not exactly sure. But I think at some point, and maybe we’re talking five years down the road, but at some point I do think you will see a Big Ten conference.

My concern is that if the big schools come together to form a conference that it could leave the smaller schools in a precarious position. We don’t want to leave the smaller programs that have been loyal participants in the Division I landscape over the years to find themselves on the outside looking in without a conference alignment that they can sell to their fan base.

We’re such a unique sport in the sense that we have some many schools that do not play Division I in any other sport and yet they play Division I hockey. You have tiny little schools playing against massive programs — schools like Ohio State and Michigan playing against Ferris State and Northern Michigan. We’re unique in the sporting landscape. We do want to add new programs but at the same time we don’t want to lose any.

JC: On that note, what do you hear about the situation at Alabama-Huntsville? Is that a program that still is remaining strong?

PK: Unfortunately, we had the news recently of the sudden death of their athletic director (Jim Harris). He was such a positive moving force and a supporter for college hockey. I truly hope that somebody will step in and pick up the momentum there.

It’s difficult for a school that is geographically isolated by itself down there in the southeast. People think Alabama and they think they’re down on the Gulf Coast. In fact, Huntsville is not that far south. It’s not a whole further south than some of our existing programs.

We are concerned that Huntsville is not left out there by itself. Our programs have been good about scheduling Alabama-Huntsville and working with them. But, ultimately, it will be in the interest of the sport and the interest of Alabama-Huntsville to be aligned with a conference at some point. Which conference that will be? It’s too early to tell. They’ve got a great coach doing a great job in difficult circumstances and we will do whatever we can to help make sure they continue to stay strong.

JC: Is there anything you can share about programs you’ve had positive discussions with about future expansion?

PK: In deference to those programs, I probably need to give them time to explore it, so I prefer not. But I’ll tell you that we’ve had about four or five additional schools seriously exploring [Division I hockey] and I think, of that group, I can easily see three of them adding the sport.

JC: How about your discussions with the NHL regarding the collective bargaining agreement and the number of college players leaving early for the NHL. What can you tell us about that?

PK: We had a really encouraging meeting with the NHL. It was a meeting both sides wanted to have. We recognized that we’re two years away from hopefully a new collective bargaining agreement in the National Hockey League. We wanted to make sure we got involved in the process of the negotiation at an early enough stage so that some of the issues of interest to the colleges could become part of the dialogue there and not just be an afterthought.

It was also an opportunity to exchange views on some of the things that are working well and not so well from each side’s perspective. It gave the college coaches a chance to tell the GMs and the management of the NHL the challenges that they’re facing. Those challenges are in different areas. It’s in retaining quality players, not losing them after one or two years. It’s the fact that the sport has become younger and younger in terms of recruiting. Part of that is influenced by the age of the NHL Draft and other factors as well. It was to talk about communication issues, the concerns that the college coaches have when their players are being actively and regularly recruited during the course of the college hockey season by the NHL scouts and others. It’s not just the drafted players talking to the NHL team that owns their rights but also the undrafted players. This communication picks up as the season progresses and it does interfere with some of what the colleges are trying to achieve. We’re not trying to deprive the NHL teams the opportunity to communicate with the kids, but it does have to be done in some orderly, respectful manner. The coaches expressed their views on how it can and should be done and the GMs expressed their views. It was a very constructive exchange.

We met for about two-and-a-half hours and we came away from the meeting with the very firm belief that the NHL wants to take actions to help college hockey and keep it strong. As [NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman pointed out at the beginning of the meeting, the changes that they made in the current CBA were believed and intended by the NHL to be helpful to college hockey while in fact the opposite turned out to be true. Similarly now, if there are some things they can do to help, for examples building in incentives for college players to stay in school an extra year or two in terms of the type of an entry-level salary that player might be entitled to, that’s something that might be worth exploring. I don’t want to get into too many of the details of the things that were suggested because there is still quite a bit of discussion that needs to go on there. But the entirety of the meeting was very positive and very upbeat and everyone, on both sides of the table, left the meeting with good feelings.

We will have further meetings in the coming months and I think we will see some changes in the CBA that will be good in the college game.

JC: Going to the other side of the coin, the barrier that exists with NHL teams taking players away from the college programs is one. The other barrier you experience is that NCAA players lose eligibility if they play major juniors. Have there been any developments there?

PK: That issue came up and was raised by [former Providence athletic director and current New Jersey Devils GM] Lou Lamoriello, and he asked if it would be possible to change the current rule and allow major junior players to play [college hockey]. There was a lot of discussion about the reasons and why the rule is as it is. But there is a matter for the NCAA. Right now, USA Hockey supports the current rule as it is, as do the majority of the current Division I coaches. Not all of them, but the majority of the Division I coaches favor the existing rule that says if you play in major junior competition or sign a contract with a major junior team, you lose you NCAA eligibility. There are a number of coaches who believe that should be changed. But as I said to the NHL GMs, my personal view based on the past year of dealing with these issues, there needs to be some middle ground. There needs to be an exception. Whether it’s the number of games the kid plays [in major junior] that kid should be able to retain his eligibility. If a kid realizes major junior isn’t for him and decides he wants to leave that program to pursue an NCAA opportunity, it should be their right.

JC: How do you summarize your first year with College Hockey Inc.?

PK: When you’re working at the professional level as I was, you don’t really have an opportunity to think about what’s going on below you. You know about college and you know about juniors, but I’m talking about down at the bantam and midget levels across the U.S. and Canada. Unless you have a child playing, you’re detached from that. The one thing this job has enabled me to see is a much broader picture of our sport from a youth hockey level all the way up to professional and to appreciate it in a much better way than I did previously.

I particularly have enjoyed being of service to the colleges. We have a great product and up until now we haven’t really done a sales job and informational job like we at College Hockey Inc. are now responsible for. I’ve enjoyed meeting and talking to families.

We’re not in it for profit. We’re in it for the right reasons — to be a resource for families and be a resource for the Division I schools because we want those programs to stay strong.

U.S. downs Slovakia for second straight win at World Juniors

USCHO Staff Report
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Former Notre Dame forward Kyle Palmieri had two goals and an assist to lead the United States past Slovakia, 6-1, at the IIHF World Junior Championship Tuesday night at HSBC Arena.

Palmieri, playing this season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, was also named Team USA player of the game.

Boston University forward Charlie Coyle added a goal and two assists, while Denver’s Drew Shore also scored and won 16 of 19 face-offs.

Emerson Etem and Michigan’s Chris Brown rounded out the scoring for Team USA (1-1-0-0), who put 58 shots on Slovakian goalies Dominik Riecicky and Juraj Holly.

U.S. goalie Jack Campbell finished with 17 saves in the win.

In a scary moment in the third period, Martin Marincin knocked Denver’s Jason Zucker to the ice with what appeared to be a blindside hit to the head and received a five-minute major and a match penalty. Zucker had to be helped off the ice.

Jeremy Morin and Brock Nelson (North Dakota) did not play Tuesday night after getting injured in Sunday night’s opening game against Finland.

The U.S. has Wednesday off before playing Germany at 7 p.m. EST Thursday at HSBC Arena.

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ECAC East/NESCAC Game Predictions – 12/29/10 – 1/04/2011

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Well, the big guy in the red suit has already come and gone. Now the teams in the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences get to ramp it up for the second half with whatever gifts of good cheer and more consistent hockey that were left in their stockings or under the tree. The first half showed a lot of teams what they needed to do to be much improved on the ice – now we will get to see if the Christmas spirit and gifts have been taken to heart.

Some teams go right into the fray in a big way with some of the holiday tournament match-ups while others face very familiar opponents that may set the tone for games in league play later in the season. Either way the action starts out quickly in the second half. So if you are not otherwise snowed or iced in, make your way to a local college arena where you are sure to see some great hockey!

Last Week – no games played.

Season Record: 34-33-6

Winning teams in bold.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Assumption vs. UMass-Boston– The opening round of the Codfish Bowl finds D-II and NE-10 school Assumption facing the host team. Sporting a .500 record, Assumption is led by junior forwards Taylor Larsen and Pat O’Kane.

UMB went into the break on a high note having defeated Babson and is on a roll at 6-2-0. The Beacons have great depth and fifteen different players have lit the lamp so far this season. This game is going to be about who has the better goaltending against two good offensive teams. UMB has faced the tougher competition and it shows – UMB 5, Assumption 2.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Wentworth vs. UMB– Believe that the Leopards will slip by Fitchburg State to create the championship match-up in the Codfish Bowl. Wentworth has lots of talent including junior Skylur Jameson, who earlier this season surpassed the 100 point plateau. This game shapes up a lot like the opening round, better goalie wins. Like either Speer or Bendel for UMB as the host school who will raise the Bowl – UMB4, WIT 3.

Hamilton vs. Oswego – This first round match-up in the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Tournament should be an interesting contrast in styles. Oswego loves the uptempo game and comes into the second half with only one loss on the season. Hamilton is a gritty, high-intensity squad that would love to keep the Lakers bottled up in their defensive zone. Tough way to open the second half for the Continentals who go into the Lakers den and come up a bit short – Oswego 4, Hamilton 1.

Becker vs. UNE – This first round game of the PSU Invitational finds two teams that definitely need to get off to a good start in the second half.

Both teams will want the offense to get going quickly and its the likely difference in this match-up between ECAC East and ECAC Northeast schools – Becker 4, UNE 3.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Neumann vs. NEC – A New Year’s Eve first round game in the Cardinal Classic in Plattsburgh, NY finds two teams eager to get on a run early in the second half. NEC has had trouble getting scoring from some proven players and now would be a good time to start. Neumann has played very well against strong teams and NEC is no exception – Neumann 4, NEC 2.

Wisconsin – Stevens Point vs. Hamilton– The consolation game of the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Tournament will pit two teams that haven’t played against each other. It won’t take long for them to become very familiar with their opponents and Hamilton gets the edge here based on a flip of the coin. It’s that close before you add on the empty netter – Hamilton 5, WSP 3.

Salve Regina vs. UNE– A consolation match-up in the inaugural PSU Invitational will have two teams playing with desperation for a win to close out 2010 and lead into 2011. Both teams are offensively challenged but look for the Nor’easters to break out of their scoring doldrums – UNE 6, Salve Regina 2.

Babson vs. Salem State – These long-time ECAC East rivals continue to play each other even after the Vikings have moved over to the MASCAC conference. The change in league alignment hasn’t changed the rivalry and this game will be close as always – Babson 4, Salem State 3.

Nichols vs. Norwich– The opening round game of the Northfield Bank Tournament finds the hosts playing a very offensive Nichols squad while Adrian faces Manhattanville in the other first round game. Norwich has been stewing on an OT loss to Castleton for a couple of weeks now so Nichols best be ready for a hungry and motivated group of Cadets who take pride in winning their own tournament against a quality field – Norwich 6, Nichols 1.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!

USA Under-18 vs. Southern Maine – Although it is only an exhibition game, match-ups with the USA team always gives teams a chance to take the ice against a talented and deep team that has many college hockey players in the making. USM would like to see Zach Joy get back to his prolific scoring and begin the Huskies’ second half run. Not tonight but a good tune-up – USA Under-18 5, USM 2.

Johnson & Wales vs. St. Michael’s– The hosts of the St. Michael’s tournament face a challenge in a J&W team that scores goals in bunches. Led by junior Jeremiah Ketts, the Wildcats average four goals per game and have a terrific powerplay. The Purple Knights have home ice and a desire to build on their winning record – St. Michael’s 5, J&W 4.

Manhattanville vs. Norwich– Believe the Valiants will sneak by a very determined Adrian squad looking to build their reputation against some high caliber teams from the East and play the hosts in the Northfield Bank final. Manhattanville has played a quality schedule against some pretty strong teams early on and fared well but not tonight in Northfield – Norwich 3, Manhattanville 2.

Curry vs. NEC – In the consolation game of the Cardinal Classic, two teams that played annually match-up on neutral ice. Curry has been inconsistent in goal and NEC has been lacking up front. Like the Pilgrims to jump start the offense in this one – NEC 4, Curry 3.

Morrisville vs. Castleton– The other pairing from the St. Michael’s Tournament finds the Spartans looking to build on a great 6-2-0 start to the season. Morrisville is a game opponent but Castleton has too much – Castleton 5, Morrisville 2.

Skidmore vs. Middlebury– A student vs. teacher match-up perhaps? Long-time Midd assistant and interim head coach Neil Sinclair brings his Thoroughbreds into Vermont to play a Panther team in need of some offense. The big sheet favors neither team as both play on the larger ice surface in their respective home rinks. The Panthers need this win more and do not want to fall to 0-3 at home – Middlebury 4, Skidmore 2.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Johnson & Wales vs. Castleton– The Spartans look to be the only team in the tournament at 2-0 and will take it to the Wildcats in all three zones of the ice. Nice way to start the New Year before getting back to league play next week – Castleton 6, J&W 1.

Trinity vs. Conn College – An opening round game of the McCabe tournament hosted by Amherst finds two state neighbors and NESCAC rivals pairing off. Trinity has had a rough start and will look to right the ship in 2011 – Trinity 3, Conn College 1.

Wesleyan vs. Amherst– The other pairing in the McCabe Tournament features two teams that would like to see their offenses start clicking. Amherst features the better special teams and goaltending, not to mention home-ice – Amherst 4, Wesleyan 1.

Morrisville vs. St. Michael’s – An interesting match-up between these schools that will find the guys between the pipes being key ingredients to the outcome. Morrisville has been more consistent in the crease – Morrisville 4, St. Michael’s 3.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Wesleyan vs. Conn College – The consolation game is sure to have coaches tinkering with combinations and trying to find the right lines and match-up so to build on with league play upcoming in a week. Conn College is better right now but not by much – Conn College 3, Wesleyan 2.

Trinity vs. Amherst – It would be easy to go with the home team in this one but there is something about the Cole Anderson/Wes Vesprini goaltending match-up that throws all the stats out the window. The goalie can’t win it but he can steal it for his team – Amherst 2, Trinity 1.

Salem State vs. Colby– Like Middlebury, Colby is a team that is desperate for a win on their home ice at Alfond Rink. Salem State is a very difficult opponent that makes the first victory in 2011 even sweeter – Colby 4, Salem State 2.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Franklin Pierce vs. St. Anselm– An NE-10 match-up that showcases two of the conferences top forwards in Coleman Noonan of the Hawks and Anthony Chighisola of the Ravens. The rest of the supporting cast is better for the home team – St. Anselm 5, Franklin Pierce 2.

Norwich vs. Plattsburgh – Lots of drama in this one with both teams coming off tournament wins and this a re-match of the Primelink Tournament final won by Plattsburgh at home. The host will be up for this one but so too will the Cadets in a mirror image game of the first encounter – Norwich 3, Plattsburgh 2.

Skidmore vs. Oswego– This game features two teams that love to skate and move the puck in transition. The only problem for Skidmore is that Oswego has more weapons – Oswego 6, Skidmore 2.

Southern Maine vs. Middlebury – Beaney Brothers, Part II. The league game went Jeff’s way but the chance to reach .500 and move on from there is too enticing for brother Bill’s Panthers – Middlebury 5, USM 4.

Wentworth vs. Bowdoin– The final non-conference match-up before league play finds the Polar Bears hosting Wentworth in what should be a track meet type hockey game. Both teams will score goals to be sure, the question is will someone step up and make the big saves when needed. Bowdoin needs to prove they do – Bowdoin 5, WIT 3.

Well. that’s a total of 27 games in the next week, so a lot of hockey to be played, watched and enjoyed. Hope everyone out there has a happy and healthy new year – see you at the rink.

It’s 2011, Drop the Puck!

Dartmouth, Vermont reschedule women’s game after snowstorm

USCHO Staff Report
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Dartmouth and Vermont have postponed their women’s game scheduled for Wednesday in Burlington, Vt., because players on both teams were delayed in returning to school because of the East Coast snowstorm.

The game has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

A Dartmouth release said the game was postponed “instead of trying to play shorthanded or attempting to have students travel in unsafe conditions.”

Meanwhile, after having their flight to Florida canceled on Monday, Maine made it to its destination on Tuesday via charter airplane, according to the school’s Twitter account.

The ninth-ranked Black Bears will play No. 6 Miami in the semifinals of the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla., on Wednesday. (Read about that and all the Division I men’s holiday tournaments in our preview.)

The 2010-11 holiday tourneys and why they matter

USCHO Staff Report
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Here are capsule previews of the seven holiday tournaments in the next week:

Toyota UConn Classic

When: Wednesday, Dec. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 30

Where: Freitas Ice Forum, Storrs, Conn.

Wednesday’s schedule: Bowling Green (6-12-2) vs. Princeton (8-5), 4 p.m. EST; Holy Cross (6-7-2) at Connecticut (5-7-3), 7:15 p.m. EST

Thursday’s schedule: Consolation game, 4 p.m. EST; championship game, 7:15 p.m. EST

Why you should be interested: As usual, the UConn Classic will include an Atlantic Hockey conference game. Host Connecticut will square off against Holy Cross in the late semifinal, while Princeton will take on Bowling Green in the other. UConn has already racked up five victories after posting just seven wins all last season. Holy Cross is off to its best start in five years, currently holding down fourth place in the AHA and the top seed in the league’s east scheduling pod. Bowling Green, which won this tournament in 2005, has a combined record of 10-1 all-time against the other three teams, including 9-1 against Princeton. The Tigers, who are making their first trip ever to Storrs, are 8-2 in their last 10 games. (Chris Lerch)

Florida College Classic

When: Wednesday, Dec. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 30

Where: Germain Arena, Estero, Fla.

Wednesday’s schedule: St. Cloud State (5-11-2) vs. Cornell (4-6-1), 4 p.m. EST; No. 6 Miami (10-5-3) vs. No. 9 Maine (8-4-4), 7:30 p.m. EST

Thursday’s schedule: Consolation game, 4 p.m. EST; championship game, 7:30 p.m. EST

Why you should be interested: Most may believe that the second semifinal of the Florida College Classic might be the title game. And for good reason. No. 6. Miami will face co-host No. 9 Maine in the late game on Dec. 29, with the winner facing either St. Cloud State or the other tournament co-host, Cornell, in the title game. But it would be unwise for either the Black Bears or RedHawks to overlook their championship game matchup against either St. Cloud or Cornell. Certainly, the first half of the season wasn’t kind to either the Huskies or the Big Red. But when the tournament organizers put together this slate of teams, there was reason to believe that all four could have possibly been top-10 contenders. Don’t be surprised if the Florida College Classic, then, still boasts one of the most competitive holiday tournament fields around. (Jim Connelly)

Great Lakes Invitational

When: Wednesday, Dec. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 30

Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

Wednesday’s schedule: No. 20 Colorado College (11-8-1) vs. Michigan State (6-9-3), 4 p.m. EST; No. 11 Michigan (10-5-4) vs. Michigan Tech (3-11-2), 7:30 p.m. EST

Thursday’s schedule: Consolation game, 4 p.m. EST; championship game, 7:30 p.m. EST

Why you should be interested: This year’s Great Lakes Invitational sees No. 20 Colorado College join the three perennial participants, No. 11 Michigan, Michigan State and Michigan Tech, and given the season each team is having, there’s no telling whose team banner will hang in Joe Louis Arena until December 2011. Before being shut out by Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 19 to end the first half of the season, CC won six in a row, including a two-game sweep of MTU. In the opening game of the GLI, the Tigers face the Spartans, another team that ended the first half of the season at the losing end of a blanking; MSU lost 5-0 to Michigan Dec. 11 in the Big Chill at the Big House. The Wolverines will be without Jon Merrill and Chris Brown, who are in Buffalo, N.Y., for the World Junior Championship. Michigan will play Michigan Tech in the second GLI game, and the Huskies are looking for their first win since Oct. 15, having gone 0-11-1 in their last 12. Michigan Tech’s last GLI win was a 2-1 decision over North Dakota in 2008’s third-place game. Michigan State is the defending GLI champ. (Paula C. Weston)

Ledyard Bank Tournament

When: Thursday, Dec. 30 and Friday, Dec. 31

Where: Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.

Thursday’s schedule: No. 5 Boston College (11-5) vs. Colgate (3-12-1), 4 p.m. EST; Mercyhurst (7-9-1) vs. Dartmouth (6-4-1), 7 p.m. EST

Friday’s schedule: Consolation game, 4 p.m. EST; championship game, 7 p.m. EST

Why you should be interested: Boston College’s seniors are already two-time champions, and led by junior illusionist Cam Atkinson, the Eagles are soaring with the country’s third-most-lethal offense. Host Dartmouth isn’t far behind, ranked seventh in the nation in offensive productivity but also boasting one of the top three goalies in the country at the moment: junior James Mello ranks second nationally in goals-against average (1.67) and save percentage (.945). Mercyhurst is inconsistent, yes, but that means it has some great outings, too: The Lakers tied Michigan on the road in the season opener, and have scored four or more goals in seven of 16 games. Look out for senior Ryan Raven and rookie Taylor Holstrom — that tandem has combined for six of ‘Hurst’s nine power-play goals. Colgate is a team falling short of expectations, but the ability is still there with a handful of stellar playmakers and veteran leaders. Senior Brian Day is both, as he has accounted for nearly a fifth of Colgate’s goals with eight in 16 games. (Brian Sullivan)

Mariucci Classic

When: Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1

Where: Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis

Friday’s schedule: No. 18 Ferris State (9-7-3) vs. Bemidji State (5-10-1), 3 p.m. CST; No. 12 Union (10-5-3) vs. No. 19 Minnesota (9-7-2), 6 p.m. CST

Saturday’s schedule: Union vs. Bemidji State, 4 p.m. CST; Ferris State vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. CST

Why you should be interested: Even though the host Gophers traditionally dominate this tournament, this year’s Mariucci Classic could prove to be interesting. Union has the best record and highest ranking of the four teams (10-5-3; 12th). Ferris State and Minnesota are in similar boats, hanging around in the polls and both .500 in conference, while Bemidji State has been a team struggling to find its footing all season. Union could arguably be seen as the favorite here, but all of the four teams have a good chance to take the crown … particularly the Gophers, who, despite struggling, have the potential to keep with history by pulling something out to win their 13th Classic title. (Theresa Spisak)

Shillelagh Tournament

When: Saturday, Jan. 1 and Sunday, Jan. 2

Where: Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Saturday’s schedule: Brown (3-4-4) vs. No. 10 Boston University (8-4-5), 3 p.m. CST; Minnesota State (6-8-4) vs. No. 12 Notre Dame (11-6-2), 6 p.m. CST

Sunday’s schedule: Minnesota State vs. Brown/Boston University, 2 p.m. CST; Notre Dame vs. Brown/Boston University, 5 p.m. CST

Why you should be interested: You might think that the Shillelagh championship game participants would be a foregone conclusion: 10th-ranked Boston University vs. 12th-ranked Notre Dame, a rematch of the Icebreaker finals which BU won. Not so fast. Brown already has road ties with BU and second-ranked New Hampshire. Minnesota State has run hot and cold (it has four-game winning and losing streaks) but recently swept No. 19 Minnesota. So even if the nationally ranked teams advance, they won’t have an easy time of it. Expect four entertaining games. (Dave Hendrickson)

Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup

When: Saturday, Jan. 1 and Sunday, Jan. 2

Where: Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt.

Saturday’s schedule: Army (5-9-1) vs. Harvard (2-8), 4 p.m. EST; Ohio State (8-8-1) vs. Vermont (2-9-4), 7 p.m. EST

Sunday’s schedule: Ohio State vs. Army, 4 p.m.; Harvard vs. Vermont, 7 p.m.

Why you should be interested: It’s a tournament filled with teams that could really use a championship to spark a second-half surge. After seeing opponents take home the title in the first eight seasons of its tournament, Vermont has won the Catamount Cup two years in a row and three of the last five. Army and Harvard are both making their first appearance in the tournament. The Black Knights staged a minor resurgence late in the first half, going 3-3-1 after a 2-6 start. The Crimson went the other way after a 2-1 start, going into the break on a seven-game losing streak. Ohio State enters the tournament without its head coach; Mark Osiecki is on the U.S. coaching staff at the World Junior Championship and associate head coach Steve Rohlik is in charge of the Buckeyes in his absence. (Todd D. Milewski)

East Coast snowstorm cancels one game, alters travel

USCHO Staff Report
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The snowstorm blanketing parts of the East Coast Sunday into Monday has canceled one game and is impacting other teams’ travel plans.

Holy Cross canceled its exhibition game against the Russian Junior United Team that was scheduled for Monday night.

Travel delays are an annual issue around college hockey as players return to their teams after the holidays. With a blizzard hitting the east coast, though, there might be more of an impact than normal.

Some teams are changing plans amid the storm, which has dumped more than a foot of snow — close to 2 feet in some areas — and closed the major airports in New York.

Whole teams have been impacted, too.

Maine left its Orono campus at 6:30 a.m. en route to Boston for a flight to Florida that was later canceled, sports information director Laura Reed said. The Black Bears are scheduled to play in the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla., on Wednesday and Thursday.

The team was advised to keep driving south at that point. After a six-hour bus trip, the team ended up at a rink in Exeter, N.H., where it was able to practice.

Reed said the team has been told it should be able to fly to Florida on Tuesday.

“We have had an interesting day,” she said via e-mail.

Tuesday update: Maine made it to Florida via charter airplane.

Seven non-exhibition games are on the schedule for Wednesday as college hockey resumes play after the holiday break.

Two of those games are in the Toyota UConn Classic at Connecticut, which canceled its intersession classes Monday because of snowfall. But Bowling Green, which is part of the tournament field, has not had any change to its schedule.

Princeton, another team in the UConn tournament, has pushed back its practice times for Monday in hopes of having more players return to campus, said Yariv Amir, the school’s director of athletic communications.

The Tigers may also delay their departure for the trip to Storrs, Conn., to Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Amir said.

Bjugstad’s OT winner gives U.S. win in World Juniors opener

USCHO Staff Report
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Minnesota freshman Nick Bjugstad scored the overtime winner Sunday night to give the United States a 3-2 win over Finland in both team’s opening game at the World Junior Championship at HSBC Arena.

Minnesota-Duluth freshman Justin Faulk and Denver freshman Jason Zucker also scored for Team USA, while goaltender Jack Campbell finished with 32 saves.

On the game-winner, Bjugstad’s shot from the top of the circle squirted through Finland goalie Joni Ortio’s legs at 3:08 of the extra session.

Ortio, named player of the game for Finland, made 27 saves. Campbell was the U.S. player of the game.

Joonas Nattinen and Iiro Pakarinen scored for Finland.

Team USA is next in action Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST at HSBC Arena against Slovakia.

Commentary: The scouting report on the U.S. World Junior team

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The pre-tournament games are over.

The team is picked.

Team USA enters the 2011 World Junior Championship as defending gold medalists for the first time since 2005. In 2004, Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves won gold in Finland, and last season another WCHA coach (though technically a CCHA one at the time) in Dean Blais wrote another dramatic chapter in USA Hockey history, winning gold in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

This year, Keith Allain, whose Yale Bulldogs sit No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll will pilot the ride through Buffalo with a second consecutive gold medal in sights. The team is quick, skilled and paced by a corps of returning veterans from the golden squad of 2010.

Gone from last season are some key folks, starting with Derek Stepan, who is creating highlight-reel goals with the New York Rangers. He centered what we nicknamed “The Original Six” line of him, Jerry D’Amigo (a Toronto draft pick) and Danny Kristo (Montreal). That line wreaked havoc throughout its tenure together.

While Stepan and Jordan Schroeder were huge offensive weapons, role guys like A.J. Jenks, Luke Walker and especially Tyler Johnson are also players that don’t attract headlines but were key guys in the lineup.

Defensively, players like John Carlson and Cam Fowler provided both offensive and back-line presences that were unmatched in the tourney. David Warsofsky of Boston University was a rock in all three zones and in all situations. John Ramage and Brian Lashoff provided a physical dimension, and Ramage is the lone defender returning from a solid seven in Saskatoon. Part of the defense corps was goalie Mike Lee, who was brilliant in the medal round games against Finland and Sweden.

This year, the U.S. is loaded with offense. Jason Zucker could be a huge difference-maker; he has looked like a man among boys at times in the pre-tourney games. He and Denver teammate Drew Shore were linemates against Rensselaer but separated in the pre-tourney finale against Norway.

Ryan Bourque also achieved unsung hero status last season, doing everything a coach could ask that didn’t wind up on the score sheet. A tenacious penalty killer and a thorn in the side of every defender he chased into a corner, the Rangers draft choice played where he was needed and delivered big play after big play.

He returns along with Jeremy Morin, Kyle Palmieri, Chris Kreider, D’Amigo, Ramage, Zucker and goalie Jack Campbell.

Campbell brings a winning pedigree along with an athletic 6-foot-2 frame. He is the only U.S. goalie to win three IIHF gold medals, and that is not lost on his teammates.

He came off the bench cold when Lee’s magic ran out midway through the gold medal game last year and carried the U.S. to the dramatic overtime win. More than one teammate has marveled at Campbell’s competitive edge and his humbleness. As he will tell you, his first few games in the OHL were not great but he has stayed the course and got his season on the right track.

Here is a capsule look at the roster and some of The Skinny on some of the members of Team USA:

Jack Campbell ’92 Windsor Spitfires (OHL), 1st round pick (No. 11 overall) in 2010 by Dallas (goaltender): Tall, athletic goalie with tremendous competitive desire. Athletic goalie who is good covering low ice and plays the puck well. Has won at every big level he has played at. Comes to Buffalo as the No. 1 but will be pushed to keep the job, which is how the staff would like to see it. Tremendous confidence in his own ability. Not cocky but plays with an inner arrogance all successful goalies have. Lost the epic New Year’s Eve game last year to Canada in a shootout but played well in the game.

Andy Iles ’92 Cornell (ECAC), draft eligible (goaltender): Reminds folks of former Michigan State goalie Jeff Lerg and former Providence and NHL star Chris Terreri. Quick, technically solid, intense and good with his rebounds. Handles the puck well. He and his head coach are the lone reps from the ECAC in the tourney. Ithaca native who is playing for his hometown Big Red. Like Campbell, he is an alum of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Love his competitive edge and his reflexes. Very athletic. Only draft eligible player on the squad.

Brian Dumoulin ’91, Boston College (Hockey East), 2(51)09 CAR (left defenseman, left shot): Tall, rangy defenseman who is good in his own end and is starting to assert himself offensively. Part of the Boston College national championship team last year. Good low shot that is improving along with his entire offensive arsenal. Underrated in his own end, good stick, smart and sees the options the offense is creating against him quickly. Allows him to be in good defensive position quite often.

Justin Faulk ’92, Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), 2(37)10 CAR (right defenseman, right shot): Solid, composed, big shot, real good in his own end, very good stick start to describe a player I wrote up in preseason as someone who could become an elite NCAA defenseman. Alum of the NDTP, was in camp with Team USA last year in Grand Forks also. Scored against Norway in the pre-tourney finale with a bomb from the top of the offensive zone on the power play. Should make his impact felt with the man advantage, runs a great power play. It is obvious this kid has, A, been well coached and, B, sees the game very well.

Derek Forbort ’92, North Dakota (WCHA) 1(15)10 LAK (left defenseman, left shot): Offensive-minded defenseman who also can play in his own end. Lost some time with mono in the first half of the season. A cross between teammates Ben Blood in his size and strength and Chay Genoway in terms of his skating and puck skills. Reads the rush against him well. Can be a rock in his own end.

Nick Leddy ’91, Rockford (AHL) 1(16)09 MIN (right defenseman, right shot): A draft choice of Minnesota traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. As he said, it was odd to find out he got traded by looking online to see it but was thrilled to go to the Stanley Cup champs. Great stick, mobile and agile and good hockey sense. Could be a key on the power play, should run it from up top. Quick feet.

Jon Merrill ’92, Michigan (CCHA) 2(3)10 NJD (left defenseman, left shot): Tremendously impressed with his ability to not get himself trapped in bad spots on the ice with the puck on his stick. Very good recognizing where to move the puck quickly and does that well. Good passer, great shot, one-timer threat. Opened some eyes with a pair of goals against Michigan State in the outdoor game earlier this month. Humble kid who has shown he can become one of the great defensemen ever to play at Michigan. Models himself after Nik Lidstrom. Has a bomb from the point.

John Ramage ’91, Wisconsin (WCHA) 4(103)10 CGY (right defenseman, right shot): Team captain and a very good choice. Ramage is the kind of player you’d want on your team as he leads by example and is a tenacious hitter. As he joked, his offensive contributions are a bonus but he can be effective in the offensive zone and benefited from Wisconsin’s mobile defense from a year ago. He is the kind of player that gets a lot of ice bags filled in opposing dressing rooms. He’ll be at his best when the chips are down.

Patrick Wey ’91, Boston College (Hockey East) 4(115)09 WSH (right defenseman, right shot): Can fly under the radar at times, especially with the high skill level at BC on the back line. Solid, steady, good hands, good in his own end. Can play against opposing top lines while also making a good outlet pass. Mention his name to Hockey East coaches and they summarized him complimentary as a a cog in the wheel that doesn’t get enough credit for the role he plays at BC. Comes to the team via the USHL and central Pennsylvania, one of many players developed for the elite levels of USA Hockey from the nontraditional areas.

Nick Bjugstad ’92, Minnesota (WCHA) 1(19)10 FLA (center, right shot): Big-bodied pivot who protects the puck as well as, if not better than, anyone on the roster. Excellent wrist shot with a quick release. Strong on the walls and in the slot, good hands, deceptively quick in short spaces. Better with a little space to work with but he can work in traffic. Great bloodlines in hockey. Might have the biggest quads in the tourney.

Ryan Bourque ’91, Quebec (QMJHL) 3(80)09 NYR (left wing, left shot): Tremendous little-things player who this time around will also contribute some of the bigger things needed if Team USA wants to repeat. Great skater, agile, quick hands and tremendous competitor. Skates very well and turns well with or without the puck. Kind of reminds you of a sports car on skates. Focused, smart with and without the puck, scorers’ pedigree in the Q. Proved he can handle a role player’s mentality last year. Could be a player to watch as someone who could fill the shoes of Jordan Schroeder.

Chris Brown ’91, Michigan (CCHA) 2(36)09 PHX (right wing, right shot): Came to camp ready after not making it last year. One of those many players from the non-grassroots areas of the U.S. to make an impact on NDTP coming from the heart of Texas. Scoring well in the pre-tourney games and displaying the mean streak those in Ann Arbor are used to seeing. Has a scorer’s mentality, a finisher’s resume. If he stays on a line with Drew Shore and Jerry D’Amigo, he could wind up with scoring chances almost every shift.

Mitch Callahan ’91, Kelowna (WHL) 6(180)09 (RW, right shot): Has played sparingly as the 13th forward, but he could make a significant contribution as a penalty killer and in a defensive role. Quick feet, good compete level, plays well positionally.

Charlie Coyle ’92, Boston University (Hockey East) 1(28)10 SJS (center, right shot): Great physical strength combined with high-end skills make him a threat whenever he is on the ice. Has very good acceleration, can get separation from a defenseman or his check going to the net. Good hands in tight spaces, can be a playmaker or a scorer. Impressive statement for him being less than a season removed from the Eastern Junior Hockey League and now centering the top line at BU and perhaps doing the same for Team USA.

Jerry D’Amigo ’91, Toronto Marlies (AHL) 6(158)09 TOR (left wing, left shot): You could make a case, with no disrespect to Stepan, that D’Amigo was the MVP of the 2010 tourney. Timely goals, hits, great penalty killing and, as Dean Blais said, “the kid was a great team guy and a great character guy.” His leadership and pro experience will come in very handy.

Emerson Etem ’92, Medicine Hat (WHL) 1(29)10 ANA (right wing, right shot): Good hands, good feet. Hands are sneaky; he can create of the end of his stick, which makes him a unique threat. Gets chances driving off the wing with his speed and puck control. Quick release, good low shot. Chance to be this year’s unsung hero.

Chris Kreider ’91, Boston College (Hockey East) 1(19)09 NYR (left wing, left shot): If you bet that Kreider could lead the team in scoring, you just might be right. If you bet he could lead the team in hits, you could be right. Kreider is unique in that he can be a physical menace, a scoring threat or an overall impact player. Pro shot, pro speed, pro hands. Played on the World Championship team last April and found the experience unique for his game in terms of keeping his feet moving and staying involved in the play. Could be a huge impact guy again.

Jeremy Morin ’91, Rockford (AHL), 2(45)09 ATL (right wing, right shot): Morin pure and simple is a shots-on-goal machine. Shooter’s mentality, great release, accurate. He could shoot the headlights out of a moving car. Last year he played a valuable role on the penalty kill and five-on-five and scored some big goals. Solid rookie pro season so far, and that experience makes him a big part of the puzzle for Team USA.

Brock Nelson ’92, North Dakota (WCHA) 1(30)10 NYI (center, left shot): Impressive on draws, quick hands and good anticipation. Has good speed, breakaway speed from defenders, goes to the net well. Pretty responsible in the defensive zone. Had a good start to the season, hit a wall a bit in November but rebounded to have a good December and a good camp to make the team.

Kyle Palmieri ’91, Syracuse (AHL) 1(26)09 ANA (right wing, right shot): Provides the team with a physical identity. He just doesn’t take any gruff from anyone, and that is why he is successful. Great hands, great speed and a NHL shot. Has the kind of speed and strength where he can lean in on a defenseman one-on-one and get to the net off of either wing. Has an NHL goal to his credit already. Should be a big part of this team’s offense and could be devastating on the power play especially in the pool play.

Drew Shore ’91, Denver (WCHA) 2(44)09 FLA (center, right shot): Another kid playing for his hometown team at Denver. Has good speed and a scorer’s mentality and is very creative with the puck. Plays well on the walls, wins a ton of 50-50 battles and will take a hit to make a play. Good support player, creative with the puck and not selfish. Shook off a summer camp injury from Lake Placid to earn a shot at the team.

Jason Zucker ’91, Denver (WCHA) 2(59)10 MIN (left wing, left shot): Zucker could remind you of a Claude Lemieux type of player. You love him as a teammate but you hate to play against him. Why? Great teammate, a leader, can adapt to any role and play it well. Was great in a penalty-killing role last year in Saskatoon and was as physical as anyone in the tourney. Zucker oozes composure with or without the puck and has been a shot machine in the pre-tourney games. Should be an impact player and another example of a non-grassroots kid making a huge splash. He hails from Las Vegas and played a bit in California as a kid.

Niagara picks up a goalie

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Niagara has announced the immediate commitment of goaltender Cody Campbell, who will join the team for its next games at Holy Cross on Jan 7 and 8. The Purple Eagles were down to just junior Chris Noonan in net after the season-ending injury to rookie Carsen Chubak and the sudden departure of Andrew Hare. Campbell, who had originally committed to New Hampshire, joins Niagara from Cedar Rapids in the USHL.

WCHA Midseason Report Cards

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So I said this was coming this week … although I think I’m a day later than planned. Oops.

In any case, here are my annual WCHA Mideason Grades, with teams in alphabetical order.

Alaska-Anchorage (t-eighth)
– C
– Needs improvement; meeting/exceeding expectations
– It’s good that the Seawolves have been able to earn a goodly amount of splits. It’s bad, however, that they still can’t find that go-to goal scorer
– The freshmen class has been contributing nicely, whether it be Jordan Kwas or Matt Bailey up front or Rob Gunderson or Chris Kamal in net.
– Second Half Prognosis: UAA probably won’t move up in the standings much, but they do have the potential to at least stay the course and stay out of the bottom of the league basement.

Bemidji State (10th)
– D
– Needs improvement; not meeting expectations
– We all thought that the Beavers would be better. To use a hockey example, Bemidji is the NHL rookie being pushed around and beat up by the 20-year league vets.
– Second Half Prognosis: BSU has the ability to turn things around in the second half, but it will be difficult with the vast majority of the schedule on the road.

Colorado College (fifth)
– B
– Exceeding expectations
– The Tigers have struggled, but they’ve turned it around heading into the break.
– Part of their success has been a result of the league’s leading scorer in who may be the league’s RotY in Jaden Schwartz.
– Second Half Prognosis: While CC still has to face DU again as well as UMD and UND, they still have the potential to end the season in the top third of the league.

Denver (t-second)
– A
– Exceeding expectations … but not by much
– The Pioneers were expected to be in the top half, but they weren’t expected to be quite this good. However, the reason they are is one Sam Brittain. If this keeps up, DU may take the title of WCHA goalie factory away from Wisconsin.
– The team has also done well since Jesse Martin’s unfortunate injury. Drew Shore is having a breakout year and the freshmen have been performing well.
– Second Half Prognosis: As far as the WCHA is concerned, DU has a relative cakewalk to March. Unless the team – or Brittain – implodes, they’re not budging from where they are.

Michigan Tech (12th)
– D
– Technically meeting expectations; needs improvement
– The Huskies started off so nicely, going 3-0-1 … and since then, they’ve been on an 11-game losing streak.
– Whether it’s been a case of too many injuries or too many bye weeks or too many games away from home, the team needs to either figure it out or quit making excuses.
– Second Half Prognosis: MTU’s schedule from here on out doesn’t make it any easier on it – the team still hasn’t played the top three teams in the league in DU, UMD and UND yet.

Minnesota (t-sixth)
– C
– Meeting expectations
– The team has talent, but, as has been the same old song and dance for the past few years, it’s not coming together.
– Kent Patterson stepping up where Kangas has not has been a plus.
– Second Half Prognosis: UM faces a rough second half, but the team still has a lot of potential to move upward. However, the team also has the potential to plummet further.

Minnesota State (t-eighth)
– C
– Meeting expectations; needs improvement
– The Mavericks had a fairly rough first half, but they started to turn it around a tad at the break.
– The team needs more offense – only four players are in double-digits in scoring. While the numbers might not show it, it feels like the team survived the first half on defense and goaltending (I’m looking at you, Phil Cook, and the Minnesota series).
– Second Half Prognosis: MSU’s schedule from here on out is tricky and unfortunately, I don’t see the Mavs moving up a whole lot.

Minnesota-Duluth (t-second)
– A
– Meeting expectations
– We knew they’d be good … and oh look, they’re good. We knew their first line would dominate … and oh look, it is.
– If the team has a weak spot, it might be in goaltending. Both Aaron Crandall and Kenny Reiter have decent numbers, but they’re not outstanding. The Bulldogs have a good enough offense to be able to just simply out-score their opponents … but I am a little concerned on how that’ll play out in come playoff time when EVERYONE tightens up their game defensively. Winning more games in regulation might help, too.
– Second Half Prognosis: UMD should stay right where it is given it’s schedule. However, given the relative ease of the schedule, the team also needs to stay sharp or it may amazingly slip downward in the standings (I don’t see the possibility of implosion like DU; just the possibility of relaxing).

Nebraska-Omaha (fourth)
– A
– Exceeding expectations
– So … a mid-pack CCHA team apparently equates to a top-third WCHA team … particularly with a league vet like Dean Blais at the helm. We underestimated these guys big time.
– Three guys are averaging around a point per game – Matt Ambroz, Terry Broadhurst and Joey Martin.
– Second Half Prognosis: The next few months are going to be really interesting for UNO, particularly with the teams above it all on the docket. The Mavericks probably won’t move up, but they do have the potential to drop like a rock.

North Dakota (first)
– A
– Meeting expectations
– The first half looked a little iffy to start out – the team was barely over .500 to start November – but then things started clicking.
– Matt Frattin was always good, but he’s really made his comeback story into a good one. Remember: he was kicked off the team a few years for essentially being a drunken idiot before coming back mid-last season.
– Also, Aaron Dell has been a nice surprise in nets.
– Second Half Prognosis: If you subscribe to the theory that UND is a second half team, the Sioux will not be relinquishing their top spot any time soon.

St. Cloud State (11th)
– F
– Needs improvement; not meeting expectations
– If I were meaner, I’d finish this off by posting pictures from here.
– Only three players are in double digits, with only one of the three (Drew LeBlanc, 18) solidly there. Nick Jensen and Garrett Roe round it out with 10 points a piece (0.56 points per game).
– That being said, if I may loosely paraphrase CC’s Scott Owens, they’re the best 11th place team you’ll ever watch.
– Second Half Prognosis: SCSU’s second half does bring some potential for upward mobility, but I don’t know if either we or the team itself believes it can at this point. Maybe they just need something amazing to happen to snap them out of their funk, like a weekend where they just rout their opponent something ridiculous, like 10-1, 8-0. I don’t know.

Wisconsin (t-sixth)
– C
– Meeting expectations …
– … even though it feels like they’re not. League record is .500, overall is three games over and yet I feel surprised they’re still in the polls for some reason.
– Still, the Badgers are a young team with some young players and those young players are doing well. Two sophomores (Justin Schultz and Craig Smith) and a freshman (Mark Zengerle) are leading the team in scoring, with each player over 20 points. Goaltending is also solid as per the norm in Madison.
– Second Half Prognosis: We probably won’t see UW dropping out of where it is. More than likely, the team will either stay where it is or move up.

Buzzwords for U.S. at World Juniors: veteran, experienced

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Veteran and experienced are two words not often associated with an Under-20 hockey team. After all, everyone on the team is … well … still a teenager. How can you call a teenager a veteran? And how much experience can a teenager have?

Yet that is exactly the makeup of the United States team heading into the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. It’s a veteran team with lots of international experience and, more importantly, lots of gold medal-winning international experience.

USA Hockey has been on a roll lately, winning the Under-18 World Championship in 2009 and 2010 and winning the Under-20 title in 2010.

John Ramage (Wisconsin) is the only returning defenseman from last year's gold medal winning team. (Angelo Lisuzzo)
Wisconsin's John Ramage is the only returning defenseman from last year's U.S. World Junior team (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

“It’s huge for us,” forward Ryan Bourque said. “It started with the Under-18 when we won gold on home ice for the first time since 1980. Then ’92s also won last year and we won World Juniors and then the U.S. accomplishment in the Olympics. I think USA Hockey has come a real long way and it says a lot for our program and our country as a whole.”

This means the current team is made up of a heavy dose of players from those gold-medal winners.

“We have a lot of guys bringing back gold medals and a lot of international experience,” goaltender Jack Campbell said. “And not only myself. We’re bringing back eight guys from last year’s team. We’re trying to do the best we can to help the new guys make sure they know what’s going to happen in the tournament and make sure we are well prepared going in.”

Campbell and Denver forward Jason Zucker, have the chance to win four gold medals in three years. Both were the only players on all three teams mentioned above.

The other players from last year’s team includes Chris Kreider (Boston College) and Jerry D’Amigo (ECAC rookie of the year while at Rensselaer last season) who each tied for the team lead in goals in last year’s tournament with six in seven games. Kreider was also the youngest player on the U.S. men’s team in the World Championship.

Other forwards include Bourque, Jeremy Morin and former Notre Dame skater Kyle Palmieri. The only returning defenseman is John Ramage (Wisconsin) who got three assists and had a plus-5 rating.

Six of those players were on one or both of the Under-18 gold-medal teams. In addition, goaltender Andy Iles (Cornell) and defenders Justin Faulk (Minnesota-Duluth), Derek Forbort (North Dakota) and Jon Merrill (Michigan) were also on those younger teams. Plus, four players (D’Amigo, Nick Leddy, Morin and Palmieri) have professional experience, playing in either the AHL or NHL, or both.

Past is familiar

Just about every American hockey fan knows last year’s story by now. After Canada won the World Junior Championship five years in a row, USA stunned the hosts last year with a wild 6-5 overtime victory in the gold-medal game. Now, Team USA has the target on its back, not just as the defending champs, but playing on home ice.

“I wouldn’t say it’s easier or harder,” Campbell said. “It’s just another challenge. It’s a little bit of adversity being the defending champion against the team that won it five straight years. I’m really excited about the team we’re bringing to Buffalo.”

The last, and only, time an American team defended the gold medal, it too was on home ice in 2005 at Grand Forks, N.D. The U.S. fared poorly, going 3-4 overall, losing in the bronze-medal game. The Americans allowed 4.0 goals per game, tied for third worst among the 10 teams.

“We want our team to play together as a team, focus on the game, and play as well as they can play on game nights,” U.S. coach Keith Allain said about trying to avoid a repeat of 2005.

Home ice?

On paper, the Americans are in the easier of two groups, with their two toughest opponents coming up first — Finland (Dec. 26) and Slovakia (Dec. 28). They then face Germany (Dec. 30) and Switzerland (Dec. 31). Meanwhile, the other group is stacked with powers Canada, Russia, Sweden and the Czech Republic, as well as Norway.

With the tournament being held a stone’s throw from Ontario, it is no surprise organizers are reporting 65 percent of the sales are to Canadians. If the two teams meet, it might not be such a home ice advantage for the Americans. However, therein lies a fear for the organizers and most fans. What happens if the anticipated rematch between the two North American countries does not transpire?

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for them, but there’s also other great countries we have to be concerned about,” said Bourque, who committed to New Hampshire before signing to play in major juniors. “If we do play them, it will be in the semifinals or finals. I think we’ll worry about what we have to do first, and if we do have to play them, we’ll focus on that.

“Obviously, Canada is a very competitive country, and they want to be the best. They will come out and try to take back the medal. But we’re the same way. We think we’re a very competitive group as well. We want to defend our championship, though it’s hard to have a target on our back. We still hope we can come into this tournament and hopefully try to do that.”

So far, Team USA has not exactly instilled confidence in its faithful. The Americans have lost both exhibition games in a shootout (4-3 to Rensselaer and 3-2 to the Czech Republic).

Chris Kreider (Boston College), last year's team's co-leader with six goals, returns to power Team USA. (Angelo Lisuzzo)
Boston College's Chris Kreider (right) shared the U.S. lead last year with six goals in the World Juniors (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

“We’re certainly a long way from our finished product, and I think that was evident tonight,” Allain, also the coach at Yale, said after the Czech Republic game. “I think it dispels any notion that we’re favored, that’s for damn sure.”

One of the reasons for the poor week leading into the tournament could be that the lineups were constantly changing while the coaches decided on the final roster. Players also were getting used to the system the USA coaches are trying to instill after playing either in college, juniors or the pros for the past few months.

And, of course, there’s the task of meshing the team together into a coherent unit on such short notice.

“We’re 0-2,” Allain said. “We got some work to do. I like my team. Don’t get me wrong. I really like my team, and I think when push comes to shove we’ll be there at the end. But I don’t see how you can look at these two games and think we’re going to run away with the tournament.”

It will come down to how much of a factor veteran leadership and international experience is for a group of teenagers on the world stage.

A mid-season glance at the MCHA

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The Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association has already produced a few first-half surprises this season. Here is a mid-term look at five developments to keep an eye on as the season resumes.

Milwaukee School of Engineering’s invincibility
The No. 9 Raiders stormed out of the gate by winning nine of their first 10 games, which was highlighted by a weekend sweep of Marian in a home-and-home tussle Nov. 13-14. MSOE, which was picked to finish third in a preseason MCHA coaches’ poll, shot up from No. 15 to No. 8 (before dropping back to No. 9) in the USCHO Division III Men’s Poll. Sophomore Jordan Keizer (14 goals and 5 assists for 19 points) has been on a goal-scoring tear, leading the nation with 1.50 goals per game.  The team’s unsung penalty kill – first in the nation at 93.8 percent – is a one reason for the success. Though a 2-1 loss to No. 15 St. Thomas on Dec. 10 brought the Raiders back to earth, they responded with a 5-4 victory over the Tommies the next day. Standout goalie Connor Toomey (8-1, 1.55 goals-against, .933 save-percentage) will have a large say whether the Raiders maintain their torrid pace.

Adrian’s fallibility
The No. 7 Bulldogs saw their 30-game home winning streak snapped by MCHA arch-rival Marian on Nov. 6. The 5-4 setback was the first at Arrington Ice Arena since Nov. 1, 2008, when Adrian lost 4-2 to Neumann College. More remarkable, the loss was Adrian’s first in MCHA play in 56 regular-season games, dating back to Nov. 30, 2007, when the Sabres beat the Bulldogs, 7-5, in Fond du Lac, Wis. After those streaks were broken, the Bulldogs dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which caused a few palpitations among the Bulldogs faithful. The team appears to have eradicated its early season malaise by reeling off four-straight victories, including a 3-0 result over Concordia (Wis.) in a milestone outdoor game at Michigan Stadium Dec. 4.

Marian’s unpredictability
With eight players in double-figures scoring, led by senior Brendan Hull’s 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists, Marian should seemingly have more to show than a 9-5 overall record. The team’s 4-1 start included a key 5-4 victory over Adrian on Nov. 6 after losing the series’ opener the previous night. After a pivotal win over the Bulldogs though, the Sabres dropped four of their next five games. Marian appeared to have regained its footing by putting together a four-game winning streak – starting with  a 10-2 rout over Lawrence on Dec. 3  - before the holiday break. Freshman goalie Josh Baker (4-3, 2.83 GAA, .920 save-pct.) started in three of four of those victories, adding another twist in Coach Jasen Wise’s strategy to rotate the newcomer with sophomore Alex Bjerk (5-2, 2.71 GAA, .910 save-pct.).

Lawrence’s incorrigibility
Lawrence’s penchant for penalties has been its undoing this season. The Vikings’  32.2 minutes in penalties per-game leads all Division III schools.  That’s not a recipe for success, especially since the Vikings’  penalty kill (51-of- 65 for 78.5 percent) ranks 48th nationally. After winning six of the first seven, Lawrence (6-4, 4-2) was felled by the one-two punch of  St. Norbert and Marian, which exploited the Vikings’ recidivist ways. The No. 3 Green Knights cashed in on two power-play chances while stoning the Vikes, 5-0, on Nov. 27 while the Sabres scored three man-advantage goals in a 10-2 shellacking a week later.

A need for some sustainability
A quick triage of MCHA’s lower rung turns up a number of ailments in their respective camps.

Northland (3-6, 2-4) was plaqued by a slow start, losing its first five before beating  Finlandia (twice) and Bethel. After 7-6 victory over the Royals, the Lumberjacks were shelled 10-1 in the weekend series finale Dec. 11, which left senior goalie Daniel MacIntosh with a helium-filled 5.16 goals-against average.

For Lake Forest (2-9, 2-4), a dearth of goals continued to be a problem. The Foresters have been outscored 34-8 during their current seven-game losing skid. Sophomore Thomas Bark is the team’s leading scorer with 7 points on 2 goals and 5 assists in 11 games.

Meanwhile Finlandia (1-9, 1-7) is not only beset by a paucity of offense but a lack of upperclassmen. Goalie Ryan Donovan is the only senior on the roster, which also includes seven juniors. That’s left freshmen and sophomores to carry the load, with frosh forward Collin Saint-Onge’s seven points on two goals and five assists leading the team.

Concordia (1-13, 1-8) has been plagued by a severe lack of defense as evidenced by surrendering 66 goals in 14 games. No less than four Falcons goalies have taken turns in facing the onslaught, as opponents have unloaded 552 shots at them, which averages of 39 shots a game. The team is also 0-6 at home, 1-6 on the road and 0-1 on neutral ice where it lost 3-0 to Adrian at Michigan Stadium Dec. 4. Coach Tony Hrkac’s plight is similar to one faced by former Vancouver Canucks coach Harry Neale, who quipped, “Last season we couldn’t win at home and we were losing on the road. My failure was that I couldn’t think of any place else to play.”

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