The joke in college hockey circles these days is maybe the WCHA should speed up its decision on Bemidji State and admit the Beavers into the conference before they play in the Frozen Four on April 9.

The punch line: That way at least one member of the conference would be there this year.

As it is, the three WCHA teams in the NCAA tournament all lost early, North Dakota and Denver in the first round, UMD in a regional final.

In 2008 and 2007 there was one WCHA team in the Frozen Four, in 2006 two and in 2005 four of them in Columbus, Ohio.

Since the WCHA was formed in 1951-52, at least one WCHA team has been in the Frozen Four every year but three: 1993, 1998 and 1999. WCHA teams have won 36 national championships.

Until this year, no team from College Hockey America — Bemidji State’s present conference — has made it that far.

The team’s playoff run so far, upset wins over Notre Dame and Cornell, have to help its chances of getting into the WCHA especially if another team applies. The deadline is Tuesday for applications.

When Denver was in Minneapolis, one person with the team was asked about Bemidji State. The response was not positive. How will adding Bemidji State benefit the WCHA? What do they bring to the league?

Denver, Colorado College, Michigan Tech and Alaska Anchorage. the teams located on the fringes of the league, may be tough votes for BSU to get even if the Beavers are breaking ground on Friday for a new $46.5-million regional events center with a 4,000-seat arena.

BSU needs eight of 10 schools to approve its admission. Its women’s hockey team is already part of the WCHA, but that league has only eight teams.

A storybook run to the Frozen Four gives BSU, located in a remote lakes and trees part of northwestern Minnesota, a better chance of gaining admittance but by no means is it a certainty. The question then is, how will the Beavers surive without a conference? Their conference will be dissolved after next season.

When a Frozen Four team calls a school for a game, maybe it will listen more. Certainly this run will invigorate the program and help recruiting.

The Bemidji State hockey story will spread, too. It’s a good one with 13 national small college titles. And this Beavers team is just adding another unbelievable chapter to it.Â

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.