WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

[aparch]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

UAH has filed their letter of intent to leave the WCHA, which makes all the sense in the world.

GFM

That leaves the 2021-22 WCHA currently true to their name with the two westernmost NCAA schools.

[manurespreader]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

Sigh! I think it's pretty **** dumb! The whole thing. And I definitely am against bringing in ASU.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

What’s the strategy behind this?

Who knows how the bylaws are written, UAH might have had to pay an exit fee to leave UAA and UA_?

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

What’s the strategy behind this?

It's the same as the M7. If you file now, there's no financial penalty for leaving. There would be no certainty that the WCHA wouldn't charge remaining schools a fee to "leave" a collapsing conference (Shep needs a new pair of skates!). If you think that you're leaving the league, you file.

These letters aren't binding, in my understanding. In a theoretical world (that I don't like, please don't take this the wrong way) where the Alaska state government's blunderbuss funding situation kills their programs, maybe the M7 decide that they'll live with UAH being in the fold and choose not to rebuild a conference structure from scratch, likely under the CCHA banner.

GFM

[beaverhockeyfan]

Non conference action tonight:

Lake State falls to Notre Dame and Bemidji trails by 1 against North Dakota with under 2 minutes left.

Bemidji lost 2-1 in OT. BSU got a power play goal, then NoDak scored with about 5 minutes left to play. The OT goal was a clean faceoff win and a nasty wrister past Driscoll.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

UAH has filed their letter of intent to leave the WCHA, which makes all the sense in the world.
GFM

The WCHA will likely continue on at least as a women's conference so I can understand UAH making what was obvious to most people, now official: The WCHA is not going to be a men's hockey conference after 2022. This opens up UAH's options to start talking with whoever they want about their future plans.

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

The WCHA will likely continue on at least as a women's conference so I can understand UAH making what was obvious to most people, now official: The WCHA is not going to be a men's hockey conference after 2022. This opens up UAH's options to start talking with whoever they want about their future plans.

Would the WCHA survive as a women's league? I want to, but I know that they've been bleeding money.

GFM

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

UAH went into the last 12 minutes of regulation tied 1-1. I know Mankato scored, but ... phew. A hammer and a nail don't have much of a rivalry.

GFM <— going to bed and will miss the final few minutes

[purpleinnebraska]

UAH went into the last 12 minutes of regulation tied 1-1. I know Mankato scored, but ... phew. A hammer and a nail don't have much of a rivalry.

GFM <— going to bed and will miss the final few minutes

I thought that was a very good effort from UAH on Saturday, and the goalie was sound all weekend. Still, you gotta find some scorers!

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

Still, you gotta find some scorers!

Hans Gorowsky (12 last year), Josh Kestner (24!), and Max McHugh (12) are the only double-digit goal scorers since 2008-09. It's been since 2006-07 since we've had multiple double-digit goal scorers (Grant Selinger - 17, David Nimmo - 14, Brett McConnachie - 12, Steve Canter - 12). We haven't had a career 100-point scorer since Bruce Mulherin (101 from 2002-06).

It is the way of our people.

GFM

[UAHStatman]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

I think that he's done the best he can with what he has. Maybe I'm overly blaming the coaches, but there are worrying trends that make me think that they are plateauing. Case in point: alumni do better professionally than they did here. Is it just the fact that they have sub-par bottom-six or bottom-four teammates?

DTP: I've never understood why we're not the Rockets or the Astronauts or something like that. I know why (the goofy faculty member that wanted us to be the Ulan Chargers... okay), but I don't like it. I've never understood, though, why we were horses and not electrical energy. I mean, we could build a Tesla coil that would take out power to half of downtown!

GFM

More specifically, the pick by the student body was "Uhlans," but was amended to be "Uhlan Chargers" because just Uhlans sounded different. I was also told Chargers was partly because of TVA. Anyway, the full details:
https://uahhockey.com/blog/2014/08/0...me-and-colors/

[UAHStatman]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

It's the same as the M7. If you file now, there's no financial penalty for leaving. There would be no certainty that the WCHA wouldn't charge remaining schools a fee to "leave" a collapsing conference (Shep needs a new pair of skates!). If you think that you're leaving the league, you file.

These letters aren't binding, in my understanding. In a theoretical world (that I don't like, please don't take this the wrong way) where the Alaska state government's blunderbuss funding situation kills their programs, maybe the M7 decide that they'll live with UAH being in the fold and choose not to rebuild a conference structure from scratch, likely under the CCHA banner.

GFM

Pretty much. UAH didn't publicize it because it really doesn't change anything.

[Suze]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

Pretty much. UAH didn't publicize it because it really doesn't change anything.

The UAA Athletic Director was interviewed on Saturday night and it sure sounds like they are working on things behind the scenes to add teams to the WCHA. There probably wouldn't be 10 teams however. He didn't really go into much detail, although Haider was trying to get info from him.

[manurespreader]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

If they could get more teams and teams in the west, and reduce the number of conference games also, it would lower the pain for the eastern teams and make the travel easier to deal with. Good decision if they can make it happen.

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: WCHA 2019-20 season: We Can Do Better Than Two Bids and a First Round Exit

Bemidji State and Lake Superior State did the WCHA no favors last weekend.....

2019-2020 WCHA Non-Conference Schedule
-3 AHA Games 2-1-0
-11-12 Big10 Games 2-6-0
-5 ECAC Games 1-0-0
-8 Hockey East Games 3-4-1
-28-29 NCHC Games 5-10-3
-6 Independent Games 2-0-0
-0-2 Interleague games (not included in WCHA non-conference record)
-4 Exhibitions (not included in WCHA or team record)
TOTAL: 15-21-4 0.425 (72 possible games)

ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE (0-4-0)
-at Mass-Lowell L 1-5, L 1-3
-at Nebraska-Omaha L 1-6, L 0-5
-at North Dakota (2)

ALASKA (1-3-0)
-Denver L 3-4, L 0-3
-at Penn State L 0-7, W 4-0
-Arizona State (2)
ALASKA-ANCHORAGE (0-2-0)
-at Maine L 1-7, L 1-2 (OT)
-Nebraska-Omaha (2)
-at Arizona State (2)

BEMIDJI STATE (0-2-2)
-St. Cloud State T 4-4, T 2-2
-at North Dakota L 1-2 OT, L 1-4
-vs. Minnesota (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis, MN)
-vs. Minnesota State/St. Cloud State (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis, MN)

BOWLING GREEN (3-2-0)
-at Miami W 7-4
-vs. RIT (Icebreaker Tournament, Toledo, OH) L 2-3 (OT)
-vs Western Michigan (Icebreaker Tournament, Toledo, OH) L 2-5
-Western Michigan W 2-1
-at Western Michigan W 2-1 (OT)
-Notre Dame
-at Notre Dame
-Miami

FERRIS STATE (2-1-0)
-Waterloo (EXH) T 2-2
-USNTDP (EXH) W 5-0
-Colgate W 3-1
-at Miami L 3-4, W 3-1
-Western Michigan
-at Western Michigan
-vs. Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit, MI)
-vs. Michigan Tech/Michigan State (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit, MI)

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE (2-6-0)
-Merrimack W 6-2, W 4-3
-Denver L 3-1, L 4-3
-at Michigan L 0-4, L 3-4
-at Notre Dame L 2-5, L 4-6

MICHIGAN TECH (2-0-0)
-at Robert Morris W 2-1 (OT), W 7-0
-at North Dakota (Hall of Fame Game)
-Clarkson (2)
-vs. Michigan State (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit, MI)
-vs. Ferris State/Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational, Detroit, MI)
-at Arizona State (2)

MINNESOTA STATE (3-0-1)
-Mount Royal (EXH) W 5-2
-Arizona State W 4-1, W 5-0
-North Dakota T 4-4, W 2-1
-at Minnesota-Duluth (2)
-vs. St. Cloud State (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis, MN)
-vs. Bemidji State/Minnesota (Mariucci Classic, Minneapolis, MN)

NORTHERN MICHIGAN (2-1-1)
-at USNTDP (EXH) W 4-3
-Michigan State L 3-5, W 2-0
-at Boston University T 4-4, W 4-3
-St. Cloud State (2)
-at Cornell (2)