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

[MissThundercat]

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

I heard BG threatened every AD’s family pets to get them to defect.

What did BG tell NMU? You'll smash our face into a car windshield, then take the AD's mother out for a nice seafood dinner and never call her again?

[aparch]

Same here. I really enjoyed listening to Ryan Johnson. He sounded intelligent.

He certainly did. He's definitely done his research into the jerseys. I would love to be able to do similar for NMU, but just haven't committed some free time to start. Collecting game worn jerseys has been fun, but I don't know if I could bring myself to flip jerseys like he does. About 80% of my collection are jerseys I would never want to move, the rest are jerseys that I'm not tied to fully, but they still mean a little bit to me and I wouldn't want to move.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

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

As a college football junkie, I am in love with Tuesday Night MACtion.

So YOU'RE the lone viewer outside the footprint of the teams playing that night!! You should send your demographic info to ESPN; I bet they'd customize their commercial programming to suit your tastes.

[MavHockey14]

So YOU'RE the lone viewer outside the footprint of the teams playing that night!! You should send your demographic info to ESPN; I bet they'd customize their commercial programming to suit your tastes.

You’re underestimating bettors everywhere...

[manurespreader]

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

I think everyone is somewhat disappointed in these events, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to do. In Kato's "regular conference," 2 teams just dropped football. One of them was St. Cloud, which has well over 10.000 students. Sports are expensive, and at our level, there's no great payback. No 50,000 seat arenas, no multimillion dollar television deals, no jerseys on sale in a Minneapolis Wal-Mart. I'd hate to see any of the other 3 schools lose their hockey program, but I'd hate it even more if we get dragged down with them, when we could have saved ourselves by getting out of the WCHA.

Ummm... aren't you setting attendance records? and record gross revenue from ticket sales?
And BG, ok and I'm kind of ok with this rivalry, I mean BG does **** but what happened to Miami state teachers college?

[purpleinnebraska]

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

Ummm... aren't you setting attendance records? and record gross revenue from ticket sales?
And BG, ok and I'm kind of ok with this rivalry, I mean BG does **** but what happened to Miami state teachers college?

Our attendance records are in the 4500 range for average. At $20 a ticket, that's certainly not making us rich. If you're not NoDak or the Gophers, or someone with a good TV contract, you're scraping to get by. Add in trips to Alaska and Alabama, and it's a tough go. We're committed to D1 hockey, but we're not going to let it become a money sinkhole.

[Jimjamesak]

Our attendance records are in the 4500 range for average. At $20 a ticket, that's certainly not making us rich. If you're not NoDak or the Gophers, or someone with a good TV contract, you're scraping to get by. Add in trips to Alaska and Alabama, and it's a tough go. We're committed to D1 hockey, but we're not going to let it become a money sinkhole.

You do know the Alaska schools pay the vast majority of the costs for those trips right?

[moose97]

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

You do know the Alaska schools pay the vast majority of the costs for those trips right?

*used to

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

You’re underestimating bettors everywhere...

You’re right, I was being flippant. MACtion is debated from NIU to Buffalo, from CMU to Miami. Consensus is it sucks for the tens of fans who attend. That’s all I was saying.

[Shirtless Guy]

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

• Bemidji State Review (2:40)
• WCHA vs Top 6/Bottom 4 (9:16)
• WCHA Top 6 analysis (14:57)
• MTU Recruiting News (31:14)
• Ferris State Preview (40:00)
• WCHA Predicitons (46:24)
• Questions (47:42)
• Johnson’s Jerseys Discussion of non-MTU jerseys (53:51)

Next week Geof said he'll join us...right Geof?

[gfmorris]

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

Sure. You just gotta get me early in the week (heading out of town ... no escaping it).

GFM

[manurespreader]

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

Since you are a fan of Auto Racing, think about it in the context of that:

You have your top teams like Mercedes, and Ferrari. ( Top of B1G, NCHC, HE in our case)
You have your Mid-tier teams like Red Bull and McClaren (Mid B1G/NCHC/HE, Top WCHA/AH)
You have your F1 Field Fillers like Haas and Alfa Romeo (Mid & Bottom of WCHA/AH)

In racing, at no point has Mercedes been tasked with keeping Haas around for the "good of the sport". There is a reason privateer teams weren't able to survive past the 1990s. NCAA Hockey is at a similar point. You have your "factory teams" with mega budgets leading the pack while the bottom of the field is trying to get the same end result with just 25% of the factory teams' budgets. Yea, Minardi had a following and it was a cool story when they ran well (think RIT or Bemdji's Frozen Four), but for the most part, they were an after thought.

NCAA Hockey is following the same evolution that Auto Racing has seen over the past 40 years. You either have money or you don't and you have to pay to play. Unfortunately the teams that you are seeking charity from are also the same ones who are having difficulty staying afloat as it is.

Except in F1 Mercedes and Ferrari are going to be slowed down so they can't spend. In other words, giving up money to the smaller teams.

I get that everyone needs money and there isn't any extra but you have to play against someone. I just hate watching what's happening like in slow motion.
NCAA is pursuing all these high profile colleges and giving lots of publicity to the high profile teams while at the same time the programs who need help get nothing.

[gfmorris]

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

Open question — worse UAH team: 2013-14 or 2019-20?

GFM

[MissThundercat]

Open question — worse UAH team: 2013-14 or 2019-20?

GFM

You beat NMU this year, so I'll say 13-14.

[MissThundercat]

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

Right now, PWR:

Minnesota State is at 3
NMU is at 16
Bemidji State is at 20
Michigan Tech is at 29

So right now, from here, it looks like NMU, Bemidji, and/or Tech go on one hell of a run to get three teams in. Because I'm guessing the only way the WCHA even sends two is Minnesota State and a tournament champion not named Minnesota State?