Boston College garnered six first-place votes and came in first in the Hockey East women’s coaches poll, which was released Tuesday.
Boston University (two) and Northeastern (one) also earned first-place nods.
| School (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. Boston College (6) | 78 |
| 2. Boston University (2) | 72 |
| 3. Northeastern (1) | 66 |
| 4. Connecticut | 56 |
| 5 (tie). New Hampshire | 45 |
| 5 (tie). Vermont | 45 |
| 7. Providence | 42 |
| 8. Maine | 38 |
| 9. Merrimack | 26 |
The Robert Morris University men’s team announced Tuesday he promotion of Michael Gershon to assistant coach and the addition of Kyle Pettit to the staff as the team’s hockey operations coordinator.
Gershon served as coordinator of hockey operations during the 2015-16 season after spending three years as head coach, president and general manager of teams in the North American Hockey League.
“I’m really looking forward to having more responsibility, being behind the bench, going out and recruiting the next group of players to come in,” Gershon said in a statement.
“Michael Gershon is a very smart hockey coach,” added RMU head coach Derek Schooley. “His energy, enthusiasm and passion have been a breath of fresh air since he arrived at Robert Morris last year. Our players have an excellent relationship with Michael, which will lead to a seamless transition in his his new position.”
A former Division III defenseman, Gershon graduated from Brockport with a degree in communcations in 2009. Gershon was named second-team All-SUNYAC in the 2008-09 season and served as an assistant captain during his senior campaign. Gershon played professionally in the ECHL on the Wheeling Nailers’ defense in 2010-2011 and for the IHL’s Port Huron Icehawks in 2009-10.
Pettit joins the Colonials in a hockey operations role after working in a similar position for the Manchester Monarchs, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Pettit was the Monarchs’ video coordinator last year and worked as a hockey operations assistant with the Manchester organization from 2014-15 in the AHL. Pettit also has experience working in as interim director of hockey operations with the Northeastern men’s hockey team early in the 2015 season.
Pettit is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management.
“Kyle Pettit comes very highly recommended from numerous people in professional hockey,” Schooley said. “His experience with video at the AHL and ECHL levels will be a very big plus for our program. We are excited to see the development of our players with his video expertise.”
Defending ECAC champion Quinnipiac is once again the top team in the conference, according to two polls released Monday.
The Bobcats came in the top slot in both the coaches and media polls.
| School (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. Quinnipiac (6) | 110 |
| 2. St. Lawrence (4) | 102 |
| 3. Harvard | 96 |
| 4. Clarkson | 88 |
| 5. Yale (1) | 84 |
| 6. Cornell (1) | 75 |
| 7. Union | 71 |
| 8. Rensselaer | 51 |
| 9. Dartmouth | 41 |
| 10. Brown | 31 |
| 11. Colgate | 22 |
| 12. Princeton | 21 |
| School (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. Quinnipiac (12) | 288 |
| 2. St. Lawrence (8) | 280 |
| 3. Harvard (3) | 257 |
| 4. Yale | 222 |
| 5. Cornell (1) | 216 |
| 6. Clarkson (3) | 214 |
| 7. Rensselaer | 166 |
| 8. Union | 160 |
| 9. Dartmouth | 110 |
| 10. Colgate | 85 |
| 11. Brown | 62 |
| 12. Princeton | 59 |
In addition, the media also selected a preseason all-conference team.
| Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Clifton | F | Quinnipiac |
| Alexander Kerfoot | F | Harvard |
| Mike Vecchione | F | Union |
| Gavin Bayreuther | D | St. Lawrence |
| Connor Clifton | D | Quinnipiac |
| Kyle Hayton | G | St. Lawrence |
RIT earned eight first-place votes in the annual preseason Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll and is looked at as the team to beat this season in the conference.
Air Force (two) and Holy Cross (one) also earned first-place votes.
| School (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. RIT (8) | 95 |
| 2. Air Force (2) | 88 |
| 3. Holy Cross (1) | 72 |
| 4 (tie). Army | 70 |
| 4 (tie). Mercyhurst | 70 |
| 6. Robert Morris | 60 |
| 7. Sacred Heart | 48 |
| 8. Bentley | 43 |
| 9. Canisius | 27 |
| 10. Niagara | 17 |
| 11. American International | 15 |
The NCHC, home of defending NCAA national champion North Dakota, won’t be adding to its ranks in the upcoming campaign, or any other time soon.
In August, the conference turned down applications for admission from independent Arizona State, which is starting its second season of NCAA Division I competition, and Minnesota State, which is currently a member of the WCHA.
According to NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton, turning down ASU and MSU was more a case of what was good for the league at this time, as opposed to it not wanting either school.
“We felt it was in our best interest as a conference not to expand at this time,” he said in early September.
He added the league had pored over all the information it had compiled in its first three years of operation, and had also looked at a number of external factors, along with the national college hockey landscape. He elaborated that expansion was examined as a function of membership.
“We will continue to look at it this way,” said Fenton.
He also said that a variety of factors were looked at regarding expansion, including academics, geography, financial consideration and the impact on existing membership. No one of those factors was deemed more important than the others. Also taken into account were visibility and exposure, and enhancement of the NCHC brand.
“There’s really a variety of things we looked at as value factors as we went through the analysis process,” said Fenton.
He added there was no defined timetable for the conference to possibly add to its roster, and that the topic could be re-addressed in the future. For 2016-17, the league will stick with its original lineup of Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan.
Arizona State played its first NCAA Division I season in 2015-16, going 5-22-2 overall, with all the losses coming to Division I opponents. The Sun Devils were an ACHA power previously, highlighted by a national club championship in 2014. For now, they’ll continue functioning without a league home, as Alabama-Huntsville and other now-affiliated schools did before them.
“We are focused only on what we can control as a program and are incredibly excited about not only the groundwork we have already laid, but most importantly what lies ahead,” said ASU coach Greg Powers in an email message. “College hockey has accepted us with open arms as evidenced by, what we think for a few years out, is easily one of the most diverse and challenging schedules in all of college hockey.”
This year’s Sun Devil slate will include contests against Boston College, Denver, Harvard, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State, and a rematch with Quinnipiac. ASU has just one series scheduled with an NCAA Division III school this season, against visiting Southern New Hampshire in January. Games against Canadian club program Simon Fraser and the U.S. Under-18 Team in February will wrap up the schedule with no league playoffs on the horizon.
“We are continuing to evaluate conference affiliation as we grow as a program, and will continue to positively grow our program independent from conference affiliation until we determine what the best possible fit may be,” added Powers.
Last year, ASU split a pair of games with the two Alaska schools, swept Lake Superior State, and bowed to Bemidji State, Clarkson, St. Cloud State, Massachusetts-Lowell and Wisconsin. It also recorded wins over former club opponents Arizona, Liberty, and Ohio, plus two ties with Canadian college Alberta.
Minnesota State athletic officials did not respond to USCHO.com requests for comment for this story. The school made the following announcement, which appeared in the Mankato Free Press, soon after the NCHC had announced its decision.
“Officials at Minnesota State acknowledge information released earlier this afternoon by the (NCHC) regarding membership expansion,” read the statement. “At this time Minnesota State declines any comment regarding the NCHC’s statement.”
The Mavericks began life as an NCAA Division II independent in 1969-70, and won a national championship ten years later. They dropped down to Division III in 1994-95, and then rose up to enter the Division I ranks in 1997-98. The program joined the WCHA in 1999-2000 and has since claimed four NCAA tournament berths, including three straight from 2013 to 2015, along with WCHA regular-season and playoff titles during the 2014-15 season.
UPDATE (Sept. 15): Citing sources with knowledge of the situation, USCHO has learned that Hockey East has not approached Holy Cross and Holy Cross has not applied for membership in Hockey East.
The original story from Sept. 14 is below:
According to the Worcester Telegram, citing multiple sources, Holy Cross has been approached about replacing Notre Dame in Hockey East when the Fighting Irish leave after the 2016-17 season.
That move potentially means the Crusaders would play their home games at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., sharing the building with the new Worcester Railers of the ECHL that begin play with the 2017-18 season.
Former Michigan Tech head coach Jamie Russell is the Railers’ coach and general manager.
“We became aware of it (Monday),” said ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna in the Telegram report. “And we’re very concerned about it. Beyond that, we don’t care to comment further.”
Holy Cross athletic director Nathan Pine and Railers owner Cliff Rucker would not comment to the Telegram about Holy Cross’ possible moves.
DCU Center general manager Sandy Dunn referred all inquiries to Holy Cross.
This year, Holy Cross plays Providence on Oct. 15 and Boston College on Oct. 22 – both at the DCU Center.
Holy Cross currently plays in Atlantic Hockey, using the Hart Center as home ice. That rink seats 1,600 and the minimum capacity for Hockey East is 4,000. A move to Hockey East would also require Holy Cross to elevate its Division III women’s program, which currently plays in the NEHC.
Worcester city manager Edward Augustus did not return calls from the Telegram seeking comment. Hockey East officials also had no comment for the Telegram.
Defending league regular-season and back-to-back playoff champion Wisconsin is the preseason pick of conference coaches to finish atop the women’s WCHA standings in 2016-17.
The Badgers edged out defending national champion Minnesota in the poll of the eight WCHA head coaches.
| Team (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. Wisconsin (6) | 48 |
| 2. Minnesota (2) | 44 |
| 3. North Dakota | 36 |
| 4. Minnesota-Duluth | 30 |
| 5. Bemidji State | 27 |
| 6. St. Cloud State | 16 |
| 7. Ohio State | 13 |
| 8. Minnesota State | 10 |
In addition, Wisconsin senior goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens was named preseason Player of the Year and three players – Minnesota’s Lindsay Agnew and Wisconsin’s Presley Norby and Abby Roque – share the honor of preseason Rookie of the Year.
Adam Rockwood has joined Northern Michigan as a junior transfer from Wisconsin.
He will be eligible to compete for the Wildcats beginning in the fall of 2017. Rockwood is currently on campus and will practice with Northern Michigan in 2016-17.
“It’s great to pick up a guy of Adam’s talent,” NMU coach Walt Kyle said in a news release. “It’s great for us and a good opportunity for him. We’re excited to work with him and anxious to get him into our lineup next year.”
In two seasons as a Badger, Rockwood recorded 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) in 60 games.
Rockwood is Northern Michigan’s first transfer since defenseman Barrett Kaib, who joined the Wildcats in 2013-14 after spending the 2011-12 campaign with Providence. He is the second transfer from Wisconsin this decade. In 2011, forward Matt Thurber transferred to Northern Michigan after spending two seasons in Madison. Thurber went on to record 62 points (17g-45a) in 67 career games and led the team in both assists (26) and points (32) as a senior in 2012-13.
