Preseason 2012

An article from Lions247 that highlights the transition from ACHA D-I to NCAA D-I and discusses what the team and GG expect from next season.

Gadowsky understands the importance of not landing too many players at once. The Edmonton native knows scholarships must be saved for future classes, but also wants to be able to compete this upcoming season...[Holstrom said] 'I think we are going to surprise some people. We aren’t going to go down with out a fight next year, and I think we are going to have enough talent on the team to compete. We’re young, I think we’re going to turn some heads.'

The emphasis upon his desire to enter the NCAA Division I era competitively with successes is reassuring. I'm hoping for at least a split out of Schenectady in November. He's more than familiar with winning in ECAC barns from his days at Princeton.

'The fan support was really growing too that was the coolest part about it,' admitted Holstrom, who is hoping students will stand all game in the new arena, akin to football games. 'I started seeing hockey stuff pop up in the stores and seeing people wearing it around campus. The entire year almost every game was sold out, that was really impressive.'...'I cannot wait to see the students in the Pegula Ice Arena, I mean they did a great job in Greenberg Ice Pavilion but wait until you see this place, it is going to be rocking,' said an obviously excited Gadowsky.

Hockey games are for standing. Also, let's hope that Holstrom and GG have seen only the beginning of what the Penn State fanbase will grow into during the NCAA era. Next season is full of opportunities.

~185 days.

An interesting look at the revenue and income of college hockey programs and where the B1G Hockey Conference will fit in. B1G Hockey (without revenues from Penn State included) would have netted $3.6 million. NCHC (NoDak's new conference after realignment) would have netted $3.2 million. The twelve-member ECAC would have netted $1.3 million.

A Blue-White Weekend and preseason video about the coming season of Penn State hockey.

Some photos from the groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon. I am sure that there will be more photos and videos (perhaps, kinda hoping) from other sources. It was a fun event. It was a good atmosphere.

Some more coverage from the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday with more in-depth comments from GG, Madrazo, and Kirchhevel.

Penn State has gotten some attention already on one of the main media outlets for coverage of NCAA Division I college hockey. USCHO.com posted two articles one about the general post season for all teams that mentioned Penn State and one that focused on Penn State hockey specifically. USCHO.com had a groundbreaking photo as its cover image too at one point.

From one of the USCHO.com articles:

Jim Connelly wrote:
...Guy Gadowsky’s team will be playing against the big boys for the first time in the school’s history.

I guess that I will give USCHO and Connelly a pass this time for not knowing that Penn State played against "the big boys" once before in its previous varsity era. It will be only a matter of time until the lore of Penn State hockey history becomes common knowledge.

Most importantly from that, I think, is the quotation,

Penn State will play a season as an independent and will not be eligible for NCAA tournament play, but Guy Gadowsky’s team will be playing against the big boys for the first time in the school’s history.

I think the whole "transition rule" is positively the dumbest one. Ever.

BUT! I do think that is some excellent exposure for a team that is still in the process of going DI!

Gadowsky reflects on the last season and looks forward to the future in a post on Lions247.

Andrew Dzurita wrote:Guy Gadowsky: We have been working out here until schools ends and workouts will continue over the summer, whether on campus or on their own time. That is one of the areas where we need to make a jump. The strength and conditioning of players coming in next season will be huge and I think a lot of that has to do with individual responsibility during the summer months.

It looks like GG and the team has taken to the task at hand. I am looking forward to what progress they can make over the summer. I have confidence that they can give some of the better programs that we know they are playing (Union and Sparty) next season a lot of problems and pull off a few upsets.

Brittany wrote:Most importantly from that, I think, is the quotation,

Penn State will play a season as an independent and will not be eligible for NCAA tournament play, but Guy Gadowsky’s team will be playing against the big boys for the first time in the school’s history.

I think the whole "transition rule" is positively the dumbest one. Ever.

BUT! I do think that is some excellent exposure for a team that is still in the process of going DI!

Until that came out, I honestly didn't think that applied to schools that were already Division I, just to those playing up or new to DI (like UNO, which just elevated its non-hockey teams from DII to DI).

It's pretty silly. On the women's side, CHA had a similar rule at the conference level, but never applied it to PSU. I believe they applied it to Lindenwood (which is playing up as an NAIA school transitioning to DII in most sports) at first, then waived it because they wanted to have six full members and get the autobid ASAP. But Lindy, PSU and RIT are all still blocked from the NCAA tournament, which doesn't really matter without the autobid unless you're Mercyhurst.

TYTKyle wrote:

Brittany wrote:Most importantly from that, I think, is the quotation,

Penn State will play a season as an independent and will not be eligible for NCAA tournament play, but Guy Gadowsky’s team will be playing against the big boys for the first time in the school’s history.

I think the whole "transition rule" is positively the dumbest one. Ever.

BUT! I do think that is some excellent exposure for a team that is still in the process of going DI!

Until that came out, I honestly didn't think that applied to schools that were already Division I, just to those playing up or new to DI (like UNO, which just elevated its non-hockey teams from DII to DI).

It's pretty silly. On the women's side, CHA had a similar rule at the conference level, but never applied it to PSU. I believe they applied it to Lindenwood (which is playing up as an NAIA school transitioning to DII in most sports) at first, then waived it because they wanted to have six full members and get the autobid ASAP. But Lindy, PSU and RIT are all still blocked from the NCAA tournament, which doesn't really matter without the autobid unless you're Mercyhurst.

I'm not a big fan of the rule or its rationale because it disincentivizes teams booking new Division I programs and it penalize the first recruiting classes for the jump. Kirchhevel, Holstrom, and Jenson will have only one year of playing "for something" and that will be a B1G Championship. Olczyk and his class will have two years for a B1G Championship and their senior year will be the first year that Penn State can compete at the NCAA level. Yeah, I know that Olczyk and his class will have one additional year of NCAA eligibility, but it is difficult enough to keep most players around long enough to earn their bachelors degrees, let alone coax them into coming back for another year after they've earned it. The Ivies who have a chance at national success (Cornell, Harvard, Yale) are all but precluded from scheduling them because of there being no PWR benefit. I respect RIT and Union immensely for remembering that not long ago they were in the same situation and booking Penn State. I hope that Penn State will do the same if any other schools make the jump. Especially, if the schools that make the jump are B1G members like Illinois, Iowa, or Nebraska.

Great video from the Penn State Coaches Caravan with clips from GG and Brandwene.

I love GG's emphasis upon "Success with Honor."

Another video in which O'Brien and GG discuss the possibility of an outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9H8XXEZ20LQ

Guy Gadowsky wrote:I learned a lot at Princeton in terms of values, and we didn't necessarily call it that, but 'Success with Honor' is something that is very important to me. I think it is not only important. I think that we can win that way and build confidence that way.

Inside College Hockey published its annual pre-preseason national poll as Ten for Thirteen. Two 2012-13 opponents of Penn State make the list. Union is ranked at 4 and Wisconsin is ranked at 8. Future B1G opponent Minnesota is ranked 1.

Mike Eidelbes and Joe Gladziszewski wrote:4. Union
Within the ECAC Hockey ranks, last year’s performance by Union didn’t come as much of a surprise, but it certainly marked a bump in Union’s national profile. There are some key departures to address, most notably Welsh and his goal-scoring and defensemen Julseth-White and his leadership. However, there’s enough talent returning for the Dutchmen to make another run toward the Frozen Four and remain among the top-ranked teams in the country all season long. Hobey Baker finalist Grosenick returns in net and will have 10 forwards and five defensemen of the team’s regular lineup last year back in front of him.

Mike Eidelbes and Joe Gladziszewski wrote:8. Wisconsin
Here’s a change: it should be a quiet summer in Madison other than the expected departure of defenseman Justin Schultz, who’s likely to end up signing as a free agent with someone other than Anaheim, the team that drafted him in 2008. Zengerle very quietly turned in a 50-point season, and with classmates Mersch and Barnes lead a group of young forwards. Even without Schultz, the Badgers will be solid on the blue line; senior John Ramage won’t fill up the score sheet, but he’s a tough defensive defenseman. Rumpel seized the no. 1 goaltending job midway through the season, proving he deserved the nod by posting a 2.02 GAA and a .931 save percentage after Jan. 1.

Mike Eidelbes and Joe Gladziszewski wrote:1. Minnesota
Assuming Bjugstad returns for his junior season instead of turning pro, the Gophers’ lineup will boast seven players who scored 20 or more points last season. Good thing they’ll score a ton, because Minnesota must break in a pair of untested goaltenders—junior Mike Shibrowski (20 career minutes played) and rookie Adam Wilcox, a South St. Paul, Minn., native who spent the last two seasons in the USHL with Green Bay and Tri-City.

Here's a bit of an oddity: incoming forward Curtis Loik had his BCHL rights traded from Penticton to Victoria.

http://bchlbriansbanter.blogspot.com/2012/05/penticton-victoria-trade.html

In my mind, Loik is the real wild card in the trade as he seems poised to break out as a 19-year-old in 2012-13, but it won't be in the BCHL as he's committed to Penn. State for the upcoming season. I'm thinking the only way he goes to Victoria is at the recommendation of his college team, and that's got to be what the Grizzlies are banking on, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been included in the deal.

It's important to note that this was the completion of a "future considerations" trade and that two uncommitted players are also headed to Victoria, so I don't know that you can say there's much of an expectation on the Grizzlies part of getting anything out of Loik.

TYTKyle wrote:Here's a bit of an oddity: incoming forward Curtis Loik had his BCHL rights traded from Penticton to Victoria.

http://bchlbriansbanter.blogspot.com/2012/05/penticton-victoria-trade.html

In my mind, Loik is the real wild card in the trade as he seems poised to break out as a 19-year-old in 2012-13, but it won't be in the BCHL as he's committed to Penn. State for the upcoming season. I'm thinking the only way he goes to Victoria is at the recommendation of his college team, and that's got to be what the Grizzlies are banking on, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been included in the deal.

It's important to note that this was the completion of a "future considerations" trade and that two uncommitted players are also headed to Victoria, so I don't know that you can say there's much of an expectation on the Grizzlies part of getting anything out of Loik.

Yeah, when I first saw this story I was not quite sure what was going on. It seems really bizarre.

USCHO has a pre-rules meeting article about what may change in the rules of the game for NCAA hockey for the coming and future seasons. The expected list of things to be discussed and decided are:

• full visors vs. half shields on helmets for college players
  
• reducing the number of games that end in ties with longer OTs, 4-on-4 OTs, or shootouts
  
• effect of dislodging a net before a goal
  
• video review of offsides penalties
  
• scoring goals off of a deflection on a skate
  
• icing and hybrid icing

Jim Connelly wrote:...both the coaches and student-athletes want it to be only visors and not being able to wear the full shield as well.

I found it interesting that many have even gone so far as to desire a prohibition against wearing a full cage or a full visor. I have read a few reports on this before but had the feeling from most other articles that it was a desire of the players to wear the three-quarter visor but not a desire for a prohibition against full cages. I think that adds an element that highlights that players think that the three-quarter visor is safer for reasons other than just peripheral vision.

Also, disappointingly, in my opinion at least, is that there is little support for the use of shootouts in college hockey.

Jim Connelly wrote:The committee will consider allowing goals that were scored as the defensive team dislodges the net. When Michigan State played Union in the NCAA regional tournament, an apparent Spartans goal was reviewed and disallowed when the officials determined the net, as the puck entered, was slightly raised off its pegs by a Union defender.

I have my opinions about that.

Jim Connelly wrote:Another change would be to the criteria used for instant replay, particularly when it comes to the play being offside immediately as the goal is scored. Last season, Union scored an empty-net goal from center ice in the NCAA Northeast Regional final against Massachusetts-Lowell while a Dutchmen attacker was still in the attacking zone.

Despite clear evidence on video that the play was offside, current replay criteria does not allow the official to review whether a play is onside when the goal is scored.

It looks like Union's Frozen Four would have never been had it occurred but a year later.

Tom Anastos (on Twitter) mentioned receiving a fan suggestion that penalties should end after a shorthanded goal! I always feel kind of bad when PKers work hard and get a shorty, but still have to go back out and kill whatever's left on the penalty. So while it will never happen, I think I'm in favor.

amg424 wrote:Also, disappointingly, in my opinion at least, is that there is little support for the use of shootouts in college hockey.

That is disappointing. I know, "skills competition," "not real hockey," "crapshoot," blah blah blah...it's still better than trying to figure out how you feel after a tie.