Re: Bentley Falcons 2014-2015: If You Build It, They Will Come
In regards to different disappointments, I wouldn't sell Niagara short. They are a very good hockey team dealing with some injury woes. Not that it's an excuse, but I wouldn't go so far as to say Bentley is a better team than them. I would say Bentley has the capability, but Coach said after the game that the team needed to play the full 60.
Bear in mind that this is very much an early work in progress. I would never want the team to be tape-to-tape leaders in AHA without knowing they're peaking heading into the playoffs. So it's early, but I'm optimistic.
As to the remainder of the stuff mentioned here - scholarship limits were upped by the entire league, and Bentley chose to increase the amount. Bear in mind that there is still an academic requirement with the school that athletes need to abide by. Coach Soderquist is doing a great job of getting in recruits who are older, more physically developed - and then developing them further. Remember that other teams have different requirements to get players in. I've become acutely aware of this through the years, and the coaching staff is doing a very good job.
As for the AHA conversation, I can comment that the commissioner last year was very high on working on Navy but they've held off. St. Anselm didn't so much decide to stay Division II as they did stay at D3 - they're actually a D3 hockey school with conference affiliation in one of the ECAC leagues. That said, they can't compete for a national championship because their school is a Division II school and schools cannot win championships by "playing down." In fact, if Division II ever sponsored, they would be forced to compete at that level. Bentley would be grandfathered into D1 but once they went down, forget it. Just as a for instance.
Also, in terms of the league, Alabama-Huntsville was never really in the conversation fully IMHO. UAH was never a geographic fit for a league with 12 teams, even as it was going to 11, especially with cost containment in travel. The AHA offices administer the CHA for women's hockey which has to deal with a vast conference ranging from Penn State to Mercyhurst to RMU to RIT to Lindenwood in St. Louis. Like Air Force, it's very hard to be flexible in scheduling, which is why Air Force does not come east until after December 1 (ironically, to Bentley).
The league is most likely staying at 11 for the time being. Rhode Island is on the table, but schools like Buffalo may also come into the picture. You have to remember that the bubble hasn't quite burst for realignment, and we're not done yet. I have no intel, but I would put money that there will be more splintering, and the AHA is probably in the middle of it. All I can say is that Bentley's investment in Division I hockey is a sign that no matter the splinter, it's at D1 to stay.
In regards to different disappointments, I wouldn't sell Niagara short. They are a very good hockey team dealing with some injury woes. Not that it's an excuse, but I wouldn't go so far as to say Bentley is a better team than them. I would say Bentley has the capability, but Coach said after the game that the team needed to play the full 60.
Bear in mind that this is very much an early work in progress. I would never want the team to be tape-to-tape leaders in AHA without knowing they're peaking heading into the playoffs. So it's early, but I'm optimistic.
As to the remainder of the stuff mentioned here - scholarship limits were upped by the entire league, and Bentley chose to increase the amount. Bear in mind that there is still an academic requirement with the school that athletes need to abide by. Coach Soderquist is doing a great job of getting in recruits who are older, more physically developed - and then developing them further. Remember that other teams have different requirements to get players in. I've become acutely aware of this through the years, and the coaching staff is doing a very good job.
As for the AHA conversation, I can comment that the commissioner last year was very high on working on Navy but they've held off. St. Anselm didn't so much decide to stay Division II as they did stay at D3 - they're actually a D3 hockey school with conference affiliation in one of the ECAC leagues. That said, they can't compete for a national championship because their school is a Division II school and schools cannot win championships by "playing down." In fact, if Division II ever sponsored, they would be forced to compete at that level. Bentley would be grandfathered into D1 but once they went down, forget it. Just as a for instance.
Also, in terms of the league, Alabama-Huntsville was never really in the conversation fully IMHO. UAH was never a geographic fit for a league with 12 teams, even as it was going to 11, especially with cost containment in travel. The AHA offices administer the CHA for women's hockey which has to deal with a vast conference ranging from Penn State to Mercyhurst to RMU to RIT to Lindenwood in St. Louis. Like Air Force, it's very hard to be flexible in scheduling, which is why Air Force does not come east until after December 1 (ironically, to Bentley).
The league is most likely staying at 11 for the time being. Rhode Island is on the table, but schools like Buffalo may also come into the picture. You have to remember that the bubble hasn't quite burst for realignment, and we're not done yet. I have no intel, but I would put money that there will be more splintering, and the AHA is probably in the middle of it. All I can say is that Bentley's investment in Division I hockey is a sign that no matter the splinter, it's at D1 to stay.