North Dakota finished the 2019-20 season 26-5-4 with a 17-4-3 mark in NCHC play (photo: Russell Hons/UND Athletics).
With 28 first-place votes, North Dakota begins the 2020-21 season as the No. 1 team in the USCHO.com Preseason Division I Men’s Poll.
North Dakota finished No. 2 in the final USCHO poll last March.
Second-ranked Boston College earned four first-place votes, followed by No. 3 Minnesota Duluth with three first-place nods, No. 4 Minnesota State with one, and No. 6 Cornell with four.
Denver sits No. 5 in the preseason poll.
Rounding out the top 10 are No. 7 Massachusetts, No. 8 Clarkson, No. 9 Penn State, and No. 10 Ohio State.
The rest of the poll:
11. UMass Lowell
12. Michigan
13. Quinnipiac
14. Minnesota
15. Arizona State
16. Bemidji State
17. Providence
18. Western Michigan
19. Northeastern
20. Notre Dame
In addition, 18 other teams received votes this week.
The NEWHL announced Friday that the women’s conference has made the decision to cancel its 2020-21 conference schedule and league championship.
“The priority must be to protect the health and safety of our student-athletes as well as the members of our campuses and communities,” said NEWHL commissioner Tom DiCamillo in a statement. “We are disappointed in having to make this decision and feel for our student-athletes. However, our intention is to stay safe and united as a league, and prepare for the 2021-22 season.”
The NEWHL is an NCAA Division III conference featuring seven SUNY-based institutions: Buffalo State, Canton, Cortland, Morrisville, Oswego, Plattsburgh and Potsdam.
Mike Venezia spent the past two seasons as Castleton’s head coach (photo: Castleton Athletics).
Lindenwood announced the addition of assistant coach Mike Venezia to the women’s hockey coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.
Venezia spent the previous two seasons as the women’s head coach at Castleton.
“We are very excited to have Mike join the Lindenwood hockey family,” said Lindenwood head coach Shelley Looney in a news release. “He is a great person who brings a ton of positive energy and years of valuable experience growing and rebuilding programs at multiple levels of collegiate hockey. Mike is very passionate about making an impact and earning his mane.”
During his two-year stint at Castleton, Venezia posted a 24-24-6 record, including a 19-9-4 mark against NEHC teams. Venezia guided the Spartans to consecutive trips to the NEHC tournament, making a run to NEHC tournament championship game in 2018-19.
Following the 2018-19 season, Venezia earned NEHC Coach of the Year honors.
“I want to thank Coach Looney for this opportunity to join Lindenwood University and the women’s hockey program,” said Venezia. “The amount of passion and energy that this program and this coaching staff possess is unparalleled and I am excited to be a part of what they are building. I am extremely grateful for this new chapter in my career, and I look forward to working with these elite student-athletes, coaches, and community members to build a championship program here at Lindenwood.”
Prior to his time at Castleton, Venezia spent one year (2017-18) as a volunteer assistant coach for the Union women’s hockey team. Venezia also had coaching stops at Morrisville, West Chester University, and with the Philadelphia Junior Flyers 19U and 16U teams.
McAuliffe is a 2013 graduate of St. Michael’s, where he was a four-year letter-winner for the Purple Knights.
Following his graduation, McAuliffe worked as an assistant coach for the EHL’s East Coast Wizards and most recently, was an assistant coach for the Rutland High School boys hockey program, where he helped head coach Mike Anderson lead the team to the state quarterfinals in 2020.
“I’d like to thank President (Jonathan) Spiro and (associate dean for athletics and recreation) Deanna Tyson for the opportunity to step in and work with these women,” said McAuliffe in a statement. “Castleton has a great hockey community and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
“When this position opened up, Tim immediately came to us willing to help,” added Castleton Deanna Tyson. “His knowledge of the game and his experience in coaching, as well as his immediate availability so close to the season made this an easy decision for us, and we’re thankful to have him as part of the program.”
As a player, McAuliffe captained the Purple Knights for two seasons, and appeared in 82 games, notching eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. He was also a three-time member of the ECAC East All-Academic Team and a four-time Dean’s List honoree at SMC.
McAuliffe’s father, Joe, played two years for Merrimack, while his sister, Lauren, was a four-year standout at Harvard, recording more than 100 points while captaining the team her senior year.
The new rink on the campus of Colby College has opened its doors (photo: Colby Athletics).
Earlier this fall, Colby opened the doors to the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, a state-of-the-art sports complex that can be seen from miles away.
The complex includes a brand-new rink as part of the project.
Both the Mules’ men’s and women’s teams will call the The Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center Ice Arena home once hockey resumes.
Enrico Blasi gets fired up during a game with Miami at Providence back in 2013 (photo: Rich Gagnon).
Providence announced Thursday the hiring of Enrico Blasi as associate athletic director for men’s and women’s hockey.
Blasi will provide leadership, management, and administrative oversight to the men’s and women’s ice hockey programs, as well as day-to-day supervision of Schneider Arena programs and events.
“We are excited that Rico will be joining our staff in Friartown,” PC athletic director Bob Driscoll said in a statement. “He has a tremendous amount of experience in college hockey and I believe he will be an excellent resource for our athletic department. His knowledge and desire to help our programs improve was one of the many aspects that impressed me.”
Blasi spent 20 seasons (1999-2019) as the head coach for Miami, guiding the RedHawks to national prominence with back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2009 (semifinalist) and 2010 (finalist). Blasi’s teams also boasted three CCHA regular-season titles (2006, 2010, 2013), a CCHA tournament title (2011) and an NCHC tournament championship (2015).
During his tenure, the RedHawks appeared in 10 NCAA tournaments, including eight-consecutive appearances from 2006 to 2013.
Blasi’s success on the ice earned him five CCHA Coach of the Year awards (2001, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2013) and a Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year award in 2006. He has also served as the chair of the NCAA Hockey Rules Committee (2005-07), on the AHCA Board of Governors (2005-08) and as AHCA President (2017-20).
Prior to coaching the RedHawks, Blasi spent four seasons at Denver as an assistant coach (1995-99).
A native of Weston, Ont., Blasi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Miami in 1994. As a student-athlete, he totaled 128 points in 151 games played (1990-94) for the RedHawks and captained the team in his senior season.
Brockport’s Ryan Romeo would have been a senior this season (photo: Brockport Athletics).
The SUNYAC announced Monday that men’s hockey will not be played this season.
A statement reads as follows:
In an abundance of caution to protect the health and safety of students and staff, after consultation with conference leadership, the presidents of the State University of New York Athletic Conference have made the difficult decision to cancel winter sports.
“This was not an easy decision and I empathize with all of our student-athletes across the SUNYAC,” Erik Bitterbaum, the chair of the SUNYAC Presidents said. “However, despite our best efforts to plan for a winter season, our priority must be the health and safety of everyone involved with intercollegiate athletics, and our campuses as a whole.”
The winter sports impacted by the decision include the conference schedules and championships for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as men’s ice hockey. The championships for men’s and women’s swimming & diving and men’s and women’s indoor track & field also have been canceled.
The SUNYAC will continue internal planning for the possibility of spring sports. The decision on spring sports will be made at a future date.
Miami and Minnesota Duluth are two teams that will start the 2020-21 NCHC season in an Omaha pod (photo: Jeff Sabo/Miami Athletics).
The NCHC announced Friday that it has finalized its plans for the 2020-21 season.
The 26-game conference schedule and two-part format, which includes utilizing a centralized location (a “pod”) for all NCHC games to start the season Dec. 1 in Omaha, was unanimously approved by the NCHC’s Board of Directors on Oct. 15.
With the focus on the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and officials, the conference has intentionally attempted to limit team travel. Because of this, NCHC teams have been divided into two divisions based on geography for 2020-21 scheduling purposes: East and West.
The East Division consists of Miami, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan. The West Division consists of Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Omaha.
Teams will play each of their divisional opponents six times (18 games total) and each cross-division opponent twice (eight games total), with all cross-division games taking place in the pod to alleviate travel. The second portion of the season will then take place January through March, with all divisional teams playing each other at home and on the road.
“Throughout the past eight months we have learned to adjust and think creatively about how we live our personal and professional lives,” NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said in a statement. “I’m proud of our membership for their entrepreneurial spirit to build a concept grounded in health and safety that we believe gives a group of deserving student-athletes the best opportunity to conduct a successful season.”
On Dec. 1, Omaha’s Baxter Arena will host all eight NCHC teams. Competition in the pod will include 10 games per team (40 games total) and run through the first three weeks of December, with games held throughout each week. In addition to the cross-division games at Baxter Arena, each team will also play two games against one divisional team in the pod.
Overall medical support and COVID-19 testing for all participating players, staff and officials in the pod will be conducted through the University of Nebraska Medical Center, located in Omaha. Medical protocols and testing strategies for the entire season are currently being developed with top medical professionals from UNMC and the Global Center for Health Security.
“NCHC presidents and chancellors have been committed to finding ways for our student-athletes to return to the ice safely. We believe this plan accomplishes that,” said Greg Crawford, Miami president and chair of the NCHC Board of Directors. “On behalf of our board of directors, I want to thank the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Gold at the University of Nebraska Omaha and University of Nebraska Medical Center for providing their institutional resources and medical expertise toward helping the conference start the season successfully.”
The second portion of the conference schedule will begin in the New Year and take place in all home NCHC venues. Following a break after the pod, all eight teams will resume play the first weekend in January with weekend series through the conclusion of the scheduled regular season on March 5-6. Teams will play 16 games during the second part of the season, all against divisional team, with eight games at home and eight games on the road.
In addition, teams will have multiple and consistent bye weekends during the travel portion of the season to allow for flexibility in the schedule.
“Given the myriad of challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created, this unique approach to scheduling should optimize the chances for a safe and successful hockey season,” said Trev Alberts, Omaha’s vice chancellor for athletics. “We have a great partner in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who will help us take all of the necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff in the Pod. We know it will be a busy three weeks, but our staff is very excited to make this a marquee event for the NCHC and college hockey.”
With the pod taking place during the first three weeks of December, some NCHC member institutions will have already completed fall semester classes, while other member schools will be offering the majority of their classes through remote learning during that time. Any academic support needed by players while in the pod will be provided by University of Nebraska Omaha staff. Game schedules in the pod will be created with each school’s final exam period in mind, limiting teams’ game schedule during a school’s scheduled final exam week.
As always, nearly every conference game in 2020-21, including games in the pod, will be available with a subscription on NCHC.tv. More information on NCHC.tv subscription packages and subscription renewals will be provided in the coming weeks. All auto-renewal subscription charges have been paused for the time being.
“We are excited to finally bring NCHC hockey back to our passionate fans,” Fenton said. “This season will be unique and unprecedented, but one where we will connect to and engage college hockey fans with NCHC content all season long.”
Complete conference schedules, including matchups, game dates and bye weekends for each team, along with the NCHC’s return to play protocol and overall COVID-19 testing plans, will be released in the coming weeks.
At this time, no changes are planned for the 2021 NCHC tournament. Any decision on possible nonconference games will be made at a later date.
Atlantic Hockey has announced that the 2020-21 season will officially begin the weekend of November 13-14, 2020.
The schedule features 24 games and allows for up to 28 games for all AHA teams. The season concludes with the Atlantic Hockey tournament, which will include all 11 teams and be played over three weekends culminating with a return to Buffalo’s LECOM HarborCenter.
“First off, I’m extremely excited to be announcing we have an approved league schedule for the 2020-21 season,” said AHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio in a statement. “It’s been a long process, and involved quite a bit of discussion, but it’s a testament to all those involved that we have managed to get Atlantic Hockey on the ice in 2020-21. We put this schedule together to maximize the student-athlete experience during such uncertain times. We found a way to schedule up to 28 games while maintaining a focus on the health and safety of all parties by reducing travel times and overnight trips as much as we could.”
To mitigate some of the risk factors regarding COVID-19 exposure during travel, Atlantic Hockey has separated the league into eastern and western pods, with Air Force standing alone as the geographic outlier. The eastern pod is made up of American International, Army, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. The western pod consists of Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, and Robert Morris.
All teams will play five games against each pod member (20 total games), play Air Force for a pair of games for 22 league games, and then play a two-game set against Long Island, who is being worked in as a scheduling partner for the 2020-21 season. Air Force will play each team twice and add in the Sharks for four games – two home and two on the road.
Prior to the possibility of LIU becoming a scheduling partner was even on the league’s radar, it was decided that league standings would be determined by point percentage this season, not by total points or even win percentage.
Atlantic Hockey decided to move in this direction for two reasons: 1) unfortunately, there is no guarantee each team plays a full league schedule and 2) wins are not valued the same in the 3-on-3 OT model that is now our operating overtime so win percentage, while easier to comprehend, was not viable. With that in place, moving to a schedule where Air Force had 20 league games and all other members had 22 did not impact the ability to make a schedule like this work.
The conference is still working to finalize the return-to-play protocols for the season, but LIU has agreed to abide by all protocols for the 2020-21 season, including testing, screening, sanitization, and other preventative measures outlined in the document.
The full 2020-21 Atlantic Hockey schedule, with scheduled nonconference games, will be released at a later date.
According to the Yale Daily News, six players from the Bulldogs men’s hockey team have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting all school athletics to be shut down until at least Oct. 21.
Yale senior captain Phil Kemp confirmed the numbers to the News.
“We understand [the decision to return to Phase 0 from Phase II] completely,” Kemp said. “A lot of us volunteered to go into the isolation pods right away to get the virus under control.”
The news comes after all Yale sports teams had moved into Phase II of the Ivy League’s three-phase plan for the resumption of sports back on Oct. 7. The university started Phase I on Sept. 21.
The names of the six hockey players who tested positive were not made public.
Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, which opened in April 2016, can host 17,500 spectators for hockey games (photo: t-mobilearena.com).
With the NCAA announcing the sites for its men’s Division I Frozen Four through 2026 on Wednesday, there was plenty for fans to be excited about and the ability to build up anticipation.
While three of the sites have hosted the event in the last 13 years – Saint Paul, Minn., Tampa and St. Louis – the fourth, a newbie to the national championship scene no doubt turns the most heads.
Las Vegas, for year a taboo to the NCAA and its events because of the city’s allure of casinos and gambling, will host its first Frozen Four at the currently shiny-and-new T-Mobile Arena. The hope, though, is the luster is still as attractive when the event lands on the ground in April 2026.
Mike Kemp, senior associate athletic director at Omaha and the chair of the Division I men’s ice hockey committee, said that one of the leading factors in selecting the four venues and host cities was feedback from the Frozen Four’s most loyal group of fans.
“We had interviewed the ‘season ticket holders,’” a moniker given to the large group of college hockey fans who travel to the Frozen Four year after year, some of whom have attended upwards of 30 Frozen Fours. “One of the underlying facts was that they really wanted a destination spot, so to speak. So that became a serious consideration as we looked at number of sites that were options.”
Leading that list is Tampa, which hosted in 2012 and 2016 and will again be host in 2023. Many scoffed at the idea of playing the championship in a warm-weather destination back in the early 2000s when Tampa was first awarded the 2012 bid. But the many who went south to attend either or both witnessed a first-class event. To me, at least, that one seemed like a no-brainer.
Slam dunk number two was Saint Paul. Three incredibly successful Frozen Fours at the Xcel Energy Center dating back to 2002 (and many at the Saint Paul Civic Center prior) underscored why this city was worthy. Add in the vibrant nature of the surrounding area, the charm of the State Capital and, most importantly, the rabid fans of college hockey in the Land of the 10,000 Lakes, this too seems like a simple decision.
The other two destinations – and I underscore the term destination – probably elicited a lot more discussion among the NCAA committee.
St. Louis, though not too far from college hockey’s Midwest, but still nearly six hours away from both Notre Dame and Wisconsin, couldn’t rest it laurel of just being a great college hockey market.
Indeed, the city of St. Louis, and particularly the arena district, have changed considerable since Michigan State captured the title there in 2007. The cities love for hockey was never more evident than the summer of 2019 when the St. Louis Blues brought home their first Stanley Cup.
The area around the Enterprise Center is built up and will possibly be more so by 2025 when the Frozen Four arrives. Of the four cities, this may have felt like the biggest stretch, but having been on the ground during the 2019 Stanley Cup run, I urge college hockey fans to give this one a shot.
Then there is Las Vegas, the shiny jewel that has attracted events of all kinds to the famed city for decades. Hockey is pretty much a newborn in this locale having debuted just three years ago this month. But the success of the Vegas Golden Knights helped build a local fan base. And the destination itself could make the 2026 Frozen Four the most sought-after ticket in the event’s history.
Besides just the obvious attraction of Sin City, there are other significant advantages for fans traveling to Las Vegas. Many major cities offer non-stop flights, multiple times per day. And the number of hotels and resorts – ranging from you $15/night worse-than-an-Econo Lodge all the way up to the most luxurious five-star accommodations available in the United States – Vegas will have something for everyone.
And while the NCAA might not want me to mention this, it’s highly possible you’ll be able to place a bet on your favorite team before each of the three tournament games.
See, winners all around!
Those cities that won’t be hosting…
As with every bidding process, there are always questions about cities that were not awarded the tournament.
I’ll start with the most obvious one, Detroit, which lost out on hosting in 2020 when COVID-19 led to the first-ever cancelation of the event.
According to Kemp, there was no easy way to accommodate placing Detroit into the rotation of tournaments. Neither Pittsburgh (host in 2021) nor Boston (2022) could move their events from their current years.
This is as tough a break as can be imagined for the city of Detroit and all of the organizers. These were folks ready to host this event and show off how much this city has changed. I know I was very much looking forward to returning to Detroit to see a city that has reimagined itself.
Then there are the cities that people consistently ask about. “Why hasn’t the NCAA picked Nashville?” “When is the Frozen Four heading back to Washington, D.C.?”
Well, that answer is a lot simpler. To be selected, you need to bid. Neither Nashville nor D.C. submitted a bid in this cycle.
Others have asked me about other cities like Denver and Columbus, both having hosted since the turn of the century and both solid college hockey markets. Though the NCAA couldn’t confirm that either city bid, sources tell me that both did.
Neither was selected. Sure, I know for the college hockey purist, they’d maybe prefer Denver over Tampa. But that shows just how much the event has – and continues to – evolve.
The reality is that the Frozen Four has become a spectacle, an absolute destination for fans and players alike. Sure, there main focus is the three hockey games, but now more than ever fans seem to be building larger agendas around their annual college hockey pilgrimage.
The reality is that in a bid process like this, there will always be winners and losers. But from this writer’s opinion, the committee got it right.
The NCAA on Wednesday announced regional and Frozen Four locations for men’s national hockey tournaments from 2022 through 2026.
2022
Regionals:
Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y. (ECAC Hockey)
PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. (Penn State)
Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo. (Denver)
DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. (Holy Cross) Frozen Four: TD Garden, Boston
2023
Regionals:
PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. (Penn State)
Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn. (Yale)
Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. (North Dakota)
SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H. (New Hampshire) Frozen Four: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
2024
Regionals:
Centene Community Ice Center, Maryland Heights, Mo. (Lindenwood)
Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. (Brown)
Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D. (Omaha)
MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass. (Massachusetts) Frozen Four: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
2025
Regionals:
PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. (Penn State)
Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. (North Dakota)
SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H. (New Hampshire)
Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio (Bowling Green) Frozen Four: Enterprise Center, St. Louis
2026
Regionals:
Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y. (Union)
Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo. (Denver)
Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D. (Omaha)
DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. (Holy Cross) Frozen Four: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
The 2021 Men’s Frozen Four will be in Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena.
In addition, the NCAA announced that men’s Division III semifinals and finals will be held at Koeppel Community Center in Hartford, Conn., in 2024 and at Utica (N.Y.) Memorial Auditorium in 2026.
The Women’s Frozen Four will be held at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn., 2023; Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., in 2024; Ridder Arena in Minneapolis in 2025; and Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pa., in 2026. The 2021 event will be at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa., in 2021 and at Pegula Ice Arena in 2022.
John Farinacci posted 10 goals among 22 points last season for Harvard (photo: Harvard Athletics).
The USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks have added forward John Farinacci to their 2020-21 roster.
Farinacci, a 2019 third-round pick (76th overall) of the Arizona Coyotes, played last year for Harvard, racking up 10 goals and 22 points in 31 games as a freshman.
“Any time you can add a player of his caliber to our team, you’re excited,” said Muskegon coach Mike Hamilton in a news release. “We have history with him — he was twice called up as an affiliate, and was with us during our playoff run two seasons ago, despite battling an injury that kept him off the ice.”
“We are really excited to add him to our lineup. He is a huge asset on the ice and maybe more importantly, from a leadership standpoint. He will be a great leader and mentor in our locker room.”
According to the Grand Forks Herald, the NCHC is planning to start the 2020-21 in a hub (or “bubble”) and play approximately 10 games in a three-week span between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Grand Forks, N.D., and Omaha have emerged as the favorites to host the games, with a final decision expected to be made sometime in the next two weeks by vote of NCHC schools.
Games would be played on weekdays and weekends.
“It gives you an opportunity to control variables that aren’t controlled in a normal scheduled travel environment,” NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton told the Herald last month. “We know the success the NBA had, the NHL has had. If you’re able to control some variables, it does give you an opportunity.”
The hub games would also cut down on travel costs for each school.
Fenton also touched on how such a plan would be viable academically.
“We have to be cognizant that we have academic calendars,” Fenton said to the Herald. “Although classes, for the most part, are moving online, the academic calendar is vitally important when we talk about schedules and about grouping concepts.”
Most likely, fans would not be allowed to attend games in the hub, but games would all be broadcast on NCHC.tv, and possibly on Midco Sports Network.
Games after Christmas, including locations, are still being finalized, but the Herald article says those games would be played at home sites.
The new CCHA, a men’s Division I conference that will begin play in October 2021, announced its new logo Tuesday.
The new CCHA logo, designed by Bosack & Co., one of the country’s leading college branding firms, is a “bold, distinctive interpretation” of each of the CCHA letter forms, underlined by a hockey stick using red and blue colors, “a classic hockey palette,” according to a CCHA news release.
“Today, we made another historic step in the branding of the CCHA,” CCHA commissioner Don Lucia said in a statement. “It is a very exciting time as we prepare to begin play in 2021, and we appreciate all of the work (Bosack & Co. founder and creative director) Joe Bosack and his team did to create the visual identity for our new league.”
“It was exciting to imagine the new brand identity that represents the mission and vision of the CCHA,” added Bosack. “We are thrilled with the results of our collaboration with Commissioner Lucia and the member schools.”
The new CCHA logo is also available in each member school’s own colors, which offers an opportunity for the institutions to further embrace the relationship between the CCHA and each school’s hockey program.
The new CCHA will include eight schools – Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, and St. Thomas,
Mark Phalon (left) and John Lidgett will join Jason Lammers on the Niagara bench this season.
Niagara has announced the hiring of two new coaches to the Purple Eagles staff.
Mark Phalon will be associate head coach and John Lidgett will serve as assistant coach.
“John’s intelligence, passion and teaching skills, combined with Mark’s experience, connections and work ethic, will enhance our student athletes as people, students and players,” Niagara head coach Jason Lammers said in a statement. “Their character, competence and elite ability to communicate will drive NU hockey’s journey toward regional dominance and national prominence.”
Phalon is moving back east following a two-year stint on the coaching staff at Alaska Anchorage. Prior to working with the Seawolves, he spent three seasons at Hobart. Phalon’s resume also boasts work with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and St. Lawrence.
“I am appreciative of Coach Lammers for the opportunity to join the Niagara University hockey family,” said Phalon. “NU hockey has a longstanding tradition with a number of great players and coaches who have come through the program. I am excited to get to work with the players and staff, and can hardly wait to get things going.”
Lidgett spent the 2019-20 season with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. He also has previous coaching experience with Aurora, and played at Colgate from 2011 to 2015.
“I am extremely grateful to be joining the Niagara University hockey program and the Niagara University campus community,” said Lidgett.
The NESCAC announced Thursday that winter sports conference play has been canceled.
Both men’s and women’s hockey play within the conference.
The statement from conference schools presidents:
With the fall semester for NESCAC institutions well underway, the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and the broader community remain our foremost concerns. Our institutions have limited travel off campus, restricted visitors to campus, and implemented strict protocols on physical distancing. To further mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and protect the well-being of those on campus and in the surrounding communities, each of our institutions is conducting a robust COVID-19 testing program.
In addition to these measures, many of our institutions have made or are considering significant modifications to the 2020-21 academic calendar. As a result, many of our students will not return to campus for the spring semester until late January or early February.
Given these institutional policies and calendar changes, the NESCAC Presidents have unanimously decided to cancel NESCAC conference competition, including conference championships, for the winter season. Among other things, the timing of students’ return to campus means there will not be enough time to conduct meaningful conference play.
We understand this decision will disappoint many of our students, given the important role athletics plays in the student experience. We remain committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our students to engage in athletic activities. Students may continue to participate in practice activities, strength and conditioning, skill development and leadership programming in accordance with NCAA, Conference and institutional policies, as well as state and local health guidelines. Institutions may schedule outside competition at their discretion.
Planning continues for the possibility of spring competition and updated information will be provided as it becomes available.
New Hampshire sophomore Filip Engarås was drafted in the sixth round (169th overall) Wednesday by the Edmonton Oilers (photo: UNH Athletics).
The second round of the 2020 NHL Draft kicked off Wednesday morning and saw a string of NCAA freshmen get picked as defenseman Tyler Kleven (44th overall, Ottawa Senators), defenseman Brock Faber (45th overall, Los Angeles Kings), goaltender Drew Commesso (46th overall, Chicago Blackhawks) and forward Luke Tuch (47th overall, Montreal Canadiens) went consecutively to start the second round.
All four players spent the last two seasons with USA Hockey’s NTDP in Plymouth, Mich.
Also in the second round, UConn sophomore defenseman Yan Kuznetsov went with the 50th overall pick to the Calgary Flames.
In the third round, nine players with NCAA ties were taken, followed by 13 in the fourth round, 10 in the fifth round, 10 in the sixth round and then wrapping up with a dozen in the seventh round.
Our list of NCAA players selected in the draft is here:
U.S. National Team Development alum Jake Sanderson, who is now enrolled at North Dakota, is anticipated to be the top selection in Tuesday’s NHL Draft (Photo: Rena Laverty / USA Hockey’s NTDP)
In a draft that was scheduled to be in Montreal but instead held virtually due to COVID-19, Jake Sanderson, who will begin his freshman season at North Dakota when NCHC play resumes, was the top collegian, selected fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators in the NHL Draft.
Only three total players with college ties were selected in the first round, the lowest number since the 2014 NHL Draft.
Sanderson was the second-highest American defenseman drafted in the last decade behind only Seth Jones, picked fourth by Nashville in 2013. In 68 games played last season, he registered nine goals and 34 assists for the U.S. National Team Development Program.
“For me growing up in Whitefish (Mont.), I was playing with kids younger and older than me,” Sanderson told NBC Sports. He could become the first player from Montana-born player to every play in the NHL. “Hockey is growing there and so am I.”
Wisconsin’s Dylan Holloway, who as a freshman notched eight goals and nine assists in 35 games, was the top active college player selected, taken by Edmonton as the 14th-overall selection.
Late in the second round, Brendon Brisson, who played last season for Chicago of the USHL and is enrolled at Michigan, was selected 29th by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The draft will be conducted over two days total, with the first round held on Tuesday evening and rounds 2 through 7 hosted beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday (NHL Network).
Here is a complete list of current U.S. college players and recruits selected in Tuesday’s opening round:
