Emilio Pettersen missed just one game in his two seasons at Denver, collecting 65 points in 76 games for the Pioneers (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Denver sophomore forward Emilio Pettersen has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames.
Pettersen will give up his last two seasons of NCAA eligibility with the Pioneers.
Last season, the Manlgerud, Norway, native led the Pioneers in scoring with 35 points on 13 goals and 22 assists in 36 games.
In two seasons with the Pioneers, Pettersen had 19 goals and 46 assists for 65 points and a plus-9 rating in 76 games. He missed only one game in his time with Denver.
Calgary originally selected Pettersen in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Bob Gaudet was a fixture behind the Dartmouth bench since 1997 (photo: Dartmouth Athletics).
When Bob Gaudet stepped behind the bench as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth, he never pictured himself as a lifelong coach.
The former Big Green goaltender who grew up in Saugus, Mass., was mostly just looking for a job in a familiar place. Gaudet had finished his playing career at Dartmouth having been to two Frozen Fours (then simply called the “final four,” with lower-case F’s so as not to be confused with college basketball).
He had kicked the can around the pros in Fort Wayne, Ind., but now had returned to the town he had grown to love, Hanover, N.H.
His time as an assistant was short-lived before he headed to another Ivy League school, Brown, in 1983-84. And it was there that he experienced his most testing season in his first with the Bears but from it, grew an appreciation for coaching that lasted him his entire professional life.
On Wednesday, Gaudet announced his retirement from coaching, having led Dartmouth for the last 23 seasons after eight behind the bench at Brown.
For Gaudet, though, he’ll always remember that first season as a head coach.
“I had not thought about coaching, but George Crowe saw something in me potentially as a coach,” said Gaudet. “The worst year of my coaching career propelled me. My first year as a head coach [at Brown], we went 1-25. To think that 30-whatever years later, I’d still be in the business when you’re faced with that your first year…
“They were great kids, but we didn’t have it that year. But four years later, we were in the national tournament.”
More than three decades later, Gaudet said he felt it was time to retire after having ample time to reflect on his career over recent weeks while at home, as are most Americans right now, as the nation battles the coronavirus pandemic.
“You don’t always have the time to step back and think,” said Gaudet. “Maybe [having time] is a dangerous thing. But I’ve had some perspective and priorities, I’ve come to grip with things and this was my choice.”
Gaudet goes over finite details with his Dartmouth team at practice (photo: Dartmouth Athletics).
The season for Dartmouth, unlike many other teams, had actually ended in the ECAC tournament first round just prior to all collegiate sports being canceled across the board days later. Gaudet, who has two elderly parents who still live in his hometown of Saugus, a wife who he met as an undergrad at Dartmouth, and three grown children – all of whom went through Dartmouth themselves, the two boys having played hockey for their father – said the decision to step aside right now was extremely difficult.
Even more difficult was telling his players in a virtual team meeting held on Wednesday evening.
“[Wednesday] evening was very, very difficult,” Gaudet admitted. “I’m talking to the entire team, my staff, my support staff via Zoom. I’m looking at the whole group. It’s a real great family. They’re fun to be around and it was great to see the kids and everybody.
“But to actually have to come out with the words that I’m retiring, that I’m not going to be coaching anymore is tough. It was very emotional.”
Emotion, though, is an interesting word when it comes to Gaudet. Anyone who knows him describes him the same way that ECAC commissioner Steve Hagwell did the second he was asked about the coach.
“First-class individual, all class across the board. He’s a first-class gentleman,” were Hagwell’s initial words.
But pressed, you also hear of a man who was competitive as any.
“He is very passionate,” said Hagwell. “He stood up and backed his players, from his standpoint, in a positive way. He had some fire, and I’ll term it passion. That’s the way he coached.”
Retired Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, who began his career as a commissioner in the ECAC when Gaudet first took over Brown, had a perfect anecdote to reflect Gaudet’s competitive nature.
“When I was working at Harvard helping [longtime coach] Billy Cleary, they sent me to scout [Gaudet] at Saugus High School,” recalled Bertagna. “There was a game in Gloucester. High schools don’t have printed programs. I’m watching the game and I’m thinking, ‘I’m new at this, but this Saugus goalie doesn’t look that good to me.’
“The first period went by and I went down to ice level and said, ‘Is that Gaudet?’ They said, ‘Oh no, he got suspended the last game, that’s the backup.’
“When I got to know the fiery side of him, I thought it was kind of funny that my first interaction was when he had been suspended from a high school game.”
That, though, isn’t the man people will remember nor the legacy Gaudet leaves.
Anyone who has ever been to what is now called the Ledyard Bank Tournament during the holidays (better known to some as the Auld Lang Syne) the wonderful hospitality that teams receive, most – if not all – of which could be attributed to the first-class nature of their host, Gaudet.
“Year after year, [Dartmouth] is a gritty, determined team,” said retired St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh, a longtime friend of Gaudet who got to work on the women’s side at Dartmouth in 2017-18 filling in for Laura Schuler when she was tabbed to coach the women’s Canadian Olympic team. “But I’ll tell you one thing, they always played the right way. They always played disciplined, they always played clean. That was a testament to the coach.”
Many years, many stories
Over 23 seasons with the Big Green, Gaudet compiled a 424-482-112 overall record (photo: Dartmouth Athletics)
When you coach for more than three decades in a league like the ECAC, an all-bus league where you might travel an hour or two between games on a Friday-Saturday road weekend, there are always going to be great stories.
Gaudet not only rode the busses as a head coach, but also as an assistant and a player. By his calculations, for 41 of the last 43 years, he’s made the drive via bus to every single ECAC building, including the longer drives to destinations like St. Lawrence and Clarkson as well as Cornell and Colgate.
It was a trip a number of years back to Ithaca and Hamilton, N.Y., that provided one of his favorite stories.
As Gaudet recounts it, the team had played at Cornell on Friday and, after checking out of the hotel early Saturday afternoon, began the 90-minute ride up to Hamilton to face Colgate that evening.
An hour into the drive, Gaudet realized something was wrong when the bus drove past the same hotel in Ithaca they had stayed the previous night.
“We left Cornell around 3 o’clock and we drove by the hotel we left an hour ago and hour into our trip, so the bus driver had gone the wrong way,” laughed Gaudet. “We drove by the hotel again and it looked familiar and now it was snowing pretty good.
“We got stuck on a hill. Somehow the gears were wrong in the bus and suddenly, old ladies in tiny vehicles are passing us. We were stuck on this hill. The tires are spinning. The entire bus filled up with smoke with the burning rubber from the tires.”
Gaudet had to get his whole team off the bus and the bus driver eventually got the bus moving again. Needless to say, the players’ minds were anywhere except being ready to face Colgate.
“The guys off the bus are making snow angels in the snow,” Gaudet said. “Some are trying to push the bus up the hill.
“We pulled into Colgate at 7:30 or close to 8. I remember seeing [Colgate coach] Donny [Vaughn].
“We had limited warm up and I think we scored on the first shot of the game. No warm up, no kicking the ball. We got off the bus we played and we go on to beat them 7-2 or something. It was actually an unbelievable experience.”
Gaudet’s other favorite story is one that Marsh also told, independent of one another. This one occurred back at home.
A highly-talented St. Lawrence team coached by March came into Thompson Arena and absolutely smoked the Big Green. Marsh had said his pleasantries to Gaudet and headed on the bus while the highly-competitive Gaudet went back to his office to reflect.
A while later, Gaudet was the last to leave Thompson Arena and saw one large package in the parking lot.
“I look out under the lights and there’s a box,” said Gaudet. “I thought maybe one of the fans had left a bomb or something. I walked up to it slowly. It’s a suitcase. I look closer and the name on it is ‘Joe Marsh.’”
Marsh picks up the story from there.
“We had a real good night, things went our way, and we swept that weekend; we’d beat Harvard, too,” recalled Marsh. “We get on the bus and when we’d sweep, the guys would always yell to the bus driver, ‘Hey Jimmy, stop the bus. Did you pack the four points?’
“Jimmy’d stop the bus and they’d laugh and then we’d go. Jimmy would open the door, to ceremoniously make sure the four points were packed.”
Little did anyone understand that at the bottom of the stairs of the bus, along with a bunch of empty pizza boxes and other luggage, was Marsh’s suitcase.
“When Jimmy opens the door, my bag flies out and we don’t notice it,” said Marsh. “We shut the door and leave. I get back to Canton [N.Y.] at about 4 in the morning, I’m looking all over the place for the suitcase. I’m looking through the trash. I’m tearing my hair out.”
On Monday morning, Marsh’s phone rang and it was Gaudet, laughing hysterically at the other end of the phone.
“’Did you lose something?’ he said.”
Oh, the stories.
The times, they are a-changin’
Gaudet takes pride that in his 39 seasons as a coach, he has been able to stay somewhat relevant not only as a coach but also as a leader of young men who so often look to their coach as a sort of father figure, many of them as they are embarking on adulthood.
He says that his own children, all of whom attended Dartmouth, helped keep him up to date on things like music and culture. But as Marsh noted, coaches don’t simply survive in collegiate athletics for as long as Gaudet did without the continuous ability to adapt to how the game itself changes.
Gaudet’s sons, Jim (2008-12) and Joe (2006-10), played for their father at Dartmouth (photo: Dartmouth Athletics).
On the ice, Gaudet is described as not just a mentor but a student himself. But the position of head coach in college hockey has undergone such drastic changes that it’s difficult to feel that today’s modern coach resembles those from the past generations.
Camaraderie hasn’t left the game when it comes to coaches, but as salaries have increased, so, too, has the pressure to win, and that changes the relationships among bench bosses.
As the older generation of coaches continue to retire and the proverbial college hockey guard continues to change, one of the things that made college hockey so special for Gaudet might be something that we don’t see as much going forward.
In fact, it’s memories of Joe Marsh that were easiest for Gaudet to recall.
“When we competed against each other, we’d meet at center ice, win or lose,” Gaudet said of Marsh. “Invariably, we’d talk about family. It wasn’t about the game. It wasn’t about this call or that. There were never any harsh words.”
Marsh countered that feeling with one of the greatest compliments that one coach can pay another.
“This is the guy you’d love to have your kid play for,” said Marsh. “Sure, you’d love to have your kid go to Dartmouth. But I don’t care if he was coaching the Chelsea School of Upholstery, you want that guy coaching your kid.”
After 26 games over two seasons at Northeastern, including just one game in 2019-20, defenseman AJ Villella has announced he is transferring to Bentley.
Thank you Northeastern University for the past 2 years. Excited and proud to be a part of @BentleyHockey!
During the 2018-19 season with the Huskies, Villella had a goal and an assist. He was held pointless in his lone game this past season.
If NCAA rules are changed next month, Villella will be eligible to play next season. If not, he will suit up for the Falcons beginning with the 2021-22 season.
Josh Latta, who led Alabama Huntsville in scoring this past season as a freshman, has announced he is transferring to UMass Lowell.
Latta posted seven goals and 18 points over 32 games in 2019-20 with the Chargers.
I’d like to thank @uahhockey for the past year. It was a privilege to be around such amazing teammates and staff everyday. That being said I’m beyond excited and honoured to announce I’ll be starting a new chapter at UMass Lowell in the fall. @RiverHawkHockey#UnitedinBlue
“Lowell was my first two college hockey games,” Latta told the Lowell Sun. “I was pretty blown away. Obviously they love their River Hawks. We walked out of the tunnel and all you could see was the student section. Not a lot of programs have the passion that UMass Lowell fans have. I’m stoked. I’m really, really excited. A few of the (UML) guys reached out today. Everyone has great things to say and that’s an awesome sign.”
The River Hawks swept the Chargers at Tsongas Center in two games last October.
Latta will be eligible to play next season for the River Hawks if a new NCAA transfer rule is passed in May. If the rule is not passed, Latta will start with UML with the 2021-22 season.
Also in the Sun report, Lowell coach Norm Bazin said sophomore goaltender Eric Green, sophomore defenseman Cale List and sophomore forward Derek Osik have left the team and will look to transfer, while junior forward Chris Schutz, who will graduate in May, could have returned for one more season but will play pro hockey next season in Europe.
Amanda Conway of Norwich (Mark Collier/Norwich University)
It’s been about a month since the college hockey season abruptly ended. As the writer covering women’s D-III college hockey for USCHO, I thought I’d give a quick rundown on the players I think should be recognized for their performance by announcing a player of the year and All-USCHO first and second teams.
Player of the Year: Amanda Conway, Norwich
Conway had an amazing senior season, averaging over two points a game. She finished with 32 goals and 27 assists for 59 points. She was only held without a point in four games on the year. She had three game-winning goals, three short-handed goals, and five power-play goals. One of her game-winning goals came in the first-round NCAA tournament game against Amherst, a 3-1 victory that gave the Cadets a measure of revenge for a 4-1 loss to Amherst in January. Conway was recognized for her season with the Laura Hurd Award, given to the top player in women’s Division III hockey. She also earned her third consecutive appearance on the East Region All-American First Team.
All-USCHO First Team
F: Amanda Conway, Norwich
F: Emma Crocker, Elmira
F: Abigail Stow, Wisconsin-River Falls
D: Kelly O’Sullivan, Adrian
D: Samantha Benoit, Norwich
G: Erin Connolly, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
All-USCHO Second Team
F: Bre Simon, Hamline
F: Annie Katonka, Plattsburgh
F: Kaleigh Martinson, Wisconsin-Superior
D: Hailey Herdine, Wisconsin-River Falls
D: Michaela Giutarri, Hamilton
G: Denisa Jandová, Adrian
Bob Gaudet spent the past 23 seasons as Dartmouth’s head coach and leaves as the program’s all-time leader in both wins (331) and games coached (752) (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet has announced his retirement after 32 years as a head coach, effective June 30, 2020.
The program’s all-time leader in both wins (331) and games coached (752), Gaudet has been the face of the Big Green men’s program for 23 years, taking over at his alma mater prior to the start of the 1997-98 season after nine years as the head coach at Brown.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve in the Dartmouth men’s hockey program as a student-athlete, assistant coach, parent, head coach and a proud alumnus,” Gaudet said in a statement. “I’ve been so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to interact with so many talented coaches, staff members, faculty, administrators, alumni and especially players over the better part of the last four decades.
“As a team, we always talk about leaving the jersey in a better place once you exit Thompson Arena, and I hope that I have successfully accomplished that mission.”
Gaudet became the winningest coach in Dartmouth history with his 309th victory behind the bench on Nov. 30, 2018, against No. 16 Cornell, passing the legendary Eddie Jeremiah, who had owned the record for more than a half century.
The previous season, Gaudet won his 300th game at Dartmouth by defeating No. 7 Clarkson and joining Jeremiah as the only two coaches in program history to reach the milestone.
A member of the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018, Gaudet became the 23rd Division I coach in history to win his 400th career game when Dartmouth beat No. 15 Quinnipiac on Nov. 3, 2018.
“Bobby was a passionate teacher and coach who always put the welfare of his student-athletes first,” Dartmouth athletics director Harry Sheehy said. “He was a wonderful ambassador and terrific department member who truly saw the big picture and understood the role of athletics at Dartmouth. As a son of Dartmouth, his passion for Dartmouth Hockey was exceeded only by his love for the college. He leaves behind a powerful legacy forged through 23 years of impacting Dartmouth students. On a personal level, I will miss my interaction with Bobby greatly. I wish Bobby and his wife Lynne the very best as they enter the next chapter of their lives.”
This past season, Gaudet coached in his 1,000th career game as Dartmouth defeated Princeton 4-3 on the road in overtime on Jan. 3. In doing so, he became just the seventh coach in NCAA hockey history to reach 1,000 games within one conference and the first in the ECAC Hockey ranks to reach the milestone.
Gaudet was honored as the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year in 2005-06 — just the second Dartmouth coach to earn the award — as he guided the Big Green to a share of the league’s regular-season crown and the postseason tournament’s No. 1 seed for the first time ever. For his efforts that year, Gaudet was also named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, presented to the AHCA National Coach of the Year.
The following year, Gaudet led Dartmouth to its first Ivy League title since his junior year as a player (1979-80).
Prior to returning to Hanover, Gaudet spent nine seasons as the head coach at Brown from 1988 through 1997. In Providence, he turned around the program and, in 1993, guided the Bears to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 17 years. Gaudet led Brown to a pair of Ivy League titles in 1991 and 1995, earning his first ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year in the latter. He was also tabbed as a finalist for the Penrose Award in both 1993 and 1995.
A former Dartmouth goaltender, Gaudet led his team to a pair of Frozen Four appearances in 1979 and 1980 in Detroit and Providence, respectively. Following his playing career at Dartmouth, he signed a pro contract with the Winnipeg Jets in 1981 and played in their minor league system before returning to Hanover to start his coaching career as an assistant under former head coaches George Crowe and Brian Mason.
Dartmouth has played a massive role in Gaudet’s life as each member of his immediate family is an alum of the college. He met his wife Lynne during his time as an undergrad and all three of their children — Joe, Jim and Kelly — have also graduated from Dartmouth. Both Joe and Jim were four-year letter-winners with the men’s hockey team, playing for their father as members of the Big Green.
A national search for Gaudet’s successor will begin immediately.
Defenseman Bo Hanson posted 47 points in 102 games for St. Lawrence from 2017 to 2020 (photo: St. Lawrence Athletics).
Bo Hanson played youth hockey in Colorado for the Colorado Rampage and will be returning to the state next season to play as a graduate transfer on the blue line for Denver.
Hanson spent the past three seasons at St. Lawrence and according to his social media, is working to finish his degree early.
Thank you St. Lawrence for everything the past three years. Thank you for giving me a chance to gain a valuable education in the classroom and away from it as well. I met some of my best friends and gained a whole… https://t.co/6G3SgQkXIz
North Dakota’s Andrew Peski and Western Michigan’s Paul Washe battle for position in a game Feb. 29, 2020, in Grand Forks, N.D. (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
College hockey’s six Division I men’s conferences are planning alternate schedules should COVID-19 concerns delay the start of the 2020-21 season.
“We remain optimistic the 2020-21 season can be played, as scheduled,” wrote NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton in an email to USCHO. “However, the conference office has been modeling (and will continue to model) multiple scenarios related to financial operations and scheduling for next academic year as alternative plans.”
The NCHC will have several video conferences next week to replace what would have been taking place today and tomorrow in Naples, Fla., at the cancelled annual American Hockey Coaches Association convention, and COVID-19’s impact will be discussed.
“We will be prepared to adjust as necessary based on the information received from leadership at our institutions, along with federal and state health officials,” Fenton said.
In the east, where the virus has so far had the most significant and deadly impact, Atlantic Hockey and Hockey East are each looking at several approaches to a shortened or revamped schedule.
Atlantic Hockey associate commissioner Steffan Waters told USCHO that the league is looking at options in which non-conference games are eliminated, non-conference games are kept and conference games reduced, and also schedules that would reduce the total number of games from 34 to the NCAA minimum of 25.
However, even that minimum of 25 games may be relaxed, according to the NCAA.
The type of schedule Atlantic Hockey adopts would also depend on when the season gets underway. Atlantic Hockey is looking at November and January starts in its planning, Waters explained, “but ultimately it will depend on the states and if there are any restrictions left in place.”
Hockey East associate commissioner Brian Smith told USCHO via email that the conference is evaluating various options including a shortened league season of 20 games or whatever might be necessary that “retains as much schedule integrity as possible,” based on a start after Thanksgiving or in January.
Smith also noted that the league has examined how state restrictions could change the location of games. A contest might need to be moved from one participant’s campus to the other, or perhaps held at a neutral location.
Hockey East chose to delay the meetings it would have held in Naples this week to a later date, rather than meeting electronically. The league’s scheduling options will be discussed then.
“We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves because, as we know, things are changing so rapidly,” Smith said.
ECAC Hockey is also considering alternate schedules, but has no specific scenarios worked out, according to the league.
On Monday, the Big Ten announced the formation of its “Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases” to provide counsel and medical advice to its 14 member institutions. While the Big Ten hockey conference would not comment on its scheduling plans, USCHO was able to confirm that the conference is actively planning for the possibility of a shortened or altered schedule.
The WCHA has been conducting league meetings this week. According to the WCHA, scheduling was discussed, and the implementation of a plan going forward will await instructions from the NCAA.
This story was updated April 22, 2020, to include the WCHA’s response.
Two years later, Illinois is still on track to make hockey work, even with the COVID-19 outbreak putting the brakes on some of the planning.
“Candidly, we were bracing and preparing for a big announcement as early as next month,” Illinois athletic Josh Whitman told the News-Gazette. “We felt like we had put everything in the order that we needed. We had all the partners around the table. We had a good, solid plan to move it forward. Then, of course, everything changed.”
With all NCAA sports paused for the spring season, that also means new sports coming to various campuses are also at a standstill.
“We were really close on the hockey thing,” Whitman said. “I think we continue to remain very excited about the project and very optimistic about its future — particularly the impact it would have on our community. There are some people who have suggested it could be a very helpful re-ignition to Champaign-Urbana and to helping our economy come back online following the pandemic.
“We’re going to continue to monitor it. We’re still in very active conversations with all the different partners who have come around the table to help move that forward. I’m hopeful that’s a short-term pause and not a long-term no.”
Whitman added that he planned on announcing hockey for the school as early as last month.
“We had some other key partners I think come into line the last several months that gave us a lot of confidence that we were going to be able to move this forward,” Whitman said. “I think that we’re now in the process of reconnecting with all those partners. We’ve had a couple conference calls to see where everybody’s at in light of this new environment. By and large, most people and most organizations remain very comfortable with this new situation.
“There are a couple other entities that are also kind of seeing how this is going to play out in terms of their own financial picture. It made it evident it was wisest for all of us to take a short pause here and make sure each of the different entities remains committed and capable of the support necessary to get it done.”
Tom Upton served as an assistant coach with Mercyhurst from 2017 to 2020 (photo: Matt Durisko/Mercyhurst Athletics).
Mercyhurst assistant coach Tom Upton has left his position to become the new head coach and general manager for the USHL’s Madison Capitols.
“I would like to thank Tom for his three years of commitment, dedication, and passion that he gave everyday,” said Lakers head coach Rick Gotkin in a statement. “He always brought great energy and enthusiasm and that rubbed off on our entire program. Tommy leaves Mercyhurst with an Atlantic Hockey Association championship on his resume in 2017, and he knows what it takes to win. Our entire program will miss his infectious personality but we are all very excited for him as he begins his new opportunity as the Head Coach and General Manger of the Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey League, which is regarded as one of the best development leagues in the country.
“On behalf of our entire program I would like to wish Tommy, Sarah, and Briggs the best of luck, and continued success as they begin this new chapter in their lives.”
“This is a bittersweet moment for my family and I but truly an opportunity that we could not pass up,” added Upton. “We absolutely love Mercyhurst, Erie, and the people we have been fortunate to surround ourselves with over the last three years.
“I would like to thank Rick Gotkin and Greg Gardner for all they taught me over the last three years and I hold each of them close to my heart as great friends. I would also like to thank President Victor, Laura Zirkle, and athletic director Brad Davis for their support and friendship for not just myself and my family but for our men’s hockey program and Mercyhurst University as a whole.
“Finally I want to thank the players from the past three years. They made every day fun to come to the rink and go to work. I appreciate all the love and respect they showed my family and I over the past three years and I will always have great relationships with each of them.”
The NCAA announced Friday that high school students intending to play NCAA Division I or II sports whose final semesters of their senior year were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic will have several pathways to meet the NCAA’s initial-eligibility requirements this year.
“The eligibility center is navigating the complexity of COVID-19 and its negative impact on our membership, high schools and student-athletes,” said NCAA eligibility center VP Felicia Martin in a statement. “We understand this is an unprecedented situation and a difficult time for students and their parents, and the eligibility center is working diligently to ensure the best possible outcome for college-bound student-athletes and our member schools.”
Membership committees in both Divisions I and II reviewed initial-eligibility data and determined the NCAA would offer flexibility for incoming student-athletes based on research, fairness, equity and a standard of college readiness.
Students expected to graduate from high school in time to enroll in a Division I school for the 2020-21 academic year will be academically eligible by earning a 2.3 grade-point average in 10 NCAA-approved core courses, with a combined seven courses in English, math and science, by the start of their seventh semester in high school (prior to senior year).
These criteria do not require a standardized test score and will not apply to students who are expected to graduate after spring or summer 2020.
International students expected to graduate from high school in time to enroll in a Division I or II school for the 2020-21 academic year will be eligible for an automatic initial-eligibility waiver if they complete at least 10 core-course units before starting the seventh semester with at least a 2.3 (DI) or 2.2 (DII) grade-point average in those courses.
For students intending to enroll at Division II schools after graduating from high school this spring or summer, the standard will be completion of 10 NCAA-approved core courses by their seventh semester in high school (prior to senior year), with at least a 2.2 grade-point average in those courses.
These standards will be considered automatic waivers for both Divisions I and II, which means these students meeting these criteria are academically eligible to receive an athletics scholarship, practice and compete in their first year at an NCAA member school.
Students also could qualify using the normal Division I standard for practice, competition and athletics aid (16 core courses with at least a 2.3 GPA and a test score that matches their SAT or ACT score) or Division II standard (16 core courses with at least a 2.2 GPA and a test score that matches their SAT or ACT score).
In addition, many students already know they are academically qualified to compete because they met the early academic qualifier standard for either Division I or II.
“We are keenly aware of the educational disruptions and academic uncertainty that prospective student-athletes are experiencing,” Martin said. “To that end, the eligibility center is committed to providing support and flexibility in application of initial-eligibility requirements as we remain nimble for additional issues we can’t predict or forecast.”
The eligibility center will also alter its approach to schools that issue pass/fail grades due to school closures. Ordinarily, a “pass” on a student’s transcript is awarded the school’s lowest passing grade, most often a D, and is assigned 1.0 quality points.
For courses completed in spring and summer 2020 with a “pass” grade, the eligibility center will apply the credit earned in those courses toward the core-course requirement.
If the core GPA would increase by assigning a value of 2.3 (the minimum GPA to qualify to compete in Division I), that value will be assigned to passed courses. If the 2.3 mark would decrease the student’s overall GPA, the core-course GPA will be calculated based only on courses with assigned letter grades from other available terms.
This policy will apply to students from all grade levels who have pass/fail grades in NCAA-approved core courses in spring and summer 2020 due to the COVID-19 response.
Students enrolling in Division I schools also will be allowed up to six core courses completed after starting the seventh semester of high school and before full-time enrollment in college, regardless of whether the student graduated on time or when the courses are completed.
This approach will allow students impacted by school closures to complete additional core courses toward their initial eligibility. This is the current rule for Division II. Division I’s regular rule allows only one core course to be completed after graduation.
The eligibility center will also not require a separate review of distance or e-learning programs used for NCAA-approved core courses during spring and summer 2020 in response to school closures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Students are encouraged to complete their courses as recommended by their school, district or state department of education.
Breanna Scarpaci spent four seasons at BU and made her mark on the ice as well as in the local Boston youth hockey community (photo: Rich Gagnon).
Boston University senior defenseman Breanna Scarpaci, whose efforts to support young hockey players began in high school, has been named the first recipient of the College Hockey Inc. Scholarship, presented by JLG Architects.
Scarpaci will receive a $2,500 postgraduate scholarship that was created “to honor an NCAA hockey student-athlete who helps build the game through their support of the next generation of hockey players,” according to a College Hockey Inc. news release
“Breanna’s passion for introducing more people to hockey embodies what we hoped to honor when we created this scholarship,” said College Hockey Inc. executive director Mike Snee in the release. “We are thrilled that, with the support of JLG Architects, we are able to recognize her efforts and support her postgraduate studies.”
“Hockey is the coolest sport – in part because of the many student-athletes committed to growing the game,” added JLG Architects CEO Michelle Allen. “We are so proud of the exemplary players who submitted applications, and thrilled to be able to support Breanna’s future success.”
A native of Washington, Mich., Scarpaci worked to bring hockey to a new audience while attending Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn. As a senior, she created a learn-to-skate program for students at the neighboring Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. She and fellow Shattuck St. Mary’s hockey players hosted MSAD students for monthly sessions that ranged from skating basics to relay races and games of tag.
At Boston University, Scarpaci continued to share her love of the game at skates with the East Coast Jumbos of the American Special Hockey Association, in camps and clinics with Pro Ambitions Hockey, and at postgame Skate with the Terriers events.
“During her time at Boston University, Breanna has excelled as a person, student and athlete while being a highly active individual in the area of community service,” said Boston University coach Brian Durocher. “Her engaging ways, willingness to go the extra mile with young hockey players and conviction towards the growth of the game has been a wonderful reflection on Boston University and our program. She is someone who has participated in far too many events to list, but in each of them she has either assisted a worthy charity or generated a great level of fun for the youth that are participating.
“We are all most appreciative of the award that College Hockey Inc. and the most generous folks with JLG Architects have bestowed upon Breanna Scarpaci. She is a most worthy recipient and someone who has distinguished herself at BU and throughout the hockey community.”
Scarpaci will use the scholarship next year as she begins work in BU’s physical therapy doctoral program.
“I am extremely honored to receive this scholarship,” Scarpaci said. “Thank you to College Hockey Inc. and JLG Architects for your generosity. This scholarship will help me pursue future studies as I begin my postgraduate work. I would also like to thank my coaches, teammates, and most importantly, my family, for all their support during my four years at Boston University.”
The scholarship is available to any NCAA hockey player (men’s or women’s, of any division). Applications required an essay on the student-athlete’s contributions to the youth hockey community, which could be accompanied by videos or other supplemental information.
The winner was selected by a committee made up of representatives of College Hockey Inc. and JLG Architects.
Brett Epp spent the past two seasons tending the Nichols crease (photo: Brian Foley/Nichols College Athletics).
Brett Epp, a goaltender who played the past two seasons at Nichols, has left school and will play the 2020-21 season for Nipissing, a Canadian OUA/USports university in North Bay, Ont.
“I’m really excited to get the season going and get back to playing hockey,” Epp said in a news release. “My expectations for next season are just focusing on taking it day by day and doing everything I can to get better every day so I can do what I can to help our team have success.
“I’m very grateful to be coming to such a great program, athletically and academically.”
“Brett Epp will give us some experience in net,” added Nipissing coach Mike McParland. “After having already played two years NCCA, Brett comes in as a mature player and will help stabilize our goalie position.”
In two years with the Bison, Epp saw action in 29 games, going 10-16-3 with two shutouts.
Rensselaer’s Todd Burgess scored 14 goals this season after netting just eight total coming into 2019-20 (photo: Liz Brady/RPI Athletics).
This week has seen at least five more players announce their intent to transfer for the 2020-21 season, either to sit out a year and be eligible for 2021-22 or as graduate transfers who will be eligible with their new schools immediately.
Rensselaer forward Todd Burgess will be a grad transfer next season at Minnesota State after recording 14 goals and 20 points in 32 games in 2019-20 for the Engineers.
Excited to announce my commitment to Minnesota state, Mankato to play hockey and obtain my masters degree next year. To my teammates, coaches, family, fans, and people I met along the way at RPI, thank you for the… https://t.co/6qXhMbIuUT
St. Lawrence forward Keenan Suthers just finished his junior year with the Saints, posting nine goals and 14 points in 31 games. He’s off to Maine and will sit the 2020-21 season.
Jonny Tychonick played 24 games on the North Dakota back end this season, going for four goals and 11 points in 24 games. According to the Grand Forks Herald, he’ll head to Omaha next season and will be eligible in the fall of 2021.
Jonny Tychonick will transfer to Omaha. He talks about the details of his decision, the process and his appreciation for UND's support during it: https://t.co/9FLvWXAOYS
— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) April 14, 2020
Vermont sophomore forward Johnny DeRoche, who can also play defense, is transferring to Northeastern and will sit out next season, according to the Northeastern Hockey Blog. DeRoche had seven assists in 2019-20 over 28 games.
Caleb Rule saw action in just nine games as a freshman forward last season at Providence and will transfer to Miami and will be eligible to play in 2021-22, according to the New England Hockey Journal. He was held without a point in 2019-20 with the Friars.
In other transfer news, Caleb Rule will be heading to Miami after playing just nine games and recording zero points at Providence as a freshman.
In a tweet sent out Tuesday by the UMass hockey account, the team announced that sophomore forward Bobby Kaiser is retiring from the game of hockey due to “a culmination of shoulder injuries.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our program to be able to participate in an event like this on such a grand stage,” said Utica coach Dave Clausen in a news release. “Not many college hockey teams get the chance to play in an outdoor game so we are certainly excited. As proud members of this community, we are also looking forward to being part of this whole weekend of exciting events for the Mohawk Valley.”
“I think I speak for all of the girls when I say that we are so excited about the outdoor game,” added Utica senior forward Lexi Stanisewski. “A lot of us haven’t experienced playing outdoors yet, and only a handful of college teams have had the opportunity to do so. It’s something that a lot of us dream about as kids so finally being able to participate in this game will be a memorable experience that will stick with us forever.”
Ticket information will be announced at a later date.
Todd Woodcroft comes to Vermont with a solid background in the NHL and in international competition (photo: thecoachessite.com).
Vermont announced late Wednesday night that Todd Woodcroft has been named the fifth head coach in Catamounts history.
Woodcroft spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets and over the last 20 years, has built an extensive resume in coaching and management in the NHL and international hockey.
“As we begin an exciting new chapter in the long, proud history of our men’s hockey program, it’s a pleasure for me to welcome Todd to the University of Vermont and the Catamount athletics family,” said UVM director of athletics Jeff Schulman in a statement. “Todd’s experiences in hockey at the highest level, in the NHL and internationally, combined with his personal integrity and a strong desire to coach in a college setting that values academic excellence and personal development alongside high-level hockey, made him standout among an outstanding pool of candidates.”
“As a UVM hockey alumnus and in my role as director of Athletics, I’m very excited for the fresh perspectives that Todd will bring to our program and our student-athletes. His hockey knowledge, communication skills, ability to identify and develop players, and passion for teaching the game are exceptional. The future is clearly bright for UVM hockey.”
“It is with great pride that I accept the position of head coach of the men’s ice hockey team at the University of Vermont,” added Woodcroft. “I would like to thank President Garimella and Director of Athletics Jeff Schulman for leading a thorough search and this opportunity.
“I am extremely humbled and very honored to lead the Catamounts. From Day 1, our fans can expect a program that will emphasize excellence in the classroom, service to the community and a team that will compete in every game and ultimately at a championship level.
“Together, the student-athletes, coaches and staff will work every day to make our university, our alumni, our community and our state proud. I am well aware of the special connection the hockey program has to the people of Vermont and that I am following in the footsteps of three highly respected leaders in Coach Cross, Gilligan and Sneddon. It is my privilege to continue this storied tradition.”
Prior to his time with the Jets, Woodcroft spent three seasons with the Calgary Flames as the team’s scouting director and professional scout. He also worked four seasons with the Los Angeles Kings from 2009 to 2013 as their primary European scout, winning a Stanley Cup in 2012.
Woodcroft broke into the NHL as a video coach and then as a scout with the Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals from 2000 to 2008.
In 2004, Woodcroft served on the coaching staff with Team Canada where he won an IIHF World Championship gold medal. He was also an assistant coach for Belarus at the 2006, 2014, and 2016 IIHF World Championships.
During the 2008-09 campaign, he was the assistant general manager and director of player personnel for Dynamo Minsk in the KHL. In 2015, he was an assistant coach with Switzerland at the IIHF World Championships and he served as a special assignment/assistant coach with Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
In his most recent international experience, he won a second gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Championships with Sweden as an assistant coach.
A native of Toronto, Woodcroft earned his bachelor’s degree from McGill University in 1995 and continued his academic pursuit with a bachelor of education from the University of Toronto in 1996.
If an arc was put in place to add scoring to college hockey, if shots were deflected, how would that affect outcomes of games? (photo: Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota).
Efforts to grow the game of hockey have produced some innovative ideas, including how to increase scoring.
One idea is a “two-point” arc, similar to the three-point arc in basketball.
Details are fuzzy at this early stage, but the arc at last year’s Aurora Games (an international, multi-sport women’s tournament/festival) bent from the outer hashes to behind the faceoff circles, with an apex well inside the blue line.
A recent quantitative study has even analyzed how such an arc might affect scoring in the NHL, and where it might be placed on the ice.
But before the novelty gains any more traction, fans of the game might want to seriously consider its pitfalls.
This article considers the potential effects of a two-point arc in hockey by contrasting it with its hugely successful predecessor, basketball’s three-point arc. As we will see, a scoring arc in hockey would have different effects than the arc in basketball, for three reasons.
The first reason is historical and involves the roles of different position groups. Since basketball’s modern era, the tallest players have clustered near the basket, grabbing most of the rebounds and the scoring opportunities.
Before the invention of the three-point arc, smaller guards found themselves stuck on the periphery of the action — literally — on both offense and defense. The three-point arc solved this imbalance by incentivizing shooting farther from the basket, where smaller, quicker guards can be more effective. The allure of three points from the perimeter helped reestablish offensive and defensive roles for smaller guards in the game.
Hockey does not have this problem.
In hockey, of course, defensemen are nearest the goal in their own zone, while forwards are nearest the goal in the offensive zone. This means that no position group is marginalized the way that guards were in basketball—each group plays in the high-traffic area where the most scoring occurs, albeit on opposite ends of the ice.
The three-point arc in basketball was invented in part to correct a problem of balance of gameplay between position groups, but this is a non-problem in hockey.
A second consequence of the three-point arc in basketball is on-court spacing. By luring shooters and their defenders away from the basket, the three-point arc unclogged the middle of the offense. We would probably not see the same effect in hockey, at least to the same degree.
The reason? Geometry.
Basketball is a more three-dimensional game than hockey, owing largely to the height of the basket and the trajectory of the shots. Because shots in basketball are launched high into the air, any shot-blocking must occur very near the shooter. (Of course, blocking a shot during its descent to the basket is “goaltending,” which is discouraged by simply counting the basket.)
In basketball, then, failure to defend shooters tightly on the perimeter can amount to a failure to guard them at all. Also, drawing defenders away from the basket opens up interior-passing lanes near the basket, which further boosts scoring.
An arc in hockey would probably have a less profound effect on defensive spacing. Of course, shooters at the point in hockey must be defended, and being closer to a shooter does cut down shooting angles.
That said, the fact remains that a hockey shot can be blocked at any point on its trajectory to the goal. (In hockey, goaltending is … encouraged.) Defensive players in hockey would not be forced to guard perimeter shooters as tightly as we see in basketball, because they could still block shots while staying closer to the goal.
Therefore, a two-point arc in hockey would not necessarily translate to increased defensive spacing, nor the resultant interior-passing lanes, at least to the extent that we see in basketball.
The final contrast between scoring arcs in the two sports involves simple arithmetic.
Actually, there are two considerations, one major and one minor.
The minor point is that hockey is a low-scoring sport. To vary the number of points available for each scoring opportunity in a low-scoring sport would inject an even stronger element of unpredictability, or maybe chance, than already exists.
In a high-scoring sport like basketball, whether a player’s foot was “on the line” for a three-point shot might mean the difference of one point among fifty or one hundred, depending on the level of play.
In hockey, whether the puck was “on the line” for a single goal might swing the total scoring in the game by a significant percentage, or even double it.
The more major point involves strategy, particularly involving scoring at the end of games. A quick glance reveals that a two-point arc in hockey could have a greater impact on scoring than the three-point arc in basketball: shooting from behind the arc would yield double the usual score in hockey (two versus one), and only 50 percent more in basketball (three versus two).
The difference is actually greater than that. The reason involves basketball’s free throws.
Before the invention of the three-point arc in basketball, teams could already score three points on a single possession: by making a two-point basket, simultaneously getting fouled, and making a one-point free throw. In this sense, adding the three-point shot merely increased the number of ways a team could get three points on a single possession, but didn’t increase the number of points they could get on a possession outright.
(A technical point: of course, nowadays a player can earn a four-point play by getting fouled on a successful three-point shot. This isn’t particularly common — fouling is less common/inevitable that far from the basket.)
At the end of a basketball game, then, any deficit of three points or fewer can be erased in a single possession—hence the critical four-point lead, which creates a “two-possession game.” This was true before the invention of the three-point arc, and remains true today.
Of course, the arc makes it far easier to quickly earn three points near the end of a game, but any deficit of four, five, or six points remains a “two-possession game” in basketball.
Again, hockey is different.
Adding a two-point arc would fully redefine a “two-possession game” as it stands in hockey today. Such an arc wouldn’t simply provide another avenue to score the same number of points on a single possession, as in basketball.
Instead, it would double the number of points possible, as well as enable a single shot to wipe out today’s “two-possession” deficit entirely. The ability to tie any two-possession game with one shot would be comparable to adding a six-point arc in basketball.
Considering the comment above regarding low-scoring games, the ability to double the available points scored on a single possession would not merely change the game, as we’ve seen in basketball. Instead, it might result in… chaos, where virtually any scoring deficit could be erased in two mere possessions, or in mere seconds.
Further, teams could quickly jump out to 2-0 or 4-0 leads on only one or two shots, thereby transforming the rest of the game into a perimeter-shooting affair for the team playing catch-up. The effects of a two-point arc on scoring and game strategy would be seismic.
Which might be part of its appeal, at least to some. However, adding a two-point arc in hockey — a move that is undoubtedly inspired, at least in part, by the overwhelming popularity of the three-point arc in basketball — would more fully disrupt the sport, for reasons stemming from its game play and scoring structure.
Further, adding an arc would not solve problems within the game, like balance among position groups, as the three-point shot did in basketball decades ago.
There are undoubtedly several ways to increase scoring in the game of hockey, which may be a noble goal in itself. However, following basketball’s lead would mean that no lead is safe.
The game might arc toward madness.
P. A. Jensen (@PrideOnIceCream) is a freelance data analyst and a former basketball official. He is also editor of RuralityCheck.com.
Michael Gerson spent the past four seasons as an assistant with Robert Morris (photo: Justin Cohn/RMU Athletics).
Chatham announced Wednesday that Michael Gershon has been named the new men’s hockey head coach.
Gershon comes to Chatham after four seasons as assistant coach at nearby Robert Morris and replaces Michael Callan, who stepped down in March after three seasons with the Cougars.
“Coach Gershon brings excitement and energy to the Chatham program,” Chatham athletic director Leonard Trevino said in a statement. “His background, previous success and experience is the ideal match for our program.”
“I want to thank Dr. Finegold, Mr. Trevino and Dr. Giles for their commitment to the hockey program,” added Gershon. “I am honored to become the next men’s ice hockey head coach at Chatham University. I am looking forward to working with these student-athletes. This is an opportunity to start a new chapter in Chatham hockey through hard work and determination.”
Prior to Robert Morris, Gershon spent three years as a head coach, general manager, and president of teams in the NAHL). During this time, he helped advance 31 players into college hockey careers.
Gershon played NCAA D-III hockey at Brockport, graduating in 2009.
After his college career, Gershon played for the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers and IHL’s Port Huron Icehawks.
