There aren’t any NCAA Division I hockey teams in California, but through a new partnership with RinkAtlas.com, College Hockey News now provides easy access to directions and maps for all games.

We’ve been looking to do something like this for some time, and when we learned about RinkAtlas, it seemed like a no brainer. RinkAtlas has the most accurate door-to-door directions for indoor ice rinks in the United States and plans to add rinks in Canada soon as well.

If you’ve seen Google Maps (and by now, who hasn’t), RinkAtlas will be very familiar to you. In addition, what we like most about the site is that its accuracy comes through verification of satellite coordinates, so you don’t have to worry about having the correct street address for an arena.

Besides a new RinkAtlas link on each team home page to its home arena — for example, Ohio State — you will find a new “Map” link for all games on both the weekly schedule page and all team schedule pages. Whether the game is at a regular Division I home arena or not.

So for instance, if you’re planning a trip to Florida for the Lightning College Hockey Classic on Oct. 27-28, the games involving Air Force, Alabama-Huntsville, Army, and Notre Dame have Map links to the St. Pete Times Forum in St. Petersburg.

And don’t forget to click the “Satellite” button on any of the maps for a satellite view of the arena. Keep an eye out for the boss — you can waste a lot of time with this feature.

Even though we’re using RinkAtlas only for maps of arenas hosting Division I games, you’ll find it a great resource for any rink in the United States. There’s no excuse now for missing that late night pickup game — or at least, you can’t say you didn’t know how to get there.

By the way, another new feature we’ve added this season is downloadable team schedule calendars. Visit any team schedule page — Providence, for instance — and click the “Download as Calendar” link to grab an .ics file that you can import into calendar programs like Outlook, Mozilla Calendar, and Apple iCal.

There’s more to come soon, so stay tuned. And please feel free to leave us feedback on these or any other new features you’d like to see.

No, not the Billy Joel album. A perusal of the Sunday news brings this reminder about the old adage courtesy of the Union Leader of Manchester, N.H.

Kevin Provencher, UL beat writer for the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, takes U.S. College Hockey Online to task in a column this morning for a recent article raising questions about the Monarchs’ parent club, the Los Angeles Kings, and their treatment of college hockey players.

Provencher writes,

College ice hockey’s worldwide web bible, U.S. College Hockey Online, earlier this season claimed through Michigan coach Red Berenson that the evil empire NHL is doing everything and saying anything to entice college players to leave school early (or not attend at all).
…
The story became a story, or so USCHO thought, when center Trevor Lewis bypassed Michigan altogether after he was drafted in the first round (17th overall) by the Kings this past summer. Lewis attended the Kings training camp and was assigned to the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL (where he already has 14 points in nine games). Lewis gives up his NCAA eligibility by playing in Canadian juniors.

The classy and well-respected Berenson spoke emotionally to USCHO after losing Lewis, and rightly so.

“I think (the Kings) took advantage of a kid who wasn’t getting good advice and signed him so that they own him, and they can do whatever they want,” said Berenson to USCHO.

But, had USCHO spoken with Lewis, Kings GM Dean Lombardi or assistant Ron Hextall, the story would have been dramatically different. We know Hextall wasted no time after the story came out and spoke directly with Berenson to inform the coach on how exactly the situation had played out.

Provencher mentions USCHO six times in his column.

There’s just one problem.

The story in question, the one that Provencher takes to town for being critical of the Monarchs’ parent club…wasn’t written by USCHO.

It was picked up off a wire service that USCHO and many other sites subscribe to called U-Wire, from the student newspaper at the University of Michigan, the Michigan Daily. For reference, here’s the story as it ran in the Daily.

Oops.

It’s hard to imagine how Provencher could not have known this, because it says right at the top of the article where it came from — just like stories picked up off the AP wire, Reuters, etc.

Maybe it was an oversight, or maybe if Provencher had spoken with USCHO, the story would have been dramatically different.

Nonetheless, it is what it is, and Provencher and the Union Leader certainly appear to owe our colleagues at USCHO quite a big apology.

The WCHA opens it’s regular season with two big series as North Dakota travels to Wisconsin and Denver heads to Saint Cloud.  St. Cloud has to most to gain from the weekend as a strong showing will move the Huskies up in the polls and give all the other teams in the west something to stew over.  North Dakota and Wisconsin lost their entire rosters to the NHL so it should be fun watching the freshmen skate all over each other.

The Nye Frontier Classic opens with what will be the best game of the tournament as Colorado College and UNO face off in the first game.  UNO get’s to show off Hobey Baker finalist Scott Parse while Colorado College looks to find replacements for their big guns who left in the offseason.  The second game of the Classic features host Alasksa-Anchorage and Merrimack.  One team has to win, common sense says Alaska-Anchorage.  But that’s why they play the games.

The CCHA opens up with Western traveling to State and LSSU travelling to Columbus.  The LSSU, Ohio State match-up will be the better of the weekend as both teams are trying to establish an identity in the league and neither team has a high calibur scoring threat.  Call it a hunch but I think LSSU will take both on the road here.

In out of conference action this weekend has a first week of NCAA football feel to it as Alabama-Huntsville travels to Ann Arbor, Canisus heads to Oxford to take on Miami, and Wayne State heads to Minneapolis to take on the Gophers.  While these games aren’t too exciting to preview, an upset early can have major reprocussions later on.

Chris over at Western College Hockey really digs up some gems, but this one has to be seen to be believed.

It appears that Michigan has a verbal commitment from 14 year old Jon Merill for the 2010 season. Even recruiting guru Chris Heisenberg has it listed on his recruiting page, so I’m assuming it must be true.

While, I understand the need to recruit a little younger, at some point someone is going to get burned here and I suspect the NCAA might step in. Then again, it’s not a true commitment unless it’s in writing.. I think.

In other news, my son should start skating in a year or so. Scouts are welcome to attend the session if they’re looking to get a jump on the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Clarkson University’s student newspaper The Integrator is reporting that Clarkson has been selected to be the test site for Instant Replay this season in the ECAC.

The article didn’t specify whether or not the system is active yet, or which games the test will cover. There was definitely an opportunity during Saturday night’s game in which several Clarkson players appeared to argue that a puck was deflected by a high stick, but the referee did not review the call.

Looks like another big step forward for instant replay, now they just gotta use it!

The CHN Staff has been plenty busy putting together season previews for each conference. Checking out the CHA Preview this evening, I’m reminded that not only does the CHA have by far the coolest logo since the old-school “ECAC Olympic Torch,” but also that even though the conference only has five teams, they’re all not pushovers. In particular Niagara, Bemidji State and Alabama-Huntsville all just feel established enough to be dangerous. Wayne State has been around for awhile and has an tournament berth to its credit, and Robert Morris is just the new kid on the block.

The Hockey East preview doesn’t surprise me much. Over the past few years it’s become choosing between New Hampshire, Maine, BC, and BU. Once in awhile a team looks like it’s going to break into the establishment. Last year Vermont and Providence. In previous years UMass-Amherst and UMass-Lowell. Is this the year it happens?

In the WCHA Preview, I was surprised that Minnesota was picked first despite essentially creating an AHL team this summer. I would’ve swapped them with the Badgers but I’m an east coast guy, so what do I know!

Taking a quick swing around the blogsphere:
Western College Hockey picked Michigan State to win the CCHA and Minnesota to win the WCHA. The man is so far ahead on his previews, you’ll have to check his archives.

Clarkson Hockey Fans picked Clarkson to take the ECAC. It felt like a homer pick.. but it’s legit. Really.

Hockey East Blog has Boston College pegged at #1. Surprise! After this evening’s 5-2 victory over Northeastern to open conference play.. they’re in first place!

The RIT Corner Crew tabbed Mercyhurst to take the Atlantic.

Also, it’s good to see dgoddard’s “All Bad-Boyz Team” is back this season, with the induction of three Yale players to the team. His summary is here. (By the way, they picked DU to go all the way this year in the WCHA using the ultra-scientific “Super Poll.”)

I just returned from Potsdam and Clarkson’s 2000th game which was a 4-2 victory over RIT of Atlantic Hockey. It was great to see some live hockey again.

Some thoughts on the weekend:

RIT had a very competitive weekend against the North Country, and although they didn’t come away with a victory this weekend I was impressed with the way the team made the most of their opportunities. RIT wasn’t ranked very high in the pre-season polls in Atlantic Hockey, but based on what I saw, they should be a tough team to draw in that conference.

What happened to Colgate this weekend? They came into this weekend’s Icebreaker as the top pick in the ECAC, and were fairly well ranked nationally. Then they got flattened by Vermont, and loss the consolation to Denver 3-2 to cap a tough weekend.

And speaking of Vermont they are off to the same start as last season, taking down top opponents and winning a tournament. Is Joe Fallon for real, and if he keeps this up will we see him his Senior year?

Maine scored a big upset in the Hall of Fame game to open up the season… or was it with the number of players Minnesota lost over the off-season?

In Denver, neither goalie was spectacular, but Glenn Fisher played well enough to get the win in the Icebreaker consolation.

A couple of upsets in exhibition play this weekend, the biggest was St. Francis Xavier taking down a nationally ranked New Hampshire squad.

And so much for North Dakota and Quinnipiac being as interesting as I thought it would be.. North Dakota handily defeated the Q on Friday, then swept the series 4-2 in the second game with the Towes-Oshie connection. Regardless, having the opportunity to play a top-tier team like NoDak should be an experience that will benefit the Bobcats throughout the remainder of the season.

Big news! This year’s Commissioner’s Cup schedule is out, and there’s huge implications in this weekend’s action to open up the season. For those who aren’t familiar, the Commissioner’s Cup is a friendly competition between the six conferences to see which is the most dominate in the land. 33 games this season have been designated as part of the series, and the conference with the most points get to put the cup in their swimming pool for the year. Entering its third year, the ECAC has won the previous two series.

On the docket for this weekend, Denver will face Miami, Robert Morris gets Canisus, and Alabama-Huntsville takes on Air Force. Will the Colonials and the Golden Griffins be able handle the additional pressure?

Full Commissioner’s Cup Schedule

Tomorrow marks the official opening of the 2006-2007 NCAA hockey season. I’ll be heading up to my alma mater, Clarkson University, this weekend. I’ll get a chance to watch the Golden Knights take on Niagara on Friday, and then face RIT in Clarkson’s 2000th game all-time, so I’m extremely fortunate to be able to immediately immerse myself in some sweet, sweet college hockey. Plus it’ll be very cool to be the audience for a unique milestone that few programs have reached.

There’s some great hockey going on around the country on opening weekend. The IceBreaker Invitational looks like it it will have it all with Miami, Vermont, Colgate and Denver going at it. In addition Miami will dedicate Steve Cady Arena, which has been receiving great reviews.

In addition, the Hockey Hall of Fame game which will pit Minnesota and Maine against each other. For some reason the Quinnipiac v. North Dakota series is coming across to me as pretty intriguing. Plus we’ll see if RIT can lift a game from St. Lawrence again.

The staff has been busy making sure the television schedule is updated, with five games, including the IceBreaker and Hockey Hall of Fame game, all showing up on nationally available outlets. If you can’t get out to the arena, get comfortable, take over the television or set the Tivo.

For those that watched their teams hit the ice for the first time last weekend, some of you might have forgotten that while it’s an exhibition for our college squads, it’s the big game for other teams.

In the opening game of the season, the U-18 team pounced all over Alaska in the first period, building a 5-0 lead and holding on for a 5-3 victory, probably to the delight of most in Anchorage with the exception of those who traveled down the Richardson.

In Denver’s opening game, the Calgary Dinos held a 2-0 lead through the first half of the game until the Pioneers stormed back and scored six consecutive goals in a 6-3 win. The following night, Calgary took it to Colorado College and skated away with a 4-2 win. Ferris State needed overtime to escape Western Ontario 6-5.

Bottom line, these teams will come in hungry and play hard. Essentially many of these teams are playing at the same level as many teams in Atlantic Hockey and the CHA. Sure it’s exhibition season, and some of these teams have been playing together for much longer than our squads, but over the years it’s obvious that Canadian and developmental teams are only becoming tougher challenges.

On the Women’s side, the signs of parity continue to show as teams like RPI, Robert Morris and Niagara put together spirited games against traditionally tougher competition. The big shocker was Minnesota losing an exhibition to the Minnesota Whitecaps 4-2, but again it was an exhibition. The fans can save the worrying for the regular season.