Hockey Halloween 2020

No NCAA hockey (yet), no NHL hockey (yet) at this time of year when both would have regularly been underway, but enjoy Halloween, anyway.

Travis Roy (1975-2020)

Travis Roy (Boston University), who was rendered a quadriplegic just 11 seconds into his NCAA debut after hitting the boards head first at Walter Brown Arena in October 1995, has passed away at age 45. 

Roy spent the last quarter-century as an advocate for other individuals with spinal cord injuries, despite being in a wheelchair, and raised national awareness and funds to combat paralysis through his Travis Roy Foundation and as a much in-demand motivational speaker. His number 24 jersey was also retired by BU.

May he rest in peace.

NCHC, Atlantic Hockey Preparing to Start Seasons

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced over the weekend that it will play the first half of its 2020-21 season in a bubble environment at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb. beginning on Dec. 1. 

The second half of the season is expected to be contested on campus sites, according to USCHO.com. The conference will be split into East and West divisions, with the East featuring Miami, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan, and the West containing Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Omaha. Each school is scheduled to play its divisional opponents six times apiece, and the teams in the other division twice each.

Atlantic Hockey also recently announced that it will begin its 2020-21 campaign on Nov. 13, with 24 games being played per school this season, according to collegehockeynews.com. That slate will include two games per team against NCAA Division I newcomer Long Island University, which will skate as an Atlantic Hockey affiliate member this season, similar to how Arizona State will play as a part of the Big Ten this winter. 

Atlantic Hockey will be split into two regional scheduling pods, with the east consisting of AIC, Army, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart, while the western pod will employ Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, RIT, and Robert Morris, with schools facing pod opponents five games apiece, presumably at campus sites. Air Force will play the other 10 teams twice, and will face off against LIU four times.

In other men's college hockey news, both Yale and Boston University have suffered COVID-19 spikes lately. It is not known how that might affect scheduling in ECAC Hockey and Hockey East, respectively. 

ADDENDUM: Soon after, the WCHA announced it plans to play an 18-game regular season.

New CCHA Unveils Inaugural Logo

College hockey's newest NCAA Division I men's hockey conference has its new logo.

The new Central Collegiate Hockey Association introduced its insignia this week, in blue, red and white colors, and it also incorporates a hockey stick. The nascent league, which borrows its name from the original CCHA (1971-2013), will begin play in the fall of 2021. 

Its members will include Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State and Northern Michigan, which will all be leaving the current WCHA, along with incoming NCAA Division I hockey member St. Thomas (Minn.). The new CCHA logo will also be available in the various school colors of its eight member institutions.

The inaugural commissioner of the new CCHA is former longtime college head coach Don Lucia, who won 736 career games with Alaska Fairbanks, Colorado College and Minnesota from 1987 to 2018. He also guided Minnesota to back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships in 2002 and 2003.

NCAA Men's Frozen Four Sites Through 2026 Revealed

The next six sites for the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey Frozen Four have been announced.

The 2021 semifinals and final will be held in Pittsburgh, followed in successive years by: Boston; Tampa, St. Paul; St. Louis, and; Las Vegas, which will host the Frozen Four for the first time ever.

Detroit, which was supposed to host the 2020 version at its new Little Caesars Arena in April, until COVID-19 became widespread, was not included in the mix this time out. The 2019 Frozen Four was held in Buffalo and won by Minnesota-Duluth, its second consecutive NCAA title.

NCAA regional sites from 2021 to 2026 were also revealed. They will include: Albany, N.Y. (2021, 2026); Allentown, Pa. (2022, 2023, 2025); Bridgeport, Conn. (2021, 2023); Fargo, N.D. (2021, 2023, 2025); Loveland, Colo. (2021, 2022, 2026); Manchester, N.H. (2021, 2023, 2025); Maryland Heights, Mo. (2024); Sioux Falls, S.D. (2024, 2026); Springfield, Mass. (2024); Toledo, Ohio (2025), and; Worcester, Mass. (2022, 2026). 

NCAA Players Picked as Alumni Shift NHL Teams

Several former NCAA players have changed NHL teams recently, as free agents or in trades. 

Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University), who just won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning last month, has signed with the Ananheim Ducks. Torey Krug (Michigan State), who has spent his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins, inked a seven-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. Ryan Donato (Harvard) was dealt from the Minnesota Wild to the San Jose Sharks.

The NHL also held its virtual entry draft last week, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 70 incoming or current NCAA skaters selected.

The first player chosen out of that crop was defenseman Jake Sanderson (North Dakota), who played last season with the U.S. NTDP and was drafted fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators. The top current college skater tabbed was forward Dylan Holloway (Wisconsin), who had 17 points in 35 games with the Badgers last season, and went 14th overall to the Edmonton Oilers.

Arizona State Hockey to Play with Big Ten This Season

The Big Ten Conference has announced its men's ice hockey scheduling agreement for 2020-21.

Each of the seven schools will play the other six members four times apiece, for a total of 24 conference games per school. Each team will also play four nonconference home games against NCAA Division I independent Arizona State University, for this season only, similar to how Notre Dame football is a de facto member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2020 season.

The full Big Ten hockey schedule is expected to be released in the near future, although schools are expected to being play in mid-November while adhering to prescribed conference COVID-19 guidelines. The conference postseason tournament is slated for March 18-20, 2021. ASU will not participate in the Big Ten tournament, but will eligible for the NCAA tournament provided it meets the criteria for that championship.