Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014: What The First Half of Big Ten Hockey Season Taught Us

College hockey season has officially reached the halfway point. Two weeks – or more for some teams – of holiday break and fans are ready to have hockey back.

B1G Media Day: Preseason Polls, Players To Watch & What The Coaches Are Saying

Photo courtesy of Big Ten Hockey

By Jessi Pierce

Lots of action starting early this morning at the Xcel Energy Center as the St. Paul building hosted the inaugural Big Ten Media Day Thursday. And what a day of events it is as we get a peek at preseason favorites, hear from our favorite coaches and players and see what the B1G revealed as the playoff trophy.

Preseason Previews: Not looking any better for Michigan State

Spartan fans know, it was a rough year for MSU last season. A grim 14-26-3 overall record and a well below .500 conference finish, sorry to say I don't see things getting much better for Michigan State in the Big Ten conference this year.

They just don't have the players this season, or even that one extremely strong leader that Torey Krug was to help aid struggles on both offense and defense.

And then there's the question of will they be able to regroup from last year?

To be honest they do have some solid players coming in, including some Michigan natives which always has its own homer appeal. Head Coach Tom Anastos told MSUSpartans.comwww.msuspartans.com earlier this May:

"We are very excited about this class," said Anastos. "They possess a nice blend of scoring ability, size, speed, toughness and tenacity that will help us continue our evolution into a championship-caliber team."  

One I am interested to see step up is Johnny Draeger. Draeger was the top point-producing defenseman at Shattuck-St. Mary's but struggled in green, putting up just six points on the season. Now entering his sophomore season I'd expect to see him more comfortable and put again in that role this year.

Of course the Chelios' brothers are both in their senior season this year and guessing family blood holds plenty of competitiveness and will to win that the duo won't want to go out on bottom (or as in my prediction, second to bottom of the conference).

On top of the limited roster depth, the schedule puts the Spartans in a tough spot with playing its rival Wolverine team each time before heading into equally big competition with Minnesota and Wisconsin. That could bode well for MSU though if they top Michigan in either of those series' that momentum could help them against Big Ten's big dog teams.

I guess we will see.

Preseason Prediction: Finish 5th of 6 in the Big Ten Conference with a 16-22 regular season record.

Preseason Previews: Penn State Still Too Many Unknowns

By Jessi Pierce
@jessi_pierce on Twitter

I know, I know, it seems predictable and I am sure you Nittany Lion fans have a thing or two to object to constantly being put at the bottom with so much to prove.

But that is exactly the reason I predict Penn State at the bottom of the Big Ten -- because there is just too much to prove with so many unknowns.

It's the team's first season in an organized NCAA conference against the big boys who have been doing it for decades. That's tough for any team to swallow.

Last year in its first Division I season, Penn State went a respectable 13-14 with notable wins over Michigan State and Wisconsin. But the rest of their schedule was fairly weak -- expected to ease the transition from ACHA to NCAA -- compared to what other B1G teams have faced in past years and jumping into that this year will be a large dose of Division I reality.

But it's not all grim of course for PSU this coming year.

Standouts on the squad include Tommy Olczyk, a junior and likely to lead the team, along with transfer Max Gardiner who already has experience on the Division I level as a former Minnesota Golden Gopher. Eamon McAdams (goalie from USHL's Waterloo Blackhawks) and Mike Williamson (defenseman from AJHL) total the number of NHL draft picks on the roster to four (along with Gardiner and RPI transfer Patrick Koudys), and I am anxious to see how they shake out.

But despite those names, like the team itself, the rest are still relatively unknown, in large part due to the fact Penn State hasn't been able to land some of the top recruits being so new to the DI market.

That said, I do have a lot of faith in Guy Gadowsky and the potential he sees in this program, and realistically it just is going to take some time for PSU to get the ice beneath their feet and their stride about them.

As Gadowsky told USCHO.com in a recent feature story:

“Night in and night out, the Big Ten will be extremely difficult,” he said. “But it’s fun, and that’s why you come to Penn State. The building will be ready in September and our first game is Oct. 11 [against Army], and then it’s on to the Big Ten schedule.

“There’s a lot of very exciting new things going on.”

Like any good sports journalist I do tend to root for the underdog and I would be more than happy to see Penn State prove me wrong, which they just might. Either way, I am excited to see how it pans out for the boys in blue and white and anxious to see where the move to in our mid-season previews.

Preseason Prediction: Bottom of Big Ten with a 12-22 regular season record