UAF got dinged by the NCAA today in virtually all of its sports -- the penalties stem from lack of institutional control and from allowing ineligible athletes to compete.
The upshot for the hockey program is the Nanooks are barred from the 2015 WCHA playoffs, in which the top eight finishers in the 10-team league qualify. Shane Fredericks in Mankato reports the WCHA says that if UAF finishes in the top 8, then the ninth-place finisher will substitute in as a playoff team.
UAF has to vacate wins from 2007-12 that included ineligible players and has one scholarship yanked for three seasons, two of which the program has already been credited with.
For the school, there's a $30,000 fine, three years probation ending November 2017 and "public reprimand and censure,'' which is basically the NCAA's version of sending an athletic department to the box "to feel shame.''
For a rundown of violations, penalties, etc., click here.
On the pro front, meanwhile, the Alaska Aces have acquired center Andy Bathgate from the Wichita Thunder for "futures'' -- really, it's just a paperwork trade, I'm told -- and expect him in the lineup Friday night against Bakersfield.
Bathgate, 23, is a former fifth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played in a couple of low European leagues last season, going 12-30--42 in 22 games in the Netherlands and 4-10--14 in nine games in the German third division. Two seasons ago, Bathgate played Canadian college hockey for the University of Guelph and delivered 16-16--32 totals in 23 games. He's a former 25-goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League.