UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

[UAHSTUDENT]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

You've never seen AIC or most Atlantic hockey games involving schools with letters not including R, I, and T, eh?

I suppose not, I am not an avid hockey fan, I love to watch it though and make my way down to the VBC to every home game. What is a descent crowd in Div-1 hockey?

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Wow just went back into the 90's and looked at the numbers....ok UAH was a very good hockey team then. My hats off, should have researched that out.

I tell you what, go back and do a little more research, and then come back with a better formulated opinion. I can't guarantee that the others will reconsider their opinion of you, but I know I will.

[UAHSTUDENT]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

I tell you what, go back and do a little more research, and then come back with a better formulated opinion. I can't guarantee that the others will reconsider their opinion of you, but I know I will.

Listen I come from the philosophy that you are only as good as your last game. Gene Chizik was fired from Auburn and he won a National Championship 2 seasons ago. Those numbers in the past are impressive but they don't change today and the current situation here at UAH. I don't think its unrealistic to envision a Huntsville without hockey. Once again I am looking purely at today and the numbers at the game, the pucks in the net, and the player stats on the sheet are depressing. We need to go to Croatia, Ukraine, and Canada and kidnap some A-class players....whose with me?

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

I suppose not, I am not an avid hockey fan, I love to watch it though and make my way down to the VBC to every home game. What is a descent crowd in Div-1 hockey?

A decent crowd depends upon the league, the school, and the opponent. You'll see some programs that have incredible home support from not only the school but the community, such as RIT, Cornell, BU, and they regularly fill or sell out their building, even if the team isn't at the top. You'll also see teams with a sizable travelling contingency, such as RPI, Clarkson, Michigan, among others. Rivalry games will naturally fill a building, too. (Clarkson-SLU, Mich-MSU, BU-BC, among others)

[UAHSTUDENT]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

A decent crowd depends upon the league, the school, and the opponent. You'll see some programs that have incredible home support from not only the school but the community, such as RIT, Cornell, BU, and they regularly fill or sell out their building, even if the team isn't at the top. You'll also see teams with a sizable travelling contingency, such as RPI, Clarkson, Michigan, among others. Rivalry games will naturally fill a building, too. (Clarkson-SLU, Mich-MSU, BU-BC, among others)

I assume the VBC is a pretty nice venue for college hockey. I go watch hockey in Nashville off and on at the Bridgestone Arena and don't find it that much more comfortable than my experience at the VBC. .

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Listen I come from the philosophy that you are only as good as your last game. Gene Chizik was fired from Auburn and he won a National Championship 2 seasons ago. Those numbers in the past are impressive but they don't change today and the current situation here at UAH. I don't think its unrealistic to envision a Huntsville without hockey. Once again I am looking purely at today and the numbers at the game, the pucks in the net, and the player stats on the sheet are depressing. We need to go to Croatia, Ukraine, and Canada and kidnap some A-class players....whose with me?

Or you could go through the recruiting process, like most schools do to get those players. One thing to remember with players, though, and you don't see this so much in football or basketball, is that you have to make sure you aren't grabbing professionals. There's a league in Canada called Major Junior, and anyone who plays there is ineligible for NCAA hockey. There are plenty of other leagues in Europe for teenagers that are considered professional, as well.

As for your hastiness to fire a coach for simply losing a game, you're never going to get anywhere with that in hockey. Learn some patience. This coach just started, and he's basically been dealt a hand with nothing but 2's, 3's, and 4's (if you play Bridge). Remember that many of the players on his team he did not recruit, so they may not be prepared for his system.

[UAHSTUDENT]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Or you could go through the recruiting process, like most schools do to get those players. One thing to remember with players, though, and you don't see this so much in football or basketball, is that you have to make sure you aren't grabbing professionals. There's a league in Canada called Major Junior, and anyone who plays there is ineligible for NCAA hockey. There are plenty of other leagues in Europe for teenagers that are considered professional, as well.

As for your hastiness to fire a coach for simply losing a game, you're never going to get anywhere with that in hockey. Learn some patience. This coach just started, and he's basically been dealt a hand with nothing but 2's, 3's, and 4's (if you play Bridge). Remember that many of the players on his team he did not recruit, so they may not be prepared for his system.

Can this coach with his expertise and NHL background do anything if this team stays independent or is his stay here at UAH hinging upon entrance into a conference too?

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Can this coach with his expertise and NHL background do anything if this team stays independent or is his stay here at UAH hinging upon entrance into a conference too?

I'd say that's up to a combination of the coach and administration. I'm not going to put words into his mouth.

[UAHChargersFan]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

UAHStudent, it is clear that you do not really have any experience or solid knowledge regarding UAH hockey, its history, or current challenges. I would strongly advise you do some more research before jumping to conclusions on various topics like UAH hockey attendance, stats, and coaching situations. It is true that UAH hockey has not been doing well for many years now, but it is the lack of conference affiliation that has caused inconsistent and poorly scheduled games. It is the lack of conference affiliation that leads to poor recruiting for the team. It is the lack of consistent games that leads to poor crowd turnout (especially when UAH goes on the road for weeks). The list really does go on with the problems, but they all be summed up as: conference challenges. Honestly though, your misinformation about the program doesn't really surprise me. I was a UAH student (recent alumni) and I can safely say that UAH students are largely and completely oblivious to anything that UAH does or is planning. In fact, you mentioned that most students say they "don't like hockey." In my experience, most UAH students don't even know anything about hockey, have never been to a game, and (more importantly) do not care about anything UAH related. However, the alumni and UAH hockey fans understand that UAH hockey is vital to the school. It brings recognition, pride, and it is the only tradition UAH actually has.

As for your question, "When will UAH's next winning season be?" That is almost impossible to answer. If UAH gets accepted to the WCHA, it maybe within the next few years. UAH has thrived when it has had stability (something it clearly lacks now). It could also be the case that the WCHA declines UAH's bid and they drop the program entirely like Portera wanted. There will never be a winning season at that point. Your question is really impossible to answer and you might as well ask Alabama fans, "When will Alabama go back to having a losing football season?" It is inevitable, but who can really say when that will be?

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Conference affiliation will go a long way in making any program in college hockey more successful both on the ice and at the box office.

Conference affiliation will give UAH a guaranteed home slate with games on a more regular basis. Right now you are going weeks (months?) between home games. That is an impossible scenerio to try and build and/or maintain a fan base with, which in turn hurts at the box office.

But as mentioned earlier, conference affiliation goes along way with recruits and the product on the ice. Recruits want to play in front of home fans, which is something UAH can't offer right now as an independent. They don't want to be on the road 12-14 of the 17 weekends for games. At least if they can get into the WCHA, they will be guaranteed 7 home weekend, maybe more with non-conference possibilities.

Also, conference affiliation gives them a chance to play for a berth in the NCAA tournament, something they don't get as an independent. Face it, if they don't win 25-30 games as an independent, they are not going to the NCAAs.

Independent scheduling is tough. There is a reason that the CHA was formed when it was back in 1999-2000, none of those teams wanted to go at it as an independent because they knew it would probably kill their program with the lack of home games. And the CHA worked out pretty well for BSU, UAH and Niagara as far as getting to the NCAAs.

[tnlong]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Going on the assumption that UAHSTUDENT isn't a troll, is really a UAH student, and is actually interested in a little education on the subject,
http://www.usantdp.com/schedule/team_instance/282451 .

ALL of these guys are legitimate future NHL prospects. There are always NHL scouts in any arena where they play. If one doesn't have an appreciation of the talent on the ice when they are playing, then one probably does not really have any appreciation of hockey at any level.

[jjmc85]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

1427. The numbers I got were "non-child" adult passes. I assume they give out free tickets to the under 5 crowd. When I went back and looked the numbers you gave included those kids, fair enough, fans are fans and I apologize. Still though, 1,400 is a very low number for any Div-I sport. I went to a soccer game at MTSU last Spring that drew nearly 1,300.

Guess MTSU should cut soccer then, huh?

[UAHSTUDENT]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

Going on the assumption that UAHSTUDENT isn't a troll, is really a UAH student, and is actually interested in a little education on the subject,
http://www.usantdp.com/schedule/team_instance/282451 .

ALL of these guys are legitimate future NHL prospects. There are always NHL scouts in any arena where they play. If one doesn't have an appreciation of the talent on the ice when they are playing, then one probably does not really have any appreciation of hockey at any level.

I appreciate the link and that really helped to put the loss to US Under-18 into perspective, they are a very competetive group to say the least. Once again like I said before I would love to see UAH Hockey in a conference and competitive, my only point when starting my posts was if they DO NOt get a conference bid and are left independent into the indefinite future I just don't see a valid enough reason for UAH to keep throwing money and time at a program that cannot improve. There are "if's" in there, however, its looking grimmer now than it did say three years ago when the CHA initially folded. I would also like to refute the idea that UAH Hockey is the only tradition the school has. Perhaps thats true athletically, but UAh is far more well known for its engineering majors and close ties with Nasa, Boeing, and the many other contractors in and about Huntsville. Add to that the fact that UAH basketball has come to prominence and softball is always good and UAH Hockey becomes a priority just not the only priority the school has in athletics. I sincerely believe if UAH Hockey is passed over again for a conference bid after this season it will more than likely be the last hockey played in Huntsville for a while.

[UAHChargersFan]

I appreciate the link and that really helped to put the loss to US Under-18 into perspective, they are a very competetive group to say the least. Once again like I said before I would love to see UAH Hockey in a conference and competitive, my only point when starting my posts was if they DO NOt get a conference bid and are left independent into the indefinite future I just don't see a valid enough reason for UAH to keep throwing money and time at a program that cannot improve. There are "if's" in there, however, its looking grimmer now than it did say three years ago when the CHA initially folded. I would also like to refute the idea that UAH Hockey is the only tradition the school has. Perhaps thats true athletically, but UAh is far more well known for its engineering majors and close ties with Nasa, Boeing, and the many other contractors in and about Huntsville. Add to that the fact that UAH basketball has come to prominence and softball is always good and UAH Hockey becomes a priority just not the only priority the school has in athletics. I sincerely believe if UAH Hockey is passed over again for a conference bid after this season it will more than likely be the last hockey played in Huntsville for a while.

If they do not get into a conference, the program will likely be cancelled because there are no other options at this point. The money will the be spent on whatever the school sees fit. Maybe the money will go to other sports or maybe it won't. If you want to wait and see, then we'll known by Janurary.

The exceptional academic and research reputation about UAH is absolutely correct. When I said tradition, I am referring to athletic tradition (especially since this is a board for hockey and a topic for UAH hockey). UAH is definitely known for its excellent engineering, science, and research programs, but we're talking about hockey here and not academics or research.

Also, last hockey played in Huntsville for awhile? The Huntsville Havoc do quite well for themselves; maybe you should go watch them play sometime. The Huntsville Amateur Hockey Association is an extremely successful program as well. In fact, many of the kids in it hope that someday they can play for UAH. Hockey in Huntsville is important and a deeply ingrained tradition both for UAH and the community.

As for the other sports, I totally agree that all the sports at UAH need attention. However, hockey is the defining sport at UAH. It is a program that has been here since 1979 and has won national championships. It made hockey in the south an actual reality rather than a pipedream. It is important, but if it doesn't get into a conference, it will end and a great amount of history with it.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UAH Hockey 2012-13: Still breathing

I appreciate the link and that really helped to put the loss to US Under-18 into perspective, they are a very competetive group to say the least. Once again like I said before I would love to see UAH Hockey in a conference and competitive, my only point when starting my posts was if they DO NOt get a conference bid and are left independent into the indefinite future I just don't see a valid enough reason for UAH to keep throwing money and time at a program that cannot improve. There are "if's" in there, however, its looking grimmer now than it did say three years ago when the CHA initially folded. I would also like to refute the idea that UAH Hockey is the only tradition the school has. Perhaps thats true athletically, but UAh is far more well known for its engineering majors and close ties with Nasa, Boeing, and the many other contractors in and about Huntsville. Add to that the fact that UAH basketball has come to prominence and softball is always good and UAH Hockey becomes a priority just not the only priority the school has in athletics. I sincerely believe if UAH Hockey is passed over again for a conference bid after this season it will more than likely be the last hockey played in Huntsville for a while.

Fair enough. The reason some posters have been rough on you is because we believed it was evident you weren't aware (at the time of your post) of the team's conference situation, not to mention the board has had some "difficulties" with trolls in the past that tried to bring information or opinions with no basis of understanding of the special niche that college hockey has. I think everyone is happy to see that you have interest in college hockey, and there's no better place to find great information than the people that post here. Obviously my expertise is with the ECAC (after all that's where RPI, a school not all that dissimilar from UAH, happens to play), but I do care for teams that are having difficulty with keeping their programs alive (I don't take that line in my signature lightly), especially seeing as how there are currently only 59 schools with Men's Division I ice hockey teams. Being Division I gives you that national prominence, something that D-II basketball and softball doesn't necessarily give you. I believe it was mentioned earlier that when people outside of the Southeastern USA hear UAH, they think hockey, and it's that D-I that is a major factor.