Willie Hsiung writes: >After reading some articles about NCAA eligibility and the Olympics that >were posted a few months ago, I'm just wondering if NCAA hockey players >have only four years of eligibility. The reason why I'm asking this was >while I was looking through the stats of former NMU defenseman Brad Werenka >this summer, it showed that he already played four seasons for NMU before >last season, though he only played a few games in his 4th season. >Is a player allowed to play five years of college hockey? He may play *in* five years, but not five full years. In Werenka's case, I believe he was injured very early in the season you mention and then petitioned the NCAA to be allowed to play one more year. Since a player has 5 years to play 4, this is usually accepted in these cases. I think that if a player plays fewer than ~10 games and then his season is cut short due to injury, he is considered to have a good case - but 10 is supposed to be the magic number. Maine's Mario Thyer likely would have gone this route a few years ago when he broke his leg, but he ended up turning pro rather than finishing his eligibility. (See Bill Fenwick's mail for more precise info; I wrote this before seeing his mail.) As for 5 to play 4, even that is flexible. Merrimack's Frank Schofield took about 8 years to play 4. He joined the Navy (became a Seal) after his first year of school, then returned at the age of 23 to complete his education and was allowed to play during those 3 years, finishing in 1990. A friend of mine is trying to be allowed to play 4 in 6 years. He was led to believe that if he made a team, he'd get a scholarship, but none was forthcoming. After 2 years at the school, he could not afford to stay even though he was doing well in school & hockey, so he had to leave and it took about two years for him to earn some money and complete the transfer process to another school. He will be playing DivI this year; next year is a possibility. I've never heard of anyone claiming financial hardship as a reason to be allowed an extra year, but he is trying it, and he seems to have a solid case. - mike