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Coaching vacancies 2012

Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

Oh my! That's even WORSE! What kind of school spends all that money to build a rink on campus...apparently back in 1995...and spend a ton of money every year maintaining the ice, and the building....and doesn't bother to even try to start a hockey program? Oh, right.....we're talking about Bates H.S. almost forgot. What a hopeless bunch.
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

dontyelldad said:
Amherst has already committed to spend about $200 million for a new science center, to be the largest building on campus, over the next 6 years.

https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/news_releases/2012/02/node/381981

My expectation is that if there were alumni funding for a new rink, it wouldn't wait 5 yrs.
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Why would there be a sudden urgency to replace Orr? Amherst has made do with a modest facility rink for years and done more than o.k. in spite of it. Men's and women's teams are both very strong. Anyway, Amherst rarely fills that rink so does it really need a bigger facility, especially when basketball is the no. 1 sport in the winter?
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

d3follower said:
Why would there be a sudden urgency to replace Orr? Amherst has made do with a modest facility rink for years and done more than o.k. in spite of it. Men's and women's teams are both very strong. Anyway, Amherst rarely fills that rink so does it really need a bigger facility, especially when basketball is the no. 1 sport in the winter?
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There's a Cold War going on here and you could say there is a "Rink Gap." Not sure when Orr was built, but I know at Bowdoin a big factor in the decision to put up Watson and not improve Dayton (sigh!!!) was uncertainty that the compressor would continue to produce an ice surface (and maybe the desire for the parking spaces on campus?). I am sure all the NESCACs have their selling points and it is doubtless easier to get recruits to take a look at Watson or Kenyon. I imagine success will make seats at the Amherst men's games hard to come by. It has been said that nothing will put up an Orr replacement faster than an announcement from up the Mohawk Trail of a plan to replace Lansing Chapman.
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

CrossCheck said:
Dayton's demise :( was likely more about Admin parking than a compressor.
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There was a time in the '07-'08 season when Colby and their Alfond Arena came to the rescue with a compressor part or the Polar Bears might have been playing outdoors, just like back in 1919 (and Longfellow Hall is way on the other side of campus).
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

obserbear said:
There's a Cold War going on here and you could say there is a "Rink Gap." Not sure when Orr was built, but I know at Bowdoin a big factor in the decision to put up Watson and not improve Dayton (sigh!!!) was uncertainty that the compressor would continue to produce an ice surface (and maybe the desire for the parking spaces on campus?). I am sure all the NESCACs have their selling points and it is doubtless easier to get recruits to take a look at Watson or Kenyon. I imagine success will make seats at the Amherst men's games hard to come by. It has been said that nothing will put up an Orr replacement faster than an announcement from up the Mohawk Trail of a plan to replace Lansing Chapman.
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The Amherst men's hockey team was very successful in 2011-12 and 2008-09 (NESCAC champions), with very few full houses in a rink with limited seating. Hockey fans in the Valley tend to head for UMass games and of course Amherst students prefer b-ball. Amherst is a b-ball school as is Williams so no arms race between the two schools for a new hockey rink is likely . .Bowdoin just wanted to build a new rink so of course Bowdoin officials were going to say that Dayton could not be repaired although it could have been for a fraction of the cost of Watson . . .
 
obserbear said:
There's a Cold War going on here and you could say there is a "Rink Gap." Not sure when Orr was built, ...
Click to expand...

1954, renovated 1997

http://nescachockey.wordpress.com/nescac-member-schools/amherst/

I remember skating @ Orr in the late 1960's, as a local kid.

I think one of the motivating factors behind upgrading or replacing the facility would be the potential opportunity to host a tournament ... not sure, but wasn't there recently discussion here about Orr not being up to either nescac or NCAA standards?
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

The biggest mystery in the Amherst-Williams [and Bates HS for that matter] hockey debate is not when a new rink will be built at either place, but rather...

Given a choice between watching college hockey and college hoops....why the @#$%#$ would ANYONE be at a basketball game????
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

How about this for motivation to replace Orr. A recruit has the skills (and grades/scores of course) to play at Amherst, Middlebury, or Bowdoin - these schools are competing for the same small group of kids who can be impact players and get in. Then they see the rinks at each - which school looks like hockey is not a priority? Obviously Amherst is at a disadvantage - who in their right mind would not prefer to play at Middlebury or Bowdoin rinks all else being equal? Obviously, this isn't the only factor in school selection, but it definitely puts the Amherst teams at a recruiting disadvantage.
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

d3follower said:
The Amherst men's hockey team was very successful in 2011-12 and 2008-09 (NESCAC champions), with very few full houses in a rink with limited seating. Hockey fans in the Valley tend to head for UMass games and of course Amherst students prefer b-ball. Amherst is a b-ball school as is Williams so no arms race between the two schools for a new hockey rink is likely . .Bowdoin just wanted to build a new rink so of course Bowdoin officials were going to say that Dayton could not be repaired although it could have been for a fraction of the cost of Watson . . .
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UMass is a lacrosse school. Long before Calipari's Refuse to Lose crew there was Garber's Gorrillas (and the Gazelles, who were National Champs in '82) packing the hill behind Bowden Gym. ;)
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

Hux said:
UMass is a lacrosse school. Long before Calipari's Refuse to Lose crew there was Garber's Gorrillas (and the Gazelles, who were National Champs in '82) packing the hill behind Bowden Gym. ;)
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Hux, I'm sure you know this, but to clarify, you're speaking of UMass Amherst (D1 school, no women's varsity hockey program, just went through a highly publicized and difficult process to replace their men's hockey team's head coach), not the D3 college up the street, Amherst College, home of Orr Rink.

(And don't tell Dr. J or Marcus Camby that UMass isn't a basketball school.)
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

dontyelldad said:
1954, renovated 1997



http://nescachockey.wordpress.com/nescac-member-schools/amherst/

I remember skating @ Orr in the late 1960's, as a local kid.

I think one of the motivating factors behind upgrading or replacing the facility would be the potential opportunity to host a tournament ... not sure, but wasn't there recently discussion here about Orr not being up to either nescac or NCAA standards?
Click to expand...

Amherst hosted the NESCAC men's finals and the NCAA quarterfinals so there is no problem on that front. It could not bid to host the NCAA semi-finals because of lack of seating capacity but that's is probably true for most (maybe all) NESCACs.
 
d3follower said:
Amherst hosted the NESCAC men's finals and the NCAA quarterfinals so there is no problem on that front. It could not bid to host the NCAA semi-finals because of lack of seating capacity but that's is probably true for most (maybe all) NESCACs.
Click to expand...

I believe they also lack the required locker rooms to as well right?
 
Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

CrossCheck said:
Oh my! That's even WORSE! What kind of school spends all that money to build a rink on campus...apparently back in 1995...and spend a ton of money every year maintaining the ice, and the building....and doesn't bother to even try to start a hockey program? Oh, right.....we're talking about Bates H.S. almost forgot. What a hopeless bunch.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine from Lewiston, well placed in the area's business community, told me a few years back that the Bates rink was built with a large donation that stipulated that varsity hockey not be added. Given that the Colisee, former home of the QMJHL's Lewiston Maineiacs is just down the street, they have a ready made 3000 seat arena and could add hockey without stepping on any toes if they really wanted to have varsity hockey.

rinkrat890890 said:
I vaguely remember this argument when Witt became a head coach. I do not believe this is a recipe for disaster. I believe Coach Johnson will be named permanent head coach in the future.
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Miss Witt has left Northeastern for a position with USA HOCKEY.
 
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Hux said:
A friend of mine from Lewiston, well placed in the area's business community, told me a few years back that the Bates rink was built with a large donation that stipulated that varsity hockey not be added. Given that the Colisee, former home of the QMJHL's Lewiston Maineiacs is just down the street, they have a ready made 3000 seat arena and could add hockey without stepping on any toes if they really wanted to have varsity hockey.

I had heard the same thing from a former employee.
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Re: Coaching vacancies 2012

the hole at Bates just keeps getting deeper! Let me get this straight [unusual at Bates]....a guy donates [what must have been a considerable sum] to the brain trust at Bates....but says "hey, there fellows...here's the $$ for a nice new rink...Now don't go playing that hoccker or icesoccer or whatever you canadians do out there on the ice...there will be none of that type of funny business here at Bates H.S.!"

Only at Bates could something like that happen and nobody would care.
 
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