CANTLON: HOCKEY OFF-SEASON NEWS & NOTES VOLUME 34 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The story, not just in hockey, but in all aspects of life these days, continues to be the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only the death, although that’s always the most serious repercussion, but also the havoc it’s causing as nations try to flatten the curve. Hockey is no different, and the changes are coming fast and furious.

UCONN HOCKEY

The Hockey East season now has a date.

The Hockey East Association gave the Huskies and its eleven members a finalized conference-only schedule for the 2020-21 season that reflects the COVID-19 world.

UCONN will open on the road with its only overnight stay, a pair of games in Burlington, VT at the Gutterson Field House, November 20-21 against the Vermont Catamounts.

The Maine Black Bears will come in for a pair of games the following weekend as the Huskies start the home slate at Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum normally their practice facility.

The rest of the schedule is set up as home-and-home games to eliminate the need for any stays overnight. The Huskies will not be going to Orono, Maine, and the game with the Black Bears will be at Alfond Arena.

The only game with a fixed time is set for the New Year’s Day game against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, which will be played at 4 PM and seen on the New England Sports Network (NESN).

Three-of-the-five college hockey conferences, Hockey East, along with the Big 10, and NCHC, will start their seasons at the end of the week. The AHA and ECACHL have yet to announce their plans for the regular season.

Hockey East also revealed that NESN would carry a 34-game schedule until January 1st.

Ultimately, however, the Connecticut Department of Public Health will have the final say in how things move going forward.

UCONN 2020-21 MEN’S HOCKEYS SCHEDULE

ALL DATES AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

All home games in BOLD and will be played at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum.

*- Hockey East game

#- Flex game – does not count in the conference standings

COLLEGE HOCKEY

The hammer fell on the six Ivy League schools that play hockey. There are eight schools in total. The ECACHL has voted to cancel winter sports, shutting the season down for the first time in over 100 years for some schools.

The six non-Ivy schools of the ECACHL have not called-off their seasons or, for that matter, announced what, if any, their schedule might look like. They could decide to play as a non-aligned group of schools.

The university’s Board of Regents’ Finance, Capital, and Resources Committee has approved a brand-new, $115 million, 5,000+ seat arena at Arizona State. Final approval for the dual-sheet facility could come as soon as next week.

The new arena would be the home rink for the Sun Devils hockey program, located in Tempe, next to the Sun Devils Football Stadium site.

ASU presently plays at the Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, a building that seats less than 800 spectators for hockey.

If the ASU Board of Regents gives the new rink their “all-clear” approval at their meeting on November 18th, construction could begin in January 2021, and the arena could be completed by December 2022.

The naming rights to the arena have been secured and sold for a reported $16 million, but the group or individuals who have purchased the naming rights have not been disclosed or identified.

Building an arena will help the program formally get into a conference and the likelihood of a new, revamped, and truly Western US-based WCHA conference.

The WCHA conference will lose seven schools after this season. The departing schools will be forming the new CCHA conference that will play starting next fall.

This season, ASU will be participating as a non-conference member of the Big 10.

The Big 10 and NCHC will start play at the end of the week and have not announced fan participation rules and TV coverage schedules.

Outside of immediate family members of the participating players, there will be no spectators in Notre Dame’s weekend series on Nov. 13-14 against Wisconsin at the Compton Family Ice Arena to kick off the Big 10 college hockey season.

According to a press release, the ability to host fans “will be informed by the university’s health and safety guidelines along with the guidance of local health officials and the Big Ten.”

On Monday, the AHA’s Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) announced its men’s and women’s teams would be skipping the 2020-21 season and return next year.

The 2020-21 Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches poll was announced on Tuesday.

AIC, the regular-season champion for each of the last two seasons, was selected to finish at the top.

1. AIC – 96 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Sacred Heart – 76 points (2)
3. Bentley – 75 points
4. Niagara – 69 points (1)
5. Army West Point – 60 points
6. (tie) Air Force – 49 points
7. (tie) Robert Morris – 49 points
8. Holy Cross – 27 points
9. (tie) Canisius – 18 points
10. (tie) Mercyhurst – 18 points

RIT received one first-place vote and would have been ranked fifth in the poll had they elected to play this season.

JUNIOR HOCKEY

The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL) weekend series with the league-leading Maine Nordiques was postponed because of the current uptick in COVID cases.

The Nordiques have several CT connections.

The head coach is Nolan Howe, the son of NHL Hall-of-Famer, Mark Howe.

Along with his brother Marty, Mark, and his father, Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, all played for the New England and Hartford Whalers.

Players include defenseman Cooper Swift (West Hartford/Choate-Rosemary Hall).

His father, John Swift, was the captain at SUNY-Plattsburgh in the early 1980s during his junior and senior years. He played with two future Sound Tiger coaches, Joe Ferras, who is currently the head coach at Rapid City (ECHL), and Dan Marshall, who is currently the head coach of the P.A.L. Islanders (NCDC).

Swift’s younger brother, Bauer, is currently at Choate, and the youngest, Easton, is enrolled in high school.

Tristan Fasig (Sherman/Taft School-Watertown) is a teammate. Stephen Perez played just over the CT border at Trinity-Pawling (Brewster, NY), where he was coached by former New Haven Knights, Bob Ferraris, and Aidan Connolly. Perez is a Sacred Heart University (AHA) commit for 2021-22.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

According to Czech media reports, Hartford Wolf Pack and New York Rangers defenseman, Libor Hájek, will skate with HC Brno. The transfer deal with HC Olomouc was not agreed to, so Brno’s original loan now stands. He is expected to play in Friday’s game against BK Mlada Boleslav.

Ex-Pack, and one-time captain, Mat Bodie, signs with ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL).

Former Wolf Pack, Ranger, and Sound Tiger, Micheal Haley, signed a one-year, two-way deal, with the Ottawa Senators paying $700K (NHL) and $200K (AHL).

Former Wolf Pack, and Sound Tiger defenseman Matt Finn, goes from EHC Linz (Austria) to the Bratislava Capitals (Slovakia-IceHL).

Former Whalers great, Rangers player and assistant coach, and former Wolf Pack and Avon Old Farms assistant coach, Ulf Samuelsson, hooks up again with his old Whaler teammate, Joel Quenneville, as it was announced he was hired as the new Florida Panthers assistant coach. The duo worked together with the Chicago Blackhawks along with another Whaler alumni, Kevin Dineen. Quenneville and Dineen captured the Stanley Cup championship in 2015 in the Windy City.

Last season, Samuelsson was a scout with the soon-to-be-operational expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, where he was hired by another ex-Whaler teammate, GM, Ron Francis. Samuelsson was also an interim head coach with Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL), the team he started his pro career with, and where, last year, his eldest son, Philip, played on starting in February.

He has been with four organizations in the last two years.

Manuel Wiederer of the San Jose Sharks is loaned to Deggendorfer EC (Germany Division-3).

Ty Dellandrea, who would have started the season with the Texas Stars, is loaned by Dallas to JYP Jyvaskyla (Finland-FEL).

Blake Christiansen of the Bakersfield Condors and Drew O’Connor of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are both loaned to the same team, Mangelrud (Norway-NEL).

Andrew MacWilliam heads from the Rochester Americans to EHC Munich (Germany-DEL).

185 AHL players have been loaned or signed to play in Europe.

Luke Evangelista, the second cousin of former Whaler, and current Maple Leafs President, Brandan Shanahan, signed a three-year, entry-level deal worth $925K (NHL) and $80K (AHL) with the Nashville Predators.

Ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Jack Combs, leaves EC Bad Nauheim (Germany DEL-2) and signs with HC Czikszereda (Romania-Erste League).

Ben Lake, a former member of Sacred Heart University Pioneers (AHA), and who was with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland-EIHL) until their season shutdown, has signed with the Sheffield Steelers (England-NIHL) for this season.

Lucas Bombardier (CT Oilers-EHL) heads from Knoxville (SPHL) to Zeglebie Sosnowiec (Poland-PZIHL).

After signing with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) on July 8th, ex-Sound Tiger, Peter MacArthur, was traded for future considerations to the Adirondack Thunder. He has played 164 games in a Thunder sweater and is second all-time in franchise history in points (144), assists (99), and fourth all-time in goals (45). He is a native of nearby Clifton Park, and he and his family reside in the greater Glen Falls area.

Jack Suter, out of UMASS-Amherst (HE), originally signed with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL), but with the team suspending operations for the year, has signed with Reading Royals (ECHL) for the season.

Wyatt Eye of Ohio State (Big 10) signs with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), making 188 players from Division-I college players to have signed North American professional deals, and 322 total players between Division-I and Division-III to have signed pro deals in North America and Europe. The conference breakdown is; Hockey East 35, NCHC 33, WCHA, and the Big 10 each have 32, the ECACHL 30, AHA has 25, and Division I independent Arizona State has four.

Avery Gobbo of Connecticut College (NESCAC) signs with HC Stade Poitiers (France FFHG Division-2).

Ryan McGuire (New Canaan), the son of NBC analyst and former Whalers head coach Pierre McGuire, and who is currently skating with Penticton (BCHL), has formally committed to Colgate University (ECACHL) starting in 2021-22.

IN MEMORIAM

One of the most respected people in college hockey has passed away.

Following his retirement just five months after having spent 34 years of dedicated service, on Sunday, former Yale Deputy Director of Athletics, Wayne Dean, 65, passed away suddenly.

During his tenure at Yale, he many varied assignments, including Varsity Sports Administration, Ticket Operations, Marketing and Promotions, and Contest Management.  He has also represented Yale on many league and national committees. In August of 2018, the NCAA announced that he would serve as the Chair of the Men’s and Women’s Hockey Rules Committee for two years.

Dean was one of the most respected administrators in the ECACHL. He was also a former NCAA hockey committee chair and ran numerous regional tournaments.

Dean had been at Yale since 1986 and most recently served as the school’s Deputy Director of Athletics. He was also the Sports Administrator for men’s and women’s hockey and also oversaw Ingalls Rink.

While the chair of the NCAA men’s and women’s hockey rules committee from 2018 to 2020, Dean was also a member of the men’s hockey championship committee from 2001 to 2005, chairing the group during the 2004–05 season. He also served as the regionals’ co-director at the Webster Bank Arena in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2018.

During the 2014 Frozen Four, then held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, he served on the tournament organizing committee. Also, he served as the tournament co-director for the 2004 women’s Frozen Four.

Dean served on the Board of Directors for College Hockey Inc. and the ECAC and is an ECAC past president.

The late Tim Taylor, once remarked to this reporter when Quinnipiac University, operating just seven miles down Whitney Avenue from Yale, was admitted to the conference. He gave sole credit to Dean for convincing the other Ivy League schools the merits of the Bobcats admittance.

He was a 1977 graduate of Lyndon (VT) State College, now Northern Vermont University, where he is a member of its Athletics Hall-of-Fame. Dean held both MS and CAS degrees from Springfield (MA) College.

Before he arrived at Yale, Dean served as Assistant Baseball Coach at Springfield College and was an assistant baseball coach and Administrator at the University of Connecticut. He also served as the head baseball and soccer coach at Mitchell College in New London. Connecticut.

Yale’s long-serving SID, Steve Conn, tweeted, “It is with a very heavy heart that I post this message having just learned of the passing of Wayne Dean. We spent a lot of time together at the Whale Bowl, and he made it fun. He was a great man with many talents and a wonderful sense of humor. We will miss you, Deaner!”

His wife, Betsy, survives Dean. Together the couple were longtime residents of Westbrook, Connecticut, and have three college-aged children, Amy, Matt, and Jake, who is working at Yale and is a Cornell University grad.