Published: March 07, 2008 11:09 pm            

TIM SCHMITT: History has taught Peters that CHA can grow

COMMENTARY

LEWISTON — Bob Peters likes to wax poetic. Standing on the concourse at Dwyer Arena sporting a long black coat and an inattentive gaze, Peters has earned the right to zoom past the details while maintaining a focus on the big picture. A sparse, but spirited crowd shuffled in and out behind him, few realizing that Peters was the first in the history of college hockey to win 700 games at one school, passing that mark at Bemidji State.

The only coach to take teams to NCAA Championship games in Division I, II and III marveled at the talent before him in College Hockey America’s women’s tournament on Friday. He seemed less commissioner, more fan.

And Peters sees plenty that’s familiar.

He remembers when college hockey was only a man’s game, and a rare one at that. Few states had programs, and women simply weren’t welcome.

He took over Bemidji State in 1966, leaving a Division I job at the University of North Dakota, then stuck with the Beavers for 35 years, capturing 13 national championships along the way.

But as the CHA’s top dog, Peters recognizes that this side — women’s hockey — is where the growth’s at. Maybe not in attendance, at least in the short term, but involvement. With Title IX mandating that institutions keep as many scholarships for female athletes as males, women’s hockey continues to boom. His league knows this well, as Syracuse University was officially accepted as a fifth member on Thursday.

“It’s a situation where you provide opportunities and wonderful things can happen,” he said. “We’ve provided the opportunity with the CHA. And the caliber of play gets better and better each year.

“I’m not going to tell you I predicted this, but I’m certainly not surprised.”

The numbers are staggering. The CHA houses the top four scorers in the nation in the Wayne State trio of Melissa Boal, Sam Poyton and Lindsay DiPietro and Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta, who might be the best player in the nation.

The Lakers come into tonight’s CHA final as the seventh-ranked team in the country. Wayne State isn’t in the top 10, but is the first team receiving votes. All from a league that looked like it might bust a few years back when Findlay dropped its program.

“You look at where we’ve come, and you look at the non-conference schedule these teams have played and done well in, it’s special,” he said. “I think that each year you’re going to see the number of skilled players increase.”

And with the stability that Syracuse University provides, there’s a good chance more will follow. While the CHA men’s side is dropping to four teams next season and the future looks grim, the women’s side could expand again, and a six-team conference would be ideal for scheduling.

Mercyhurst, once considered the league’s golden child, has competition from Wayne State this year. The Lakers have lost in overtime in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons, but this year they’ll be hardpressed to get past the Warriors. Wayne State won the season series 2-1-1.

And Peters, as he will next week during the men’s tournament at Dwyer, will stand above and take it all in.

“We can’t think about the last 50 years,” he said. “We need to think about the next 50. College hockey is going to grow. College Hockey America needs to continue to provide those opportunities.”

        

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