Trev Alberts, the AD at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, said recently that the WCHA’s interest in adding UNO may be lessening.

Bruce McLeod, commish of the WCHA, said he may have something to say about expansion as soon as Friday.

WCHA athletic directors talked — reportedly for a long time — on a teleconference call on Wednesday.

So what is happening: Maybe posturing. McLeod reportedly has some leeway on what kind of deal the WCHA can cut with UNO.

Alberts has said UNO is interested in switching from the CCHA only under certain conditions.

So what is being negotiated? The entry fee to join the WCHA and playoff revenue.

Minnesota State Mankato, when it joined the league, had to pay the WCHA $120,000 in three annual $40,000 installments. During those three years, the MSU Mavericks also did not get a share of the playoff revenue.

The split this year was about $90,000 per team.

The UNO Mavericks probably want a sweeter money deal than that to jump from the CCHA.

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi is the chair of the WCHA’s structure and executive committee. He said the expansion focus right now is forming a general consensus on the direction to go.

That’s actually a must. Eight of the 10 WCHA schools have to approve expansion.

“No final votes have been taken,” Maturi said, “but we’ve had many discussions.”

Bemidji State has applied to join the WCHA, but the conference at its April meetings in Florida decided to wait on an expansion vote until a 12th possible team came forward.

UNO and Alaska-Fairbanks have emerged as the two likeliest possibilities. Both are CCHA teams.

Maturi said he expects the ADs to make a recommendation soon on expansion, maybe within days.

I think UNO, especially with Dean Blais as its head coach, will still be the 12th team, but Alaska-Fairbanks is not out of the realm of possibility.

Everybody agrees on one thing. They want a decision by August.

The University of Nebraska-Omaha named Dean Blais its hockey coach on Friday. He’s a WCHA guy. He played for the Gophers and coached North Dakota for 10 years, winning NCAA titles in 1997 and 2000.

A lot of bloggers are speculating his hiring means UNO is looking at jumping from the CCHA to the WCHA. Blais deflected questions on the issue, saying it is an administrative decision. It is, I suppose, but those administrators will ask his opinion.

Mike Hastings, the Gophers assistant, was interviewed for the UNO job, according to a story in the Omaha World Herald. But the source of that tidbit is not disclosed.

Blais is a good pick for a school wanting its hockey program to become relevant. He is still has the coaching knack. Blais took the Fargo Force, a first-year expansion team, to the finals of the Clark Cup, the USHL equivalent of the Stanley Cup.

Blais was named the USHL’s coach and general manager of the year.

UNO seems to be the clear first, second and third choice of the WCHA as a 12th member to join with Bemidji State.

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Gophers runner Hassan Mead, a sophomore from Minneapolis South, won his heat in the 5,000-meter run early Thursday morning at the NCAA track and field championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Mead’s time was 14 minutes, and .79 seconds. In the other heat, junior David McNeill of Nothern Arizona won in 13:57.73. That was a faster heat; six runners broke 14 minutes, including Oregon senior Galen Rupp, the NCAA cross-country champion last fall.

The 5,000 final will be held at 8:40 p.m. Friday. It is the last event of that night. Rain on Wednesday pushed some events into early Thursday morning.

The Gophers also had another runner in the 5,000, but senior Chris Rombough was 11th in his heat in 14:09.79 and did not advance.

Among other U athletes who did — and there are six men and six women at nationals — were senior Heather Dorniden in the 800, junior Alica Rue in the pole vault and Aaron Studt in the shot put.

There is not much hockey news at this time of year, so you grab what you can find.

The University of Nebraska-Omaha just released its 2009-10 hockey schedule and guess who is on it? Bemidji State.

The Beavers, the surprise Frozen Four participant this year, has encouraged UNO to be the 12th team in the WCHA. Bemidji State, of course, has already applied to be the 11th.

So is this series a part of the wooing process of UNO?

 “I’m sure conspiracy theories could start,” said UNO Associate Athletic Director Mike Kemp, the former Mavs coach told the Omaha World Herald. “But this agreement was actually made long before any discussions of conference realignment started. Bemidji is in the process of trying to beef up its nonconference schedule, and we’re fortunate they have dates open that late in the season because of their conference situation.”

Bemidji State will play at UNO on Feb. 26-27. As usual UNO also will play Minnesota State Mankato in a home and home series Dec. 18-19. The first game is in Mankato.

The UNO Mavericks also are in the Denver Cup on Jan. 1-2. So they have games in two WCHA arenas, just to get a taste of the WCHA.

Remember WCHA commish Bruce McLeod was hoping to find a 12 team this summer.  

It’s doubtful UNO will do anything until the school hires a new hockey coach, which should happen sometime this month according to the Mavs AD.

Trev Alberts, the new AD at the University of Nebraska Omaha, said he is talking to both the WCHA and the CCHA, the conference the Mavericks currently belong to.

“We have had sound conversations and negotiations with both leagues,” Alberts was quoted as saying in the Omaha World Herald. “We’re happy with what the CCHA has done for us. We realize the WCHA can provide some things the CCHA can’t. The Big Ten might start (sponsoring) hockey. How does that affect us? How do we position ourselves? We can’t think short-term, we have to think long-term.”

Not sure who is telling Alberts the Big Ten may start sponsoring hockey. Let’s see, here are the Big Ten schools with Division I programs: Minnesota and Wisconsin of the WCHA and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State of the CCHA.

Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue don’t although there have been rumors the Nittany Lions have some interest. Still that’s quite a leap to badly damage two conferences to start a new one with six teams, counting Penn State. Doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. …

Alberts also wants an arena on-campus so the Mavericks can control all the revenue streams. And he said there has been a lot of interest in the Mavs opening for a head hockey coach. He hopes to name one by mid-June.

For the complete story in the Omaha World Herald click either word in blue in this sentence.

The UMD women’s hockey team, which is noted for bringing in players from outside the state and outside the country, is still at it.

The Bulldogs this spring signed one player from Duluth, forward Gina Dodge, and four from way far away:

F Jessica Wong, Nova Scotia
G Jennifer Harss, Germany
F Andrea Lanzl, Germany
D Mariia Posa, Finland

Last fall, the Dogs signed three Canadians.

Bruce McLeod, the commish of the WCHA, said several teams have contacted the conference about its wide-open spot for a 12th team.

“And we have had preliminary conversations with Omaha,” McLeod said. That would be the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the school the WCHA wants as a member the most.

Asked if he was in Omaha, McLeod said he didn’t want to answer that question.

The Mavericks of UNO are a little bit unsettled right now. UNO is looking for a head coach. One coach who wants the job and, said he will apply, is former Gophers assistant Mike Guentzel. He was an assistant at Colorado College this season.

SHORTIES

* Eric Means, the new assistant women’s hockey coach at Minnesota State Mankato, had an appendectomy last week.

The WCHA several weeks ago released season recaps for all 10 teams. In this dead-puck period, where there are no games, I thought somebody might be interested in reading what the conference PR folks had to say about each team. Today’s victim is Wisconsin.

Here are the dates of previous recap posts:
Gophers and Denver, May 2
St. Cloud State, May 4
and
Wisconsin, today May 14 … six more to go:

BADGERS JUST MISS NCAA

Wisconsin (20-16-4, 14-11-3 WCHA) finished its season by winning the third place game at the 2009 WCHA Final Five over North Dakota with a 4-1 victory … the postseason result matches UW’s regular-season result of third place … from USCHO.com and Collegehockeynews.com, it appears the Badgers were the first team out of the NCAA tournament, missing selection by 0.0002 in the RPI.

(That’s right. And the Gophers were right behind them. A win here or a tie there amd UW would have gotten in.)

The Badgers won 20 games for the 32nd time in school history … junior defenseman Jamie McBain, the WCHA Player of the Year, All-WCHA First Team and the WCHA’s only top-10 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist (several WCHAns were slighted, including U captain Ryan Stoa), finished the season as Wisconsin’s leading scorer with 30 assists and 37 points … McBain is the fifth UW defenseman to lead the team in scoring for a season.

(UW’s strength in general was its high-profile group of D.)

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The NHL and the Canadian Junior Hockey League, which is actually 10 leagues with 140-some teams, have reached a partnership to work together.

 Specifics were not released Monday, but that could be bad news for the WCHA and other college hockey leagues. If players see the CJHL as a better road to reach the pros, more may start taking that route rather than going to college for a few years.

DU GOALIE MVP

At Denver University’s awards banquet this past week, sophomore goalie Marc (Chevy) Cheverie was named the Pioneers’ MVP.

Freshman defenseman Patrick Wiercioch and freshman forward Joe Colborne were named the Co-Rookies of the Year. Wiercioch is a threat to turn pro in the offseason; his rights are owned by the Washington Capitals.

Also recognized was equipment manager Lee Greseth. Why mention him? He started a job at the U of M on Monday. He will take Harry Broadfoot’s place, working the Gophers hockey team.

A Denver Post writer, on his blog, said Greseth went over to “the dark side.” Funny.

BUDISH REHABBING WELL

Edina senior forward Zach Budish said the U has told him whether they want to bring him in this season or wait a year. But he said his left knee, on which he had surgery after a football injury, is healing well. He is skating two, three times a week and working out five, six days a week.

He is one of eight state players going to the NHL Combine in Toronto in two weeks.

* Defenseman Nathan Sinz of Shattuck-St. Mary’s has committed to Colgate, according to one reputable blog site that focuses on recruiting.

Senior forward Ryan Duncan was recentely named North Dakota’s MVP for this past season. Duncan also was named the school’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Junior defenseman Chay Genoway received two awards, one for hard work and determination, the other for leadership.

The Rookie of the Year for the Fighting Sioux was freshman goalie Brad Eidsness. Most Improved was Ben Blood, a 6-4, 212-pound freshman defenseman from Plymouth.

Goalies received the other two awards: senior Aaron Walski was named the Unsung Hero and Graeme Harrington was honored for being the freshman with the most character.

CC FORWARD TO STAY

Junior left wing Bill Sweatt, who had 12 goals and 11 assists for Colorado College this past season, has decided to return to the Tigers. Great news for them, considering CC will lose six seniors and two key players are leaving early for the pros. One of them is sophomore goalie Richard Bachman, the other junior defenseman Brian Connelly of Bloomington.

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