Young collegian in high demand William Horcoff was the youngest player in college hockey this season and the most requested player at the combine. The freshman center (6-5, 190) interviewed with 31 NHL teams this week, the most of any player at the event. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 games […]
William Horcoff was the youngest player in college hockey this season and the most requested player at the combine.
The freshman center (6-5, 190) interviewed with 31 NHL teams this week, the most of any player at the event. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 games with the University of Michigan after his arrival in December. Horcoff, the son of former NHL forward Shawn Horcoff, had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 28 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team to begin the season. He turned 18 on Jan. 23.
“The other team doesn’t care that I was the youngest player,” Horcoff said. “They’re still going to play me hard, if not even harder. I was more just focusing on what I could do to have an impact.
“I feel I used my size and strength to win pucks and my physicality to play that hard, mean, game that you need to win.”
Shawn Horcoff, the assistant GM of the Detroit Red Wings, played 1,008 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Detroit has the No. 13 pick in the draft.
“My dad told me that if you want it, you’ve got to put everything into it, and I want it really bad,” said Horcoff, No. 24 in Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. “Just make sure you’re not going to bed knowing you could have done more because if you can’t do that, you’re not going to maximize your potential and be the best player you can be in five years. That’s the best advice he’s given me.”
First to finish
Malte Vass was the first player on the floor to complete the array of fitness tests at the combine. The defenseman with Farjestad in Sweden’s junior division is No. 17 in Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters.
“Fun,” Vass said of being the first one. “It was tough, it was intensive.”
Vass felt the VO2 Max bike test that measures endurance was the toughest and that the various jumping tests were a bit easier. The 18-year-old didn’t go into the testing blindly. Jack Berglund, a forward chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (No. 51) of the 2024 NHL Draft, shared some insights. Vass and Berglund have been teammates on Farjestad’s junior team the past three seasons.
“I learned a lot about myself,” he said. “Meeting all the teams, it’s been a fun week, but it was tough.”
Vass, considered a stay-at-home defenseman, had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 40 games with his junior team and no points in five games in the Swedish Hockey League this season. He plans to attend Boston University in Hockey East 2025-26.
“I think it’s a really good school, and I think it’s the best way for me,” Vass said. “I think it’s better to play college to get to the NHL.”
What’s in a number?
There’s a story behind Schaefer wearing jersey No. 48. It has to do with current Flyers general manager and former NHL forward Daniel Brière.
“The reason my brother wore 48 was because of Danny Briere,” said Schaefer, whose brother Johnny is nine years older. “Johnny grew up wearing 48 and watching him. Briere was at a tyke (under-7) hockey tournament in Buffalo, coaching one of the teams, and he came into the room where my brother was and spoke to everyone about life lessons and hockey. The thing my brother took away from that was just how great a person Briere was … that he took the time to talk to him and sign people’s jerseys, hats, whatever they had. It really made an impression on him, and he instantly was Johnny’s favorite player.
“It’s because of that, I also started wearing 48.”
To his surprise, Schaefer was given workout shirt 48 at the combine.
Briere appreciates the sentiment and thinks very highly of Matthew not only as a player, but a person.
“His interaction with people is very different than most,” Briere said. “It feels like you’re talking to a 30-year-old already. He’s very mature beyond his years. It’s hard to believe he’s only 17. It’s his energy. After you talk to him, you come away feeling good. He’s an impressive young man.
“Some team is going to get a very good player. There’s not much not to like about this kid.”
Oklahoma has left wrestling to die in new era of college sports
The Oklahoma Sooners have made their priorities clear, and wrestling is not one of them. With the House v. NCAA settlement officially being approved and allowing revenue sharing in college sports, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione recently announced six sports that will get a share of the $20.5 million this year — football, men’s and […]
The Oklahoma Sooners have made their priorities clear, and wrestling is not one of them.
With the House v. NCAA settlement officially being approved and allowing revenue sharing in college sports, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione recently announced six sports that will get a share of the $20.5 million this year — football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, and women’s gymnastics. Wrestling, one of the most popular sports in the state of Oklahoma, did not make the cut.
Wrestling gets left behind as OU picks its six revenue-share winners
All six sports are deserving of the money. Let that be clear. Football and men’s basketball are the monsters that have to be fed at every school. Baseball is also one of the most popular sports in America. Women’s basketball, softball and women’s gymnastics are consistent national contenders that have earned the support at OU.
But in a new era of college athletics where only the strong will survive, OU is experiencing the strain of having so many different mouths to feed. And some sports might not survive, including wrestling.
Wrestling has been on life support at OU for some time, but that’s what happens when things aren’t nourished. The sport itself is not to blame, though. Wrestling has brought OU seven national championships, tied for the third-most with football and women’s gymnastics. It’s a sport that could succeed using mostly local talent, which can’t be said for the other sports the Sooners are trying to win at.
Just down the road in Stillwater, Oklahoma State has proven what happens when a wrestling program is supported in this state. Even after a major coaching change last year, OSU still broke wrestling attendance records, even at times drawing bigger crowds than men’s basketball, and remained nationally relevant. Even at the Division-II level, Central Oklahoma is thriving in Edmond. It’s obviously possible and likely.
But none of OU’s athletic decisions have considered wrestling as it sits at the bottom of the Sooners’ sports barrel. OU moved from the Big 12 to the SEC, a conference without wrestling. That move graduated nearly every sport to better conference competition, while wrestling remained in the Big 12 as an affiliate member. And apparently none of that extra money from a richer conference is being funneled to the wrestling program to give it any sort of benefit.
The sport shares a nearly 100-year-old venue with volleyball and men’s gymnastics. Then there was the recent decision to leave wrestling out of revenue sharing, but at least with five additional scholarships as a consolation.
Wrestling is a tradition in Oklahoma, but OU is all in on the new trends of college sports that doom tradition, whether it be in-state conference rivalries, which the Sooners still have in wrestling, or winning by recruiting local talent, which the Sooners could achieve on the mat.
The Sooners haven’t pulled the plug yet on wrestling, but they are letting the sport endure an agonizing death at OU while all it needs is the right antidote to thrive.
Five Babson Women Earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-District At-Large Honors
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BABSON PARK, Mass.—Five student-athletes from three different programs were honored for their hard work in competition and the classroom when the College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced its women’s Academic All-District At-Large teams on Tuesday afternoon. Field hockey senior Berit Sharrow (Denver, Colo.) was recognized for the third consecutive season, while […]
BABSON PARK, Mass.—Five student-athletes from three different programs were honored for their hard work in competition and the classroom when the College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced its women’s Academic All-District At-Large teams on Tuesday afternoon.
Field hockey senior Berit Sharrow (Denver, Colo.) was recognized for the third consecutive season, while women’s lacrosse seniors Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) and Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) and women’s alpine ski senior Amelie Alkier (Collingwood, Ontario) and sophomore Sonnie Travis (Park City, Utah) were all named to the CSC Academic All-District team for the first time in their respective careers.
The at-large program recognizes the top student-athletes from the sports of beach volleyball, bowling, crew, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, men’s volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
A three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America first-team selection, Sharrow capped her career with six goals and seven assists for 19 points in 23 starts last fall. She won her third straight New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Defensive Player of the Year award as the Beavers tied for first in Division III with 13 shutouts and ranked third with a 0.57 goals against average.
One of the most decorated players in program history, Sharrow earned four all-conference and all-region honors, and was selected as the NFCA Region I Player of the Year in 2022 and 2024. She helped the Beavers post 44 shutouts in 93 career starts while producing 19 goals and 21 assists for 59 points.
Alkier put together the best season of her career with three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes over 14 races to help the women’s alpine ski team match the top result in school history by placing third at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships. She placed fifth in the MacConnell Division standings and earned All-America honors in the slalom by coming in eighth and the combined standings by placing ninth in addition to coming in 18th in the giant slalom at nationals.
A two-time All-MacConnell Division selection, Alkier concluded her career with four All-America awards.
Blake concluded her career by earning All-NEWMAC second-team honors for the first time in her career after scoring a career-high 52 goals to go along with 24 assists for a career-best 76 points in 19 games this past spring. She contributed at least one point in every contest and scored three or more goals in 10 games as the Beavers captured their second consecutive regular season league title before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.
Blake played 71 career games at Babson and ranks eighth in program history with 59 assists and is 16th in both goals (119) and points (178).
The all-time Division III leader in draw controls, Connolly put together the best season of her career with 59 goals and four assists for 63 points to go along with a single-season record 243 draw controls on the way to earning Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-America first-team accolades. She ranked second nationally in both total draw controls and draw controls per game (12.79), and her 243 are the second highest total in Division III history behind only Julia Ryan for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who finished with 346 this season.
A two-time All-American, three-time all-region and 2025 NEWMAC Player of the Year, Connolly ranks first all-time in Division III and second in NCAA history with 766 draw controls, while scoring 117 goals and contributing 11 assists for 128 points in 78 career games with the Beavers. She was the NCAA statistical champion for draw controls per game in both 2023 and 2024, and is the only player in Division III history to win 200 or more draws in three consecutive seasons.
Travis completed 10 of her 12 races and recorded one podium finish and eight top-10 results to help the Babson women’s alpine ski team come in second in the MacConnell Division and tie for second at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships before placing third at nationals. She finished eighth in the conference standings and put together one of her best weekends of the season by placing fourth in the giant slalom and fifth in the slalom in the regionals at Sugarloaf Mountain back in February. Travis also finished 22nd in the GS and 31st in the combined standings during the national championships at Mount Bachelor.
The 2024 MacConnell Division Rookie of the Year, Travis has earned all-league honors in back-to-back seasons and took home USCSA All-America honors in the slalom as a first-year in 2024.
Since 1952, CSC (formerly CoSIDA) has honored more than 20,000 outstanding student-athletes across the NCAA. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve and maintain a GPA of 3.50 on a 4.0 scale.
Penn State research professor charged with stalking | Penn State, State College News
A Penn State Professor was charged with stalking and loitering after a local resident reported multiple late night incidents involving a man repeatedly appearing outside his home and peering through windows, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Patton Township Police Department. Anoop Narayanan, a research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn […]
A Penn State Professor was charged with stalking and loitering after a local resident reported multiple late night incidents involving a man repeatedly appearing outside his home and peering through windows, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Patton Township Police Department.
Anoop Narayanan, a research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, faces two criminal charges, one felony count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of loitering and prowling at nighttime.
The charges stem from a pattern of behavior that allegedly caused significant emotional distress to the caller and his family, including his young child.
According to the police complaint, Narayanan repeatedly returned to the caller’s residence during nighttime hours and looked through the windows while the family was inside.
The caller, disturbed by the ongoing presence, reported similar activity outside his home on April 25, and June 8. Although there were several other instances, he did not report them.
The caller also installed a security camera in an effort to document the behavior.
Footage reportedly captured Narayanan outside the home, prompting further police involvement.
In one instance, Narayanan is accused of loitering outside the residence and being caught on camera after the caller repositioned their security system to record the activity.
Once arrested, Narayanan asked the officers to apologize to the caller, admitting he had come to their residence three to four times before.
Police noted that the family feared for their safety and were “emotionally distressed” by the repeated incidents.
Whether Narayanan had any known relationship with the caller and his family is unknown.
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Santa Barbara City College Begins Construction on $105 Million Physical Education Complex
Santa Barbara City College began construction for its new physical education complex on Monday, June 16. The $105 million project — which will replace its existing 62-year-old athletic facility with a state-of-the-art, four-story, 77,000-square-foot sports complex — is made possible by $34 million in state funds and $71 million from the Measure P Bond extension, […]
Santa Barbara City College began construction for its new physical education complex on Monday, June 16.
The $105 million project — which will replace its existing 62-year-old athletic facility with a state-of-the-art, four-story, 77,000-square-foot sports complex — is made possible by $34 million in state funds and $71 million from the Measure P Bond extension, which South County voters approved with a 66 percent majority.
For safety, the construction zone will be fenced off during the initial phases of demolition, abatement, and site preparation. The fencing will feature architectural renderings of the new facility and a QR code linking to the official website for project, which is expected to be completed in 2028.
Men’s and women’s hockey schedules for 2026 Milan Olympics released
The International Ice Hockey Federation unveiled the schedule Tuesday for the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina. Women’s hockey starts on Feb. 5 with the U.S. against Czechia and Canada versus Finland among the opening games. The U.S. and Canada renew their rivalry in the preliminary round on Feb. […]
The International Ice Hockey Federation unveiled the schedule Tuesday for the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina.
Women’s hockey starts on Feb. 5 with the U.S. against Czechia and Canada versus Finland among the opening games. The U.S. and Canada renew their rivalry in the preliminary round on Feb. 10, and the gold-medal game is set for Feb. 19.
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Men’s hockey with the return of NHL players opens the following day with Finland facing Slovakia and host Italy against Sweden. Without Russia in the 12-team field, the U.S. is grouped with Germany, Latvia and Denmark and will play each of them in a round robin.
The U.S. opens Feb. 12 against Latvia, the same day Canada faces Czechia. The NHL’s best are participating for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
“It’s great that the NHL players are back in the Olympics,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said. “Obviously it’s the biggest sports stage in the world, and we’re all happy we’re back involved.”
No teams are eliminated from group play on the men’s side. The top four advance to the quarterfinals, with the remaining eight taking part in a qualification round.
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Games will take place on NHL-sized rinks at Milano Santagiulia and Milano Rho arenas. The final is scheduled for Feb. 22 as the last event of the Olympics before the closing ceremony.
The schedule release came a day after the federations involved announced the first six players named to their respective rosters. The U.S. picked all skaters: forwards Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy.
Finland is the defending Olympic champion from the Beijing bubble in 2022, when the NHL pulled out because of pandemic-related scheduling issues, and the Russians won in 2018. Canada has won the past two involving NHL players, and GM Doug Armstrong hopes for a third.
“I’m excited about our group,” Armstrong said. “I know our group wants to go there and wants to put their best foot forward. There’s no guarantees in this sport, but I know we’re going to go with the right attitude.”
Jamal Crawford’s thoughts on OKC’s future & Pacers-Knicks | The Pat McAfee Show
