Coleraine native Mike Guentzel has a new job — as an assistant to Dean Blais at Nebraska-Omaha. The Omaha World Leader has a Saturday story here.

Guentzel, 47, has been on the move the past few years after his 14 seasons as a University of Minnesota assistant. He had one year as a Colorado College assistant in 2008-09 and then was head coach with Des Moines (Iowa) in the U.S. Hockey League in 2009-10.

He previously coached Omaha in the U.S. Hockey League in 1992-94. Mike Hastings is the other assistant under Blais.

This update on the 2010 Division I runner up Wisconsin Badgers –the signing of two freshmen, while Jordy Murray indicated he will be staying. It’s been a crazy off season for coach Mike Eaves. From Andy Baggot and the Wisconsin State Journal here.

Bemidji State is readying for its first year in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and coach Tom Serratore says his team is looking forward to the challenge in a recent story in the Bemidji Pioneer here.

In her blog on Competitor.com here, Kara Goucher says she’s had to cope with a quieter life in Portland, Ore., as she appraches the birth of her first child in September. She recently attended the Prefontaine Classic track meet in Eugene, Ore., and said she was green with envy watching friends compete at Hayward Field.

Also, the Twin Cities 10-Mile race from Minneapolis to St. Paul, on Oct. 3, has held a lottery for the 8,000 entrants.Lottery results are available. Clickhere to search for those entered. Additional 10-Mile entries are available via the Fundraiser Entries. Click here for more information.

Former News Tribune high school player of the year Jake Youso of International Falls is seeking a college after parting ways with Minnesota, according to beat writer Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He will play with Waterloo (Iowa) in the U.S. Hockey League this season.

Youso, 20, a 6-foot-1 and 190-pound forward, made a commitment to the Gophers in the fall of 2008, but Minnesota was not ready to have him on the roster for 2010-11. He had played one season in the U.S. Hockey League with Des Moines (Iowa), and last year in the North American Hockey League with Owatonna (Minn.) with 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points in 62 games as the team’s second-leading scorer.

As an International Falls senior, he had 33 goals and 36 assists for 69 points as the 2008 News Tribune player of the year.

The Wisconsin State Journal and beat writer Andy Baggot had the official word Tuesday on the departure of defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the NHL’s New York Rangers here.

McDonagh, with a year of eligibility remaining for the 2010 NCAA runner up Badgers, is expected to sign Wednesday for three years and about $2.4 million — the same deal former Wisconsin teammate Derek Stepan signed with the Rangers last week, said Baggot. McDonagh, from Cretin-Derham Hall High School, was the 2007 Minnesota Mr. Hockey.

Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald has an updated list of early departures in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association here heading into 2010-11. Wisconsin leads the way with four, while Denver has three departures.

The Wisconsin Badgers, following a 2010 NCAA runner up finish, are having their team dissolve by graduation and a number of early departures. The most recent appears to be former St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall defenseman Ryan McDonagh heading to the New York Rangers. He would be a senior in 2010-11.

The New York Post had a Sunday story here while Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal had a Sunday update here‎. Another story is in New York’s Newsdayhere.

The Wisconsin State Journal notes: By turning pro, McDonagh would become the fourth Wisconsin underclassman to do so since April, joining sophomore center Derek Stepan (New York Rangers) and junior defensemen Cody Goloubef (Columbus) and Brendan Smith (Detroit). The Badgers return eight defensemen — including junior Jake Gardiner and sophomore Justin Schultz, who were taken in the first and second rounds of the 2008 NHL draft by Anaheim, respectively — but losing McDonagh would be a major blow in terms of skill and leadership.

The NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee outlined some rules changes Friday for 2010-11, although the proposals must be approved by the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel in July. Changes, as distilled by Inside College Hockey, include:

Enhancement to the contact to the head rule to include a minimum of a five-minute major penalty and either a game misconduct or game disqualification penalty

Enforcement of icing at all times, including while a team is shorthanded

Modification of the no-touch icing rule to wave off icing if an official determines that an attacking player would reach the puck before a defending player

Alteration of the delayed penalty rule to provide the offensive team with a power play even if a goal was scored during the delay

Changing which end each team defends during an overtime period (goaltenders would now switch ends after the third period)

The Wisconsin program, riding high in 2010 as Division I runnerup, has taken a few departure hits since the end of the season, including scoring leader Derek Stepan, a sophomore center from Hastings, Minn., leaving Wednesday for the NHL’s New York Rangers. The captain of the USA gold medal junior team is the third Wisconsin underclassmen to leave in recent weeks.

A Wednesday Wisconsin State Journal story from Andy Baggot is here. And Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald has been keeping a list of early departures in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and that is here.

Some highlights from the Wisconsin State Journal story are below:

In addition to the departure of seven seniors and two assistant coaches — Mark Osiecki and Kevin Patrick became head coaches at Ohio State and Muskegon (Mich.) of the U.S. Hockey League, respectively — it’s possible a fourth underclassmen could leave before the summer is over.

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh could return for his senior season and serve as captain, or he could sign with the Rangers. Eaves said last month that McDonagh will likely wait until after their prospects camp in early July before making a decision.

The departure of Stepan, 19, means Wisconsin has lost 11 players from its 2009-10 roster, including 10 since April 10 when it lost to Boston College in the NCAA title game. Sophomore center Matt Thurber was dismissed from the team in February after he violated the school’s student-athlete discipline policy. He subsequently transferred to Northern Michigan.