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LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Yooper_by_choice said:
Since there has not been any news on the assistant coaches yet. It looks like Coach Whitten is really doing his due diligence in making sure that he will have the correct fit. I will give him credit for that.
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No one should be surprised at this! Damon Whitten has the endorsement of Ron Mason, Rick Comley and Jeff Jackson, a coaching record of his own as second and volunteer assistant, that almost matches Jim Roque's 9 years at Lake Superior, and the full endorsement of the hiring committee at the college, that brought some of the best hockey minds up there around, for a fair and open process.

Year 1 under Damon Whitten will be the best one yet, and a playoff birth is a realistic possibility in the always tough, WCHA.
 
Yooper_by_choice said:
Since there has not been any news on the assistant coaches yet. It looks like Coach Whitten is really doing his due diligence in making sure that he will have the correct fit. I will give him credit for that.
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You have no clue how the process is going. There is no way for any of us to know. The head coaching pool was puddle deep. Is the assistant coaching budget better than the one low paid full time & one part time position that we've had the past few years? One would hope that they would allow the rookie coach to hire a decent experienced first assistant and back it up with a good young full time second assistant that won't have to subsist on a Ramen Noodle diet for his 70-80 hour work week. A D-1 assistant should not need to say, "Would you like to Super Size that," in order to earn more money.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Lakers-88-92-94 said:
Anymore word yet on when the WCHA schedule will be released or when our non-conference schedule will be released? Can anyone confirm the rumor that we are traveling to North Dakota?
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We play Cornell (first time since 1996 NCAA tournament) in the Estero, Florida tournament December 28 and then either Miami or Notre Dame December 29. Word is we play at Robert Morris October 10-11. We play at Notre Dame but don't know the date. Someone says we also play at Michigan State but I'm not so sure about that. I would think there would be at least one non-conference series at home.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

RapidsCity said:
You have no clue how the process is going. There is no way for any of us to know. The head coaching pool was puddle deep. Is the assistant coaching budget better than the one low paid full time & one part time position that we've had the past few years? One would hope that they would allow the rookie coach to hire a decent experienced first assistant and back it up with a good young full time second assistant that won't have to subsist on a Ramen Noodle diet for his 70-80 hour work week. A D-1 assistant should not need to say, "Would you like to Super Size that," in order to earn more money.
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The point you are trying to make is?
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

LSSULaker889294 said:
We play Cornell (first time since 1996 NCAA tournament) in the Estero, Florida tournament December 28 and then either Miami or Notre Dame December 29. Word is we play at Robert Morris October 10-11. We play at Notre Dame but don't know the date. Someone says we also play at Michigan State but I'm not so sure about that. I would think there would be at least one non-conference series at home.
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They probably read MSU and thought State instead of Mankato. I don't think we play State this year. Thanks for the heads up! Not sure that we play Notre Dame either since UND would look like Notre Dame to most of us and actually be NoDak Dec. 5-6.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Lakers-88-92-94 said:
They probably read MSU and thought State instead of Mankato. I don't think we play State this year. Thanks for the heads up! Not sure that we play Notre Dame either since UND would look like Notre Dame to most of us and actually be NoDak Dec. 5-6.
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Who knows. I guess we'll find out soon. As for the WCHA schedule, the only dates that we don't know are the MSU-Mankato games. One series at home and one at Mankato.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Lakers-88-92-94 said:
I think Bill was referring to the Rockettes, Laker Loves, and the uninformed masses that create a perception based on false information. Midge, you're poison to this thread. You can have your own opinion but you continue to spin your wheels because you can't move on.
Also, the ticket office is generally open from 9-5 with certain exceptions. Anyone with half of a brain could always make a phone call to the ticket office instead of wasting their time driving around town. How hard would it be to make a 30 second phone call to see if the ticket office is open? Quit being so helpless and stop this woe-is-us attitude. You want to see change? Be helpful, be proactive, don't start this 5 person riot against Dunbar on a forum that doesn't matter. If you don't like the direction things are going you can leave or you can try to help. You're doing neither.
The people doing their jobs with the limited resources are not the minions. It's the idiots who attack the staff on twitter and on this forum that are minions. If you have a better idea then email it to them or apply for their jobs. I think the one thing that we do ask is that you stop being such a bitter troll.
:)
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Listen, I've been following Laker hockey longer than you've been alive, so you have absolutely no business referring to me as a troll or suggesting that I 'can't move on.' With regard to the ticket office, your suggestion of calling ahead to see if they're open is all fine and dandy, but most times when I call it goes straight to voicemail. Anyone with half a brain in their head would realize that good customer service is at the utmost apex of running a successful business, and if Lake State wants the program to be a success, I suggest they staff that **** ticket office from 9am to 5pm without fail! It's not really that difficult to do.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM said:
Perky, I read your post on the Bemidji thread and I guess I kind of agree but our thread isn’t different than threads from many struggling programs past and present. MTU a few years back. Maine last year, etc. The difference is that MTU hired up. Maine hired up. We had that opportunity and it’s my opinion that we didn’t.

I see that there are five kinds of posters. Those with an agenda, positive posters that don’t like controversy, those that support the status quo and those that don’t. Lastly there are the pot stirrers.

Truth and Midge are agenda posters. Truth wanted Roque gone. Midge wants Dunbar gone. If you support the agenda you probably don’t mind them. I had no issue with Truth. I don’t care for Midge.

Pink Pony is a pot stirrer.

Bill likes to be positive. Give expert information and is usually neutral. Just wants to share information and doesn’t get too involved in opinions.

Most of us are like you Perky.
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And then there is Neil Diamond. God bless Neil Diamond.

The people I've talked to aren't really judging the program one way or another, they just want to know who this Whitten guy is, which is expected, I would think.

Most people will give him a chance. If he puts a good product on the ice people will come back.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM said:
Where we differ now is that I was hoping for a new coach that would create excitement. I don’t think that happened. I can’t make any sense out of this hire in fact I think Tim Christian was a more qualified candidate than Damon Whitten and Christian was way down on my list. There’s nothing wrong with that opinion is there?

I may warm up to the decision if Whitten hires a competent coach as an assistant but what if he makes a politically correct hire or brings in coaches that have no pedigree? At least I say why I don’t care for the hire. I have no agenda. While I would have preferred a coach with a tract record as a head coach, Ron Fogarty-Adrian, I would have been OK with an assistant from a successful college program, Drew Famulak-FSU.

What I can’t understand is hiring a coach that was with four different college programs that all failed while he was there. This is not personal to Whitten, insert any name in there.
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I don't think you give Whitten enough credit, and you make his path to becoming the Lakers new coach sound worse than it actually is. His stated goal has been to become a head coach and he has now reached that goal. His stops on the way have all been to position himself in a manner to enable that to happen. He started off as the #3 assistant at MSU, probably as a volunteer assistant. And it wasn't with a failing program; in fact MSU won the NCAA Championship a couple of years after he was there as an assistant, He moved on to Wayne State as a paid assistant coach. Granted it was not a high profile program, didn't have a very good rink situation, and it's days were numbered, but it moved him into a regular assistant coach position. From there he moved onto Alaska Anchorage as an assistant coach, probably at better pay, and the program wasn't on the verge of dissolving. Anchorage had a lot of issues, especially with the AD at the time, and that likely factored into him leaving there. He went back to MSU and was involved in hockey operations, not coaching, during his next couple of years there. Yes MSU was then on the decline, but they did get hit particularly hard with defections to the pros at that time and Whitten wasn't directly involved with coaching anyway. He then moved back into coaching as an assistant at Tech and Mel Pearson kept him on when he became head coach there, and Mel speaks very highly of Damon. Although Tech's program hasn't completely turned the corner yet, they are getting better and better recruits and have been on the rise since Whitten went there. They are no longer a "failing" program.

Given the finances available for hockey at LSSU, his hiring does make sense. It's not like we have the money to attract assistant coaches from the big name programs. Even Framaluk probably wasn't interested, and Ferris isn't a big name program, although they are becoming more well known the past few years.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM I have no problem with you as you stated you bring your thoughts and ideas not just rants.

Did the university hire who I wanted? No. With the finances the way they are I didn't think we were going to get a well known proven head coach other than who my favorite to get it was.

How many times was it mentioned on here the last five years if they get rid of the coach who will want to even want to come coach here. Well we have our answer Damon Whitten wanted to so now all I can and want to do is support coach Whitten and hope he has much success. What's done is done. I can not tell you to go buy season tickets that's something that is up to you.

Gee Geoffrey I hope I seem like a true Lakers fan now.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Warning!!! The Pink Pony is back. A massive ignore campaign would be appropriate.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Whitten is a first class guy. Lakers got the best coach for the school. Damon will lead the Lakers to the promise land. He is well groomed by Mason and Comley. Jackson tried to bring him when he was a player instead he walked on at MSU. He was meant to be in Sault. Good luck coach Damon and bring in your guy to help you coach.

I would give Steve Sheilds a call to help. I met Steve Shields and I would hire him in a heart beat.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM said:
Bill, yes Whitten has stated his goal was to become a Head Coach. Wasn’t every applicant’s? Yes he positioned himself to do so and this is where we disagree. You say I don’t give Whitten enough credit. I give him credit for knowing the right person at the right time. You actually listed the following reasons as your argument.

“MSU won the National Tournament a couple years after he left as a volunteer coach”………. Okay, and they finished in 11th place while he was there so what’s your point?

“He took a starter job with a weak Wayne State program that had poor facilities and ultimately folded”…… Sounds like an excuse, how does this help your case?

“He went to Anchorage which had a lot of issues including a bad AD and probably left because it was such a bad situation”....are you giving him credit for knowing when to pull the plug? My argument would be that a losing team did not fit his head coaching plans and instead of sticking with the guy who gave him a chance, he bailed after two last place finishes.

“He went back to MSU in a non-coaching position and while there the Spartans were hit by many NHL defections and were in decline but Whitten wasn’t coaching anyway so it wasn’t his fault” ………I can’t even comment on this.

“Then he finally went to MTU and although they haven’t turned the program around they are showing improvement”………While he was at MTU they never had fewer than 19 losses in a season with one season setting a school record of 30 losses. There is nothing there.

Let’s be real about this. I am attaching Damon Whitten’s actual coaching resume’

Year Team W L T Finish
05-06 WSU 6 23 6 Last CHA
06-07 UAA 13 21 3 Last WCHA
07-08 UAA 7 21 8 Last WCHA
10-11 MTU 4 30 4 Last WCHA
11-12 MTU 15 19 5 8th WCHA
12-13 MTU 13 20 4 10th WCHA
13-14 MTU 14 19 7 5th WCHA

That’s a record of 72-153-37 81 GAMES UNDER .500

Can someone do some research and tell me how many Division I coaches of any kind are 81 games under .500?
Let’s just wait and see how this plays out. If I am proved wrong then Damon Whitten deserves all the credit in the world. If I am right, I don’t blame Whitten I blame the A.D.
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I guess I don't understand why you are trying to put such a negative light on Whitten. From your earlier posts, I get the fact that you thought Joe Shawhan should have been selected for the Lakers coaching job. I don't have a problem with you disagreeing with the selection of Whitten, but you are deliberately slanting your arguments against Whitten.

Even in this post of yours, you've listed his coaching resume as if he was somehow responsible in a major way for those records. He was an "assistant" coach for those seasons, not head coach. He played under Ron Mason and has worked as an assistant under Rick Comley and Mel Pearson. These are guys that are highly respected in college hockey. I think that on more than occasion you've brought up the fact that MSU finished in 11th place when he was there (the 2nd time), but you neglected to say he was only serving in a hockey operations role, not a coaching role. And you conveniently neglected to say that MSU finished in 2nd place the other of the two seasons he was in hockey operations.

My point in my previous post was to show that he's steadily moved up his profession by earning the respect of some pretty good hockey people who have recognized his abilities and potential. If you don't his selection as Lakers coach, fine, but at least try to be objective with you're reasoning. I think you're being much too subjective. It's almost starting to sound like you have a grudge against Damon Whitten like michiganmidge does against Kris Dunbar.
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

I wasn't trying to slight you, Perky. I really wasn't. It's just that anyone can claim that title, and when they do, what value does it have? I'm 99% sure that I read michiganmidge call herself one, and I certainly wouldn't slot you two into the same camp up there. I largely agree with DM2SM's slotting above, and I'm watching this mainly out of curiosity. I don't understand all the issues at play here, and I'm trying to learn. We're in the same league, and that makes your concerns mine.

GFM
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Bill, You’ve missed my point but I see yours. Not being from SSM you haven’t had the opportunity to take this all in. Most people on this thread know each other personally so this is more debate amongst locals with the exception of the few that not many know personally such as Bill.

I guess it should be kept in perspective that the thread is open to outside people. My last two posts regarding Damon Whitten are intended as conversation with locals and were in response to a post that referenced previous Laker Coaches without comparing the record of our new coach. That post was deleted and only my post remained. That has happened to me a couple times and it does look out of place.

With that said, I personally do think that Joey Shawhan would have been a great selection but as I’ve said earlier, Ron Fogarty of Adrian College would have been my first choice. His record speaks for itself.
I have deleted my previous two posts as they make no sense by themselves.
 
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