Hey there.
As I write this, it’s Friday (about an hour into Friday, but it still counts) and that means one thing: The 2015-16 college hockey season is about to officially get started. Well, unofficially officially.
The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves will become the first team to skate on the ice for a pretend hockey game later tonight when they face off against Mount Royal University for an exhibition game.
In all, eight WCHA teams will participate in exhibition games this weekend. On Saturday, Bowling Green will host Toronto and Northern Michigan will host the USA U-18 Team.
And on Sunday, five more teams will play: Bemidji State (vs. Manitoba), Ferris State (vs. Lethbridge), Lake Superior State (vs. USA U-18 Team), Minnesota State (vs. Alberta) and Alaska (vs. Mount Royal). The only two teams not playing this weekend are Michigan Tech and Alabama Huntsville.
So what will these games tell us?
Well, probably not much. With just one day (or, in some cases, no days) of official team practices, most teams are still getting used to playing with one another.
Whatever happens with these exhibitions, the important thing is that it’s hockey season.
Shane Frederick, my friend and co-WCHA columnist, and I will be providing you with plenty of updates on the league throughout the season.
The USCHO season previews will be rolling out next week, with articles and outlook on each of the WCHA’s 10 teams set to run Wednesday. So be sure to look for that this week, and keep it tuned here for all of your updates.
It’s good to be back. Let’s have some fun!
