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Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

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  • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

    Originally posted by gfmorris View Post
    ...I would be surprised to see 26 on the roster. Haven't seen that in a while. I am now interested in doing a study of roster churn in the modern D-I era.GFM
    I'll bet it's relatively high among the "elites" due to NHL departures after a couple of years... and we know Burkie would churn his roster.

    I'll be watching for the results of your study...
    Doug
    UAH 1974
    Charger Hockey - Born 1979 ~ Killed 2012
    Executioner: Malcom Portera - Chancellor, University of Alabama System
    Reason: Hates all things not in Tuscaloosa (i.e. UAH & UAB)
    Revived: Two Months Later - Thanks Nathan et al... Save UAH Hockey
    Reborn: 1/17/2013 - Thanks Bob - Thanks WCHA!!!

    Comment


    • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

      Originally posted by Douglas View Post
      I'll bet it's relatively high among the "elites" due to NHL departures after a couple of years... and we know Burkie would churn his roster.

      I'll be watching for the results of your study...
      Are you trying to imply that Dave Burkholder runs goalies ragged at Niagara? I don't know why you'd ever say such a thing, Doug.

      I did run through things. This season's roster was the smallest starting roster in modern UAH D-I history at 24 players. UAH usually averages 26 playes, spread as 14 F, 9 D, and 3 G. This year they were 13-8-3 coming into the season, thanks to Campbell's eligibility problem. Trevor Conrad leaving school a few weeks back makes it a bit thinner.

      UAH has had double-digit freshman classes three times: 1999, 2007 [this year's seniors], and 2011. UAH skews underclassman-heavy: 7.67 FR, 6.75 SO, 6.08JR, 5.25SR. As chargersupporter noted, next year will be quite notable for that reason, which is to be expected with the 2007 class being as big as it was, even though 50% of that class did not spend four years in Huntsville. [Coburn and Talbot graduated on time and played professionally, albeit at different levels; Brady Cook left after one year; Kyle Goodchild and Mike Ward left after two; Wyatt Russell left to transfer to film school.]

      If you think about it, that those three years would be big freshman booms isn't surprising. 1999 was the first year that it was obvious UAH would be a D-I team, with talent to match that [Bresciani, Butler, Byrne, Charlebois, Fletcher, Funk, Hawes, Leasa, Overton, Zirnis]. 2007 was Danton's first freshman class, and here are the commitment dates per Heisenberg: Cook 7/12, Goodchild 7/12, Russell 7/12, Ward 6/12, Koudys 6/12, Coburn 5/15, Baxter 2/21, Bruni 11/11/06, Talbot 8/21/06, Fairbanks 5/21/06. [Note: Burkholder and Ruffini are not listed on Heisenberg's 2007 recruit site.] I didn't pay attention to this previously, because I'd always thought that the 2007 class was really a transition from Ross to Cole, but that's not true. Bruni and Baxter are the two guys who'd committed to be a part of the transition. Fairbanks would likely have come to Huntsville regardless, as he's a legacy Charger. Talbot was supposed to be a part of the 2006-7 team, but there were some bumps with eligibility. 2011 is as big as it is because of the attrition of that 2007 class.

      I've got the data together, but I don't have all of my conclusions drawn just yet. [I was noting where they played juniors, too, and I'm not done getting all that data.]

      GFM
      Geof F. Morris
      UAH BSE MAE 2002
      UAHHockey.com

      Comment


      • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

        Originally posted by gfmorris View Post
        UAH has had double-digit freshman classes three times: 1999, 2007 [this year's seniors], and 2011. UAH skews underclassman-heavy: 7.67 FR, 6.75 SO, 6.08JR, 5.25SR. As chargersupporter noted, next year will be quite notable for that reason, which is to be expected with the 2007 class being as big as it was, even though 50% of that class did not spend four years in Huntsville. [Coburn and Talbot graduated on time and played professionally, albeit at different levels; Brady Cook left after one year; Kyle Goodchild and Mike Ward left after two; Wyatt Russell left to transfer to film school.]
        How many freshman did 2003 have? If it's 9, just missing double-digits, but higher than normal, then it would seem we're the epitome of the 4-year cycle.
        Michael Napier - UAH '97
        uahhockey.com

        UAH Chargers Hockey
        U.S. National Club Champions - 1982, 1983, 1984
        NCAA Division II National Champions - 1996, 1998
        CHA Regular Season Champions - 2001, 2003
        CHA Tournament Champions - 2007, 2010

        Comment


        • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

          Originally posted by UAHStatman View Post
          How many freshman did 2003 have? If it's 9, just missing double-digits, but higher than normal, then it would seem we're the epitome of the 4-year cycle.
          It was nine, and all of them finished all four years. Here's the progression, starting with 1998: 5, 12, 6, 6, 6, 9, 6, 6, 7, 12, 4, 6, 11

          As you can see, the youth of the 11-12 team will be exacerbated by this trend being followed up by a small class in 2008. In looking at Heisenberg's 2008 recruiting list, he has six guys: MacLean [transferred to Niagara], Vassos for 2009 [came to campus and left before practice started], Campbell, Allan for 2009 [he ended up coming in 2010; he was committed to come to UAH for 30 months before coming to class, which has to be a record], Easton, and Durnie for 2009 [ended up coming in 2008].

          Since we're throwing numbers around, let's look at balance over the years. Underclassmen are FR/SO, upperclassmen are JR/SR.

          1999-2000: 17 under / 8 over
          2000-2001: 18 / 7
          2001-2002: 11 / 14
          2002-2003: 11 / 16
          2003-2004: 16 / 9
          2004-2005: 15 / 12
          2005-2006: 12 / 14
          2006-2007: 13 / 13
          2007-2008: 19 / 8
          2008-2009: 15 / 12
          2009-2010: 10 / 15
          2010-2011: 16 / 8

          We can all see the cycle, and it's important to note that the best years in the program correlate with the run up of upperclassmen: 2001-2003 was the peak of Ross's D-I era, and it's a shame that those teams didn't make the NCAAs; 2006-07 is the first NCAA tournament appearance; 2009-10 was the second appearance.

          How do you fix the four-year cycle? It's hard to do it. One way is to try to bring in 10 players a year and let attrition run its course, but I think that's a terribly cynical way to do it. Also, that's expensive. The only other way to do it is to try to redshirt players. That would still require bringing in 12 players for the next two seasons to get overall roster size up for a while, and I don't expect that to happen for a variety of reasons.

          A few posts back, chargersupporter noted that UAH needs to bring in a lot of players for next year to get back to a 26-man roster, which is the traditional average. If you presume that everyone comes back and is eligible, you'll have 17 returnees and will need nine players. [Again, Conrad has left school.] The big classes at UAH do have some churn to them, and since 1998, one of every four Chargers doesn't play four years of eligibility ... BUT. 21 of 85 players have left early, and nine of those are in two classes: 1998 [transitional] and 2007. The particulars of 2007 are listed above, and I think that it's safe to say that it's an anomaly

          In looking at the numbers for next year, it's also worth looking at when those players leave. Of the 21 Chargers to leave without completing four years, only six did so after one season: D Scott Campbell [6GP 1-0--1] in 2000, F Blake Thompson [2GP 0-0--0] in 2001, G Paul Gibson [0GP] in 2004, D Christian Beaudry [0GP] in 2005, Brady Cook [18GP 0-1--1] in 2007, and Matti Järvinen [30GP, 5-13--18] in 2009. Those leaving after two seasons are Denny Reagan [11GP, 0-2--2], Jordan Erickson [11GP, 1-5-1, 4.61GAA, .854SV%], Kyle Goodchild [20GP, 1-5--6], Mike Ward [36GP, 0-5--5], and Clark Maclean [13GP, 1-1--2].

          Now, it's entirely possible that we'll see a statistical blip this offseason and more players will leave than normal. Let's say that the stats hold true, and that four of the 18 players who started the season [counting Conrad in this number, and knowing that he's left] won't be here next year. That means that you have to bring in 12 guys. UAH can do that. UAH has four commitments already, and that is pretty early for us. UAH had five recruits by end of January in 2010 [Allan, Way, BGeoffrion, Groh, Roy], but four of those were holdovers from the previous year [Roy was the new commitment]. In 2009, only SGeoffrion had committed by end of January. In 2008, only Durnie was committed by January. In 2007, UAH had four: Fairbanks, Talbot, Bruni, MacNicol [who came in January and played in the second half]. Given that the season ends before March begins, I think the coaching staff will know who plans on returning before the prime recruiting commitment months for UAH hit: April through July.

          I won't speculate about anyone planning to leave. I hope that they all stay. This year has been incredibly hard to be sure, but the Chargers will come back in 2011-12 with a chance to be a lot better, with a full offseason of the coaches working together, a full offseason of the freshmen understanding what commitment they need to make in the offseason to be ready, etc.

          Charge on.

          GFM
          Geof F. Morris
          UAH BSE MAE 2002
          UAHHockey.com

          Comment


          • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

            http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...28/2079/SPORTS

            Nashville to make Frozen Four bid
            Preds executive was successful luring college event to Tampa

            By Josh Cooper • THE TENNESSEAN • January 18, 2011
            Reach Josh Cooper at 615-259-8917 or jcooper2@tennessean.com.

            The two NCAA hockey games at Bridgestone Arena last weekend were the first in the building's history. The hope is that they won't be the last.

            Nashville Sports Council in conjunction with Bridgestone Arena and the Predators hope to bring college hockey's signature event, the Frozen Four, to Nashville.

            Predators President and Chief Operating Officer Sean Henry said Nashville plans to bid for the 2015 or 2016 event if the city meets all the NCAA criteria to host.

            "I can't imagine what Broadway would be like if we were fortunate enough to get it," he said.

            Henry was one of the architects behind Tampa's successful bid for the 2012 Frozen Four, which will be the first played in a southern city.

            The NCAA will accept bids for the 2015 and 2016 Frozen Fours beginning in November, and a decision on the host cities for those years will be made in spring 2012.

            Sports Council President Scott Ramsey said Nashville would appear to be well positioned to make a play for the Frozen Four, especially with Music City Center, the new convention facility behind the arena, scheduled to open in 2013.

            "I think we have the right elements at least on the surface to be a great host for that event," Ramsey said. "We're just waiting on getting the documents and then sitting down to see if we meet all the requirements."

            Over the weekend, Alabama-Huntsville and Merrimack College played two games at Bridgestone Arena. Attendance was announced as 1,976 on Friday and 1,785 on Saturday.

            While those numbers fall far short of the arena's hockey capacity of 17,113. Henry said he believes they show the Frozen Four would be a success in Nashville.

            "You look at our attendance the last couple of days for college hockey. Is that a good indicator or a bad indicator?" he said. "I think it's a tremendous indicator."

            Henry bases his viewpoint on experience. When he worked for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he helped introduce that area to college hockey, and he estimated attendance at St. Pete Times Forum was much less than it was for the Nashville games.(2 of 2)

            "We approached it the same way we did this. The difference is we had a couple thousand people here for the game. In Tampa we had, I'd hate to embarrass myself, 500 or 600 people the first game," Henry said. "I think it's a great sign, actually."

            The Frozen Four format is similar to basketball's Final Four: two semifinal games on one day, followed by a championship game about 48 hours later.

            Since 2005, the Frozen Four has been played in Columbus, Ohio, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Detroit. From 2005-09, average attendance was 18,179.

            Attendance last year at Detroit's Ford Field was 34,954 for the semifinals and a record 37,592 for the final.

            This year's Frozen Four will be played in St. Paul, Minn. Pittsburgh will host in 2013, followed by Philadelphia in 2014.

            In bidding for the 2012 event, Tampa partnered with UAH, which has an established NCAA hockey program. UAH would be the likeliest partner for Nashville, but the city could explore other host-school options.

            Vanderbilt and Tennessee would not be among them, however, as they currently field only club-level teams in hockey.

            Comment


            • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

              Hey, in the interim, I fully welcome Vandy, UTK, and MTSU fielding varsity hockey teams. We can get our little four-team SCHA and raise hell to get an auto-bid. Seven D-I conferences? Yes, please.

              Another recruit: Craig Pierce, 5'11"-190#, playing with the Rochester Starts (Jr. A) of the Empire Junior Hockey League. This season, 31GP 9-11--20 with 21 PIM. Craig is from Atlanta. Heisenberg erroneously lists Rochester as an NAHL team, and I'll shoot him a note about that. This now makes five commitments for 2011-12.

              Would y'all be interested in reading interviews with these young men prior to their enrollment at UAH? I'm willing to work to get in touch, but I also have to negotiate the tiptoe of 1) making sure that UAHHockey.com isn't considered official in any way, shape, or form and 2) making sure that any contact I have with these guys isn't an NCAA violation, since I am a booster. Please note that UAH has not and will never comment on recruits until they have enrolled in classes.

              GFM
              Geof F. Morris
              UAH BSE MAE 2002
              UAHHockey.com

              Comment


              • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                Originally posted by tnlong View Post
                http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...28/2079/SPORTS

                Nashville to make Frozen Four bid

                Vanderbilt and Tennessee would not be among them, however, as they currently field only club-level teams in hockey.
                We all know this is false, though, as Navy hosted the DC Frozen Four. In other words, I'd love to see a Vandy "Star-V" logo on the ice in Nashville in 2015...
                Current NCAA D-I rinks I've been to:

                AHA:
                B1G: UMich, MSU, UMinn, Notre Dame, OSU, UWisc
                CCHA: BSU, BG, FSU, LSSU, MSU, MTU, NMU
                ECAC:
                HEA: UMass
                NCHC: Miami, UMD, UND, SCSU, WMU
                Independant: ASU


                Inactive: UAH, ASU, BSU, UMD, UND, NMU, Notre Dame

                Comment


                • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                  Originally posted by moose97 View Post
                  We all know this is false, though, as Navy hosted the DC Frozen Four. In other words, I'd love to see a Vandy "Star-V" logo on the ice in Nashville in 2015...
                  Also, we know that hosting a FF doesn't presage your team going varsity, as was widely expected when USNA made the bid, and especially when USAFA moved to Atlantic Hockey.

                  GFM
                  Geof F. Morris
                  UAH BSE MAE 2002
                  UAHHockey.com

                  Comment


                  • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                    http://uahhockey.com/blog/2011/01/21...iew-full-text/

                    GFM
                    Geof F. Morris
                    UAH BSE MAE 2002
                    UAHHockey.com

                    Comment


                    • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                      UAH has named a search committee to replace Jim Harris. A timetable isn't explicitly named, but I'm hearing April/May. Given that the Big Ten stuff will likely happen in the May/June timeframe, having someone in place for the game of musical chairs that follows would really help.

                      I did notice one thing in that CS Gazette article I complained about yesterday:

                      “My sense is [Minnesota and Wisconsin] are going to listen,” said McLeod, who visited with Big Ten officials at last week’s NCAA winter convention. “Jim Delany (Big Ten commissioner) has confirmed to me that they will move ahead on a plan to have their own conference.”

                      The WCHA hopes to setup a nonconference schedule so traditional rivalries, which also draw large revenue-generating crowds, won’t be eliminated and the Big Ten schools can flesh out a 34-game slate with only 20 conference games.
                      That's the first time I've seen anyone quote Delany that the BTHC is a near-certainty, although I admittedly haven't been looking. It's good to see confirmation of both the league coming how many conference games they'll need.

                      GFM
                      Geof F. Morris
                      UAH BSE MAE 2002
                      UAHHockey.com

                      Comment


                      • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                        Only four more D-1 games left for the six seniors.

                        Tough games at Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                          Originally posted by gfmorris View Post
                          UAH has named a search committee to replace Jim Harris. A timetable isn't explicitly named, but I'm hearing April/May. Given that the Big Ten stuff will likely happen in the May/June timeframe, having someone in place for the game of musical chairs that follows would really help.

                          I did notice one thing in that CS Gazette article I complained about yesterday:



                          That's the first time I've seen anyone quote Delany that the BTHC is a near-certainty, although I admittedly haven't been looking. It's good to see confirmation of both the league coming how many conference games they'll need.

                          GFM
                          I noticed that on the search committee there is only one pro-hockey person (Joe Ritch) and several competing head coaches... all of whom probably want a higher standing and more favor especially with their current winning ways... double sigh...
                          Doug
                          UAH 1974
                          Charger Hockey - Born 1979 ~ Killed 2012
                          Executioner: Malcom Portera - Chancellor, University of Alabama System
                          Reason: Hates all things not in Tuscaloosa (i.e. UAH & UAB)
                          Revived: Two Months Later - Thanks Nathan et al... Save UAH Hockey
                          Reborn: 1/17/2013 - Thanks Bob - Thanks WCHA!!!

                          Comment


                          • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                            Rick Comley is retiring from Michigan State at the end of this season so now some musical chairs can begin... We've all known Danton Cole would like to go home to State. I wonder if he will make it? I've heard he was expected to take over the U-18 team next year when that coach retires. This will be interesting to watch. I wish him well and that he gets what he wants.
                            Doug
                            UAH 1974
                            Charger Hockey - Born 1979 ~ Killed 2012
                            Executioner: Malcom Portera - Chancellor, University of Alabama System
                            Reason: Hates all things not in Tuscaloosa (i.e. UAH & UAB)
                            Revived: Two Months Later - Thanks Nathan et al... Save UAH Hockey
                            Reborn: 1/17/2013 - Thanks Bob - Thanks WCHA!!!

                            Comment


                            • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                              Doug:

                              I've asked about the makeup of that group, and I've been told that it's very pro-hockey. Honestly, you couldn't have a committee like that at UAH without having Acuff and Steudeman on it. They're the most highly-respected and longest-tenured coaches on staff. This isn't to say that Chris Luongo isn't well-respected, because he is---but he's also a first-year head coach.

                              I feel very good about the process for hockey, but nothing that I have to share is for public attribution. I can be bribed with beer and/or lunch. This isn't me blowing sunshine up anyone's skirts. If I didn't feel positive about the situation, I just wouldn't say anything.

                              As for Comley, as soon as I heard, my first instinct was to call Danton and see if I could represent him in negotiations. I didn't call him today but I will tomorrow.

                              GFM
                              Geof F. Morris
                              UAH BSE MAE 2002
                              UAHHockey.com

                              Comment


                              • Re: Declaring Our Independence: UAH 2010-11, Part the First

                                Originally posted by gfmorris View Post
                                ...I can be bribed with beer and/or lunch...GFM
                                A choice huh? At Knuckleheads?
                                Doug
                                UAH 1974
                                Charger Hockey - Born 1979 ~ Killed 2012
                                Executioner: Malcom Portera - Chancellor, University of Alabama System
                                Reason: Hates all things not in Tuscaloosa (i.e. UAH & UAB)
                                Revived: Two Months Later - Thanks Nathan et al... Save UAH Hockey
                                Reborn: 1/17/2013 - Thanks Bob - Thanks WCHA!!!

                                Comment

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