Lynah Faithful Celebrate Demise of UAH Hockey?

In a decision which might spell the end of the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Division I hockey program, the CCHA today denied the school's application for admission. UAH's current conference, the CHA, is disbanding after next season. The CHA's other three members, Robert Morris, Bemidji State, and Niagara, have been accepted into other conferences.

It's unclear why the CCHA denied UAH's application, but member schools might have balked at the cost of traveling to Huntsville for road games. Unlike the ECAC, however, the CCHA schedules teams to play in one location each weekend, meaning that travel would have been fairly simple.

While UAH isn't a hockey powerhouse, it had some decent results last season. Although it only won five games, UAH defeated Harvard in a holiday tournament and beat Yale in New Haven. In comparison, Cornell lost to Yale all three times last year and split the Harvard series. UAH also had to contend with a tough travel schedule of 18 road games and 10 home games. UAH last made the NCAA tournament in 2007, when they took No. 1 seeded Notre Dame to double overtime.

The New York Times had an article in March about how Huntsville was becoming a thriving hockey community, fueled by an influx of northern, hockey-playing professionals into the area. The lack of a Division I program in town might slow their growth of youth hockey programs.

The point of this post, or at least the Cornell connection, is to draw attention to the graphic used by the College Hockey News:


The background appears to be a gleeful Section B of Cornell's own Lynah Rink, waving goodbye to an opposing player heading off to the penalty box. I can't find any reason for Cornell fans to be happy about today's news, but maybe CHN knows something I don't. (Was Casey Jones about to accept the head coaching job at Huntsville?) Personally, I always thought it was cool to have a D-I hockey team in Alabama, so I hope they find a home.

(USCHO/CHN)
Via eLynah