Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: College-Hockey

The Frozen Diamond Faceoff

by Paul on 01/12/12 at 11:03 AM ET
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from Chris Brown (Michigan player) at Slap Shot,

This Sunday at Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, the Wolverines of Michigan will be capping a weekend series with the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the Frozen Diamond Faceoff. With all the pressures of this series (the first game is Friday in Columbus), I’m here to provide some comic relief about our team and past experiences of playing outdoors.

As some of you may know I’m from Flower Mound, Tex., the new hockey hotbed of the United States, but I’m not the only “Texan” on the team this year. The assistant coach Brian Wiseman is our newest addition to the team and has brought a little piece of Houston, Tex., with him. He is the former assistant of the Houston Aeros as well as a graduate from the University of Michigan in 1994.

We have acquired nine freshmen this season, mostly hailing from Ontario and Michigan, with the odd ball, Mike Chiasson, from Las Vegas. A couple of the Canadian boys are pretty stereotypical. Alex Guptil has the heavy accent, and Phil Di Giuseppe can’t stop taping his stick. The outdoor game should bring back some old memories of growing up playing on the pond.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Michigan, OSU,

Remove The Cage In College?

by Paul on 01/08/12 at 09:54 AM ET
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from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

Paul Kelly, executive director of Newton-based College Hockey Inc., noted that the NCAA has begun to explore whether to scale back face and head protection to half-visors, at the option of individual players. Among those making presentations at a recent meeting on the issue were Boston University’s Jack Parker, Michigan’s Red Berenson, Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson, and Kelly. “The main thrust of the argument by the proponents,’’ said Kelly, “is that the game will be safer once the full cage is removed. Players will play with less recklessness and with improved visibility to help see and avoid hits.’’ The downside is that the risk of eye injury with a full cage is zero, and half-visors, though effective, are not risk-free.

continue for a few more hockey notes…

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Terry Pegula Talks Penn State

by Paul on 11/17/11 at 12:56 PM ET
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from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

But the billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres—whose $88 million “gift” to PSU in September of 2010 to build a hockey arena and start an NCAA Division 1 hockey program is reportedly the largest single donation ever to the school—also has some strong feelings on how the university needs to conduct its affairs now and how the vast majority of “Penn Staters” need not hang their heads.

“I am standing behind the university,” Pegula told TSN in his first interview about the PSU scandal, although he did issue a press release last week re-affirming his financial commitment for the D1 hockey program that is set to begin next fall.

“Our concern and compassion should be for the children involved in these terrible allegations,” he said in a telephone interview from Boca Raton, Fla. “Whomever may have been involved in any way, anyone who knew anything, they’ve got to come clean. They’ve got to step forward and say, ‘Here’s what I know, here’s what happened…’ and that includes you know who,” a seemingly obvious reference to Penn State legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

much more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: PSU, Terry+Pegula,

Hockey Fading Away In The South

by Paul on 10/27/11 at 09:47 AM ET
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from Jess Myers of 1500ESPN,

If you think that you’ve had a tough year as a football fan in Minnesota, you’re absolutely right. But it could always be much, much worse. You could be a hockey fan in the South.

If you’re of a certain age, think back to the hurt and emptiness you felt when the North Stars packed up and took their Zamboni to Dallas in 1993. Remember the disbelief, the anger and the depression that came along with once the realization that pro hockey was truly leaving set in. Now, imagine that six months or so later, the Gopher hockey team had gone away, too.

That’s the hockey fan’s nightmare scenario that has played out over the past six months among the small but passionate hockey community in Georgia and Alabama. After a nondescript decade or so of existence, the NHL’s Thrashers were sold and relocated to Winnipeg in the late spring, making Atlanta the only major sports city in America to lose pro teams to both Alberta and Manitoba (the Flames moved from Atlanta to Calgary in 1980).

And earlier this week the news got even worse for hockey fans in Dixie, as the region’s lone link to the world of big-time college hockey was handed a death sentence as well. Though not widely known nationally, the University of Alabama-Huntsville has supported a varsity hockey program for more than three decades.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: University+of+Alabama-Huntsville,

The Battleground of College Hockey vs CHL

by Alanah McGinley on 08/30/11 at 04:43 PM ET
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From Craig Custance at Sporting News:

Considering its proximity to Canada, Michigan is the battleground for a fight that’s not new, but grows hotter each year. It’s one the NHL is also watching.

On one side is Berenson—an All-America player at Michigan—and his fellow college coaches, trying to convince North America’s best young players to commit to college hockey. On the other side is Canada’s major junior powerhouse, the Canadian Hockey League, where elite Canadians—and a growing number of Americans—parlay junior careers into NHL careers.

Berenson looked at the young players in front of him and offered a warning against choosing junior hockey.

read on

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey, Minor League | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: chl, college+hockey, ncaa,

Simpson the Scholar

by Lisa McRitchie on 08/16/11 at 12:30 PM ET
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Dillon Simpson has been blessed to have had a father who has won so many awards, had so many accomplishments, and processes so much skill and talent. At the same time, this could be seen as a bit of a hindrance; much like one of Dillon’s best friends Keegan Lowe. If there is one thing about Dillon Simpson’s game or pursuit of hockey that may aid him in trying to find his own path it just might be the position he plays. While Craig Simpson was a left winger, his son Dillon has made his career at defense.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey, Lisa McRitchie | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Dillon+Simpson, University+of+North+Dakota,

Around the Leagues - Week of 8/7/11

by Doug Miller on 08/15/11 at 11:00 AM ET
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It’s that time of week again… well, actually a day late, as yesterday’s news was to juicy to pass up, and there was more news this week than I expected. Anyway, it’s news round-up time. As I bring you news tidbits from around the CHL and NCAA Hockey from the last week. Honestly, I don’t even really enjoy doing these because there isn’t a lot of “writing” involved on my part… but alas… I have yet to have any better ideas… and I’ll be quite happy once the season gets rolling.

So here we go…

 

Continue Reading »

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey, International Hockey, Doug Miller | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: College+Hockey, Ontario+Hockey+League, Quebec+Major+Junior+Hockey+League, Western+Hockey+League,

NCAA Player Profile: Shawn Hunwick

by Doug Miller on 08/04/11 at 12:10 PM ET
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School: University of Michigan (CCHA)
Class: Fifth-Year Senior
Position: Goaltender
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 166 lbs
Age: 24
Glove: Left
Hometown: Sterling Heights, MI

Last season, goaltender Shawn Hunwick became one of the biggest stories in college hockey. He had an amazing Cinderella-story season, the likes of which are the kind of thing you usually only see in fictional Hollywood movies.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey, Doug Miller | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Shawn+Hunwick, University+of+Michigan,

Around the Leagues - Week of 7/24/11

by Doug Miller on 07/31/11 at 09:15 PM ET
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In what will likely become a regular staple here at Cluster Pucks… I go around the hockey leagues with news tidbits from the last week, and once the season gets underway, this will turn into more of a “recap” of various things, including scores and current standings from all the leagues which this blog covers.

Anyway, let the first installment of the chaos begin.

The biggest story this week, at least when it comes to my realm of coverage, was the announcement that the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will be played in Windsor, Ontario, as was reported by Paul on Wednesday. This is especially exciting news for me, as if I can afford to swing the budget, and land the proper press credentials, it will likely represent the first chance I’ll have as a new member of the hockey media to go and cover an event in person!

Continue Reading »

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey, Doug Miller | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: College+Hockey, Ontario+Hockey+League, Quebec+Major+Junior+Hockey+League, Western+Hockey+League,

Report- Andy Murray Will Be Named Head Coach At Western Mich, Univ.

by Paul on 07/25/11 at 06:52 PM ET
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from David Drew of the Kalamazoo Gazette,

If Western Michigan University was looking for a big name hockey coach to fill the giant shoes left by Jeff Blashill, it’s done so, hiring a coach it never could have lured a year ago.

WMU has hired longtime NHL head coach Andy Murray to lead its hockey program, according to multiple sources.

continued

Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, College Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Andy+Murray,

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