Adam has done a spectacular job in covering the hullabaloo  involving UAA and their Coach Dave Shiyak. It appears to be a tough situation for everyone involved. The big issue is that because Shiyak is a Canadian citizen and must apply for permanent residency,  “the university has to prove there are no American candidates willing, able and qualified for his job.”
So the question in my mind is this: Is making sure Anchorage doesn’t erupt into a riot of epic proportions a qualification? If so it looks like Shiyak is the only one that can do this. Otherwise, it looks like everyone is going to be in a difficult and unhappy position.

What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta no where to lead the pack, at Augusta. He’s on his final hole, he’s about 455 yards away – he’s gonna hit about a two-iron I think. Oh he got all of that one! The crowd is standing on its feet here, the normally reserved Augusta crowd – going wild – for this young Cinderella, he’s come outta no where, he’s got about 350 yards left, he’s gonna hit about a five-iron, don’t you think? He’s got a beautiful backswing – that’s – Oh he got all of that one! He’s gotta be pleased with that, the crowd is just on its feet here, uh – He’s the Cinderella boy, uh – tears in his eyes I guess as he lines up this last shot, he’s got about 195 yards left, he’s got about a – its looks like he’s got about an eight-iron. This crowd has gone deathly silent, the Cinderella story, outta no where, a former greenskeeper now – about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac – It’s in the Hole!

A district judge issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA last night, which prevents the NCAA from moving the location of a post-season playoff game. The UND Football team is currently 9-1 and would likely have home field advantage in the Division II Football Tournament. The new rules regarding American Indian nicknames that the NCAA deems offensive preventa those teams from hosting post-season tournaments or using their nicknames on the road during the playoffs.

Obviously this carries over to hockey as well, but it’s interesting to see that Division II football led to this quick injunction, especially since the case is scheduled to go to trial on April 24th.

It’s Halloween, and our colleagues over at Inside College Hockey give us this amusing look at some reasons that might explain why RPI is de-emphasizing its beloved “Puckman” mascot character.

Hopefully, Puckman isn’t headed the way of the Swarm, an oversized bee which was the RPI mascot in the 1980s and very entertaining.

With Lake Superior in town for the annual RPI Tournament one season, the Lakers brought their pelican mascot to do battle with the Swarm. I have no idea if the pelican had a name too. But during the tournament championship game, the two mascots went at it, each trying to rile up their team’s fans. The Swarm did its customary routine where it raises its arms to one section, which yells as loud as it can, then to another section, and back and forth to see which one is the loudest.

Meanwhile, the pelican sneaked up behind the Swarm, waited for the bee to turn around in surprise, and raised its arms right in the face of the RPI mascot, in perfect imitation. The crowd howled in laughter.

This led to the two chasing each other around the rink — if you’re trying to picture this, play is still going on throughout the whole thing, it’s not an intermission show. The dueling mascots disappeared underneath the stands, then the chase picked up again with the Swarm wearing the pelican head and the pelican topped off with the bee head.

Not only was the crowd laughing hysterically, the players on the ice were looking back into the stands to watch what was happening.

I realize it wasn’t a Puckman story, but the point is that things like this in college athletics, especially college hockey, are a big part of what makes it fun and entertaining. It’s too bad that so much of that has fallen by the wayside as the game has grown and expanded. Traditions like Puckman and the Swarm are part of what make the game great, and RPI is one of those schools where tradition is very revered by the students and alumni. Maybe it’s time for a “Save Puckman” movement, which would be a pretty appropriate name given how many of the mascot’s vulcanized relatives have been “saved” by RPI goalies over the years.

Ever wish you could get the latest scores when you were out on the road somewhere? Maybe you were sitting in traffic on the way home from a game, or maybe you just weren’t someplace where you could get to any of the online scoreboards out there. Maybe you were at a game and wished the PA announcer would update the out-of-town scores more often.

That’s all about to change. You can now get live, in-progress score updates on your cell phone — or other handheld wireless device — using College Hockey News‘ new Wireless Scoreboard.

It’s simple — just put “scores.collegehockeynews.com” into your phone, and you’re all set. Bookmark the page for easy access in the future.

There’s more information here. Just remember that while there isn’t a charge to use our new service, wireless charges through your provider may apply, mileage may vary, please drink responsibly, blah blah blah.

If you’ve seen Hockey East’s wireless scoreboard feature (we had something to do with that too), this one will be familiar to you.

This was what we had in mind last week when we told you about CHN’s new partnership with the RinkAtlas.com rink mapping system and team schedule calendars, and said more was coming soon.

As always, let us know what you think, and feel free to pass the word or tell us how you use the wireless scoreboard. Maybe we can convince management to come up with a special prize for the best story…

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!

Right on the heels of my previous blog posting, the CCHA announced today that they’ll be experimenting with a few of the rule changes that the rules committee has encouraged conferences to try out, plus implementing instant replay in all arenas in the league.

The experimental rules will be used in exhibition games to open the season and include changes that mirror the changes recently made in the NHL, most notably regarding icing. In these exhibitions, icing will prevent the team that iced the puck from changing lines. In addition, icing will be called on the penalty kill on the short-handed team. We should definitely see a bump in scoring and a change in style during these games.

More exciting to me is the two official, two linesman set-up that they will use in these exhibitions. If executed properly we’ll hopefully see games called in a more consistent and accurate fashion.

A big thumbs up to the CCHA for stepping up and giving everyone else in college hockey an opportunity to take a look at the impact of these new changes.

There’s a great article on ESPN.com about RPI captain Kirk MacDonald’s fight to overcome testicular cancer. Many who keep track of the ECACHL have been following this story closely, and Ken Schott does an excellent job of pulling it all together for us as MacDonald gets ready to take the ice for his senior season against York and then Boston University. Definitely something for all fans of college hockey to look forward to.