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

[Dan]

If they go to that stupid shootout, I'm with you. I can't stand those mini one-on-one tick shot gimmicks.
Sign my up for a 4 on 4. Suddenly you'll see how exicting skill can be. It seems to have pretty near universal approval among fans, and maybe it even becomes a solution for several of the other "attendance" problems.

As an impartial observer attending a number of NCHC games a year - all I do is root for 3x3 overtime. It is electric and a whole lot of fun. I have zero issue with the NCHC format which does eventually end in a shootout, if necessary, in search of just one extra point...

Would that change with a rooting interest? Perhaps. But if HE added a second five minute OT period at 3x3 to determine an extra point in the standings I would be ecstatic initially. It’s that much fun...

[NCAA watcher]

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.

If they go to that stupid shootout, I'm with you. I can't stand those mini one-on-one tick shot gimmicks.
Sign my up for a 4 on 4. Suddenly you'll see how exicting skill can be. It seems to have pretty near universal approval among fans, and maybe it even becomes a solution for several of the other "attendance" problems.

[J.D.]

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

I suppose there is one other option. If you just went to a 20 game league schedule. The ECAC has a 22 game schedule and not all those teams are Ivies and are able to fill their schedule. So that could be a possibility. HE teams could always still schedule each other outside of that as non-league games.

[J.D.]

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

UNH's Metcalf discusses top priorities as new Hockey East commissioner:
https://www.unionleader.com/sports/c...3c768c9c4.html

“We need to look at the unbalanced schedule that we currently have and there’s more than one way to solve the unbalance that we currently have,” Metcalf said. “Obviously, one of them is adding a 12th team but there are other solutions. As a league, those are the things we’ll be talking about over the next couple months because I do think we need to address that unbalance that we have.”

Other solutions? I don't see it unless you go back to the old 9 team league format where you played each team three times. Even then, is that balanced when you're playing some teams once at home and other teams twice at home?

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?

[RENCEB]

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

Furthermore, the article I read also quoted Bobby Valentine......Sean

I wonder if Bobby did the interview wearing glasses and a fake mustache!

[Darius]

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

UNH's Metcalf discusses top priorities as new Hockey East commissioner:
https://www.unionleader.com/sports/c...3c768c9c4.html

[DavidNardolillo]

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

One thing I have always kinda liked in the ECAC is the whole travel partner thing. If Sacred Heart is currently the most logical choice to be 12th team, you could have:

Maine-UNH
UVM-UMass
UML-MC
UConn-SH
PC-BC
BU-NU

Longest trip would be roughly 3h 10m for both the Maine/UNH and UVM/UMass combos. Longest trip between travel partners in ECAC is 2h 25m between Quinnipiac and Princeton.

Would probably never happen when you factor in arena availability but if 2:25 is doable in ECAC, 3:10 wouldn't seem impossible.

There are pros and cons to each format. In the ECAC travel partner format,you have the league standings based on playing each team an equal number of times home and away, which is the only fair way to do it. But when I was at UMN I loved the two game sets against the big rivals like UMD, Wisconsin, and North Dakota as it seemed the intensity from a physical contest on Friday would regularly carry over to Saturday.

[The Zlax45]

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

This season BC scheduled 2 mid-week games, one non-league game vs Yale and the upcoming game vs Merrimack. UConn had one at the XL vs Merrimack and a second vs Maine at Bridgeport. UMass had only one, the upcoming game vs UVM to end their home schedule. Last season BC had 3 mid-week games, UConn had 6 at the XL and UMass had 3. In 2017-18 BC had 2, UConn had 5 at the XL and UMass had 3.

Sean

Seemed like more ;-)

[Nick Papagiorgio]

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

This season BC schedule 2 mid-week games, one non-league game vs Yale and the upcoming game vs Merrimack. UConn had one at the XL vs Merrimack and a second vs Maine at Bridgeport. UMass had on one, the upcoming game vs UVM to end their home schedule. Last season BC had 3 mid-week games, UConn had 6 at the XL and UMass had 3. In 2017-18 BC had 2, UConn had 5 at the XL and UMass had 3.

Sean

Facts!

[Sean Pickett]

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

I meant the RS schedule being more wonky than other leagues. Unbalanced because ND left but just in terms of playing random Tuesday/Thursday night games etc. UConn and BC arena situations play into that.

The thing is UMass shares their building with Men’s and Women’s hoops and don’t have anywhere near the amount of midweek games that BC has

This season BC scheduled 2 mid-week games, one non-league game vs Yale and the upcoming game vs Merrimack. UConn had one at the XL vs Merrimack and a second vs Maine at Bridgeport. UMass had only one, the upcoming game vs UVM to end their home schedule. Last season BC had 3 mid-week games, UConn had 6 at the XL and UMass had 3. In 2017-18 BC had 2, UConn had 5 at the XL and UMass had 3.

Sean

[The Zlax45]

I meant the RS schedule being more wonky than other leagues. Unbalanced because ND left but just in terms of playing random Tuesday/Thursday night games etc. UConn and BC arena situations play into that.

The thing is UMass shares their building with Men’s and Women’s hoops and don’t have anywhere near the amount of midweek games that BC has

[Sean Pickett]

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

Sacred Heart potentially is a nice story but I'd be concerned about its ability to keep up in HEA resource-wise. (Yes, I know SHU plans to build an on-campus rink and is located in one of the most affluent counties in America.)

I looked at Sacred Heart's EADA numbers and overall they reported spending more on athletics than UMass Lowell, Maine, Vermont and Merrimack (in transition to DI) for 2017-18, but less than all of them on men's hockey. So it seems they have enough money to spend on men's hockey if they want to and building an on campus arena does appear to show a commitment to hockey. Furtermore, the article I read also quoted Bobby Valentine, executive director of SHU athletics, stating "Not only does it provide a fitting venue for what will soon be a national hockey powerhouse, but it creates a halo effect...". I think that can be taken as an indication of strong support for the men's program going forward.

Sean

[Thiessen'sBetter]

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

No coach wants to be tagged with "missed the playoffs". Not conducive for job security, so no surprise.

The system as it is works well, and I'd be disappointed in the new commish if he rolled things back to the gone-for-good-reason MBPBEGAM "playoffs" round.

The fact these end-of-RS games really mean something this year, makes the case for staying status quo.

Even if it's UNH that gets "unlucky" this year, with a decent record, being on the outside looking in.

Agree with this. Even if they go to twelve I'd stay with the top 8 making the playoffs. It's a waste of time for everyone to have a team like UVM this year travel somewhere and get soundly beaten twice. Also, like Chuck said, the race to get into the top 8 has been great. I've scoreboard watched more in the last couple weeks than I have in a few years.

[Split-N]

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

… has anyone at URI, Stony Brook or Albany ever actually done anything to fuel the rumors? Do their club teams draw more than 1000/game? Is there even a realistic arena in play for any of them?

The URI situation is comparable to where Penn State was until Terry Pegula opened his wallet: Perennial power ACHA club program that has the look and feel of a varsity; a loyal fanbase, and a 2,500-seat on-campus rink that, while too small to meet HEA specs, could at least be a practice rink for a full-blown varsity program.

URI alums I've known over the years say prospective donors have always been there but there would be a Title IX issue to deal with and the long-entrenched hoops program supposedly isn't thrilled at the prospect of in-season revenue-producing competition. Much the same situation at Syracuse, from what I understand.

Sacred Heart potentially is a nice story but I'd be concerned about its ability to keep up in HEA resource-wise. (Yes, I know SHU plans to build an on-campus rink and is located in one of the most affluent counties in America.)

[Chuck Murray]

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

I didn't realize the coaches want to add back that first round of playoffs though. Whoever finishes 9th this year will be calling for it.

No coach wants to be tagged with "missed the playoffs". Not conducive for job security, so no surprise.

The system as it is works well, and I'd be disappointed in the new commish if he rolled things back to the gone-for-good-reason MBPBEGAM "playoffs" round.

The fact these end-of-RS games really mean something this year, makes the case for staying status quo.

Even if it's UNH that gets "unlucky" this year, with a decent record, being on the outside looking in.