Ferris State recruit changing his mind?

UPDATED: Sat. June 9, 3:00 p.m.

Pat Maroon won a North American Hockey League title this past season with the St. Louis Bandits and signed with Ferris State for this fall where he will begin his collegiate career.

Or will he?

Maroon, a St. Louis native and 2004 draft pick of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, has had his name surface in rumors lately that have the NAHL MVP skipping college for the major junior route.

St. Louis coach-GM Jon Cooper believes the 6-foot-4, 220-pound forward will still be college-bound, however.

"As of now, Maroon is planning to go to Ferris," said Cooper in an exclusive interview with Michigan College Hockey. "Could that change? Sure. However, until he tells me otherwise, I have to believe he will be in Big Rapids in the fall."

There is also a chance Maroon will be taken in the NHL Entry Draft in two weeks in Columbus.

"I am thinking of coming (to London,)" Maroon said in the Saturday edition of the London Free Press. "It all depends if I get drafted and what team drafts me and if that team tells me to go to the OHL or college. I don't have to do it but if I do get drafted and that's what the team tells me, it would be a consideration.

"It would be nice to play (in London), but it's really all up for grabs."

Forgie returns to captain Warriors again

Wayne State University men's hockey coach Bill Wilkinson has announced the team captains for the upcoming 2007-08 season.

Redshirt senior forward Mike Forgie will wear the "C" for the second consecutive year.

Despite two injury-shortened seasons in his WSU career, Forgie has emerged as a leader for Wilkinson's squad while totaling 39 points in 78 career games. He saw action in 30 games in 2006-07 and accumulated six goals and six assists for 12 points, eight of which came in league contests.

Junior forward Derek Punches and sophomore defenseman Jeff Caister will serve as assistant captains in 2007-08.

Punches, a College Hockey America All-Academic Team honoree and recipient of Wayne State's Coaches' Award last year, played in all 35 games and recorded eight points, including a career-high seven assists. He was selected as WSU's Rookie of the Year following the 2005-06 campaign.

Caister was named to the CHA All-Rookie Team after totaling 16 points in 35 games last season. He finished third on the team with 14 assists and tied-for-fifth among CHA defensemen and freshmen in points. Caister posted half of his points (1-7--8) in league games, setting school records with classmate Ryan Bernardi for most league points and assists by a rookie defenseman.

"I think these gentlemen are great leaders," said Wilkinson. "They are responsible on and off the ice, particularly in the classroom."

Wayne State will open the season Oct. 12-13 at the 17th annual Nye Frontier Classic, hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Olver off to German Second League

Former Northern Michigan forward Darin Olver has signed a contract with the Fischtown Pinguins in Bremerhaven, Germany, in the German Second League.

Other players with NMU roots who have played for the Pinguins include Troy Jacobsen (1985-1989), Phil Soukoroff (1988-1992) and Craig Sterzer (1987-1988).

Olver registered 14 goals and a team-best 20 assists for 34 points during the 2006-2007 season. For his four-year career, Olver tallied 51 goals and 95 assists for 146 points in 158 games for the Wildcats.

Ex-Bulldog, Spartans hoist Stanley Cup

Three former Michigan collegians hoisted the Stanley Cup last night as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-2, to win the championship series in five games.

Forward Chris Kunitz, a four-year skater with Ferris State from 1999-2003, will have his name engraved on the Cup. Kunitz (pictured above) put up 25 goals in 81 regular-season games.

One of Anaheim's "black aces," rookie forward Drew Miller, also held the Cup aloft Wednesday night in southern California. He left Michigan State last spring with one year of eligibility remaining to sign with the Ducks.

Newell Brown, a Ducks assistant coach and former Michigan State player (1980-1984) and assistant (1987-1990), helped guide Anaheim to a 16-5 postseason mark with series wins over Minnesota, Vancouver, Detroit and Ottawa. Brown was also head coach at Michigan Tech from 1990-1992.

Congratulations to all from MichiganCollegeHockey.com!

Michigan releases 2007-2008 schedule

University of Michigan head coach Red Berenson announced Thursday the team's schedule for the 2007-08 season. The Maize and Blue will play 36 regular-season contests, including 17 at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan will play a minimum of 12 games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a season ago.

The Maize and Blue's 86th season gets underway with a pair of exhibition games. The annual Blue/White intrasquad scrimmage is on Saturday, Oct. 6, followed by a match-up with Western Ontario on Sunday, Oct. 7. A third exhibition game will be played midseason on Jan. 8 against the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team.

Michigan's regular season begins Oct. 12-13 at the Icebreaker Tournament, which is being hosted by Minnesota. The Wolverines open with Boston College, last season's national runner-up, on Oct. 12. U-M will play Minnesota or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Oct. 13. The game times and venue have yet to be finalized.

The Wolverines' home opener is slated for Oct. 26 when nationally renowned Boston University enters Yost for the first time since 1989. The Wolverines and Terriers will also tangle on Oct. 27; the game time may be pushed back to accommodate U-M's football game earlier in the afternoon.

The 28-game CCHA schedule kicks off Oct. 19-20 at Northern Michigan, a member of U-M's cluster this season. The Wildcats visit Ann Arbor Feb. 1-2. Lake Superior State is also in Michigan's cluster. U-M heads to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., for a pair of games Nov. 16-17, and LSSU makes the return trip Feb. 15-16.

Rounding out U-M's cluster as always are the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan could go until late January before its first game against the defending national champions. The in-state rivals have a home-and-home series Jan. 25-26, with the lone game at Yost to be played Jan. 25. In the penultimate weekend of the season, U-M meets MSU in a "road and Joe" series Feb. 22-23. Michigan will serve as the home team on Jan. 23 at Joe Louis Arena. The Wolverines and Spartans could also face off in December at the 43rd annual Great Lakes Invitational should both teams win their semifinal contests.

Michigan's opponent in the semifinals of the GLI on Dec. 28-29 will be Providence. The other match-up is Michigan State and Michigan Tech. U-M will play MSU or MTU in the championship or third-place game.

The 15th annual College Hockey Showcase will run Nov. 23-24 of Thanksgiving weekend. Michigan hosts Wisconsin on Nov. 23 and Minnesota on Nov. 24. The Maize and Blue ended a six-game CHS losing streak by knocking off the Badgers on the road last year.

A week after playing the Badgers and Gophers, the Wolverines will see yet another natural Big Ten combatant, Ohio State, on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. U-M and OSU have split their season series in each of the past three seasons.

Michigan will take on Notre Dame, last season's CCHA regular-season champion, in a home-and-home series Jan. 18-19. The Fighting Irish's home game on Jan. 19 could be moved to a venue other than the Joyce Center.

Michigan has three other home-and-home weekends in CCHA play: Bowling Green (Dec. 7-8), Western Michigan (Jan. 11-12) and Ferris State (Feb. 29-March 1).

Michigan also has road weekends at Nebraska-Omaha (Nov. 2-3) and Miami (Feb. 8-9). The Wolverines host Alaska for two games over Nov. 9-10.

For the third consecutive season all 12 CCHA teams will qualify for the CCHA Tournament, and seeds 1-4 will receive first-round byes for the weekend of March 7-9, during which the squads that finished fifth through 12th will play best-of-three series at campus sites. The four teams remaining after the first round will travel to the campuses of top four seeds for a second round of best-of-three series March 14-16. Teams will be reseeded following the first round. The four teams that emerge from the second round will move on to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich., for the CCHA semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday, March 21-22. The victor of the CCHA Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The road to Frozen Four will travel through four NCAA Regional sites. Two regionals will be held on March 28-29, with the Northeast Regional at the DCU Arena in Worcester, Mass., and the West Regional at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. On March 29-30, the East Regional at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., and the Midwest Regional at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., will take place.

Having made a record-setting 17 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wolverines will be striving to get back to the Frozen Four. The 2008 Frozen Four will take place in Denver, Colo., with games being played at the Pepsi Center. The national semifinals will be on Thursday, April 10, and the NCAA championship game will be played on Saturday, April 12.

U-M's television schedule will be released later this summer. Some game times and dates could be changed for television purposes.

Piotrowski to head CCHA officials

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Steve Piotrowski, one of the most distinguished and respected referees in college hockey, is retiring from on-ice duty and, effective immediately, will serve as the conference’s new Director of Officials.

“Steve Piotrowski has been an exceptional college official for more than 20 years, has a wealth of experience in pressure situations and is highly respected throughout the entire collegiate hockey community," stated CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos in making the announcement. “He’s the consummate professional and will provide excellent leadership both within the CCHA and nationally.”

Piotrowski, who played in the CCHA at Ferris State University from 1977-79, has served as an on-ice official with the league for the past 26 years. He has worked in the NCAA Tournament on 14 occasions and officiated six NCAA national championship games, beginning in 1987 and most recently in 2005 at Columbus, Ohio, along with being tabbed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to referee in the World Championship and World Junior Championship events.

“I’m excited to be a part of what I feel is the finest group of on-ice officials in college hockey and look forward to continuing to build a system that will recruit and develop quality officials so the officiating needs of the CCHA can be looked after for years to come," said the 50-year old Piotrowski. “I’ve had the tremendous privilege and honor to work with an outstanding and dedicated group of on-ice officials, director of officials, supervisors, and administrators over the past 26 seasons. I will deeply miss being on the ice, the camaraderie in the locker room, but I certainly look forward to the challenges that will come with this position."

Piotrowski will oversee a CCHA officiating staff that, during the 2006-07 season, consisted of a dozen referees, 50 assistant referees and four game supervisors.

Welch named FSU's captain - again

Senior defenseman Adam Welch will wear the captain's 'C' on his jersey for the third consecutive season for Ferris State in 2007-2008.

Juniors Matt Frank and Alex Spezia along with sophomore Cody Chupp were named assistant captains.

Welch becomes only the fourth skater in the program's history to serve as team captain for more than two seasons. Ed Turner (1976-80), Jim Baker (1979-82) and Jim File (1981-84) are also members of the elite group.

Duchene impressed with Brampton

Matt Duchene’s first exposure to the Ontario Hockey League’s Brampton Battalion was a positive one.

Duchene, the fifth overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection on May 5, was one of 35 players who took part in the Battalion’s two-day minicamp, which ended Sunday.

“I was really impressed with how everything was conducted,” said Duchene, who has yet to commit to the Battalion. “It was very professional. The games were fun. So was the fitness testing.”

Check out more on the potential Michigan State recruit HERE.

Warriors get 13th recruit for '07-08

The Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League announced that 1986-born forward Jordan Inglis has committed to Wayne State University for the upcoming 2007-08 season.

Inglis was acquired by the Spruce Kings in September and were quickly rewarded with his offensive contributions. He finished the season second in team scoring with 21 goals and 26 assists in 56 games and also also scored twice and added six assists in seven playoff games.

In the RBC Royal Bank Cup, Inglis added three goals, including the game-winner against the Pembroke Lumber Kings.

Inglis' strong work ethic on the ice was also seen in his scholastic habits earning him the scholastic player of the year honors at the team’s annual awards ceremony.

Inglis will be joining fellow BCHL teammates Tyler Ruel (Alberni Valley Bulldogs), Kyle Funkenhauser (Surrey Eagles) and Brock Meadows (Salmon Arm Silverbacks) as freshmen players with the Warriors.

Ex-Spartan Thelen not signed by Wild

The Minnesota Wild relinquished their rights to 2004 first-round pick A.J. Thelen on Friday after failing to sign him.

The Wild chose the 6-foot-3 defenseman with the 12th overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He was coming off a stellar freshman season at Michigan State, where he was a second-team All-American.

But Thelen ran into trouble at the school and was kicked off the hockey team after being caught drinking underage.

He spent the next two years in the Western Hockey League, where he helped the Vancouver Giants win the Memorial Cup last week.

Thelen is now an unrestricted free agent and has already generated interest from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

The Wild had until Friday to sign him to a deal or forfeit his rights. The Wild will receive the 42nd overall pick in the June 22-23 draft as compensation.

King to captain Warriors

Wayne State University women's hockey head coach Jim Fetter has named senior Ashley King as team captain for the 2007-2008 season.

This will be the third consecutive year King has been a captain for the Warriors.

King played in all 34 games and has missed just one game in her collegiate career. She was selected as a National Academic Scholar by the American Women's Hockey Coaches Association and has earned WSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll accolades every semester.

Juniors Amanda Hungle and Lindsay DiPietro and sophomore Christine Jefferson were selected as assistant captains.

Hungle has appeared in 65 games for the Green and Gold, and scored a career-high in goals this past season. This will be the second year she has served as an assistant captain.

DiPietro will be wearing an "A" for the first time in her collegiate career. She epitomizes a student-athlete having earned CHA Academic All-League honors plus she led the squad in assists (30) as a sophomore.

Jefferson earned WSU's Most Improved Player award following her freshman campaign in which she played in all 34 games. She contributed nine points offensively and was selected to the CHA All-Tournament team.

"This is a solid group of captains," said Fetter. "All bring something different to the leadership table."

All-Time WSU Women's Captains

2006-07- Laura Monk, Ashley King
2005-06- Jessica Snelgrove
2004-05- Kelly Zamora, Jessica Snelgrove
2003-04- Katie Jones
2002-03- Katie Jones, Kelly Meech
2001-02- Kelly Meech
2000-01- Kelly Pike, Serena Hillman, Amy Peters
1999-00- Laura MacKenzie, Kelly Pike