LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Wisconsin schedule was just released and the Lakers DO NOT play the Badgers. Which means the Lakers will play the UAH Chargers at home.

 

[davyd83]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

I've gotta say, the vast majority of Laker fans, coaches, players and staff that I've encountered along the way have been nothing but first class. It's always a pleasure to come to the Soo and it'll be even better when the arena gets its upgrades. And it was even better when both series meant something to both teams. Congratulations LSSU on a solid season. And even though I didn't think it would happen, I'm happy to see a three way Yooper conference rivalry. Also nice to see the steps Tech has taken as well!

 

[DM2SM]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

I have a hard time believing someone would throw their kid to the wolves. I hope you guys are right about Truth. Private donors are nothing new. BC was just given a $5M anonymous donation. I don't want the donors to think that any of us don't appreciate what they are doing because we are overwhelmed but the way the project seems to be handled is what allows comments such as those made by Truth Squad to have validity. The pictures accompanying the donation to BC show the coach giving the president of the University a check for $5M. There are people in town that don't even think the money has been handed over to the University yet and that the Norris Center project has given Coach Roque job security. The longer it drags out the better chance he has of having some success. I think this is rediculous and the University should address this. One way would be to give Coach Roque a well deserved bonus for bringing this $5M contribution to LSSU. This would show that the money has been received and also separate the Norris Center Project from job performance and properly reward Coach Roque for his commitment to the University. He deserves compensation for his efforts in raising revenue. I say this because I earlier stated that I would be disappointed if ticket prices were raised or Coach Roque was given a salary increase. A salary increase should be performance based on wins and losses for a coach.
Next, the way the news is released is as if the donors are running the project instead of the University. There is an impression that there are anonymous donors running a major project at a State University. I'm sure LSSU has PR people that can keep us up to date on the project in a way that is more professional.
On a hockey note, I am disappointed we are not playing UW. I hope we don't schedule UAH as a replacement.

 

[DM2SM]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

No one at LSSU is compensated for raising revenue, so neither should a coach. The Norris Center project is being run by the University, NOT an unnamed donor. LSSU does not allow non-university personnel to dictate major changes to infrastructure, unless they are hired as a consultant. I agree that more PR would definitely help fill everyone in on the status.

It is my opinion that Coach Roque needs an image boost in SSM and this is a great opportunity to spin his image. You do not make a coaching change when someone has solidifies such a large contribution so why not go the other way with it? If you can't give him a bonus then name a room in the addition after him. Enter him into the Hall of Fame as a major contributor to athletics. Give him a multi year contract and let people know he is being rewarded for his financial contribution. Do some sort of public acknowledgement thanking him for bringing such a significant private donation to the University.
I am not a fan of Coach Roque as a coach. There are only three NCAA Division I Coaches that have been with their programs for five years or more and have never finished in the top half of their league. Coach Wright at AIC, Coach Shiak at UAA and Coach Roque but I think $5M turns alot of losses into wins on Coach Roques resume. Eliminate the talk and embrace his contribution. Publicly show appreciation for his effort. He didn't have to bring the donors to LSSU. If he did it to secure his job, so be it. If someone stepped up and said they would donate $5M to the University if a coaching change was made, I think there might be a change so go with it, take the money and get the public on board with it.

 

[Tooth Squid]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Let me pose this question to all of you closet back room AD's... Truth You too...

Who would you replace Jim with?

Give me a name and a reason for him coming here...

Take Joe Shawhan out of the equation... He sold his home here in the Soo... his whole family is in Marquette now... I doubt he'll move back to the Soo for 80k a year... I bet he's making that at NMU and not getting beat up... That is Walt Kyle's Job to take the beating...

SO with all that being said... You have 80k a year and you need to lure a coach to Sault Ste. Marie... Who are you gonna get?

Jim is here ... Wants to be here... Loves Lakers Hockey and LSSU... He (and his staff) are doing the best they can with what they have to work with... Lowest D1 budget in the NATION... So give me some legit names that would come here for that money and that headache...

 

[FRICKER]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

First, IMO, Joe Shawhan would be a quantum leap backwards...........I just don't see him as a successful D1 coach. I don't have a clue who's available or unhappy where they are. If/when the Lake State job comes open, I'm sure there would be some surprised candidates.................with JJ not among them!!!

 

[DM2SM]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Let me pose this question to all of you closet back room AD's... Truth You too...

Who would you replace Jim with?

Give me a name and a reason for him coming here...

Take Joe Shawhan out of the equation... He sold his home here in the Soo... his whole family is in Marquette now... I doubt he'll move back to the Soo for 80k a year... I bet he's making that at NMU and not getting beat up... That is Walt Kyle's Job to take the beating...

SO with all that being said... You have 80k a year and you need to lure a coach to Sault Ste. Marie... Who are you gonna get?

Jim is here ... Wants to be here... Loves Lakers Hockey and LSSU... He (and his staff) are doing the best they can with what they have to work with... Lowest D1 budget in the NATION... So give me some legit names that would come here for that money and that headache...

Saying Coach Roque is the best COACH we can get for the money is a bad argument. I agree he deserves to be the coach at LSSU but that is because of the money he has brought to the program not the performance of the team. Why do people always ask us to say who we would recommend as a replacement? We aren't the experts? Plus this only creates an opportunity for people like yourself to shoot our candidates down. I think that any coach in the USHL is a viable candidate to start with. My understanding is that many make less than 80K. If you read other teams stuff on here you will see that North Dakota just let a great coach go and he was quite popular and has past success. He is now in the USHL. The coach in Green Bay, Dubuque list Division I college hockey as their career goals. LSSU would be a great start. I'm no expert and I'm sure I could find a great coach for 80K.

 

[DM2SM]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

First, IMO, Joe Shawhan would be a quantum leap backwards...........I just don't see him as a successful D1 coach. I don't have a clue who's available or unhappy where they are. If/when the Lake State job comes open, I'm sure there would be some surprised candidates.................with JJ not among them!!!

Who would be your dream candidate Mr. Fricker?

 

[FRICKER]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

2M2SM.........well, Scotty Bowman's too old......

I would have been happy with Mike Hastings, but he just took the Mankota State coaching job. I've known Mike for years from
when he was the Head Coach & GM of the Omaha Lancers and did a consistantly outstanding job there. I was also unhappy to see that Ronny Rolston has left the D1 scene for a while. He would have been my pick rather than Scott Borek, but I heard that JJ made that call (and I thought he was perfect????). I'm not close enough to the D! scene right now to have a favorite
candidtae for a job opening that doesn't even exist..................huh???

 

[davyd83]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

2M2SM.........well, Scotty Bowman's too old......

I would have been happy with Mike Hastings, but he just took the Mankota State coaching job. I've known Mike for years from
when he was the Head Coach & GM of the Omaha Lancers and did a consistantly outstanding job there. I was also unhappy to see that Ronny Rolston has left the D1 scene for a while. He would have been my pick rather than Scott Borek, but I heard that JJ made that call (and I thought he was perfect????). I'm not close enough to the D! scene right now to have a favorite
candidtae for a job opening that doesn't even exist..................huh???

What are the chances that either of those guys come to LSSU for the budget and salary that LSSU have to offer. Hastings would have had to take a pay cut from what he was getting as an assistant at UNO for the LSSU head coach salary.

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Lakers play Ferris State at home November 9-10.

 

[DM2SM]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Let me pose this question to all of you closet back room AD's... Truth You too...

Who would you replace Jim with?

Give me a name and a reason for him coming here...

Take Joe Shawhan out of the equation... He sold his home here in the Soo... his whole family is in Marquette now... I doubt he'll move back to the Soo for 80k a year... I bet he's making that at NMU and not getting beat up... That is Walt Kyle's Job to take the beating...

SO with all that being said... You have 80k a year and you need to lure a coach to Sault Ste. Marie... Who are you gonna get?

Jim is here ... Wants to be here... Loves Lakers Hockey and LSSU... He (and his staff) are doing the best they can with what they have to work with... Lowest D1 budget in the NATION... So give me some legit names that would come here for that money and that headache...

This started with me trying to get Coach Roque a bonus. Then a spot in the Hall of Fame. Then a room named after him and finally a multi year contract. All positives I thought. It then turned into this. I will say once and for all that I am not looking for a coaching change but when the opportunity presents itself I think many would welcome a change.
I am going to take the advice of LSSUAlumn and get away from posting. This will be my last. It's not as fun as I thought it would be. Too many experts and it is true that this site is not about Laker Hockey, it's about Coach Roque. Either for him or against him with very little in between.
I will end with a couple of thoughts for Davey83. We have heard Fricker's comments about Joey Shawhan. We also know Mr. Fricker has a relationship with Coach Roque that somehow ties to Clarkson University so I would rate him in the "for" column. I think that is great. Most other people on this site think Joey would be a great Division I coach. You have indicated you are somehow tied with the NMU Hockey team so your comments would mean more to most of us as a neutral person that knows Joey than the for's or against people we hear from all the time. Do you think he would be a good Division I Coach at LSSU if the opportunity ever arose. I have personally asked Joey and as Tooth Squid says, he will only say that he and his family love Marquette and he has family in Marquette that he spends alot of time with so he doesn't really miss the Soo. i know we could talk him into coming back down the road if the opportunity ever presented itself. What do you think Dave83?
Finally, I agree with you that it would be difficult to draw a big name but I would think the people I mentioned would jump at it. If nothing more than a start at Division I Hockey. *80K in Sioux Falls or 80K in SSM with a DI title seems like a no brainer.
My last comment is that everything depends on which side of the fence you are on. When Coach Roque tried to get the Clarkson job last year he lost me. How bad could he really want to be here.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Any word on any other random thread about the WCHA playoff and Finals concepts floating around for the 2012-2013 season?

I would surf around the UCHO site, but I just don't have the energy.

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Here's some speculation about the upcoming schedule (the dates with educated guesses with notes are in bold). Got this idea from the Notre Dame thread

October 11- Michigan Tech
October 13-@ Michigan Tech
October 19-20- @ Bemidji State
October 26-27 Michigan State (GLSW)
November 2-3 @ Alaska
November 9-10 Ferris State
November 16-17- UAH (Michigan/ND should play, leaving LSSU as only CCHA team with open dates that weekend. Would make sense to have UAH scheduled)
November 23-24 - Ohio State ( the only open date for both OSU/LSSU in the first half, probably at Abel Arena since OSU plays previous two CCHA series at their place)
November 30-December 1- @Notre Dame (only two CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
December 7-8- @Miami (only open dates between LSSU/Miami in the first half, most likely @ Miami)
December 14-15 Northern Michigan
January 4-5- Union
January 11-12- @ Western Michigan (LSSU/WMU only CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
January 18-19- Michigan (Michigan/LSSU only CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
January 25-26- Bye weekend (could still have an exhibition game or two)
Febuary 1-2 @Bowling Green
February 8-9- Miami (only open dates for LSSU/Miami in the 2nd half, most likely at Abel Arena. Miami plays previous two CCHA series at their place)
February 15-16 Alaska
February 22-23- @ Ohio State
March 1-2 @ Northern Michigan

Again, just educated guesses.

 

[Bill]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Saying Coach Roque is the best COACH we can get for the money is a bad argument. I agree he deserves to be the coach at LSSU but that is because of the money he has brought to the program not the performance of the team. Why do people always ask us to say who we would recommend as a replacement? We aren't the experts? Plus this only creates an opportunity for people like yourself to shoot our candidates down. I think that any coach in the USHL is a viable candidate to start with. My understanding is that many make less than 80K. If you read other teams stuff on here you will see that North Dakota just let a great coach go and he was quite popular and has past success. He is now in the USHL. The coach in Green Bay, Dubuque list Division I college hockey as their career goals. LSSU would be a great start. I'm no expert and I'm sure I could find a great coach for 80K.

Did Roque really bring the money to the program, or is it a matter of a group of donors who wanted to contribute to the program regardless of Roque being head coach? I don't know, so am just asking.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Lets just say, for the sake of the argument, that a collection of monied individuals are giving piles of money to the hockey program and the school because they like the current head coach, and they want to keep the current coach around.

Um . . . how is that a bad thing?

Who is the coach? Jim Roque.
Who do the big money donors like? Jim Roque.
What does the program need? Money.


In what world, in what universe, is it a bad thing to have the Coach and Big Money Supporters who like each other?

And if the big money guys and the Athletics Department agree -- they all like Jim Roque -- isn't that a HUGE benefit to the program?

I mean, a school the size of LSSU, in the location of LSSU, with the budget of LSSU's hockey program -- we can't afford petty squables between the hcokey program, the hockey coach, the hockey boosters, the AD, and the University administration. There is harmony between all parties -- and the results are cash flowing into the program (such as the combined LSSU hockey fundraising cause, the renovations to the Norris, the hockey facilities upgrade, and the good work done quiety by Ms. Dunbar and Mr. Roque is securing LSSU's spot in the new WCHA).

Frankly, its been too long since the money, the campus bosses, and the hockey program were all pointed in the same direction. That is some kool-aid I'll drink with a smile.

 

[sm2pk]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

I think Roque may need to do something about goaltending . I am just not that impressed with Kapalka for some reason and not sure if he can carry the team for a whole season and than get them through the play-offs.

 

[Laker Dude]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Here's some speculation about the upcoming schedule (the dates with educated guesses with notes are in bold). Got this idea from the Notre Dame thread

October 11- Michigan Tech
October 13-@ Michigan Tech
October 19-20- @ Bemidji State
October 26-27 Michigan State (GLSW)
November 2-3 @ Alaska
November 9-10 Ferris State
November 16-17- UAH (Michigan/ND should play, leaving LSSU as only CCHA team with open dates that weekend. Would make sense to have UAH scheduled)
November 23-24 - Ohio State ( the only open date for both OSU/LSSU in the first half, probably at Abel Arena since OSU plays previous two CCHA series at their place)
November 30-December 1- @Notre Dame (only two CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
December 7-8- @Miami (only open dates between LSSU/Miami in the first half, most likely @ Miami)
December 14-15 Northern Michigan
January 4-5- Union
January 11-12- @ Western Michigan (LSSU/WMU only CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
January 18-19- Michigan (Michigan/LSSU only CCHA teams with open dates that weekend)
January 25-26- Bye weekend (could still have an exhibition game or two)
Febuary 1-2 @Bowling Green
February 8-9- Miami (only open dates for LSSU/Miami in the 2nd half, most likely at Abel Arena. Miami plays previous two CCHA series at their place)
February 15-16 Alaska
February 22-23- @ Ohio State
March 1-2 @ Northern Michigan

Again, just educated guesses.

Hopefully the last 2 weekends are not on the road, but that is the way it is looking.

 

[LSSULaker889294]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

Lakers at Western Michigan January 11-12. I was correct on the WMU date when I posted the "educated guess" schedule". But it looks like I was wrong on January 25-26, February 8-9 and February 22-23. The Lakers should play at Ohio State Jan 25-26, have a bye weekend Feb 8-9 and then play Miami at home Feb 22-23.

Updated educated guess schedule. Educated guesses in gray.

Ocotber 11- Michigan Tech
October 13-@ Michigan Tech
October 19-20- @ Bemidji State
October 26-27 Michigan State
November 2-3 @ Alaska
November 9-10 Ferris State
November 16-17- UAH
November 23-24 - Ohio State
November 30-December 1- @Notre Dame
December 7-8- @Miami
December 14-15 Northern Michigan
January 4-5- Union
January 11-12- @ Western Michigan
January 18-19- Michigan
January 25-26- @ Ohio State
Febuary 1-2 @ Bowling Green
February 15-16 Alaska
February 22-23- Miami
March 1-2 @ Northern Michigan

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013

I think Roque may need to do something about goaltending . I am just not that impressed with Kapalka for some reason and not sure if he can carry the team for a whole season and than get them through the play-offs.

I think KK wore down a little bit at the end last season. He was only a sophmore, and hopefully a full second summer of D-I physical prep will help him keep his legs a little better deeper into the season. Either that, or perhaps we see more of Murdock in some early season games. I think KK is a much better goalie than Murdockback -, but KK carried a very heavy load last year. And many of the games were very tight, very tense games (e.g., the Lakers didn't have any blow-outs). Although I don't question the use of the 3rd string goalie -- I did question the use of KK in back to back games against Canisius (although perhaps Murdock was wiped out the flu that weekend, as was much of the team).

All in all, however, I think KK can take a huge step forward as the starting goalie if he can keep from wearing down at the end of the year.