Several weeks ago I asked anyone if they were familiar with the
College Hockey Guide. Since then, I've ordered a copy of last year's
guide, since the latest edition won't be available until early December.
     It's published by Athletic Guide Publishing of Deerfield, Ill.,
and the editor is Tom Keegan, who is executive director of the American
College Hockey Association for club teams.
     It appears to be a multi-purpose book, useful for a high school/
junior player looking for a college and as a media/fan reference book.
     Rather than give opinions, here's what's in last year's book:
     1 - The first part of the book is aimed at the high school/junior
player who is looking for a college with three articles on picking a
college and obtaining financial aid.
     2 - This section contains organizational listings for leagues and
governing bodies. The NCAA portion lists hockey schools by league and
division with won-loss records from the previous season and a full
tournament recap for the Division I and III national tournament. Each
league gets a page with previous year's standings, league contact
names and phone numbers, some individual statistics and tournament results.
All the Division I and small college leagues are covered, along with
a dozen club leagues. In addition, there are previews of the three
Division I leagues.
     3 - Next is around 175 pages of individual team information.
Each school gets a full page in the 5.5 by 8.5-inch book with standard
informations: schedule, roster, coach/AD/admissions office/SID phone
numbers and addresses. There are also a couple of lines for each
school listing enrollment, annual cost, average SAT for incoming
freshmen, the acceptance rate for applicants and the percentage of
second-year students who return.
     4 - Next comes a comprehensive listing of schools that play
hockey, from the Division I level to who knows what. There's a listing
for a club at the College of William and Mary, which is about 15 miles
north of where I live that is at least an hour away from any ice
surface that's not in a 10,000-seat coliseum. It's broken down into
Division I, Division II, Division III, junior college, ACHA Division
I, Division II, club teams and Canadian colleges. These are simple
listings, 20-some to a page with school name, coach or contact's name,
address and phone number only.
     5 - The final section is on women's college hockey, with some
full-page lists along with 40 bare bones listings.
     It's a bit pricey, at $19.95 plus $3.50 postage and handling.
Address is Box 28, Deerfield, Ill., 60015-0028. Phone and fax number
is 708-940-1015.
     There are ads scattered throughout, ranging from hockey
equipment suppliers to junior leagues to camps to publications.