Sunday Potpourri: Recruits, WCHA Reviews, Bad Humans and Good Humans

I'm imagining that lots of good will come from this past weekends experience for the Seawolves.  That's the great thing about sports and being a fan.  Tomorrow.  The future.  The next game.  The next season.  I know our guys will learn from past games and apply those lessons in the next; they're students ya know ... they're all about learning.

Open Letter(s) to WCHA Athletic Directors

I've written and emailed the following letter to the Athletic Directors at each WCHA institution (UW's Barry Alvarez has no email address ... in their case I directed the letter to Justin Doherty -- Assistant Athletic Director for External Relations) . An issue that concerns me deeply is the ongoing subsidy that UAA supplies to WCHA teams traveling to Anchorage. Currently, UAA provides 12 airline tickets for each visiting conference member per series. It's not unfair to characterize that as about $6,000 per home series for UAA.

As I've mentioned many times over the summer with regard to conference realignment ideas, the NCAA created the "Alaska/Hawaii Exemption" to incentivize schools from outside to compete in Alaska. Each school has the ability to schedule additional home games as a result of this rule. In some cases, the potential amount of money the school could make is substantial. In other cases, not so much. Regardless, UAA is providing a subsidy that I believe it should not be providing. This letter is my first step in attempting to address this unfairness. There will be an ongoing effort on my part to see this subsidy eliminated. Future steps in this theme are "in development".

Dear (insert name here),

I’m writing today in the hope that I may enlist your support and share that with the readers of the UAA Hockey Fan Blog (http://uaafan.blogspot.com) regarding an issue of basic fairness. No doubt you are familiar with the NCAA’s Alaska/Hawaii exemption.

Some 25 years or so ago, the NCAA recognized that schools in Alaska and Hawaii faced significant geographic challenges that hindered the fairest possible competition with schools in the contiguous 48 states. They introduced a measure granting game exemptions for any/all schools scheduling an away contest against an Alaska or Hawaii school.

The measure’s stated intention was to provide a financial recompense for schools like yours to recover the costs associated with travel to the 49th and 50th state. This rule has helped keep athletic programs afloat at NCAA institutions in these two states. Without such a rule, competing on home turf/court/ice outside of conference mandates would be virtually impossible for these distantly located schools.

My concern today is, that in addition to the potential revenue gains for your school (I conservatively estimate that amount at $xx,xxx per year for Xxxxxx), the University of Alaska Anchorage currently subsidizes 12 airline tickets for each WCHA member traveling to Anchorage to play hockey.

I hope that you can see this amount (roughly $6,000 per) can be defined as nothing other than largesse from UAA to your school. Since a mechanism already exists to more than adequately recover your travel costs then I call on you today to completely renounce this practice. In doing so you will be contributing to the NCAA’s stated goal of “fair play”.

With your permission I will post your reply to this plea in my blog. Best of luck with the 09/10 athletic season.
Most Sincerely,

Donald M. Dunlop
UAA Hockey Fan Blog

The email addresses for each are below should you have any thoughts regarding this issue that you'd like to share. I'll add here that my "potential revenue" numbers are derived by multiplying sold-out attendance by $15 per ticket for ONE additonal home game per year. The subsidy cost to UAA is also an estimate based on 12 commercial airline tickets at $500 per. It is somewhat relevant to note that a school like Michigan Tech has no where near the potential revenue enhancement as do the larger schools. But I do propose that in ALL cases (see how that word is bolded?) the amount of actual revenue more than repays the additional costs associated with being forced to travel to Alaska.

I honestly believe that this practice goes against basic fairness in any sense or definition of that word you can imagine. Fairness was rightly applied when the NCAA implemented the "Alaska/Hawaii Exemption" but requiring UAA (not to mention UAF in the CCHA) to provide additional recompense over and above is in many ways an affront to it.

Colorado College -- Ken Ralph -- ken.ralph@coloradocollege.edu
University of Denver -- Peg Bradley-Doppes -- lbridge2@du.edu
Michigan Tech -- Suzanne Sanregret -- srsanreg@mtu.edu
Minnesota -- Joel Maturi -- icaadmin@umn.edu
Mankato -- Kevin Buisman -- kevin.buisman@mnsu.edu
UMD -- Bob Nielson -- rnielson@d.umn.edu
UND -- Brian Faison -- brainfaison@mail.und.edu
SCSU -- Morris Kurtz -- mkurtz@stcloudstate.edu
UW -- Justin Doherty -- jmd@athletics.wisc.edu

Unless otherwise requested, I will share any responses from this esteemed group of Athletic Directors in this comment section of this post as they arrive in my email. I look forward to all their responses.

Best Commented Blog in D1 Hockey

I wanted to simply take note today that during this season this blog has seen a nice very quantifiable rise in quality comments from readers. For the first couple of years, comments here have all too frequently been the domain of marginal potshots from trolls and then my ownage of them. Much as I enjoy putting an idiot in their place that dynamic can get a little old.

But this season we've all been witness to a high level of insightful comments from UAA supporters. We've seen well-thought out analysis. And we've seen no small measure of each. The rise has been particularly notable since the beginning of 2009. Since January 1st there have been 25 posts with more than 10 comments attached. Comment strings have reached 30 or more on 7 times.

So today is dedicated to thanking all my readers and commenters in particular. Thanks for your insights. Thanks for your words of wisdom. This sort of good participation is exactly what I hope this blog facilitates. The discussion can and should be more important than what I write. So please keep commenting and challenging and opining frequently.

Please also remember that I always welcome submissions via email. I posted the only one I've ever gotten ... so you could be number 2. Don't let my rough exterior here make you think that any sort of different take from another Seawolf fan wouldn't be welcome. I would enjoy different views on events. So would other readers. I'll make up a psuedonym for you if your anonymity is important to you.

That said, I'll continue to plug away at pretty much the same rate as the past. My most fervent hope is that other folks continue to comment at the same rate and quality.

The Little Volcano That Could

100 miles west/southwest of Anchorage lies Mt. Redoubt. It's part of the famed Pacific Rim "Ring of Fire" which is a continental subduction zone that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. One tectonic plate subducts (or is forced under) the various continental plates. This creates a geologic situation that gives birth to volcanos. Click on the image above that I grabbed from Google Earth to get an idea of the geographic relationship between Anchorage and Mt. Redoubt.

For a couple of weeks now Redoubt has been rumbling. Geologists thought they had this particular volcano pegged. An eruption in 1989 provided them with a template for predicting any future eruption. A certain level and pattern of seismic activity was noted in conjunction with that earlier eruption and they saw a very similar seismic signature recently prompting them to raise the alert level. Unfortunately, Mt. Redoubt isn't following the template.

As it stands, the volcano literally could erupt at just about any time. Recent flyovers show active fumeroles expelling typical pre-eruptive volcanic gases. The activity right now appears to be something the volcano-types call dome building. A large pocket of magma is moving up inside the mountain accounting for a myriad of what are called shallow earthquakes. At some point it is likely that increasing pressure inside this lava dome will reach a critical point and some sort of explosive eruption will follow.

Here's the important part: Nobody really has any clue what sort of explosive eruption will happen, when it might happen and frankly whether or not it will reach that point. If an eruption does occur, two things will be important for residents of Anchorage (and/or visitors): the scale of the eruption and the prevailing winds. If the eruption is large enough and the winds are in the right direction then Anchorage could see some ashfall.

In 1989 a KLM 747 unwittingly flew through a Mt. Redoubt ash-plume and suffered engine loss and a couple of minutes of horror for it's passengers before the crew restarted the engines and returned to the Anchorage International Airport. The KLM flight was outbound from Anchorage and using an atypical flight path. Typically, approaching airliners come into Anchorage from the east/southeast. With Mt. Redoubt 100 miles to the west/southwest there should be little concern for any inbound flights. The constant vigil by the Alaska Volcano Observatory in conjunction with airport operations in Anchorage means that any such future incident is all but eliminated.

With the St. Cloud Huskies travelling north this week for games in Anchorage there really shouldn't be too much to worry about. But then again ... who knows? This picture below was taken on January 31st and along with many others can be found at the Alaska Volcano Observatory website.

image credit: Christina Neal, Alaska Volcano Observatory/USGS

The Scoop From The Booster Club

Got a nice update from Blueliner Booster Club member (and my nominee for next Club President) Suze on some upcoming Club happenings. Thought I'd pass them along. Make sure you mark them down because I'm the suck when it comes to reminding folks about events like these.

Coaches Luncheon Schedule:
Two luncheons remain on the schedule. The first is February 6th with St. Cloud State Coach Bob Motzko. It doesn't say they'll be handing out the classic Duncan Imperial Yo-Yo's to all attendees but if I were Blueliner Booster Prez I can guarantee everyone showing up would get one and be encouraged to fiddle with it throughout the luncheon.

The only other luncheon scheduled will be on February 20 when North Dakota comes to town. If you can't get by without a dose of North Dakota Coach Dave Hakstol and/or really enjoy being stared down by red-faced guy gritting his teeth then don't miss out. I'm tellin ya ... that cat has way more personality than a guppy. Seriously.

Both luncheons are at the Lucy Cuddy Center at 11:30am and hey Dr. Cobb says the food is always great.

Skate With The Seawolves:
Grab your skates and get your fan ass on down to Westchester Lagoon on Sunday February 8th at 3pm to skate with the team. There'll be hot dogs, hot chocolate and prizes. I'd imagine they'll have a warming barrel. The note doesn't say anything about bringing sticks or pucks but if you show up with those I'm pretty sure they aren't going to chase you off.

Parent's Weekend:
The North Dakota series is also the weekend for the annual Parent's Weekend. There'll be a jersey auction following the Saturday night game. Hopefully, this year the parents will be introduced before one of the games. Last year they did it between periods and I thought it was disruptive. In any case, make sure you're in your seats to show these fine folks our appreciation for raising such a fine group of young men to entertain us.

Seawolves vs. Badgers: As It Happens

"Sod it ... It's broken. Oh wait ... I have to switch it on. Buttle? Tuttle?"

Check back at game time and refresh frequently for regular updates as warranted during today's Seawolves game against the Badgers. I'll be watching here with the comforts of home surrounding me, busily typing on my ElectriClerk® and providing commentary, analysis and whatever else occurs to me as the game progresses.

Check back that is if you aren't lucky enough to be at the game or energetic enough to go to the Pepper Mill and join the game watching party there. The UAA Blueliner Booster Club is hosting events there both Friday and Saturday night. There will be door prizes!

Where is the Pepper Mill? On the west side of C Street between 36th and Tudor right next to Sea Galley. But where is Sea Galley? Just east of Alaska USA Credit Union's HQ Bldg. But where the hell is that? Dude ... ask Google or Yahoo or Mapquest or get a Garmin thingy ... a'ight?

5 minutes to 4 ...

Paul Braun has a good voice for hockey. Rob Andringa isn't the worst color guy in history.

I see a couple of pairs of the "flashing/sparkly" sunglasses that our friend Richard introduced into the Seawolf merchandising channel this season as they go to commercial focusing on some UAA fans in the building.

Don Adam reffing a UAA/Wisconsin game? Lots of history there ....
Bryce in net on Friday for UAA. I'd gues that has to do with him being sick last weekend and Jonny getting both starts ...

Puck Drops ...
Backstrom and Wiles both come up with a couple of nice checks ..
And of course UAA gets the 1st penalty call ...
Grant goes in for interference ... Bryce tripped a kid ...
Boom Boom's grandson goes for Boarding to even it up ... Could have been a CFB
4x4 hockey ...

Penalty FEST!!!! Hooray ... now UAA goes for too many men. First PK ...
Nice work by Wiles (Braun calling him Wy-less) and Bales ...
Seawolves called for a RIDICULOUS icing at the end of the PK ...
UAA needs to regroup a little bit after being shorthanded ... they finally clear the zone and push the puck deep into Becky's zone ...

GRANT!!! ... with a major Dinger!! Argh ...
Another good defensive effort from Backstrom on the UDub counterattack ...
Some sort of pause for something ... Braun and Andringa were trying to do their Woog/Mazzacco impression by talking about some useless trivia ....
Ahhh ... it was a review to make sure Grant didn't score.

A Badger draped himself all over Parkinson and hooked him ... UAA Power Play.
No real time in the zone early as they fumble a couple of passes ...
Real close chance in tight for Grant ...
Becky clears ...
Power Play over ...

I'm wondering during this TV time out if anything I'm "listing" here is useful. I'll try it a different way in the 2nd period.

Davies knowingly shoots the puck afte whistled for offsides ... shoulda been a penalty.
Icing on the Badgers? Another ridiculous icing call ... Read the NEW rules buttheads!
Leinweber with a sweet little move for a quality chance off the rush with Clark ...

Robbie rocked Jake Gardiners world with a huge open ice hit in Jeremy Mylymok style!

Sweet pass wide off the boards to Wiles for another clean scoring chance. Another penalty on UAA. Of course ... the Seawolves are outplaying the Badgers and Don Adam is reffing. The fans come alive a bit after Becky hits the pipe on the PP.

End of 1. 0-0 ... Shots 8-4 in favor of UAA. Definitely a good period for the 'Wolves. They outchanced Bucky. Feet were moving well. Passing was crisp and smart. The hitting game was definitely in evidence. Shyiak should have nothing but positivity and encouragement in the locker room. No adjustments to be made that I can see. The penalties were what they were. Typical weak calls ... the last one on Haddad was marginal but he shouldn't have been reaching with his stick.

Paul Braun has a weird dysfunction with names ending in -les. Instead of "Bay-ulls" it's "Bay-less" .. same goes for Wiles. Is that some sort of Wisconsin cultural affectation?

The hit from Mat Robinson on Jake Gardiner was the hit of the year so far. Gardiner was busy checking his laces while carrying the puck. Robbie saw it and absolutely leveled him.

Mat Robinson - (senior) - 5'10" and 181lbs ...
Jake Gardiner (frosh)- 6'2" ... only 181? Yikes ...

Welcome to the WCHA rookie! Be interesting to see if he comes back on the ice. It was a classic Scott Stevens-style knockout hit.

2nd Period:
About a minute left on the Wisco powerplay. Seawolves use solid positioning to keep the Badgers wide for the remaining time.
Back to 5 on 5 hockey.
Bryce makes a save ...
Bucky managing some puck possession in UAA's zone. That was their first even strength pressure and they get another scoring chance that Bryce turns away but leaves sitting precariously.
Penalty on UAA, tripping as Haddad REACHES out with the stick again.
Too much time in the UAA zone costs the Seawolves ...
UW 1 - UAA 0 ...
Tally by Boom Booms grandson ...

UAA pressures nicely following the goal.
Seawolves not doing a great job getting the puck out of the zone so far this period. Finally, the 4th line gets switched out and Grant manufactures a chance. Then Crowder in cleanly but saved by Connelly.

Good pressure by Clark, Lunden and Haddad as the Seawolves get their cycle game going in the Badger zone. Penalty against the Bagers to even the calls out.

OH CRAP!!! Good chance in tight. Another Badger going to box. 5 on 3 now ... Make it happen boys!!!

Crowder swing and a miss at the backdoor. Good possession and good work but nothing to show for it.
Quick whistle helps Bucky ...
Penalties killed. Kohl responds ...

Lets hope not cashing in there doesn't hurt the effort. Badgers could have some momentum after that kill. Seawolves just need to keep focused and they'll get the goal they deserve.

Moir going for an elbow.
Seawolves clear after the face-off.
Wisconsin misses on a back door chance.
Bryce with a solid save on a shot from the point and then UAA clears.
Six minutes left in the period (Jeez ... fast period?)
Badgers clear it themselves ...
Penalty killed for UAA ...

Now Bales out with Lunden and Clark. Shyiak is using a rotation to get Bales more ice-time. Now Haddad comes back out for Bales and gets whistled for taking down Patrick Johnson. Another Badger power play.

Another goal. This time no Seawolf managed to rotate down to cover and they bang home a relatively easy one. About 2 and a half minutes left in the period.

Fuck. 3-0. I didn't see it since I was typing. Christianson looks to have been screened on the shot from the blueline.

Geoffrion hurt. Hard to see what happened on the replay.

I'm not going to continue the live updates as I miss too much action. Tuton and Johnson draw 10 minute misconducts for their post whistle discussion.

Good pressure for the Seawolves in the last minute and a half. Period over.

UAA certainly needs to redouble it's efforts in the 3rd. They can't worry about anything but focusing on getting the first goal. They deserve one. The Badgers obviously won that period. UAA's failure to score on the 5 on 3 (which was a longggg one) looms large.

Don't bother refreshing til after the game. I'm getting in the recliner to see if the Seawolves can muster a comeback in the 3rd. It certainly isn't out of the question but they'll have to stay completely out of the box to make it happen.

Game Over: UW 3 - UAA 2
It's a bit disappointing of course to lose a game where you clearly outchanced your opponent. The Seawolves had a big lead in shots as well as chances. I think you can point to the Seawolves inability to find the net on the long 5 on 3 advantage in the 2nd period. Get a goal there and it would have tied the game. But instead the Badgers get the next two.

A real good third period by the Seawolves but they fall short. A really ticky-tack penalty on Clark with about 2:35 left in the game caused a situation where the Seawolves weren't ever able to pull the goalie for a last chance flurry. Clark lifted a Badger's stick (um .. LEGAL play) yet gets called for hooking? Shitty call. During the penalty kill UAA had a couple of real nice rushes though resulting in their final two scoring chances of the game. It's a shame they couldn't make one of those count. Credit to Connelly for stepping way out and cutting off Josh Lunden's angle which eliminated him from getting off a quality shot. Paul Crowder had a fairly clean break shorthanded as well but couldn't find Connelly's five hole.

The boys should be proud of their effort. Overall they played well. No reason to really blame anyone for the loss ... the Seawolves had enough chances even if they got nailed with a couple of ticky tack penalties.

I'd would imagine that Boom Boom's descendant will miss some time as he looked pretty bad going off the ice. I wouldn't expect to see Jake Gardiner tomorrow night either as he was described by a Badger assistant as having his bell rung.

I see no reason that the Seawolves couldn't come out tomorrow night and pick up 2 points. They should be confident that they can. A little scrum at the end sent a bit of a message that UAA isn't going to back down tomorrow night. I'd say the Badgers paid the price tonight in injuries for their win. Let's hope that Saturday night they come away bruised and used and beaten.

Lastly, I won't be doing the "Live Blogging" thing again ... for selfish reasons.

Promo Potpourri: Arena Plan, Free Tickets and Alumni Game

This article in today's Northern Light school newspaper reveals some of the planning and thoughts with regard to a future home for the UAA Hockey team. Last year initial funding was approved and plans are moving forward for a new sports and recreation center on the piece of property located on Providence Drive and Elmore adjacent to Providence Hospital and the current UAA Student Dormitories. This facility will house all UAA Sports teams with the exception of Hockey. It includes a 3,500 seat multipurpose arena for basketball, volleyball and gymnastics as well as all the necesssary amenities/facilities for the other UAA sports programs. The latest proposal (Phase II) it seems includes plans for a renovation of the current Wells Fargo facility to turn it into the home for UAA Hockey.

The article includes information about the administrative and legislative hurdles this plan faces. It doesn't talk much about the construction hurdles that such a renovation to the existing Wells Fargo center would have. In my mind, in order to make this plan viable (i.e ... keep pace with other WCHA venues) then an absolute minimum of 6,000 seats will need to be in the plan. Whether that is or is not possible is an open question to me. If the plan includes that minimum number of seats then I'd whole-heartedly endorse it. Having the hockey team play it's home games on campus is a necessity in my mind. Not having to share the facility with a professional sports franchise is a huge benefit as well.

This Friday night is Green and Gold night at the Sullivan Arena. A paying adult wearing Green and Gold can get up to four children's tickets for no additional cost. Free hockey for the kids!! Bring the whole damn neighborhood!

This Saturday at 2:00pm at Sullivan Arena the UAA Alumni Hockey game will take place. There's boatloads of former players living in the Anchorage area. A commenter indicates that Dean Larson, Brian Kraft, Chris King, Regg Simon and Jim Mayes will be playing. I'd imagine other names we'll see are Rob Conn, Keith Morris, Jack Kowal, Todd Bethard, Tim Molle, Doug Spooner, Todd Christianson, David Vallieres, Paul Williams etc ... at least any guys that still live in Anchorage anyway. If you know any other names (perhaps Alumni that live out of state but are coming for the game) then please add them in the comments section.

What "Needs" To Happen? A Sweep ...

Allow me to properly set some expectations for action here on the blog this week. There won't be much if any. Colorado College doesn't have a rabid fanbase of mostly vapid Internet chest-thumpers. You see ... there is stuff to do in Colorado Springs versus say a place like um ... Grand Forks. It's only 60 miles away from a real city so when the residents get out of one of the billions of fundamentalist churches, they can go live it up in Denver. I could bash the town and it's inhabitants all day without any concern that someone is going to show up and threaten to beat me up. I know because I did my best hatchet job on the joint last year before the UAA/CC playoff series. Only 3 people showed up to tell me what an asshole I was. But Adam Wodon at College Hockey News seemed to like it (or at least it cracked him up anyway). It also spurred a lifetime acheivement award for me.

This week only two words come to mind when thinking about this series: Seawolves sweep. Take care to note here that I'm not predicting that the Seawolves will sweep. Instead, those two words come to mind because it is what needs to happen. Why does it need to happen? Because the Seawolves are 2-3-2 in their last 7 games. Because the Seawolves are equidistant between 1st place and 10th place (5 points each way) tied with two other teams for 5th. And those two teams (UND and Mankato) are playing the 9th and 10th place teams (UMD and MTU) this weekend.

Once again the words "most important series of the season" are valid. It's been a while since the Seawolves swept Si Si. I remember the series but can't say exactly when it was because ... um ... like I said ... it's been a while. Last year Si Si beat the Seawolves six frigging times. But thankfully, this is a whole new year. This week the players definitely shouldn't think about the past at all. Of course, that isn't really possible is it? Our brains are wired with memory so that we can learn from past mistakes. However, nothing that already happened really matters. I know ... I know. I say that shit all the time.

But the focus has to be on the task at hand. And the task at hand is to earn as many WCHA points as possible THIS weekend. Failure is not an option. A sweep is not only necessary; it is crucial. Players can't go out half-assed on Friday thinking that it's ok because they'll come back and play better on Saturday. Friday night should be played like the season depends on it. Every Seawolf needs to believe that a failure to get all the available points this weekend creates a tougher road for the rest of the season. Because it does.

Yes. When coaches and players say they have to take things one game at a time they are right. You can't think about Saturday (or two weeks ahead) when you're playing on Friday. You have to focus on the task at hand. So all my ranting here about the need to sweep this weekend is perhaps misguided. But damnit. It really really needs to happen. Me, you, the team, the staff and anyone else familiar with this year's Seawolf team knows their potential. This weekend is all about living up to that potential by sweeping the #3 ranked Si Si team.

Freshmen need to play over their heads. Sophomores need to contibute mightily. Juniors need to bang it home. Seniors need to lead the way. Goaltenders need to be walls. Coaches need to motivate. And fans need to SHOW UP!

So every regular Seawolf fan needs to spend this week finding as many people as they can and get them to come to the games this weekend. There's no stupid holiday to keep people away with other social obligations. There's no shopping that can't wait for post Thanksgiving sales. Hockey fans in this city have NO excuse for not showing up this weekend. Don't go to the stupid Alaska Avalanche game at the Subway Center on Friday ... there's not enough seats there anyway. There's no good movies out that you can't wait to see on a Saturday matinee. Get 10 people to come. Get 20 people to come. Run around your office all week, talk up the team and twist arms to get people to come. Do whatever you have to do. If you're a rich alumnus then buy a shitload of tickets and give them to your friends and/or minions. If you're a middle class working guy then round up 4 kids to take with you ... they get in FREE if you wear Green and Gold on Friday. The team deserves better support and a bigger home-ice advantage.

Even the Anchorage Daily News is doing it's bit in a way with this nugget today. They didn't have to print that. It isn't really particularly newsworthy. Why did they do it? I think because they understand that sometimes it is their job to promote a community asset. Good on them. Now let's all do our part too, eh? BRING PEOPLE damnit ... even if they're clueless knobs who'd rather be at some artsy-fartsy dance recital. No Palins though ... ok? Unless you just want to bug me.

Waiting To Exhale

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