Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

[NCAA watcher]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

So, how about a new interlocking league schedule with the NCHC? They also have an unbalanced league schedule and an interlocking schedule would allow both leagues to have both balanced schedules and a fair amount of league games. For Hockey East teams they would get 10*2=20 vs HE plus 8 vs NCHC for 28 league games. For the NCHC they would get 7*2=14 vs NCHC plus 11 vs HE for 25 league games.

A good concept. That's a good though, thanks for actually thinking about this and not being flippant like my own responses.

Getting the NCHC teams to agree would be hard, but I'm not sure it would be impossible.

Sean

I'm not sure how hard. Yes, the financials will be a bit higher with travel, but from a hockey perspective, I think a lot of the NCHC teams would welcome it. That is because right now they are small and beating each other up, to their own detriment. Having a set of new teams to beat in a lesser conference would be welcome to Miami and Colorado and Nebraska, which are stuck as bottom feeders. For a coach looking to survive, getting games against U.Conn, Vermont and UNH would be easier wins for the resume.

I assume that the benefit of wins over lesser HE teams still help more than multiple losses against top teams Duluth and Denver.

In many respects, this is what happened when HE was founded, and played the younger brother to the WCHA powerhouses Wisconsin, NoDak and Minnesota, while Denver was able to claw its way back.

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

So, how about a new interlocking league schedule with the NCHC? They also have an unbalanced league schedule and an interlocking schedule would allow both leagues to have both balanced schedules and a fair amount of league games. For Hockey East teams they would get 10*2=20 vs HE plus 8 vs NCHC for 28 league games. For the NCHC they would get 7*2=14 vs NCHC plus 11 vs HE for 25 league games. Getting the NCHC teams to agree would be hard, but I'm not sure it would be impossible.

Sean

[J.D.]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

Ha, ok sure but are decisions to add teams really ever based on that? I don't really have a problem with UConn being in the league. They haven't been a dumpster fire and have a decent team this year. The one thing I will hold against them is the rink situation. They need to get something figured out.

Meh, I'm the opposite. I will gladly take more non-conference games over a 27 game sched. Anything from 20-24 is fine with me.

[Drew S.]

What on earth could the Big Ten see in UConn? They took Rutgers for that NYC TV angle so they don't need UConn for that. Even if that were to ever happen, I wouldn't want a 27 game league schedule. I like the number where it is now at 24 or even a little lower than.

It would give them a team to be at the bottom of the league. And honestly who cares if it makes sense as long as they’re gone? 27 isn’t ideal, but it certainly is better than having too few league games. I think with more league games the overall schedule would be much better too.

[DavidNardolillo]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

+1. On TV I don't even watch hockey shootouts. For real. World cup soccer I do watch them.

The Olympic hockey shootout a few years back that Oshie won single-handedly for the USA was pretty riveting entertainment, to be fair. I would prefer the 3 on 3 game until there is a winner.

[DavidNardolillo]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

As for a 12th team, unless this guy has some fancy presentation that will change Quinnipiac's mind, the leader in the clubhouse is probably Sacred Heart.

Some of the teams that have moved conferences in recent years have become cautionary tales and may be impacting QU's perspective. Meanwhile, QU has become a nationally relevant teamout of the ECAC, making the NCAA tournament in 5 of the last 7 years, with two appearances in the title game. They are in contention again for an at-large bid despite a disastrous November. The risk-reward of another move may not be appealing at this point.

[J.D.]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

Maybe the new commissioner can help UConn get into the Big 10? For me that would be the ideal solution. Then you could go back to playing each team three times.

What on earth could the Big Ten see in UConn? They took Rutgers for that NYC TV angle so they don't need UConn for that. Even if that were to ever happen, I wouldn't want a 27 game league schedule. I like the number where it is now at 24 or even a little lower than.

[NCAA watcher]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

Aiming way too high with the Big 10. How about the other direction: relegation play, so the last place team moves to the AHA for the next year. Leaves a 10 team league. And it evens out the AHA, which is also 11, and now will be 12.

Plays off of the fan's repeated desire on the thread to have the final games be meaningful.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

Interesting.
1. Ties never bothered me.
2. The unbalance schedule when we had 2H1A and flip-flopped every other year for teams was never something that bothered me much either. This unbalanced schedule doesn't really bother me now.
3. Not a fan of expansion. Dump a school like Yukon if necessary to get more games between schools from the old HE. Rekindle the old school rivalries with more games. Notre Dame leaving was a blessing. The closer we get to the 98-2003 era the better.

[Drew S.]

You have to give Sacred Heart credit here. They saw that Hockey East wants/needs a 12th men's team and they appear committed to upgrading their program so it can be that team. And with plans to break ground this year and have it completed in 2022 they have set a timeline to join Hockey East for the 2022-23 season if not sooner.

Sean

Maybe the new commissioner can help UConn get into the Big 10? For me that would be the ideal solution. Then you could go back to playing each team three times.

[Darius]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

The other major point is trying to reduce ties. I honestly don't understand the obsession with that. Is that an American thing? Over the course of a long regular season, what is the problem with having ties? If this is something that does in fact change, please please please do not go to the shootout across the board. I'd be ok with a 5 or 10 minute 4v4 OT period. Start there. But even then I just don't understand why ties are deemed to be a problem. You have the oddity of BU this year with a ton of ties but is it really a problem across the country?

+1. On TV I don't even watch hockey shootouts. For real. World cup soccer I do watch them.

[Sean Pickett]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

As for a 12th team, unless this guy has some fancy presentation that will change Quinnipiac's mind, the leader in the clubhouse is probably Sacred Heart.

You have to give Sacred Heart credit here. They saw that Hockey East wants/needs a 12th men's team and they appear committed to upgrading their program so it can be that team. And with plans to break ground this year and have it completed in 2022 they have set a timeline to join Hockey East for the 2022-23 season if not sooner.

Sean

[J.D.]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

As for a 12th team, unless this guy has some fancy presentation that will change Quinnipiac's mind, the leader in the clubhouse is probably Sacred Heart.

[J.D.]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

I guess I was considering a streamed game a "TV" game anyway

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: Hockey East: 2019/20 season is Joe Bertagna's last as commish

And what is this about TV timeouts when a game isn't on TV? That doesn't make sense. Are you sure you're not talking about the midway point in the period when they come out and clean the ice?

Every game is streamed now, providing opportunities for advertising. Consequently every game has media timeouts. Back twenty years ago I would go to a game at UNH where the puck would drop at 7:05 and be over by 9:05 without fail. Now the games end somewhere between 9:20 and 9:30. And it's not only because of the media timeouts. Every game seems too have at least two or three replay reviews which can take up to five minutes. All this is the price you pay for the technology that provides universal access to just about every game.