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Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

WeAreNDHockey said:
The only drawback is scheduling becoming more and more like football or basketball, with the power teams all but refusing to play games at a smaller conference team's barn, and playing the vast majority of your non-conference slate at home. When does Michigan play an OOC football game on the road, except every other year in South Bend? How many non-conference basketball games does Notre Dame play on the road?
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This has already happened. When was the last time Michigan hockey played a road nonconference game outside of the Showcase? Or Minnesota?
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

SanTropez said:
This is what I would have guessed as well, you would have thought if ND was really going to join the NCHC they would have done so already.
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You would have thought that if ND was really going to join Hockey East, they would have done so already too.

I think something involving TV has been the hang-up, though I suppose that on the Hockey East end, the issue could be the identity of team #12 and on the NCHC end the hang-up could have been the addition of WMU.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Craig P. said:
This has already happened. When was the last time Michigan hockey played a road nonconference game outside of the Showcase? Or Minnesota?
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Outside of the showcase, Minnesota played @ Ohio State in October of 2006. The last non-Big Ten team they played on the road was January of 2005 @ Boston University.

Michigan played @ New Hampshire last season.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

eagle70 said:
http://redskinwarriors.com/

Redskin Warriors has received an unconfirmed report that Notre Dame and RPI are moving to Hockey East in 2013.

Our source with credible access to the ongoing talks tells us the Irish will take their talents east, and along with the Engineers of RPI will become the 11th and 12th members respectively, of Hockey East. If true, it could also signal Notre Dame’s intent to join the ACC for all other sports as the rest of the collegiate athletic world undergoes the same sort of seismic shift as hockey. And, for certain it’s a coup for Hockey East to land the last remaining free agent gem in the Fighting Irish.
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Part of the problems with all of the college hockey realignment talk is that whenever somebody with access to a computer thinks something, 10 other people with similar access run with it, and before you know it, there are suddenly sources everywhere who can confirm this, that, and everything else. Where have I read this before...?

What I wouldn't give for just one of these "credible sources" or "unconfirmed reports" to come with a name.

Notre Dame may join Hockey East. We already have a credible source that says they are joining either HE or the NCHC. Jeff Jackson. As for that destination being some sort of a signal that Notre Dame will be joining the ACC, that's laughable. Notre Dame will do for the football program whatever it feels delivers the most money. There isn't another sport played here that will have any bearing on that outcome. And most of the rest of the athletic department will be along for the ride. This is especially true for hockey in that not one of the 31 D1 conferences sponsors hockey. In fact because of this, hockey can be as independent (oops, should not use that word) as the football program. There is no cross consideration between football and hockey that is playing into this decision.

In fact the factor I think will play the biggest part in all of this is, and one that never seems to be discussed, is whether or not Notre Dame thinks they can be successful recruiting in areas that they have not focused on. Right now, we don't recruit New England, New York or the Eastern seaboard at all, and generally have just one or two players from Canada . We have a grand total of one player on the roster from a New England state, and his dad was one of Notre Dame's all-time greats. HE schools recruit heavily from New England, with a healthy dose of Canadian players in the mix at some of the institutions. If Notre Dame wishes to compete in this league they'll have to completely change their recruiting model. This is one of the big factors in my hopes of ending up in the NCHC.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

WeAreNDHockey said:
What I wouldn't give for just one of these "credible sources" or "unconfirmed reports" to come with a name.
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He's a Miami poster on here, maybe if you ask nicely ;)

Sure you guys have seen this already, but it breaks everything down pretty well - all about TV

Link
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

What is it about Catholicism that promotes such wildly divergent speculation? Notre Dame to the B1G. Notre Dame is going independent. The Shroud of Turin covered Christ.

Until Coach Jackson says, "We are joining Hockey East," I cannot fathom that being a realistic option for all the aforementioned reasons: Recruiting. Size of conference. OOC play. Travel nightmares/expenses and the need to add one more team to get to 12.

I want to talk about this season. I want to revel in the expectations of success. I want to bask in the newness of the CFIA. I want to speculate on Anders Lee and Hobey Baker. I feel as if we aren't able to do that because of the elephant sitting in the middle of the new rink. If I feel that way as a fan, what must the players feel? What must recruits feel?

This Saturday is the first official practice. Who's with me to watch it?
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

{Champ. Champ. Champ.}

While there is no bit in between my teeth, I still can't wait. Saturday's practice begins at 9:00. This will be one of the last practices in that lovely dump. I've watched practices under every hockey coach and still remain in awe of the practices now. Sunday's exhibition game comes with the added benefit of 2 free tickets for each season ticket account until tickets are sold out. I'd be willing to bet that will be one of the very last times freebies will be offered (or needed) when it comes to the hockey program. I can remember when you could gas up at any Marathon around town and get free tickets to a game against a league opponent...well...except the games against Michigan since their fans bought up most of the tickets. From here, the team travels to Duluth to exact revenge on the defending national champs.

It seems like only last weekend when I was watching UMD's OT victory to win their first national championship and saying to myself, "So this is what it's like to win for the first time..." I wonder if I will get the chance to repeat that contemplation next April.

Champ. Champ. Champ.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Per ND press release, the first game in Compton will be the RPI game.

Way to go, athletic department, scheduling it for USC weekend -- that won't be inconvenient at all for those of us who live out of town but have said ever since the project was announced that we'd find a way to make it to the first game. No, of course I don't mind that you couldn't give us a schedule before 2 weeks in advance when flights are already booked solid or super expensive, or that it's on a weekend in which there will be no hotels to be found in Michiana. Nope, not bitter at all. :(

... but hey, at least we'll be playing what'll probably amount to essentially our first HEA home game?
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Per CHN tweets, ND and the NCHC were both interested but were not able to reach an agreement (and NCHC is presumably trying to act like they didn't want ND in the first place so that ND can't make it look like they preferred Hockey East, or something). I'm assuming the sticking point was media rights in some form or fashion. Now it's looking like ND will be team #11 in Hockey East and RPI will be #12.

I wonder about how permanent this will be.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Eesh. I still won't believe it until I hear Swarbrick and Jackson on Wednesday say, "Hockey East." In the meantime, I will continue to be flabbergasted. Hockey East?! Really?!

As for the game tonight...it got a little chippy and the goalies weren't challenged too much, but it was nice to see a solid victory when you consider some teams (Michigan, BU and Denver) didn't fare too well in their exhibitions with Canadian schools. They still have some bugs to work out. Of the freshmen who dressed, Garrett Peterson made the biggest impression, including getting away with a nasty hit to a Western player's head. And where were the students?

Hockey East?! Really?!

So now they get to prepare for UMD amidst all this conference news scuttlebutt. But at least the games count.

Hockey East?!
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I love this. Notre Dame ensures its future will be in a premier college hockey conference, while making the most amount of games available to Irish fans on television. I'm excited about this new chapter in Notre Dame hockey and I can't wait for it to begin.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I just had to clean the barf off my keyboard.

I don't see your point about t.v. For clarification, this is per CHN's Adam Wodon, "Things started to come together once Notre Dame finalized its television deal. It's not a "Notre Dame Network" that has been rumored — at least not yet (University of Texas starts its own network this fall) — but it's an agreement with a local network to televise all home games. "

BFD. I go to all the home games. It's not like you can get WHME in Orono, so what does HE care about that?

I see zero positives coming from this. This is not our recruiting footprint. Travel will be a nightmare for only ND as the other teams will be bus rides away from their other 9 opponents. ND will have to fly to every conference away game. God forbid they have travel partners and have to have a 2-hour bus ride in the middle of a weekend they have to fly to. Local ND fans can forget about an easy trip to conference finals as it won't be a 3-hour drive to Motown, but a short notice flight to Boston. But, hey, not to worry, all those ND fans out east who drool over the mediocre football team can come out and sit on their hands for the hockey team while admitting they didn't even know ND had a hockey team. And who wants to be the odd man out in an already established conference, with age old rivalries? At least in the new conference, they would have had Miami, WMU, UNO and past league rivals in the WCHA teams. Other than a once a year rivalry with BC, how many ND fans other than me would get worked up playing MC or UML? And how do you establish rivalries when you may be playing each team only two games a year should that be how the conference schedule works out? We'll see BU every other year here. Vermont will see us every other year there...

And before anyone chimes in with all the NC's HE has, they have 4 of the last 11, but those are from 2 teams out of a 10 team conference. The new conference has 4 in the last 12 from 3 teams in an 8 team conference. Which sounds more "premier?"

I am also perturbed at the vagueness and non-committal statements still coming out. The new conference did not actually say ND was uninvited. HE has not actually said ND is joining. ND continues to say they ...will likely have an announcement..., ...probably Wednesday... Nothing written has actually said one way or the other.

This rant could go on ad nauseum, but I have papers to grade.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I don't think you have to worry about 2 hour bus rides. First of all 8 of the 10 schools are within 90 minutes of Boston, with 3 arenas in the Boston City limits. UML and Merrimack are about 15 minutes apart. UNH is only about 1 hour from Merrimack as well. Manchester-Boston Reg Airport is a very nice airport that has many flights to the midwest. Providence is less than 1 hour from Boston with TFGreen Intl. If the 12th team is RPI then RPI and UMass are about 90 minutes apart with Springfield in between for lodging and Bradley Intl for flights. Vermont(Burlington Intl 2 miles from campus) and Maine(Bangor Intl about 10 miles from campus)would likely be 2 game weekends. I would think Notre Dame would take 6 trips a year(5 double weekends and a game at BC with an OOC game with perhaps Harvard that weekend as well) with 5 home double weekends and a single home game with BC. It would make sense for BC and Notre Dame to host annual games to balance the schedule. Do you really think flights to Denver, Duluth, Omaha, MSP and Grand Forks would be any easier than flights to New England?
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So the only reason the NCHC said no is because they didn't like the idea of ND having all home games televised by a local network? That's it? I don't get it...
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I don't think it's set in stone that ND would only see certain teams once every other year at home. If they did travel partners for trips to ND, ND could play BC and BU on a Friday/Saturday night.
 
Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

J.D. said:
I don't think it's set in stone that ND would only see certain teams once every other year at home. If they did travel partners for trips to ND, ND could play BC and BU on a Friday/Saturday night.
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I suppose a schedule like that could work, but it seems wasteful to have two teams travel out to IN in a weekend when it could just be one.

The biggest problem I see with a hypothetical ND schedule is getting home-away balance. I guess the way to do that would be to play two one-offs with our "travel partner" (who will have their own scheduling issues).
 
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