Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:30 PM)

It's time to talk college hockey. Inside College Hockey writers will be here to take your questions for the next 30 minutes.

Michael Omaha, Ne

Coaches on the Hot Seat, I live in Omaha, Nebraska home of the UNO Mavericks. And there has been a lot of rumors going on, that if Mike Kemp doesn't finish in the top 4 of the ccha this year he will be fired at years end. Do you think that is fair? or are people here in Nebraska to impatient for a winner. This is Mike Kemp 12 year behind the bench.

Mike Eidelbes

  (2:33 PM)

A top-four finish in the CCHA is a pretty tall order, considering Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame are virtual locks to end up there and Northern Michigan and Miami are highly regarded. On the one hand, it seems like Nebraska-Omaha has been on the verge of a breakthrough for a while. They're consistently one of those teams that finishes slightly above average, and there's been a ton of talent there over the years -- Dan Ellis, Greg Zanon, Scott Parse, Bill Thomas. That said, I think Kemp is the right guy for the job in Omaha. The Mavs are only a little more than two years removed from their first NCAA Tournament appearance and since the 2004-05 season, UNO has finished fourth, tied for fourth, fifth, and tied for seventh in the CCHA.

Matt (Boston, MA)

Northeastern looks like it could be a real contender in the hockey east this year. Do you feel that the beanpot will be the real proving ground for this team? I cant see them being able to beat BC and BU in the playoffs without the confidence from beating them on the big stage in the Garden.

Jeff Howe

  (2:35 PM)

There's no doubt Northeastern is a legitimate contender this season, and the Huskies should have their sights set on the NCAA Tournament. The Beanpot itself won't be a measuring stick because any team could get hot during those two Mondays in February. After the Beanpot, though, is when Northeastern needs to keep its foot on the gas. The Huskies lost six of their final eight regular-season games after the Beanpot last year, including five straight, before falling at Vermont in the playoffs. They need to apply that learning experience to this season in order to achieve any postseason success.

Steve (Mankato MN)

The Minnesota State Mavericks have high expectations here in Mankato. Do you see them finally returning to the National Tournament this year after being snubbed last year?

Jess Myers

  (2:36 PM)

Having been in Mankato last Friday and having talked to a few of the Mavs afterward, this is a team that thinks a lot about the NCAA snub last season and is determined to right that wrong. I love their experience on defense and at forward, and definitely see them as a legitimate contender for one of the 16 NCAA invites. My one concern is their goalie's continued struggles with rebound control. That was a real weak spot in the playoffs last year, and may be a problem again this year.

Rich (Providence, RI)

At this point who do you think that the strongest ECAC team (excluding Ivy's because they havent played yet).

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:39 PM)

Even though they lost at Niagara, I still think Clarkson is the strongest non-Ivy team in ECAC Hockey. They'll get a real test this weekend when Colorado College visits Cheel Arena. Colgate is off to a 2-0-0 start, which is great for the Raiders.

Dan (Bellingham, WA)

Its early - but is Brian Foster quickly answering questions about UNH's goaltending situation in 2008-09?

Jeff Howe

  (2:41 PM)

Foster came to UNH with a very strong list of credentials, and I thought he could challenge Kevin Regan for the starting job. That was, of course, until Regan went all Patrick Roy on everyone (the goalie version, not the coach version). Foster is the No. 1 guy in Durham this season, and he's already held national powers Wisconsin and Boston University to one goal each.

Scott MN

Does SCSU have a chance or winning the WCHA this year?

Jess Myers

  (2:43 PM)

A week ago I would've said yes, but there are legitimate concerns that have been raised after the Huskies were shut down by Minnesota last weekend. The power play has been the Huskies one true superpower in the past year, and Minnesota foiled it. If the Gophers provide other opponents with a kind of Husky kryptonite, that will be a huge problem. So for right now, I see them as a top-five team, but not the top-one team.

Chris (Boston)

What are the odds the Hobey comes East this year? After a few games into the season, who are your top guys from the East and the West? Any guilt on the Hobey voters mind to send it East (or BC?) after seeing last year's runner-up Gerbe light it up in Denver?

Mike Eidelbes

  (2:45 PM)

I doubt there's any guilt in awarding the Hobey to Michigan's Kevin Porter last season. As a former Hobey voter, I can tell you that provincialism was never a consideration. Besides, Porter had a pretty darn good season. It's obscenely early to think about Hobey candidates on Oct. 23 -- next week, when INCH debuts its Hobey Tracker, sounds much better -- but one could speculate that one of Boston College's forwards would be in the mix along with Boston University's Colin Wilson, New Hampshire's James van Riemsdyk, and Princeton's Lee Jubinville. There are plenty of viable candidates out here on the frontier, too.

Peter (New Bedford, MA)

Love the new look for the site. Curious about BC's forwards -- they have a lot of depth but can they overcome not having a gamebreaker like Gerbe?

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:48 PM)

Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for the question. A team is never going to replace a player like Gerbe with one player, but a team can expect that several players increase their production and help account for what Gerbe used to provide. BC is fortunate that they have talent throughout their forward lines. They'll score enough goals this year, but the player that makes the big play at the big time will vary from night to night.

Brian in Denver, CO

With the new rule changes effected this season, special teams has become an even bigger part of the game, both on the PP and the PK. Which teams do you think will benefit the most from this and how long do you think it will take the players to adapt? As a Colorado College alum, I would like to point to CC's dominance of their PK this year, shutting out opponents on all 28 chances. Go Tigers!

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:52 PM)

It's difficult to paint with a broad brush on this question because special teams play goes in cycles throughout the season. St. Cloud State scored seven PPGs in their first weekend and hardly generated everything against Minnesota last weekend. So that leads to a 2-2 record, even though they're clicking at an impressive 25 percent with the man advantage. You're correct in saying that it's a huge part of the game, and in the big picture, teams that rank in the top-15 nationally in both PK and PP will likely find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.

Gus, (Old Tappan, NJ)

Do you think Clarkson will continue to spilit time between goaltenders or is Coach Roll just looking for one of them to show they are the number 1 goalie?

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:54 PM)

The Golden Knights' coaching staff will need to know exactly what they've got before making a decision that one is better than another. I'd expect to see freshman Paul Karpowich primarily, but also a little bit of Tim Potter in the early going.

Chet (Fargo, ND)

Is the NCAA's new plan on seeding teams in the regional tournaments a dumb idea or the dumbest idea? Couldn't this lead to severely unbalanced brackets or am I overreacting?

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:58 PM)

Fans have to remember that this is not just a hockey rule. This is a plan that is intended to reduce costs in all sports across all divisions. The geographic setup of Division I college hockey makes it unique. Unfortunately, many times when the NCAA considers wide-sweeping policies, college hockey is affected differently than almost every other sport because it's just an entirely different situation. We saw it a few years back when they talked about scholarship reform for D-3 schools that played up to D-1 in a few varsity sports.

Joe (Co. Springs)

No love for Chad Rau on your Hobey list? Why did you list all Eastern players? Eastern Bias?

Joe Gladziszewski

  (2:58 PM)

... because the question was about Eastern Hobey candidates.

Joe Gladziszewski

  (3:00 PM)

Thanks for the questions, and we're sure that you're as excited for the season to be back underway as we are. INCH has a new look and a new way of presenting our conference notebooks throughout the week. We'll be back to chat again next week at the same time.