Game 34: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

Here we go with the final non-conference game of the season. Could be interesting. It's an odd spot, as it will be UAH's last game, no matter what. Will any of these seniors try to go out in a blaze of glory? Considering one of the seniors is named "Geoffrion," I hope UMD is smart about how it approaches this game.

For UMD, freshman goalie Matt McNeely is not dressing because of a lower-body injury. I'm told it isn't terribly serious, and he has played more than one game with it. The goal is to have him available for next weekend against Omaha, and the playoffs against (maybe) Omaha again.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Young
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Corrin - Bergman

Crandall (Aaron) - Fons

UAH
Allan - Cseter - Lysaght
Uusivirta - Reid - Vanderlugt
Webley - Brears - Pierce
Geoffrion (Brice) - Prince - Geoffrion (Sebastian)

White - DeBruyn
Strukoff - Koshey
Reinhardt - Misuraca

Griggs - Groh

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Wins, But Where Was Everyone?

I don't want to poo-poo the actual game result. UMD won 4-2 over Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, in a game that probably should have been much more lopsided. The Bulldogs hit a season-high three goalposts, including three by Caleb Herbert on shots that clearly beat UAH goalie John Griggs. It was the wrong kind of hat trick for the sophomore.

Generally, UMD played all right. About the only notable complaint that could be had is the play of the team in two five on three power plays. Not enough quick movement, not feet and not the puck. Telegraphed passes and long shots with no traffic in front of Griggs.

The Bulldogs scored a couple power play goals, and both were keyed by the second unit, with Cal Decowski getting assists on both (one by Chris Casto and one by Justin Crandall). Decowski is really starting to get going, and could be a factor down the stretch in his freshman season.

Outside of a soft goal early in the third, freshman goalie Matt McNeely played well. McNeely has a .929 save percentage over his last four starts after sitting out a couple games. UMD is 1-1-2 in that stretch after losing six in a row before then.

The Bulldogs need to keep winning, including in Saturday's finale. It's not about playoff position at this point. Instead, it's about making sure that everyone is as sharp and confident as possible before the first-round road trip.

******

There are three home games left. Can we pick up the attendance and atmosphere for them?

Friday's game was played before an announced crowd of 5,792. That's the smallest of the season, and smallest home crowd for UMD since a date with Minnesota State last year on the night of the Christmas City of the North Parade, when no one not involved in the parade wants to be within five miles of Canal Park.

A Saturday afternoon exhibition against the Under 18 Team drew better.

Last year's games against Huntsville drew well over 13,000 combined, including a sellout on Saturday night.

What gives?

Well, it's clear this team hasn't performed at the same level of the recent past. Obviously, that's a factor. Plus, this time of year, fans' attention is diverted to the prep playoffs. I don't doubt that makes a difference.

But the last time I checked, this was the only Division I team within a two-hour drive of Duluth. There is little excuse for not being able to fill the building for these games, and there is even less excuse for the constant lack of atmosphere -- no matter the score -- at home games.

It was a problem at the DECC, too, so you can't blame it on the new building. Plus, there was a ton of atmosphere at the high school games this week ... in the same arena. It isn't Amsoil Arena's fault.

The student section -- outside of a first-period Harlem Shake bit that was clearly orchestrated -- was nonexistent on Friday, and has been for a good chunk of the season. Never did I think I'd see a day where the student section at Mariucci was more noticeable than ours. It's happened.

Come on, Twin Ports. Three home games left. Make something good happen.

******

In other WCHA games Friday, Brendan Woods scored late to give Wisconsin a 4-3 win in Omaha. The Badgers rebounded nicely from Monday's overtime loss to Penn State (giggle) in Madison. Denver got third period goals from Shawn Ostrow and Ty Loney (empty net) to back Jussi Olkinuora's shutout in a 2-0 win at Minnesota. St. Cloud State held on to beat Michigan Tech 5-3. North Dakota topped Bemidji State 4-2. Also, Colorado College upset Minnesota State 4-1 in Colorado Springs. In non-conference play, Alaska-Fairbanks took care of Alaska-Anchorage 2-1 in overtime to open their annual Governor's Cup series.

Standings-wise, it all means SCSU clinches the No. 1 seed in the WCHA playoffs with a win over Michigan Tech Saturday, provided North Dakota (three points behind) doesn't beat Bemidji State. The Huskies clinch the MacNaughton for themselves with a win, a UND loss, and a Minnesota loss or tie.

UMD looks almost locked into ninth at this point, and Omaha is still on its seed line. But that could change dramatically, as Minnesota, UNO, Denver, and Minnesota State are all separated by just two total points.

Game 33: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

First-year UAH coach Kurt Kleinendorst knew his work would be cut out for him, and it might not be immediately that the effort is rewarded. But the Chargers bench boss is continuing to work anyway, hoping to have this program ready for the jump to the WCHA next season.

There aren't a lot of negatives. A new league offers the kind of stability that Independent status doesn't these days.

(By the way, this has been eating at me for a few months, but exactly how the hell is it that first-year program Penn State couldn't find a way to play UAH both in Happy Valley and in Huntsville? UAH, starving for home games, couldn't even get a home weekend from the one program in the country that should have been jumping at the chance. Nice to see that high-and-mighty Big Ten attitude didn't escape Penn State here, even in its inaugural season. /rant)

UAH will have a league championship to play for, an NCAA bid to chase, and the potential to finally grow the program to be a competitive one in Division I.

This is the final weekend of the season for the Chargers. For UMD, the hope is that it builds some positive momentum and gets the arrow pointing in the right direction before the playoffs start in two weeks.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Johnson - Bergman

McNeely - Crandall (Aaron) - Fons

UAH
Allan - Cseter - Lysaght
Uusivirta - Brears - Vanderlugt
Geoffrion (Sebastian) - Reid - Pierce
Geoffrion (Brice) - Kendra - Webley

White - DeBruyn
Strukoff - Koshey
Reinhardt - Misuraca

Griggs - Groh

Alabama-Huntsville Program Saved With Membership to WCHA

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Greetings from the home of National Collegiate Hockey Conference headquarters, where news from the league UMD and Colorado College are leaving after this season is making waves throughout college hockey.

I'll have more on the UMD-CC series later, and you can check here Friday for lines and throughout the weekend for notes and things.

Thursday, the WCHA announced it has granted full membership to the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

Here is the league's press release.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association men’s membership voted today (January 17) to admit the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) as a full-time men’s conference member. The vote of approval was taken after UAH submitted an application for membership and made a formal presentation to a WCHA group of member-team Presidents and Athletic Directors at a meeting held in conjunction with the NCAA Convention in Dallas, Tex.
The addition of University of Alabama in Huntsville into college hockey’s most historic and successful conference will bring future men’s league membership to 10 teams. Their membership will be effective as soon as 2013-14.

WCHA men’s membership in 2013-14 currently consists of University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bemidji State University, Bowling Green State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan Technological University, Minnesota State University, Mankato and Northern Michigan University.

In issuing a joint statement on behalf of the Association, Dr. Richard Davenport, President of Minnesota State University, Mankato and Chair of the WCHA President’s Group, and Bruce McLeod, Commissioner of the WCHA, said “The WCHA is delighted to have reached in principle an agreement to officially welcome University of Alabama in Huntsville into the Association family as a full-time men’s member. This is a significant day for the Chargers, the community of Huntsville, the conference itself, and college hockey in general. Growing the game and assisting developing programs however possible has always been a charge of the WCHA and this is another positive evolution in our history.

“Each of our member institutions are 100% committed to keeping the WCHA among the premier conferences in all of collegiate athletics and our respective ice hockey programs both strong and vibrant. The University of Alabama in Huntsville is a dynamic, top-quality institution with an excellent academic and athletic reputation and without question the Chargers are going to be a great fit and a successful, contributing member.

“Just as the entire UAH campus and the Huntsville community are exhilarated to now have a welcoming home for their men’s hockey program, the WCHA is also extremely proud and gratified to be providing that home.”

Said University of Alabama in Huntsville President Robert Altenkirch, “We’re pleased that our ice hockey team is going to have the opportunity to compete and grow in a NCAA Division 1 conference. We believe that our affiliation with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will be a tremendous boost to our recruiting, scheduling and our ability to be competitive on the ice.

“We want to thank the WCHA and its member institutions for their confidence in allowing us to be a part of their conference. Their affirmative vote will invigorate our ability to maintain our great hockey tradition.”

UAH Director of Athletics Dr. E.J. Brophy said, “All athletic programs experience special defining moments, and our hockey program’s acceptance today into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is certainly one of those moments. The WCHA is a preeminent hockey conference in America, and I know that our student-athletes, coaches, fans, friends, alums and the people of Huntsville are ecstatic and proud of this giant step for our ice hockey program.

“The last time we were in a conference, we won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament, which will be our immediate and ambitious goal when we begin play in the WCHA. It is a banner day for the Chargers.”

This is great news for UAH. It's a program that almost died once, and has been rejected multiple times by conferences. UAH made a serious bid to join the CCHA a few years ago, but the league rejected the program, even knowing it was on the verge of losing its conference, and despite the fact that Huntsville isn't exactly a million miles away from the "epicenter" of what the CCHA once was.

The WCHA did a good thing when it took Bemidji State, and it's doing a good thing here. There is upside with the UAH program, which outdrew CCHA teams while a member of the CHA, despite a ten-game home schedule with absolutely no marquee opponents.

The move makes the WCHA a ten-team league, which removes a bit of a burden on the scheduler (you don't have to have a team on bye every week if you don't want to). If I were the league, I'd shoot for a 24 game conference schedule, allowing teams to schedule out of conference games, and making sure that not everyone has to go to Alaska twice in a season. At 26 games, a team would play four opponents four times (home and away series) each. The other five teams would be faced either at home or on the road. It leaves an uneven number of home games, though, and is probably undesirable for that reason.

24 games would be home and away series against three opponents, and either a home or away series against the other six. Teams would rarely -- if ever -- have to go to Alaska twice in this format, depending on how you laid it out.

The WCHA has options here, and thanks to the WCHA, Huntsville's hockey program has a future. A tip of the cap to all involved for getting this done.

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UAH Future Looking Better

It's been a hell of a few months for second-year head coach Chris Luongo and Alabama-Huntsville. Faced with plenty of gloom and doom surrounding his independent program already, the Chargers players found out early in the season that this would be their last season as a varsity program.

Many in the community and among UAH's alumni protested, and Luongo was recently made aware of his team's status going forward.

"The president, Dr. (Robert) Altenkirch, is behind our program 100 percent," Luongo said. "We've been told that we're moving forward for next year, and beyond that, our intention is to get things in order, our house in order."

Among the possibilities for UAH is -- they hope -- admission to the WCHA. The conference upheaval that affected so many Division I programs has not touched UAH, meaning the Chargers are still an independent.

That's no way to sustain a program. Luongo can find some diamonds in the rough, as he has with players like goalie Clarke Saunders. The sophomore had 52 saves in Friday's 2-1 non-conference loss to UMD at Amsoil Arena. Saunders has decided to transfer to North Dakota, and because of the uncertainty surrounding the program's future, he will be eligible to play next season.

(Forward Mac Roy is moving on to Robert Morris next season, and defenseman Nick Gatt is going to transfer to Michigan State.)

But for UAH to have any real chance for success long term, Luongo's program has to find a conference to play in. It's not about developing rivalries or scheduling certainty, though those things are undoubtedly important. Instead, from a recruiting standpoint, what can be almost as important is the carrot of making the NCAA Tournament. No, UAH may never be an elite program in Division I. But admission to a conference provides the prospect of an NCAA spot that is unrealistic as long as the school is independent.

The WCHA wouldn't be as bad a fit as you might imagine, especially if UAH is willing to subsidize travel for teams to play in Huntsville. The biggest problem for UAH to overcome might not be finances, but instead the fact they share the Von Braun Center with a pro team -- the Huntsville Havoc -- that has priority, meaning the Chargers are stuck playing a lot of Saturday afternoon games, something that might be undesirable for the WCHA as a whole.

We'll see what ends up happening, but the news -- at least off the ice -- has been good for Alabama-Huntsville lately. Many around college hockey are pulling for that trend to continue.

******

Saunders was the story Friday night, even though UMD did what it could to keep that from happening. Friday didn't seem like a case of UMD making a mediocre goalie look like an all-star. Instead, Saunders got sharper every time UMD threw a puck at him. It was a good thing for Saunders, because he looked very shaky on the game's first few shots.

The Bulldogs need to do a better job winning one-on-one battles for position in the middle of the rink. UMD had a lot of play on the perimeter Friday, but struggled to get the puck to the front of the net at times because UAH was pretty strong defending the front of the net.

I expect UMD to start sophomore Aaron Crandall in the series finale Saturday night, though the scare UAH threw into UMD Friday could lead to a change in that plan. Other lineup rotations will continue.

******

The other action involving WCHA teams all came in league games. Colorado College got a last-minute goal from Tim Hall to beat Minnesota 2-1. That loss dropped Minnesota to 16th in the Pairwise, despite being second in one national poll and tied for first in the WCHA standings. Non-conference losses to Vermont, Northeastern, and Notre Dame are less than helpful.

St. Cloud State topped North Dakota 3-1 despite being decisively outshot. Goalie Ryan Faragher was great for the Huskies, and has continues to hold down the fort in the absence of normal starter Mike Lee. While Lee could be back soon, it seems SCSU has the chance to ease him back into the lineup, because Faragher shouldn't go to the bench quietly.

Also, Wisconsin shut out Alaska-Anchorage 4-0, and Nebraska-Omaha beat Minnesota State 2-1 in overtime in Mankato. The red Mavericks survived a scare, as freshman goalie Ryan Massa was stretchered off the ice with an apparent head injury. Massa is out of the hospital and attended Saturday's morning skate in Mankato, but will not play in the game.

Bulldogs Back Home Again

After nine weeks, it's nice to have a home game to look forward to again.

UMD is back at Amsoil Arena to host Alabama-Huntsville in a two-game series. The Chargers aren't having a good year -- 2-22-1 playing an independent schedule that includes just ten home games out of 31 total -- but they are coming off a weekend split at Denver Jan. 6-7, a split that came after it was announced the program wouldn't be dropping to club status after this season.

"For their players, that gives them a little new life," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said about the program's revival. "In college hockey, if you're not ready to play, anybody can beat anybody, and they've proven that."

UAH's only two wins this season are against WCHA teams, as the Chargers also beat Nebraska-Omaha in Nashville.

"They've got a guy who is good in net and can win games for them and give them opportunities," Sandelin said of goalie Clarke Saunders. A sophomore, Saunders has a 3.72 goals against, but his save percentage is .904 in 21 appearances for the Chargers. Upon learning of the program's demise, Saunders was able to secure a spot with North Dakota, and because of all the uncertainty surrounding UAH, he will be eligible next season.

With a non-conference series, there often isn't a ton of preparation for the opponent. When the opponent is 2-22-1 and has just 28 goals all season, there is even less preparation. This is similar to last year's January series at Michigan Tech. That weekend, UMD focused on itself, instead of preparing to face an opponent on a long winless streak and in the midst of a record-setting scoreless drought. The approach worked, and UMD won 5-0 and 3-0.

There's a lot of good reason for UMD to take a similar approach this weekend against UAH.

"I think that's our message most weekends (focus on playing well and not the opponent)," Sandelin said. "Coming off Saturday's game, and the disappointment our guys had, and the excitement of playing at home for the first time in two months, I think all those things are good things. If we can just go in there and do what we need to do ... we gotta worry about how we need to play and get back on track."

The Bulldogs are facing a team that is statistically not very good. UAH has been outscored 104-28 overall, 33-6 on the power play, and outshot by an average of 37-22.

But the Chargers have wins over two WCHA teams, and the Bulldogs need to come out from the outset Friday determined not to let it become three.

Focus will be a key. There are some huge weekends coming up for UMD, starting with Michigan Tech at home next weekend. The Bulldogs don't have a weekend off down the stretch of the regular season, and they can't act like this is a bye.

If they do, UAH will add another notch to its belt.

UMD has done little wrong this season, so there's no reason to start. Get two wins, stay relatively healthy, and get on to the league schedule.

******

No lineup changes are expected. JT Brown practiced all week and will play despite a knee injury suffered last Saturday on that hit by UNO's Dominic Zombo.

Expect the normal rotations to continue, with Dan DeLisle and Adam Krause splitting the left wing on UMD's fourth line. I expect to see Derik Johnson and Tim Smith in the back, though Luke McManus might play one of the games. The three have each played twice over UMD's last six games.

******

Senior forward Cody Danberg is working out and hopes to begin skating soon. He suffered a shoulder injury on his first shift Oct. 7 against Notre Dame that required surgery.

Danberg told me this week he hopes to be able to return in late February. His return would be a huge boost to the room, as Danberg is a popular guy on that team and was expected to be one of the leaders heading into the season.

Alabama-Huntsville Drops Hockey

The inevitable became the reality Monday.

The University of Alabama-Huntsville announced that it is dropping its varsity Division I men's hockey program, effective at the end of the season.

UAH interim president Malcolm Portera made the announcement, one week before he leaves the position to make room for the school's new president.

As a result of a financial analysis of our athletic program, and numerous conversations I have had with athletic directors, university presidents and commissioners of Division I ice hockey programs, it has become obvious that, for the best interest of this university, our athletic department and the ice hockey program, we move the team from the Division I level back to its original classification as a club sport at the end of the 2011-2012 season," Portera said in a written statement.

Portera said the cost savings from cutting hockey will allow the university to enhance the other 15 sports on campus.

"We will continue to honor the scholarship commitment made to these students, and if a student-athlete chooses to transfer to another program, we will provide help in making that relocation as seamless as possible," Portera said. "Coaches will remain on our staff through May 31, 2012, and the university will assist them in their endeavors to seek future employment."

The school's team will move back to club level, and its players will have an opportunity to transfer to another Division I school without the normal one-year waiting period.

(A few years back, UMD had a defenseman named Ryan Swanson, who transferred after Iona dropped its hockey program. He also had the ability to transfer without sitting a season. Isn't the NCAA nice like that?)

I've got nothing to say, really. It makes me sick that college hockey's powers that be -- all of them -- could have done more to help save this program. It also makes me sick that the University of Alabama system so badly failed this program. They turned away from a grassroots group raising over $500,000 and also backed away from other potential means of funding the program, all in the name of trying to "enhance" the school's Division II sports.

Instead of blabbing, I'll point to stuff I wrote in 2009, when UAH was inexplicably rejected by the CCHA.

It's probably curtains for the UAH program very soon. There's little chance of a Division I team being able to sustain itself as the only independent in the land. They'd have to rely on bye weeks to get non-conference dates, and good luck getting anyone willing to play in Huntsville.

... Quite simply, the CCHA took the easy way out. For college hockey fans, it's a horrible disappointment.  

The writing was on the wall then, and it's too bad that nobody tried to wash it off in the two years since.