Faceoff Factor

Beginning of the End: The CHA's Demise Continues

Andrew Chiappazzi | College/NCAA

Jan 18, 03:19 PM | Hype this story!

The Beavers are beginning to stack up the wood needed for their personal hockey dam.

Bemidji State University announced today that the Beavers’ hockey team has signed a scheduling agreement with the WCHA, beginning in 2010-2011.

BSU said that while no official number of games have been outlined, the goal is to play 12 games annually versus WCHA teams as part of its non-conference schedule, with six games coming at Bemidji and six on the road.

Bemidji officials applied for entrance into the WCHA last year, only to be turned away by the league. The conference has a self-imposed moratorium on expansion.

Since the news that Wayne State was ending its men’s ice hockey program came out before the season started, Bemidji and the rest of the College Hockey America conference have been scrambling to find answers to their futures. While BSU and the other teams – Robert Morris, Niagara, and Alabama-Huntsville – remain viable programs, the concern was that the state of college hockey was so rigid that the teams would not find homes and have to struggle as independents.

Faceoff Factor will have continuing coverage of any conference realignments, affiliations, or schedule agreements.