Sioux City, IA. - The Sioux City Musketeers pleased to announce that Jay Varady will be the new Head Coach and General Manager of the Musketeers Hockey Team. Varady will begin his new position with the team immediately.

Varady comes to Sioux City by way of Angers, France, where he was the Head Coach for the Les Ducs d'Angers for the last two seasons. Over the last two seasons, Angers achieved an overall regular season and cup record of 55-14-6, while winning 4 playoff rounds with Varady at the helm. Angers was the regular season champions in 2012-2013, and made it all the way to the finals in league playoffs.

Jay began his hockey career in the USHL back in 1995-96 season, when he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints. After two seasons with the Saints, he moved on to a college playing career with Union College, where he competed for three seasons. He jumped from playing hockey to coaching hockey with Union College immediately after a playing career ended after the 1999-2000 season. He spent his senior seasons as a volunteer assistant with Union before moving on to an Assistant Coach position with Pittsburgh of the NAHL. From Pittsburgh, Jay moved on to Everett in the WHL, where he served as an Assistant Coach for the first four seasons of his stay with the Silvertips. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Silvertips in his 5th season with the team, where he remained until he was hired as the Head coach of the Ducs in France at the end of the 2010-11 season. Varady also has experience with the USA Hockey program, having served as the Video Coach for the World Junior team that won Gold in 2010 under the guidance of former USHL coach and current University of Nebraska Omaha Head Coach Dean Blais.

"We're excited to welcome Jay to our team" stated Musketeers Owner and President, Lloyd Ney. "He brings with him a strong work ethic, and a commitment to winning that our players and fans will recognize from day one. As a former USHL captain, Jay knows our league, and he knows how to meet the goals of the team and the players. He's a great choice to continue the progress of our hockey club"

When asked about his return to the USHL, Varady was elated. "I am excited about the opportunity to return to the USHL, it is a great league with a long history of developing players. We are looking to continue the tradition of great hockey in Sioux City. Our staff will work every day to build a team that the fan base can be proud of while providing our players with the opportunity to reach their goals."

A press conference introducing Jay as the new Head Coach and General Manager has been scheduled for 2:00pm on Thursday, June 20th at the IBP Ice Center.

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PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big Ten announced on Tuesday the 2013 baseball individual award winners and All-Conference teams. Illinois’ Justin Parr was named Player of the Year and Kevin Duchene earned Freshman of the Year honors, while Indiana’s Aaron Slegers was tabbed Pitcher of the Year and Tracy Smith took home Coach of the Year laurels.

Parr is the eighth Illini to earn Player of the Year honors and the first since Lars Davis in 2007. The senior outfielder, and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, finished the regular season leading the conference in batting average (.415), hits (85), RBI (51) and on-base percentage (.472), while ranking second in slugging (.610) in all games. Parr also earns first-team All-Big Ten recognition.

Slegers is Indiana’s second Pitcher of the Year honoree, following Eric Arnett in 2009. The senior right- hander enters the 2013 Big Ten Tournament tied for the conference lead with eight wins and ranked second with a 1.98 ERA in all games. He finished the Big Ten slate with a 1.82 ERA in 54.1 innings of work, which both rank among the conference’s top five. Slegers is also a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team.

Duchene is the second Illinois player to earn Freshman of the Year honors and first since Bubba Smith in 1989. The left-hander finished the Big Ten slate ranked third in ERA (1.74) and fourth in opponent’s batting average (.218). Duchene is also a unanimous All-Freshman Team pick.

Smith becomes the first Indiana coach since Bob Morgan in 1993 to be named Coach of the Year and second overall. Under his guidance, the Hoosiers were nationally ranked in all major polls for the majority of the season and maintained an RPI among the nation’s top 15. Smith led the Hoosiers to their first outright Big Ten title since 1932, as the squad enters the Big Ten Tournament with a 40-13 record.

Parr and Slegers are joined on the first team by Indiana’s Kyle Schwarber (C) and Ohio State’s Trace Dempsey (RP), who were both tabbed unanimous selections. Also on the first team are Illinois’ David Kerian (1B) and Thomas Lindauer (SS), Indiana’s Dustin DeMuth (3B) and Scott Donley (DH), Michigan’s Michael O’Neill (OF), Minnesota’s DJ Snelten (SP) and Tom Windle (SP), Nebraska’s Chad Christensen (OF) and Pat Kelly (2B) and Ohio State’s Kirby Pellant (SS).

The Big Ten also announced the Sportsmanship Award honorees from each institution. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

The complete list of All-Big Ten teams and award winners can be found below.

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM*

C – KYLE SCHWARBER, IND

1B – David Kerian, ILL

2B – Pat Kelly, NEB

SS – Thomas Lindauer, ILL

SS – Kirby Pellant, OSU

3B – Dustin DeMuth, IND

OF – Justin Parr, ILL

OF – Michael O’Neill, MICH

OF – Chad Christensen, NEB

DH – Scott Donley, IND

SP – AARON SLEGERS, IND

SP – DJ Snelten, MINN

SP – Tom Windle, MINN

RP – TRACE DEMPSEY, OSU

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM

C – Kurt Schlangen, MINN

1B – Sam Travis, IND

2B – Zach Morton, NU

3B – Jacob Cronenworth, MICH

OF – Jordan Parr, ILL

OF – Eric Toole, IOWA

OF – Jimmy Pickens, MSU

DH – Michael Pritchard, NEB

SP – Kevin Duchene, ILL

SP – Joey DeNato, IND

SP – Luke Farrell, NU

RP – Scott Effross, IND

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM

C – Cole Martin, MICH

1B – Kash Kalkowski, NEB

2B – Connor Schaefbauer, MINN

SS – Michael Basil, IND

3B – Blake Headley, NEB

OF – Andy Henkemeyer, MINN

OF – Rich Sanguinetti, NEB

OF – Kyle Ruchim, NU

DH – Blaise Salter, MSU

SP – Andrew Waszak, MSU

SP – Brad Goldberg, OSU

SP – Brian King, OSU

RP – Ryan Halstead, IND

ALL-BIG TEN FRESHMAN TEAM*

C – Jason Goldstein, ILL

1B – JOSH ESTILL, PUR

2B – Nick Ramos, IND

SS – TRAVIS MAEZES, MICH

3B – Jacob Cronenworth, MICH

OF – CAM GIBSON, MSU

OF – JAMES COATES, PSU

OF – Kyle Johnson, PUR

DH – KYLE WOOD, PUR

SP – KEVIN DUCHENE, ILL

SP – Will Coursen-Carr, IND

SP – Evan Hill, MICH

SP – Jordan Minch, PUR

RP – Scott Effross, IND

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES

Alex Lincoln, ILL

Michael Basil, IND

Ricky Sandquist, IOWA

Patrick Biondi, MICH

Jordan Keur, MSU

Ryan Abrahamson, MINN

Bryan Peters, NEB

Trevor Stevens, NU

Ryan Cypret, OSU

Luis Montesinos, PSU

Robert Ramer, PUR

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Justin Parr, ILL

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Aaron Slegers, IND

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Kevin Duchene, ILL

COACH OF THE YEAR

TRACY SMITH, IND

Sioux City, IA. - The United States Hockey League has announced that Musketeer forward Jake Guentzel has been named to the 2013 USHL All Rookie Team. It is the second USHL honor bestowed on Guentzel, who was also voted the USHL Rookie of the Year in April.

Guentzel ranked sixth overall in USHL scoring with 73 points (39g, 44a) in 60 games during the regular season. Forty three of those points (16g, 17a) came during a 21-game point streak to close out the season, which tied Mike Erickson's same streak with the Des Moines Buccaneers during the 2003-04 season.

During that streak, the Woodbury, Minnesota native helped defeat Dubuque, who would become the 2012-13 Clark Cup Champions, twice, scoring 2 goals and an assist in back to back wins over the Saints in March. He scored another pair of goals and added an assist in back to back wins against the eventual Clark Cup Runner-up Fargo Force in the last two games of the regular season. The Musketeers were considered the hottest in the USHL during the race to the playoffs.

The regular season team scoring leader was recognized by his peers at the end of the season by being voted as the teams Rookie of the Year, as well as Team MVP by his teammates. His 44 assists was a tie for sixth in the League, and his 26 power play points (11g, 15a) were good for third place overall. He tied former Musketeers forward Phil DeSimone's USHL Tier 1 era scoring record of 73 points, set during the 2006-07 season. The 29 goals scored ties him for the third-highest total by Sioux City player since 2002 and his 44 assists are the second-most.

Guentzel is a prospect for the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft and is committed to play college hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha following his USHL career.

The Musketeers are preparing for their annual invitation only tryout camp, to take place June 19-23 at the IBP Ice Center. Players interested in being invited should call 712-252-2116 and ask to speak to recruiting coordinator, Keith Paulsen.

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten office announced the conference schedule for the 2014 football season today, as approved by the Big Ten Directors of Athletics. The 2014 schedule will consist of eight games for each of the Big Ten’s 14 teams, feature a new division alignment, include the conference debut of Maryland and Rutgers and culminate with the fourth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game.

The 2014 Big Ten season begins on Sept. 13, with Rutgers making its Big Ten debut by hosting fellow East Division member Penn State. Maryland will take part in its first Big Ten game two weeks later on Sept. 27 with an East Division match-up at Indiana. Four other conference games will be held on Sept. 27, including two West Division match-ups with Illinois at Nebraska and Iowa at Purdue and two cross-division contests with Minnesota at Michigan and Northwestern at Penn State. The Oct. 4 schedule will feature the Terrapins’ first home Big Ten game against fellow East Division member Ohio State along with an East Division match-up in Michigan at Rutgers and West Division contests in Nebraska at Michigan State, Purdue at Illinois and Wisconsin at Northwestern.

From Sept. 27 to Nov. 29, the 2014 Big Ten schedule will feature 10 consecutive weeks of Big Ten competition, boasting at least five conference games each week. All 14 teams will be in action during the final two weeks of Big Ten play, including six division games each week. The final weekend of the 2014 season begins with Nebraska at Iowa in a match-up of West Division rivals on Friday, Nov. 28. The Saturday, Nov. 29, schedule feature two more West Division match-ups in Illinois at Northwestern and Minnesota at Wisconsin, three East Division contests in Michigan at Ohio State, Michigan State at Penn State and Rutgers at Maryland and a cross-division game with Purdue at Indiana. The winners of each division will meet in the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Beginning in 2014, the Big Ten football division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

The Big Ten will hold the 2013 Football Media Days and 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, at the Hilton Chicago, featuring all 12 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players. The 118th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, August 29, and culminates with the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7, to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.