Big Ten’s Statement on Penn State

Here’s the text of the Big Ten’s statement in reaction to Penn State’s announcement that it’s adding men’s and women’s hockey: The Big Ten Conference is excited about Penn State’s recent announcement regarding the establishment of NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey programs set to begin competition in the 2012-13 academic year.  Our … Read more

Taking the Message Out West

It’s no secret that those involved with College Hockey Inc. covet the California market. Yes, we’ve seen executive director Paul Kelly talk about the potential for Division I programs in the state, but the more immediate challenge is getting the increasingly fertile ground for players to become even more of a recruiting target for current … Read more

Points for Effort, but Proposed NCAA Changes Have Issues, Too

There has to be a better way, right? When you look at the attendance numbers from this year’s NCAA regionals and consider the less-than-impressive atmosphere at some of the venues, it’s natural to try to come up with a tweak — an improvement that will make things right. One such proposal emerged at last week’s … Read more

Your Detroit Forecast

There are two reasons why I bring you the Detroit weather forecast for the rest of the week. One, because it’s always good to plan ahead. You may expect Anaheim weather and get Wisconsin weather, like I did in 1999. Two, because I’ve heard people wondering whether warm weather would negatively impact the ice at … Read more

NCAA Regionals on Live TV

Here’s what we’ve compiled for live television plans for NCAA regional games this weekend, including which local and regional stations are picking up the games not broadcast live on ESPNU (all times Eastern): FRIDAY Denver vs. RIT, 3 p.m. (ESPNU HD) St. Cloud State vs. Northern Michigan, 5:30 p.m.  (WBUP-TV, Marquette, Mich.; MASN) Cornell vs. … Read more

What I Think: Week 24

Honestly, what I think this week is that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Sorry for not posting until now. NCAA time gets a little crazy around here. I’m going to go through how I filled out my bracket, but I have to say right away that I don’t feel good about it. One … Read more

Conference Finals on TV

Here’s the TV information for this weekend’s conference tournaments. Also, watch for our live blogs for each tournament: ECAC This schedule comes from a league release. All times Eastern. FRIDAY, MARCH 19 (SEMIFINALS) NHL Network (Live in the U.S. and taped delayed in Canada) Semifinal #1 – Cornell vs. Brown at 4 p.m. and Semifinal … Read more

What I Think: Week 23

I’ll write more as we go through this week, but I wanted to use this space to go through some of what we saw on what had to be one of the most insane weekends of the college hockey season. We’re (finally) done with the 23rd week of the season — of course, it fittingly … Read more

What I Think: Week 22

A few random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 22nd week of the season: * I’m guessing there’s going to be a little bit of fire in two series next weekend. North Dakota hosts Minnesota in a WCHA first-round series, and Michigan State hosts Michigan in a CCHA quarterfinal series. You don’t really need to say … Read more

What I Think: Week 21

You can’t help but being a little bit heartbroken if you’re an American hockey fan, but I’ll preface this week by saying this: The two best teams were in the gold-medal game, and I don’t think it was coincidence that it needed overtime to separate them. With that done, here’s this week’s edition: * I’m … Read more

What I Think: Week 20

This is why I don’t get emotionally involved in sports any more. When I do, I end up dinged up. A fist pump with Ryan Kesler’s incredible empty-net goal for the United States against Canada on Sunday night, and my head swings enough to push the glasses from my face and across my eye. Yeah, … Read more

What I Think: Week 19

Some random (and not-so-random) thoughts after the 19th week of the college hockey season: * I didn’t think I’d ever have to invest this much thought into Minnesota’s future; it always seemed fairly solid. But when the Gophers’ present is as muddy as it is now, you can’t help but think about what’s ahead. After … Read more