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

[NCAA watcher]

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

Aiming way too high with the Big 10. How about the other direction: relegation play, so the last place team moves to the AHA for the next year. Leaves a 10 team league. And it evens out the AHA, which is also 11, and now will be 12.

Plays off of the fan's repeated desire on the thread to have the final games be meaningful.

[J.D.]

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

Maybe the new commissioner can help UConn get into the Big 10? For me that would be the ideal solution. Then you could go back to playing each team three times.

What on earth could the Big Ten see in UConn? They took Rutgers for that NYC TV angle so they don't need UConn for that. Even if that were to ever happen, I wouldn't want a 27 game league schedule. I like the number where it is now at 24 or even a little lower than.

[DavidNardolillo]

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

As for a 12th team, unless this guy has some fancy presentation that will change Quinnipiac's mind, the leader in the clubhouse is probably Sacred Heart.

Some of the teams that have moved conferences in recent years have become cautionary tales and may be impacting QU's perspective. Meanwhile, QU has become a nationally relevant teamout of the ECAC, making the NCAA tournament in 5 of the last 7 years, with two appearances in the title game. They are in contention again for an at-large bid despite a disastrous November. The risk-reward of another move may not be appealing at this point.

[DavidNardolillo]

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

+1. On TV I don't even watch hockey shootouts. For real. World cup soccer I do watch them.

The Olympic hockey shootout a few years back that Oshie won single-handedly for the USA was pretty riveting entertainment, to be fair. I would prefer the 3 on 3 game until there is a winner.

[Drew S.]

What on earth could the Big Ten see in UConn? They took Rutgers for that NYC TV angle so they don't need UConn for that. Even if that were to ever happen, I wouldn't want a 27 game league schedule. I like the number where it is now at 24 or even a little lower than.

It would give them a team to be at the bottom of the league. And honestly who cares if it makes sense as long as they’re gone? 27 isn’t ideal, but it certainly is better than having too few league games. I think with more league games the overall schedule would be much better too.

[J.D.]

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

Ha, ok sure but are decisions to add teams really ever based on that? I don't really have a problem with UConn being in the league. They haven't been a dumpster fire and have a decent team this year. The one thing I will hold against them is the rink situation. They need to get something figured out.

Meh, I'm the opposite. I will gladly take more non-conference games over a 27 game sched. Anything from 20-24 is fine with me.

[Sean Pickett]

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

So, how about a new interlocking league schedule with the NCHC? They also have an unbalanced league schedule and an interlocking schedule would allow both leagues to have both balanced schedules and a fair amount of league games. For Hockey East teams they would get 10*2=20 vs HE plus 8 vs NCHC for 28 league games. For the NCHC they would get 7*2=14 vs NCHC plus 11 vs HE for 25 league games. Getting the NCHC teams to agree would be hard, but I'm not sure it would be impossible.

Sean

[NCAA watcher]

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

So, how about a new interlocking league schedule with the NCHC? They also have an unbalanced league schedule and an interlocking schedule would allow both leagues to have both balanced schedules and a fair amount of league games. For Hockey East teams they would get 10*2=20 vs HE plus 8 vs NCHC for 28 league games. For the NCHC they would get 7*2=14 vs NCHC plus 11 vs HE for 25 league games.

A good concept. That's a good though, thanks for actually thinking about this and not being flippant like my own responses.

Getting the NCHC teams to agree would be hard, but I'm not sure it would be impossible.

Sean

I'm not sure how hard. Yes, the financials will be a bit higher with travel, but from a hockey perspective, I think a lot of the NCHC teams would welcome it. That is because right now they are small and beating each other up, to their own detriment. Having a set of new teams to beat in a lesser conference would be welcome to Miami and Colorado and Nebraska, which are stuck as bottom feeders. For a coach looking to survive, getting games against U.Conn, Vermont and UNH would be easier wins for the resume.

I assume that the benefit of wins over lesser HE teams still help more than multiple losses against top teams Duluth and Denver.

In many respects, this is what happened when HE was founded, and played the younger brother to the WCHA powerhouses Wisconsin, NoDak and Minnesota, while Denver was able to claw its way back.

[ticapnews]

Aiming way too high with the Big 10. How about the other direction: relegation play, so the last place team moves to the AHA for the next year. Leaves a 10 team league. And it evens out the AHA, which is also 11, and now will be 12.

Plays off of the fan's repeated desire on the thread to have the final games be meaningful.

Should UVM do the elephant walk of shame now, or wait until March?

[J.D.]

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

The Hockey East/NCHC challenge like they do in Men's Hoops...ACC vs. Big Ten. I'm in.

[Middle Street]

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

Here are the lengths of all UML games at Tsongas this season:
I have no data on why Maine's home games are running 15 minutes longer than UML's home games, sorry.

Sean

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

[Split-N]

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...I just don't understand why ties are deemed to be a problem...

Agree. Hockey has always recognized that, in a given game, one team may really not be better than the other so the two teams split the standings points. This ensures the objectivity and integrity of the point-based standings system. Adding gimmicks like 3x3 OT, shootouts (nothing more than a skills competition), and (God forbid) loser points compromises and even corrupts the standings. And just because the NHL apparently thinks that 3x3, shootouts, and loser points are good for the NHL doesn't mean that any of those is good for the college game. To wit: The aforesaid gimmicks would seem to unfairly and disproportionately benefit the "Blue Blood" programs that almost always have deeper rosters of skill players who can thrive in skills competitions, like 3x3 and shootouts.

...all I do is root for 3x3 overtime. It is electric and a whole lot of fun...

The carnival midways where you get a stuffed animal for somehow knocking over a target or ringing a bell are fun too.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

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

To wit: The aforesaid gimmicks would seem to unfairly and disproportionately benefit the "Blue Blood" programs that almost always have deeper rosters of skill players who can thrive in skills competitions, like 3x3 and shootouts.

I mean... ok but the programs with deeper rosters of skill players benefit the same way there as they do during 5x5 and 4x4 and 3x3 and any other situation. That's not unfair. It's consistent if nothing else.

[Sean Pickett]

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

Agree. Hockey has always recognized that, in a given game, one team may really not be better than the other so the two teams split the standings points. This ensures the objectivity and integrity of the point-based standings system. Adding gimmicks like 3x3 OT, shootouts (nothing more than a skills competition), and (God forbid) loser points compromises and even corrupts the standings.

Well, college hockey leagues (and the NHL) could go with the football (aka soccer) system of 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie in an effort to encourage playing for the win. Of course that also corrupts the standings, as last season Liverpool would have won the Premier League 67 points to 66 using the old 2-1-0 point system instead of the current 3-1-0 point system.

Sean

[Sean Pickett]

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

The Hockey East/NCHC challenge like they do in Men's Hoops...ACC vs. Big Ten. I'm in.

No, not a challenge. An actual HEA-NCHC interlocking schedule with the games between the teams from both leagues counting in both leagues' standings.

Sean