Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Second

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

I agree that the program isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It is obvious that the administration is commited to at least having a team, I'm not convinced anymore that they care if the team is competitive. They have dumped way too much money into the facilities to walk away. The only problem with all of this is if Tech's hand gets forced by the elephant in the room, anyone who is familiar with the state of western college hockey knows what I'm talking about.

[Biddco]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

Biddco's team song is "I Just Had Sex."

There's really only one choice for ours.

******* width="640" height="385">****** name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4pXfHLUlZf4?fs=1&hl=en_US">****** name="allowFullScreen" value="true">****** name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">****** src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4pXfHLUlZf4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385">

I very much approve!

[oldish husky]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

I dont even know why I get involved in this kind of crap. The Hockey program isn't going anywhere because it doesn't lose money for the University thanks to the WCHA check. The School has been investing tons of money into infrastructure thanks to donations that allowed for new seats, suites, boxes and other things like the treadmill. It could be considered appropriate to discuss whether those were the right investments instead of paying more for the staff around Russell. Huskyfan brought up probably the biggest argument against Russell besides his record. The apparent lack of development from players after they get here. Recruiting does seem to be pretty good but players seem to plateau some time before their junior year.

My point wasn't that the program should go away. I very much want it to stay and be competitive. When I wrote this it was under the assumption that keeping the program was the only acceptable option, and given that that is the case, it should be supported.

Thinking back, way back, Russell's greatest selling point when he got the job was recruiting based on his performance at Ferris and Cornell. The ability to do the rest of the "head coach" stuff was unknown. Maybe it's just simply a case where Russell is a really good assistant coach for recruiting.

[geezer]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

Huskyfan brought up probably the biggest argument against Russell besides his record. The apparent lack of development from players after they get here. Recruiting does seem to be pretty good but players seem to plateau some time before their junior year.

This is interesting to me so I looked it up. Going only by points - Considering players that Russell has coached for 3-4 years, they average 6.85, 10, 9.65, and 10.26 points by year. Many of them make a good jump to their sophomore year, then a number of them do regress while most are pretty flat beyond that point.
Gwilliam, Skworchinski, Kerr, and Kivisto produced a lot more in their last year or two. Angelow, Batovanja, Bunger and St. Louis fell off a cliff. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with linemates, injuries, PP roles, and etc. but the "junior slump" is a lot more frequent than you'd expect. That graph should read 6.85, 10, 15, 20 in a perfect world.

And a bunch of other things screw it up - I probably wasn't consistent in dealing with 3-yr transfer players, gwilliam's parts of 5 yrs, etc. My lunch break is too short for accuracy.

And there's this: the same group of all available players scored 429 points in their first two years, and 539 points in their most recent two years (some of these are current seniors; many played only 3 yrs)

[bigmrg74]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

Managing Tech's D2 programs, especially when football and basketball have successful veteran coaches, should be easier than managing a D1 program lost in a Perpetual Losing Culture (PLC). The football and basketball programs are taking care of business. The fact the hockey program is so non-competitive and has been for many years strongly suggests that the D1 part of the AD's job is too much to handle. If there is going to be a coaching change, the AD and quite possibly her boss, must change as well. Both of them tolerate the PLC in hockey and for this alum, I have to ask why anything bearing the Tech brand whether academic, athletic, or the arts is allowed to turn into an embarrassment.

I should give you more static about just how well MTU is doing overall in D2, but given what happened in football this year, I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

A Letter in Support of Coach Jamie Russell

From: Johnson, Ryan
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 1:45 PM
To: 'srsanreg@mtu.edu'
Subject: A Letter in Support of Coach Jamie Russell

Ms. Sanregret,

I can only imagine that in the past few weeks and months, the hardships and the current winless streak of the men’s hockey team has been a subject of frequent emails and phone calls to your office. I further assume that many of these contacts may be calling for a change in leadership of the men’s hockey program. Because of this, I feel the need to write you in support of head coach Jamie Russell and his staff. As a graduate of Michigan Tech who has followed the hockey team closely since I began my studies at MTU in 1992, I have seen several head and assistant coaches come and go. As part of the MTU Pep Band during my years at Tech, I was one of the people actually present the last time MTU hockey hosted a home playoff series in 1993.

Since I left MTU the wins have not added up as quickly as the losses, but since Jamie took over the hockey team I have seen many positive improvements which bode well for the program’s success in the future. The rink renovations (seats, floors, suites, wall of fame, video scoreboard??, etc) have helped keep MTU nipping at the heels of other WCHA schools in terms of facilities. Taking the players on a trip to Europe is something that no other school can offer and is a great recruiting tool to help balance other items such as rural location, high academic standards, etc. which do not play in Tech’s favor when trying to land top recruits.

As a passionate fan of the program, I am proud of what I see happening with the players. They make grades, they are disciplined off the ice, they play by the team rules, they reflect well on the University, and those that do not are sent packing regardless of what impact that might have on the team’s on-ice success. Jamie appears to be a very hands-on leader and always takes the time to respond to comments or questions on the few occasions I have contacted him. Even as the school prepared to install new seats in the rink, Jamie was not only there turning a wrench with the other staff members to remove some of the old ones, but even assisted in helping carry the seats that I purchased out to my vehicle.

With the strong play of the underclassmen this season, I think it is only fair to let Coach Russell to continue to lead the program even if it means risking another couple years of more losses than wins. As I’m sure you know, there is much more to student athletics that wins and losses and I hope that you, and others who may have influence over this decision will keep the many positive aspects of Russell’s program leadership in mind after the season ends.

Best regards,

Ryan Johnson
Wausau, WI
MTU Class of 1998
Founder of www.JohnsonsJerseys.net

________________________________________
From: Suzanne Sanregret [mailto:srsanreg@mtu.edu]
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 2:34 PM
To: Johnson, Ryan
Subject: Re: A Letter in Support of Coach Jamie Russell

Ryan
Thank you for the thoughtful letter. It seems that you follow the program closely. I appreciate your comments and will consider them as we work through the situation. The letter could not have arrived at a better time. Thanks again.

Suzanne R. Sanregret
Director of Athletics
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931
906/487-3070

[The_Commissioner]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

I should give you more static about just how well MTU is doing overall in D2, but given what happened in football this year, I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

Yeah, we beat Grand Valley. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

It should be noted that The Commissioner witnessed Tech's first defeat of Grand Valley, in Allendale no less, way back in nineteen seventy something. Even if we beat them only once every ten years or so, the satisfaction never goes away! :-)

[guinness]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

So it seems like the consensus, is to keep Russell around, because he's a nice guy, he cares about the university, but which can't afford to go one way or the other on his future, because of finances.

It just sounds like the heart of the matter, is that the hockey team only exists anymore, is because of WCHA welfare, and can't compete otherwise, primarily because of a lack of money, and can't afford to spend more money because that would put it into the red.

I don't think the university should have to go into the red either, but it's a depressing realization to me.

[geezer]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

So it seems like the consensus, is to keep Russell around, because he's a nice guy, he cares about the university, but which can't afford to go one way or the other on his future, because of finances.

It just sounds like the heart of the matter, is that the hockey team only exists anymore, is because of WCHA welfare, and can't compete otherwise, primarily because of a lack of money, and can't afford to spend more money because that would put it into the red.

I don't think the university should have to go into the red either, but it's a depressing realization to me.

I disagree. I've been hearing from the "fire Russell" crowd about 5-to-1 this year, and there are plenty of more successful hockey programs on tight budgets like ours. I don't think that throwing more money in the pot is a prerequisite to success (sure, it would help).

[Flashy Man]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

Fire Mikesch and Bangen!

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

I disagree. I've been hearing from the "fire Russell" crowd about 5-to-1 this year, and there are plenty of more successful hockey programs on tight budgets like ours. I don't think that throwing more money in the pot is a prerequisite to success (sure, it would help).

Well like any hot subject, the side of change is often more vocal, but they may not be the majority. At this point I don't know what the majority opinion is - none of us do. But unlike all the Republicans that didn't vote in the last Presidential election and now whine about Obama in office I was going to be sure to "cast my vote" to the powers that be, regardless of whether I'm in the minority or majority, thus my email today. Then regardless of the outcome, I have no doubt that I did what I could to support my opinion.

As for programs with more success at our budget level, that is hard to say. Hockey budgets at not exactly an open book. However if you look at the WCHA I can say with good certainty that UW, Minn, UND, CC, Denver, UAA are certainly putting more money into their program that Tech and you would be hard pressed to convince me that UNO, SCSU spend less than Tech. Maybe Mankato, UMD or BSU I could see spending equal or less than Tech but BSU and UMD just put up new barns so that leaves Mankato. Right or wrong, I think MTU runs a pretty darn lean operation when you get right down to it. If the WCHA supports Tech hockey as many suggest, and we want to spend more, how long would it be before hockey ends up like football? "Fine, you want a hockey program, open your wallets and fund it..."

Be careful what you wish for...

Ryan J

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

So it seems like the consensus, is to keep Russell around, because he's a nice guy, he cares about the university, but which can't afford to go one way or the other on his future, because of finances.

It just sounds like the heart of the matter, is that the hockey team only exists anymore, is because of WCHA welfare, and can't compete otherwise, primarily because of a lack of money, and can't afford to spend more money because that would put it into the red.

I don't think the university should have to go into the red either, but it's a depressing realization to me.

I disagree that the consensus is to keep Russell. I think many of us fans, myself included, that have stood behind Jamie for his entire tenure have simply had enough. I know several posters on here that have jumped sides and now believe that a change is needed, in fact, I find it hard to see it any other way. It is significant that many of the people that are now in favor of a coaching change are the same people that have been standing up for Coach Russell for several years. I posted last year at about this same time that we can't get rid of Coach Russell, because he deserves one more year, and if he's in the same situation in 1 year (now), then everything would have to be evaluated, and that I would probably be in favor of a coaching change. That is where we are right now.

The fact that Jamie has been a complete class act, extremely approachable and kind whenever anyone interacts with him makes this very tough, but at some point, what can you do? The wins aren't there and we're in a worse spot than the year before, when we were in a worse spot than the year before that. There is no doubt that Jamie Russell knows hockey better than anyone that posts on this board, and that he is one of the nicest people we've encountered in hockey, it is just too bad that it hasn't translated into wins.

[geezer]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

I disagree that the consensus is to keep Russell. I think many of us fans, myself included, that have stood behind Jamie for his entire tenure have simply had enough. I know several posters on here that have jumped sides and now believe that a change is needed, in fact, I find it hard to see it any other way. It is significant that many of the people that are now in favor of a coaching change are the same people that have been standing up for Coach Russell for several years. I posted last year at about this same time that we can't get rid of Coach Russell, because he deserves one more year, and if he's in the same situation in 1 year (now), then everything would have to be evaluated, and that I would probably be in favor of a coaching change. That is where we are right now.

The fact that Jamie has been a complete class act, extremely approachable and kind whenever anyone interacts with him makes this very tough, but at some point, what can you do? The wins aren't there and we're in a worse spot than the year before, when we were in a worse spot than the year before that. There is no doubt that Jamie Russell knows hockey better than anyone that posts on this board, and that he is one of the nicest people we've encountered in hockey, it is just too bad that it hasn't translated into wins.

I agree.
The hardest thing for me, is the abundance of "what ifs". We've been playing all year basically without our top line and I keep thinking of what a different attitude this team would have had coming off that hot start with Baker, Olson, Royer and Kattelus playing to their potential. A completely different story. Watching Pietila smash into the boards Friday made me realize there's nothing a coach can do to eliminate injuries, maybe it's all just crappy luck. And then there's the possibility of some high quality recruits coming in over the next couple years and I could see a quick return to middle of the WCHA status. So I was one of those sticking up for Jamie, until the team apparently gave no effort on Saturday, while I was off watching a thrilling game from a high school team that could probably beat Tech right now (almost not kidding). 6-0 to St. Lawrence? That was my last straw.

[bigmrg74]

Yeah, we beat Grand Valley. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

It should be noted that The Commissioner witnessed Tech's first defeat of Grand Valley, in Allendale no less, way back in nineteen seventy something. Even if we beat them only once every ten years or so, the satisfaction never goes away! :-)

Wow!!! You are old!

[The_Commissioner]

Re: Severe Ronaldstorm Warning: the Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread, Part the Sec

So it seems like the consensus, is to keep Russell around, because he's a nice guy, he cares about the university, but which can't afford to go one way or the other on his future, because of finances.

"Nice guys finish last." Leo Durocher