Post #78 – 11/11/22 – Polls & Scheds, Attendance, Problem Solving, Upcoming Events, ICYMI


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Polls & WKND Sched
Attendance
Problem Solving
Sifters
ICYMI
Polls & WKND Sched
DCU/USCHO Division I Poll – November 7, 2022
Rnk | Team | Record | Last Poll |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Minnesota (20) | 9-0-1 | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 10-1-1 | 2 |
3 | Wisconsin | 10-2-0 | 3 |
4 | Colgate | 11-1-0 | 6 |
5 | Quinnipiac | 10-1-0 | 4 |
6 | Yale | 4-0-0 | 8 |
7 | Minnesota Duluth | 7-5-0 | 5 |
8 | Northeastern | 10-1-1 | 7 |
9 | Cornell | 5-1-0 | 9 |
10 | Providence | 9-2-1 | 12 |
11 | Clarkson | 10-3-1 | 10 |
12 | Penn State | 8-5-1 | 11 |
13 | Vermont | 7-4-1 | 13 |
14 | Connecticut | 8-4-2 | NR |
15 | Princeton | 1-3-0 | 14 |
Others receiving votes: St. Lawrence 14, Boston College 6, Mercyhurst 3, St. Cloud State 3, Harvard 1
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll
(Week Nine Poll)
First-place votes in parentheses
RANK | SCHOOL | LAST WEEK’S RANKING | 2022-23 RECORD | WEEKS IN TOP 15 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | University of Minnesota, 282 (18) | 1 | 9-1-1 | 9 |
2. | Ohio State University, 263 (1) | 2 | 10-1-1 | 9 |
3. | University of Wisconsin, 233 | 3 | 10-2-0 | 9 |
4. | Quinnipiac University, 207 | 4 | 10-1-0 | 9 |
5. | Colgate University, 203 | 6 | 11-1-0 | 9 |
6. | Yale University, 191 | 8 | 4-0-0 | 9 |
7. | Northeastern University, 180 | 7 | 10-1-1 | 9 |
8. | University of Minnesota Duluth, 166 | 5 | 7-5-0 | 9 |
9. | Cornell University, 143 | 9 | 5-1-0 | 9 |
10. | Providence College, 100 | 12 | 9-2-1 | 4 |
11. | Clarkson University, 90 | 10 | 10-3-1 | 9 |
12. | Penn State University, 75 | 11 | 8-5-1 | 8 |
13. | University of Vermont, 68 | 14 | 7-4-1 | 9 |
14. | University of Connecticut, 30 | NR | 9-1-1 | 4 |
15. | Princeton University, 22 | 13 | 1-3-0 | 9 |
Others Receiving Votes: St. Lawrence University, 14; Boston College, 7; St. Cloud State University, 3; Mercyhurst University, 2; University of Maine, 1.
Notes: The ECAC leads with seven teams in the ranking, while the WCHA has four, the HEA has three and the CHA has one… Team records are listed as W-L-T.
About the Poll: The 26th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.
Division I WKND Schedule
Thursday November 10, 2022
St. Thomas vs. Lindenwood
St. Lawrence vs. Clarkson
Friday November 11, 2022
St. Thomas vs. Lindenwood (NC)
Boston College vs. Northeastern
Boston University vs. Vermont
Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Cloud State
RIT vs. Union (NC)
Saint Anselm vs. Franklin Pierce
Stonehill vs. Sacred Heart
Merrimack vs. New Hampshire
Colgate vs. Harvard
Cornell vs. Dartmouth
Holy Cross vs. Maine
Syracuse vs. Princeton (NC)
Providence vs. Connecticut
Long Island vs. Saint Michael’s
Saturday November 12, 2022
Cornell vs. Harvard
Colgate vs. Dartmouth
Northeastern vs. Boston College
UNH vs. Merrimack
Holy Cross vs. Maine
Boston Univ. vs. Vermont
Connecticut vs. Providence
MN-Duluth vs. St. Cloud
Franklin Pierce vs. Saint Anselm
Stonehill vs. Sacred Heart
Long Island vs. Saint Michael’s
Clarkson vs. St. Lawrence (NC)
Syracuse vs. Princeton (NC)
RIT vs. Union (NC)
Sunday November 13, 2022
Brown vs. Penn State
Monday November 14, 2022
Brown vs. Penn State
Conference Standings as of 11/9/22
ECAC
RNK | Team | Points |
1 | Yale | 12 |
2 | Quinnipiac | 12 |
3 | Cornell | 9 |
4 | Harvard | 7 |
5 | Clarkson | 6 |
6 | St. Lawrence | 6 |
7 | Colgate | 6 |
8 | Brown | 5 |
9 | Dartmouth | 4 |
10 | Union | 3.5 |
11 | Princeton | 3 |
12 | Rensselaer | 1.5 |
Hockey East
RNK | Team | Points |
1 | Northeastern | 26 |
2 | Providence | 18 |
3 | Vermont | 18 |
4 | Connecticut | 15 |
5 | Boston College | 14 |
6 | Maine | 12 |
7 | Merrimack | 10 |
8 | Boston University | 8 |
9 | New Hampshire | 8 |
10 | Holy Cross | 3 |
NEWHA
RNK | Team | Points |
1 | Saint Anselm | 18 |
2 | Stonehill | 16 |
3 | Long Island | 12 |
4 | Sacred Heart | 10 |
5 | Franklin Pierce | 6 |
6 | Saint Michael’s | 4 |
7 | Post | 4 |
CHA
RNK | Team | Points |
1 | Syracuse | 12 |
2 | Penn State | 9 |
3 | Mercyhurst | 3 |
4 | Lindenwood | 0 |
4 | RIT | 0 |
WCHA
RNK | Team | Points |
1 | Ohio State | 31 |
2 | Minnesota | 27 |
3 | Wisconsin | 21 |
4 | St. Cloud State | 16 |
5 | Minnesota State | 10 |
6 | Minnesota-Duluth | 9 |
7 | Bemidji State | 3 |
8 | St. Thomas | 0 |
DCU/USCHO Division III Poll November 7, 2022
Rnk | Team | (First Place Votes) | Record | Points | Last Poll |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Middlebury | (19) | 0-0-0 | 299 | 1 |
2 | Gustavus | (1) | 3-0-0 | 274 | 2 |
3 | Plattsburgh | 2-0-0 | 262 | 3 | |
4 | Elmira | 3-0-0 | 235 | 4 | |
5 | Nazareth | 2-0-0 | 206 | 6 | |
6 | UW-River Falls | 1-1-0 | 170 | 7 | |
7 | Adrian | 4-0-0 | 163 | 10 | |
8 | UW-Eau Claire | 3-1-0 | 161 | 5 | |
9 | Norwich | 2-0-0 | 151 | 11 | |
10 | Colby | 0-0-0 | 140 | 8 | |
11 | Endicott | 3-1-0 | 90 | 9 | |
12 | Amherst | 0-0-0 | 77 | 12 | |
13 | Cortland | 2-0-0 | 63 | 14 | |
14 | Augsburg | 1-3-0 | 32 | 13 | |
15 | Aurora | 3-1-0 | 22 | 15 | |
15 | Hamilton | 0-0-0 | 22 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Williams 11, St. Norbert 7, Hamline 6, Utica 4, Lake Forest 3, UW-Superior 2
D-III WKND Schedule
Friday November 11, 2022
SUNY-Potsdam vs. Plattsburgh
Oswego St. vs. SUNY-Morrisville
Nazareth vs. Wilkes
New England College vs. Plymouth St.
William Smith vs. Elmira
Nichols vs. Suffolk
Salem St. vs. UMASS-Boston
Norwich vs. Castleton
SUNY-Cortland vs. Buffalo St.
Concordia-Wisconsin vs. Trine
Neumann vs.. Stevenson
Utica vs. Kings
Hilbert vs. SUNY-Canton
So. Maine vs. Johnson & Wales
Anna Maria vs. Alvernia
Manhattanville vs. Lebanon Valley
Curry vs. Univ. of New England
Salve Regina vs. Worcester St.
Aurora vs. Finlandia
Chatham vs. Arcadia
Lawrence vs. St. Norbert
Wis. Eau-Claire vs. Northland
Saint Benedict vs. Concordia-Morehead (MN)
Endicott vs. Western New England
Augsburg vs. St. Catherine
Bethel vs. St. Olaf
Hamiline vs. St. Mary’s
Wisconsin Stevens-Point vs. River Falls
Saturday November 12, 2022
Stevenson vs. Nuemann
Concordia vs. Trine
Plattsburgh vs. SUNY-Potsdam
Hilbert vs. SUNY-Canton
Anna Maria vs. Alvernia
Manhattanville vs. Lebanon Valley
St. Catherine vs. Augsburg
UW River-Falls vs. Northland
New England College vs. Castleton
SUNY-Morrisville vs. Oswego St.
St. Olaf vs. Bethel
Utica vs. King’s (PA)
University of New England vs. Curry
SUNY-Cortland vs. Buffalo St.
Saint Mary’s vs. Hamline
Southern Maine vs. UMASS-Boston
Nazareth vs. Wilkes
Chatham vs. Arcadia
Norwich vs. Plymouth
St. Norbert vs. Lawrence
Salem State vs. Johnson & Wales
Aurora vs. Finlandia
Elmira vs. William Smith
Western New England vs. Endicott
Suffolk vs.. Nichols
Marian vs. Adrian
Gustavus vs. St. Scholastica
Concordia-Morehead vs. Saint Benedict
Wisconsin Eau-Claire vs. Wisconsin Superior
Sunday November 13, 2022
Rivier (NH) vs. Assumption
Marian vs. Adrian
Worcester St. vs. Salve Regina
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Attendance
Below you will find comprehensive D-I attendance figures for all teams, found on USCHO. It is in order of average attendance per game. You can download these numbers below and sort how you want. Interesting to see. As of today there will have been 40 Friday games with a start time of 5pm or earlier, most around the the 2pm time frame.
How can you build an interest or a fan base when games start at 2, 3, 4, or 5pm on a Friday?
Some takeaways:
- Maine has had the most home dates thus far with 10
- Wisconsin leads the way with an ave per game attendance at 2,223 and a 97.8% capacity figure. Next is Minnesota at 40.9%
- Only 2 teams have averages per game over 1,000 and only one team (Wisco) is averaging more than 2k per game
- As for a breakdown…
- 1 team in the 2k’s
- 1 team in the 1K’s
- 1 team in the 800’s
- 1 team in the 700’s
- 2 teams in the 600’s
- 4 teams in the 500’s
- 6 teams in the 400’s
- 8 teams in the 300’s
- 8 teams in the 200’s
- 8 teams in the 100’s
- 2 teams below 100
- Unfortunately – only 23.8% of D-I programs are drawing more than 500 fans per game.
- Total attendance across D-I to date in the season is 94,590
- Most Saturday games are play in the early to mid-afternoons. In fact, only 10 Saturday games to date out of 102 have had a start time of 6pm local time or later.
Women’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2022-2023
Rank | Team | Dates | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | Capacity | Cap. % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 6 | 13,338 | 2,223 | 2,273 | 97.8 |
2 | Minnesota | 6 | 8,349 | 1,392 | 3,400 | 40.9 |
3 | Minnesota Duluth | 4 | 3,495 | 874 | 6,756 | 12.9 |
4 | Yale | 2 | 1,586 | 793 | 3,486 | 22.7 |
5 | Colgate | 6 | 4,105 | 684 | 2,222 | 30.8 |
6 | Princeton | 2 | 1,237 | 618 | 2,100 | 29.5 |
7 | Mercyhurst | 6 | 3,551 | 592 | 1,300 | 45.5 |
8 | Penn State | 8 | 4,675 | 584 | 5,782 | 10.1 |
9 | Clarkson | 5 | 2,822 | 564 | 3,000 | 18.8 |
10 | Ohio State | 6 | 3,180 | 530 | 1,200 | 44.2 |
11 | Boston University | 6 | 2,947 | 491 | 3,684 | 13.3 |
11 | New Hampshire | 6 | 2,947 | 491 | 6,501 | 7.6 |
13 | St. Lawrence | 6 | 2,729 | 455 | 3,000 | 15.2 |
14 | Quinnipiac | 5 | 2,241 | 448 | 3,086 | 14.5 |
15 | Harvard | 4 | 1,770 | 442 | 3,095 | 14.3 |
16 | Dartmouth | 2 | 810 | 405 | 4,500 | 9 |
17 | Connecticut | 8 | 3,174 | 397 | 2,000 | 19.8 |
18 | Northeastern | 6 | 2,324 | 387 | 4,747 | 8.2 |
19 | RIT | 3 | 1,126 | 375 | 4,300 | 8.7 |
20 | Vermont | 6 | 2,207 | 368 | 4,007 | 9.2 |
21 | St. Thomas | 6 | 2,169 | 362 | 1,400 | 25.8 |
22 | Cornell | 4 | 1,412 | 353 | 4,267 | 8.3 |
23 | Bemidji State | 8 | 2,737 | 342 | 4,373 | 7.8 |
24 | Boston College | 6 | 1,883 | 314 | 7,884 | 4 |
25 | Union | 2 | 585 | 292 | 2,225 | 13.1 |
26 | St. Cloud State | 6 | 1,641 | 274 | 5,159 | 5.3 |
27 | Minnesota State | 6 | 1,491 | 248 | 4,832 | 5.1 |
28 | Maine | 10 | 2,273 | 227 | 5,124 | 4.4 |
28 | St. Anselm | 7 | 1,589 | 227 | 2,700 | 8.4 |
30 | Brown | 3 | 642 | 214 | 2,495 | 8.6 |
31 | Syracuse | 5 | 1,065 | 213 | 350 | 60.9 |
32 | Sacred Heart | 5 | 1,059 | 212 | — | — |
33 | Holy Cross | 7 | 1,384 | 198 | 1,400 | 14.1 |
34 | St. Michael’s | 2 | 359 | 180 | 600 | 29.9 |
35 | LIU | 3 | 529 | 176 | — | — |
36 | Merrimack | 7 | 1,221 | 174 | 2,549 | 6.8 |
37 | Rensselaer | 6 | 1,030 | 172 | 5,217 | 3.3 |
38 | Lindenwood | 2 | 323 | 162 | — | — |
39 | Providence | 8 | 1,290 | 161 | 3,030 | 5.3 |
40 | Stonehill | 8 | 1,135 | 142 | 1,000 | 14.2 |
41 | Franklin Pierce | 3 | 219 | 73 | — | — |
42 | Post | 4 | 264 | 66 | — | — |
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Problem Solving – More Officials
Officiating doesn’t have a numbers problem. It has a system problem and it is broken. The numbers have always been there – in fact they are right in front of our eyes. Hundreds of thousands of them. They’re called players. It’s who every person in charge of getting more officials into the game talks about… “hey, we want officials who have played the game”. Problem is, in the officiating world, the system of becoming one, winds up being one of choice rather than having the opportunity to begin with.
We have been told since mid-last year that officiating numbers across the US and Canada are dwindling and there are major problems. So much so, that a state like MN is contemplating a rule that forbids teams to schedule multiple games in a day. There’s just not enough officials to work the amount of games. Youth hockey has this problem and so too does NCAA men’s & women’s hockey. Leagues are losing numbers and quality people with experience.
So how do you increase the pool of officials without deteriorating the quality? Age old questions for sure.
You could pay officials more, right? But then, everyone would have to pay more.
The model of attracting new officials is old, outdated, and frankly, difficult. You offer learn-to-ref clinics, put up some posters in the local rink, take and pass a test, get certified, get scheduled to work games, etc. But in these post pandemic days – it’s hard. Who wants to get screamed at by some loose-cannon hockey parent for an hour + on a Saturday afternoon for $20-$40. No thanks. You ever try and ask someone to sign up for something? It’s hard, it takes work, follow up, phone calls, emails, texts, etc. and worst of all, you have no control over who signs up – totally out of your hands.
Now, I don’t know what the percentages would be, but I’d bet most hockey officials played the game at even a bare bones organized house league level. I mean they have to learn to skate somewhere right?
The model has always been – have people who are interested in officiating sign up. At the higher levels, it’s a bit more of a recruitment process. But basically, at the local levels, offer a certification program, charge a fee, take a test and bam – you’re an official. It’s a model based on filtering or bringing people in. It’s a choice for people to do or not.
Well, what if you flipped the model? Instead of filtering new officials in, what if you filtered officials out?
What if the system was… you’re a young child and you want to play organized hockey, awesome. Guess what, as part of a players trajectory from age level – to age level, you are going to be introduced to officiating at the appropriate age, (holy-smokes you’ll even learn the rules of the game–which when you’re starting out as a player is kind of important!). You’ll have a chance to become an official because it’s part of the program of becoming a registered player. It’s what you do.
On the elite side of things, imagine if every player, male and female who attended a player development program/camp for USA Hockey or Hockey Canada walked away with being certified to be an official? You have an elite pool of players at your finger tips who probably have the one skill necessary to be an elite official – skating.
A few things would happen… 1) You would grow the pool of officials exponentially from a younger age. And when the pool grows – the numbers of talented officials would grow too. 2) Instead of trying to rope new officials in – officials rope themselves in because they want to learn to play the game. 3) The culture around officiating would change drastically. If just about every registered player knew what officiating was like – AND ALSO KNEW THE RULES OF HOCKEY, the abuse would drop drastically. There’s no doubt coaches and players would respect one another more. 4) Financially, the coffers would grow. Sure there would be a cost to do something like this, but that can be off-set w/ increased participation registration fees. You always have thousands more players register to play than those who choose to sign up to get certified to become an official. 5) As players go through this type of program from a younger age – some will filter themselves out of officiating – while many, many more will stay in it because they’ve done it for so long, enjoy doing it, and perhaps may see a career path with it.
Outside the box idea for sure. But with all the issues, something drastic has to be done.
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Sifters
Upcoming Events… There usually aren’t a lot of in-season tournaments or special events during the course of the D-I or D-III season, but with Thanksgiving and the holidays approaching, there will be some. Here’s a partial list:
- Las Vegas Showcase, Boston University, Penn State, Minnesota, Yale, Nov. 25-26
- Nutmeg Classic, Bemidji, UCONN, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, Nov. 25-26
- Smashville Showcase, Cornell, Northeastern, Princeton,
- Mayor’s Cup, Providence vs Brown, Nov. 26
- East/West Showcase, St. Cloud, Minnesota, UNH, Merrimack, Jan. 6-7
- Capital District Mayors Cup, Union & RPI, Jan. 28
- The Beanpot, Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Northeastern, Feb 7 & 14
History Made… It is believed to be a first in D-I as two black female assistant coaches faced off vs. one another when Union College’s Olivia Soares faced Dartmouth College’s Nina Rogers last weekend. The story made NHL.com which you can read HERE.
New Poll… For those who don’t know about The Ice Garden, you should. It’s a SB Nation blow/website that covers the PHF and all things professional women’s hockey. They also do their own NCAA D-I Women’s Poll each week. You can catch that right HERE.
NLI Signings… The National Letter of Intent signing period was last week which allowed players a chance to sign their scholarship paperwork. Programs usually will announce recent signings after this period on their websites – so stay tuned!
ECAC News… Big news out of the ECAC this week as we learned the ECAC Women’s and Men’s playoffs will feature all 12 teams. While no specific playoff structure was announced for the women, it’s believed the they will follow the men’s side. Teams 1-4 will get a bye in the first round while teams 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in a one game single elimination format. Winners would move on to play in a quarter-final best-of-three series hosted by seeds 1-4 the following weekend. Those winners would move on to the championship semi-finals and finals each. being one game. You can read the official story HERE. The change for the women takes effect in 2024 while the men’s side will see the new format this season.
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ICYMI… Post #77
We’re starting a new section to our blog called… In Case You Missed It or ICYMI. If you didn’t get the chance to read out last post, now you can. Will will begin putting out previous Pipeline posts at the bottom of our current one. Check it out below.

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…
Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’ !
Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey
Lots of New
There’s a whole lot of new coming into the 22-23 NCAA hockey season. New teams, new coaches, old players on new teams, new rules, new polls, and a new auto-bid to the NCAA tourney. You get the picture – Let’s dive in!
NEW TEAMS DROP THE PUCK
- Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts just outside Boston becomes the NEWHA’s 7th member as they begin play as a first-year NCAA D-I program under first-year Head Coach Tara Watchorn. Thus far, the Skyhawks are 4-3-1 with 4 strait wins in NEWHA play sweeping Post and St. Mike’s after dropping their first two NCAA contests to UCONN 7-1 and 3-2. The Skyhawks have since tied and lost to Brown 2-2 and 3-1 last week.
- At Division III, the Hilbert College Hawks out of Hamburg, NY south of Buffalo, get underway this year as an D-III Independent. Their first NCAA games are set for October 28 & 29 when the travel to face Alvernia and Lebanon Valley. The Milwaukee School of Engineering hit the re-set button on starting their program and will begin lay in ’23-’24. Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT has made its hire in Steve Novodor and will put a team on the ice next season in 23-24.
NEW COACHES
This was the most active year for coaching/support staff changes in recent memory. 71 changes in total have been made to date. There are a few D-III positions still to be announced, so we’ll eclipse the 70+ mark. That is a lot of turnover.
6 new head coaches get behind the bench this year for D-I programs and 2 more begin the program building process. You have new bench. bosses in Hockey East-Maine, NEWHA-Long Island Univ., Post Univ., and Stonehill College, CHA-Syracuse, WCHA-St. Cloud. 2 more Head Coaches are building programs virtually from the ground up in Robert Morris University (back in the CHA after being cut in 2021) and Assumption College who is making the transition from ACHA Club status to NCAA D-I and the 8th member of the NEWHA.
An astounding 13 new head coaches have been hired in D-III to start the 22-23 season, 10 of which are changes to existing programs.
OLD PLAYERS, NEW TEAMS
In Division I for the 21-22 season, we saw 85 graduate transfers on D-I rosters. Glancing at each schools’ rosters this season in 22-23, we find a total of 95 graduate transfers at the D-I level, an increase of 10 players. That’s right around a third of all players usually taken in a typical recruiting class. We’ll use 6 players as the average number of recruits a program takes per year.
This trend won’t go away until all players who were granted a 5th year due to COVID by the NCAA, exhaust their eligibility. Which, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be in the Spring of 2025 and means the 25-26 season should have very few if any grad. transfers.
Year 1 = 20-21 (initial COVID year), Year 2 = 21-22, Year 3 = 22-23, Year 4 = 23-24, Year 5 = 24-25
NEW RULES
The 22-23 season begins a new 2-year cycle for the NCAA men’s & women’s ice hockey rules committee to introduce new rules and legislation into the game. New changes with significance this year:
- Offsides: A player shall be considered onside if the skate is over the blue line when the puck enters the attacking zone, which is the rule used in the National Hockey League. Previously, the skate was required to be in contact with the blue line.
- Video Review: Coaches Challenges – coaches may challenge a reviewable play. If the play is not reversed, a timeout will be charged for the unsuccessful challenge. Any subsequent unsuccessful challenges would result in a minor penalty for delay of game.
- Overtime/Shootouts – will remain 3v3 with conference rules to determine if a shootout will be used after a 5-min 3v3 OT period is played.
- Major Penalty Option… officials [have] an option of a major (five-minute) penalty without an ejection. An educational video will be developed to illustrate the differences between a major penalty by itself and a major penalty with an ejection.
- High sticking in defensive zone: To be consistent with a hand pass infraction in the defensive zone, when the defensive team high sticks the puck in the defensive zone, the team will not be able to change its players.
- Covering puck in crease: The committee added covering the puck in the crease by a skater as a reviewable play through a coach’s challenge.
BODY CONTACT
The NCAA Ice Hockey Women’s Rules Committee members as well as the body of coaches and school administrators, feel legal body contact has been penalized far too often. So in an attempt to have greater consistency across all NCAA divisions and conferences, the women’s rules committee requested language around the rules of body contact be clarified and a supplemental video produced and distributed.
The end result – 11 minutes and 18 seconds of video clips and voice-over clarifications and explanations of what legal and illegal body contact is as defined by the NCAA Ice Hockey Women’s Rules Committee. Here are the takeaways:
- Legal body contact may consist of:
- Use of Angling
- Use of Size, Strength and Balance to play the puck
- Use of Body Position to control or gain possession of puck
- incidental collision may occur and should not be penalized
- There is no distinct hip, shoulder, arm or stick contact to physically force the opponent off the puck
- Illegal Body Contact–Principles of the continued enforcement standard
- The use of the stick will be limited to only playing the puck
- The stick will not be allowed to in any way impede a players progress
- The use of a free hand/arm will not be allowed to grab or impede a player’s progress
- Players who use their physical skills and/or anticipation and have a positional advantage shall not lose that advantage as a result of illegal acts by the opponent
- Players will be held accountable for acts of an intimidating or dangerous nature
Through the first few weeks of the season, it’s been an adjustment for everyone – officials and players. But the early comments from most coaches seem to indicate they really like the direction. It does seem like less penalties are being called, judging from a quick scan of box scores as compared with memory from early last season. It will be interesting to see the number of body contact/illegal checking penalties called this season vs. last.
NEW NATIONAL POLLS
Good bye top 10, hello top 15. The two leading major media outlets that publicize national polls for D-I and D-III women’s hockey, USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (just D-I), will now have a weekly Top 15 National Poll to accommodate the increase of teams selected to the NCAA Tournament – which is now at 11 teams. For years, national polls have always listed 10 teams. Below are the weekly polls as of this week.
DCU/USCHO Division I Poll October 31, 2022
Rnk | Team | (First Place Votes) | Record | Points | Last Poll |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Minnesota | (18) | 7-0-1 | 298 | 2 |
2 | Ohio State | (1) | 8-1-1 | 278 | 1 |
3 | Wisconsin | 10-2-0 | 242 | 3 | |
4 | Quinnipiac | (1) | 9-0-0 | 231 | 7 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 7-3-0 | 226 | 5 | |
6 | Colgate | 10-1-0 | 211 | 4 | |
7 | Northeastern | 8-1-1 | 182 | 6 | |
8 | Yale | 2-0-0 | 145 | 9 | |
9 | Cornell | 3-1-0 | 132 | 8 | |
10 | Clarkson | 10-1-1 | 122 | 10 | |
11 | Penn State | 7-4-1 | 95 | 12 | |
12 | Providence | 7-2-1 | 92 | 13 | |
13 | Vermont | 5-4-1 | 54 | 14 | |
14 | Princeton | 0-2-0 | 44 | 10 | |
15 | Boston College | 6-3-1 | 31 | 15 |
Others receiving votes: St. Lawrence 11, Harvard 3, Connecticut 2, Maine 1
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll
November 1, 2022
RNK | Team | Points | (First Place Votes) | Last Poll | Record | Weeks in Poll |
1 | University of Minnesota | 283 | (17) | 2 | 7-0-1 | 8 |
2 | Ohio State University | 264 | (1) | 1 | 8-1-1 | 8 |
3 | University of Wisconsin | 233 | 3 | 10-2-0 | 8 | |
4 | Quinnipiac University | 221 | (1) | 7 | 9-0-0 | 8 |
5 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 204 | 6 | 7-3-0 | 8 | |
6 | Colgate University | 187 | 4 | 10-1-0 | 8 | |
7 | Northeastern University | 181 | 5 | 8-1-1 | 8 | |
8 | Yale University | 152 | 8 | 2-0-0 | 8 | |
9 | Cornell University | 129 | 9 | 3-1-0 | 8 | |
10 | Clarkson University | 116 | 11 | 10-1-1 | 8 | |
11 | Penn State University | 87 | 12 | 7-4-1 | 7 | |
12 | Providence College | 73 | 13 | 7-2-1 | 8 | |
13 | Princeton University | 55 | 10 | 0-2-0 | 8 | |
14 | University of Vermont | 45 | 14 | 5-4-1 | 8 | |
15 | Boston College | 28 | 15 | 6-3-1 | 6 |
Others receiving votes: St. Lawrence University 5, Harvard University 3, University of Connecticut 2, University of Maine 2.
DCU/USCHO Division III Poll October 31, 2022
Rnk | Team | (First Place Votes) | Record | Points | Last Poll |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Middlebury | (20) | 0-0-0 | 300 | 1 |
2 | Gustavus | 1-0-0 | 275 | 2 | |
3 | Plattsburgh | 0-0-0 | 262 | 3 | |
4 | Elmira | 1-0-0 | 234 | 4 | |
5 | UW-Eau Claire | 2-0-0 | 215 | 6 | |
6 | Nazareth | 0-0-0 | 183 | 7 | |
7 | UW-River Falls | 0-1-0 | 180 | 5 | |
8 | Colby | 0-0-0 | 141 | 8 | |
9 | Endicott | 1-0-0 | 134 | 9 | |
10 | Adrian | 2-0-0 | 113 | 12 | |
11 | Norwich | 0-0-0 | 105 | 11 | |
12 | Amherst | 0-0-0 | 87 | 10 | |
13 | Augsburg | 1-1-0 | 45 | NR | |
14 | Cortland | 0-0-0 | 35 | 13 | |
15 | Aurora | 2-0-0 | 29 | 14 |
Others receiving votes: Hamilton 24, Utica 11, Hamline 10, Williams 7, Lake Forest 6, Oswego 3, St. Norbert 1
Staffs Are Set
It’s been a long Summer and Fall tracking all of the coaching and support staff changes across D-I and D-III. In all, 71 staff changes have taken place to date. And we still have a few more on the D-III side to go before the season gets underway in the next 3 weeks. Why so many changes? Hard to put a finger on one ‘thing’. Professional playing opportunities are paying better and attracting younger female coaches who still want to play. But, that’s a minor trend. Lot’s of head coach turnover, which can mean assistant coach turnover as new head coaches look to bring in their own people. Are coaches throwing in the towel and leaving the profession at the NCAA level, yes to some degree. Based on our data, of the coaches who have been hired as a head or assistant at D-I or D-III, a little less than 40% have no NCAA coaching experience. The coaches who leave programs (let go or otherwise) aren’t necessarily being rehired by other programs, which is a much more common occurrence on the men’s side.
For a complete D-I and D-III list of coaching and professional staff changes to date, click HERE for our google sheet Coaching Changes Tracker.
Recruiting Update
As October has come and gone, the 2023 D-I recruiting process is on the mind of many players, parents, and coaches alike, D-III as well. Those graduating high school in 2022 or 2023 has been engaged in the process since June 15 of the respective year they were allowed to begin communication. The graduate transfer player pool is usually the last to make their commitments given the timing of when transfers typically make commitments – late Feb/March. So while teams may have ‘space’ or scholarship money left, you can bet many programs are saving it for graduate transfer options.
The first wave of D-I commitments for the class of 2024 usually ends around this time of year. And let’s be honest, making a decision where to spend your college years is not that easy. It takes some time and many factors are involved. For players in grade 11 who have been engaged in the process since June 15 – we’re about the 4.5 month-mark right now. More players will make decisions in the coming weeks and months. Others still will wait to find the right school, hockey program and best fit for them.
On the evaluation side of things… there are still plenty of competitive opportunities between now and when the D-I Women’s Hockey Quiet Period begins, usually in the latter half of April. In December, the USA-Canada Cup in Kitchener always attracts competitive teams from across North America. January 8-15, the IIHF U18 World Championships will be held in Sweden. The Canada Winter Games, which is Canada’s version of the Winter Olympics held every 4 years takes place on Prince Edward Island Feb. 18 to March 5. The USA Hockey National Championships and MN Girls National Development Camp Tryout phase events usually round out the last major events. Bottom line, there are plenty of hockey for coaches to watch and evaluate players.
What’s really interesting to watch will be two things: 1) The changing dynamic of recruiting 5th year grad transfer players and 2) How the new standard of allowable body contact impacts recruiting decisions. Will size and physicality be more of a priority?
Some notables:
- There are two more D-I teams coming online next fall – Robert Morris University (CHA) and Assumption College (NEWHA). Both are basically looking to build their rosters from the ground up. And grad transfers could be a big part of the recruiting equation for both schools. So there could be more grad transfers taken next year than in years passed.
- If the past two seasons are any indication, more than a third of a typical recruiting class is likely to come from graduate transfers. 85 grad transfers were on rosters during 21-22. In 22-23 there are 95. Perhaps more in the next 2 years?
- A typical recruiting class is around 6 players, that equates to 264 spots across D-I. (44 teams x 6 players). next season with RMU and Assumption, that number will increase by 2 full teams’ worth of players – let’s assume 24 players per team–add 48 more players and you’re around the 310 mark. 95 grad transfers would be 30% of the class. That leaves 215 spots to be split up between players graduating high school in ’23 and ’24. That’s at least 215 non-grad transfer players. Roughly 30 U18 national team players from various countries take up spots, and now you’re down to 185 spots left. MN as a state has over 100 varsity High School teams… needless to say, you have to be darn good to get an offer at the D-I level. The environment is as competitive as ever.
- Player height/size is always something coaches consider when recruiting and it could become more of a factor in future recruiting decisions. Why? There is a coordinated effort from conference director of officials to standardize play across each conference with respect to body contact. Gone will be the days of the WCHA being ‘the most physical conference’.
Until Next Time… Enjoy and Happy Reading!
-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.
-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.
NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.
Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.
Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.
