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Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

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Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Ma#1ne Hky said:
Maybe Mr. Creech should ask/get help in the Hockey Department...he has no knowledge on the sport of hockey and what it means to the University/State/Fans/Alumni...maybe he could ask for some advice from say: Stu Haskell, Grant Stanbrook...people in the know for the game and what it means...not to hire but to give him a heads up and some helpful assistance in the Program. Oh well just a thought.
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Perhaps I should email him Grant's cell number, just to get the ball rolling on this...
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

I agree that Creech needs to lay out a plan for this program.

1. The first thing is for him to realize that a bleeding ice hockey program at UM makes HIS job much more difficult. The amount of revenue lost over the past decade must be staggering....especially for an athletic department that operates on a shoestring.

2. Next, he needs to determine if Gendron is his guy or not. If he is then give him a 2 year extension and let Red know that he has 3 more years to get this ship heading in the right direction. Give Gendron benchmarks of success (Top 4 HE, NCAA Tourney bid, etc) so there are no grey areas as to what his expectations are. If he isn't his guy then cut him loose after this season (if feasible) and go after a young gun.

3. Let the fan base know the entire ticket price system will be revamped. I understand his need to protect revenue (donor seating) but there are way too many $50 seats now given the lack of demand and waning interest in the program. Alfond looks horrible on TV with tons of empty blue seats.

4. Which brings me to the final subject......Alfond Arena. The "Old Girl" (ugh!) is one of its glaring weaknesses despite the the adulation that it still receives from diehards and the lip service that it receives from its current coach and players. If Maine is serious about re-establishing ice hockey as its premiere revenue sport then it must start raising money for a new facility. It may take years for them to come up with the necessary funds, but stranger things have happened. A new hockey arena should be part of a much larger master plan for UM athletic facilities and that area of campus.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

umhockey91 said:
I agree that Creech needs to lay out a plan for this program.

1. The first thing is for him to realize that a bleeding ice hockey program at UM makes HIS job much more difficult. The amount of revenue lost over the past decade must be staggering....especially for an athletic department that operates on a shoestring.

2. Next, he needs to determine if Gendron is his guy or not. If he is then give him a 2 year extension and let Red know that he has 3 more years to get this ship heading in the right direction. Give Gendron benchmarks of success (Top 4 HE, NCAA Tourney bid, etc) so there are no grey areas as to what his expectations are. If he isn't his guy then cut him loose after this season (if feasible) and go after a young gun.

3. Let the fan base know the entire ticket price system will be revamped. I understand his need to protect revenue (donor seating) but there are way too many $50 seats now given the lack of demand and waning interest in the program. Alfond looks horrible on TV with tons of empty blue seats.

4. Which brings me to the final subject......Alfond Arena. The "Old Girl" (ugh!) is one of its glaring weaknesses despite the the adulation that it still receives from diehards and the lip service that it receives from its current coach and players. If Maine is serious about re-establishing ice hockey as its premiere revenue sport then it must start raising money for a new facility. It may take years for them to come up with the necessary funds, but stranger things have happened. A new hockey arena should be part of a much larger master plan for UM athletic facilities and that area of campus.
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Good ideas...but I wouldn't give RG a 2 year extension. If anything one year plus his remaining year is enough time...plus make that extension year a opt out clause year...pressure needs to be applied. Like Alfond Arena but it's time to think "NEW" down the line...YES that would take time/a lot of money but have a plan in mind...never know who may step forward with some type of start up monies...and tickets and the pricing has to be re-visited again...make having a SEASON TICKET a no brainer, put it out for a lower price...say a two or three year plan freeze on season tickets that allows a person to know and for the "U" to also know what revenue may look like under the so called Freeze Season Ticket Plan. All in all many subjects that need to be addressed and a PLAN. Right now everything is sinking from sales of tickets/the Program as a whole...no sugar coating it...it's a mess and too bad a-lot of wishful thinking. But like you stated stranger things have happened......just WHEN & HOW.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

They couldn't even come up with the money to finish the Pit and the field house and you guys think they should plan for a new arena. Classrooms are falling apart but somehow UMaine is going to explain away 100 million dollar new arena. What fantasy world to do you guys live in?
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

I guess I’m slowly becoming a fossil but it always comes down to money.
I like to see the sports venues remain on campus for the students and the overall campus atmosphere. Too bad the pit can’t get renovated for that reason, it would be a shame if the hockey program ever left campus.

Coaching – I’m convinced as ever that Red and company had the best resumes to hire for what the athletic department wanted to pay, which is relatively low. No doubt a knowledgeable coaching group but many questions remain. If high level coach prospect was to be considered the athletic department has to be prepared to pay +$250K plus incentives and yearly increases for things like season records, HE championship, NCAA appearance, championship, etc. If a coach replacement was to be considered this level of cost comes into play if Red gets an extension or not and what is the level of commitment the athletic department has towards the hockey program. You have to put the horse in front of the cart.

Alfond – This rink has a really good atmosphere (the band and student section are the key). To me it seems this would be hard to match or duplicate in a new rink. A new rink is not realistic, put the money into coaches and recruiting.
But – the Alfond could use additional renovations to get it up to snuff:
- The visiting locker room facility is a mess. (Maybe this is an edge) I wonder if we see such substandard locker rooms at other facilities.
- Needs new entrances, ticketing window area, open up some of the building corners, and bathrooms.
- Put a new roof on it and get rid of the obstructed view seating and those ventilation tubes.

The ice is good and the mens team locker room is good.
Yes, the whole ticketing thing is a mess. Too many donor seats, take half of them out and put in the benches.
Those lower seats behind the team benches are sold out, must be season pass holders, but no one ever sits in them.??
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Both games at Notre Dame this weekend are on NBCSN Friday @ 6:30 p.m. and Saturday @ 7:00 p.m.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Pierre Maguire working the Maine games from South Bend this weekend on NBCSN.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

walrus said:
They couldn't even come up with the money to finish the Pit and the field house and you guys think they should plan for a new arena. Classrooms are falling apart but somehow UMaine is going to explain away 100 million dollar new arena. What fantasy world to do you guys live in?
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Oh its just TALK(wishful thinking+++)...come on its never going to happen: New Rink/Lower Ticket Prices/No pressure to return the Program back to some-what of winning ways...oh you are right on Walrus...right on and with that you of all people should know that no progress these last 3 years are just the beginning of the end to ever see top flight hockey @ Alfond and by Maine Hockey. Sad state of affairs @ the "U" and the State of Maine. But people can dream as many believe what's going on now is the right path for Maine Hockey. I guess two wrongs don't make a right.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

walrus said:
those times must be cst not est
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The Notre Dame schedule has the games times listed as EST. South Bend is in the Eastern time zone.

Is anyone making the trip to South Bend this weekend? My wife and I will be heading out from the Toronto area early tomorrow morning - sitting in Section 115 both nights.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

walrus said:
This team needs any fan it can get. if you were a fan when Walshy was around then you remember the glory days but if you weren't you have nothing to go by except stories of the great years. This team is hardworking but they are hardly exciting even to a hardcore fan so that means the casual fan if given the option to do something else on the weekend is going with plan b.
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This is the first season since 1990 that I haven't been to numerous road games, never mind driving the 8 hours to Orono to pay waaaay too much for a seat.

I consider myself a diehard, but this team borders on unwatchable, and I really don't predict any sort of a significant improvement any time soon. if ever. Red just doesn't seem to me to be the man for the job.
 
Hoover said:
The Notre Dame schedule has the games times listed as EST. South Bend is in the Eastern time zone.

Is anyone making the trip to South Bend this weekend? My wife and I will be heading out from the Toronto area early tomorrow morning - sitting in Section 115 both nights.
Click to expand...

Wow, 6.30 is a weird time
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

walrus said:
They couldn't even come up with the money to finish the Pit and the field house and you guys think they should plan for a new arena. Classrooms are falling apart but somehow UMaine is going to explain away 100 million dollar new arena. What fantasy world to do you guys live in?
Click to expand...

Stop being a crusty old Mainer. I know that planning for the future is a foreign subject for most Mainers......but fundraising for facilities is a process. No one gave a rats *ss about basketball or the Pit (aptly named!).
 
umhockey91 said:
Stop being a crusty old Mainer. I know that planning for the future is a foreign subject for most Mainers......but fundraising for facilities is a process. No one gave a rats *ss about basketball or the Pit (aptly named!).
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Wally can't help himself. He's older than dirt and brought up and reared as a lobsterman, what do ya expect ?? :D
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

I would surmise that for most any elite coll hoc recruit, their primary objective is not just to play div 1 hockey, but to choose a program as the best launching pad towards their primary goal, to play professionally. Maine is no longer ONE of those programs. They are in a snowballing downward spiral, accentuated by top prospects reluctance to come here. (Gillies, Dumoulin, Wahlstrom) Who wants to come to a school to showcase their talents, when they won't even get to play in the NCAA's or TD Garden?
 
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Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

hobeyfaker said:
I would surmise that for most any elite coll hoc recruit, their primary objective is not just to play div 1 hockey, but to choose a program as the best launching pad towards their primary goal, to play professionally. Maine is no longer ONE of those programs. They are in a snowballing downward spiral, accentuated by top prospects reluctance to come here. (Gillies, Dumoulin, Wahlstrom) Who wants to come to a school to showcase their talents, when they won't even get to play in the NCAA's or TD Garden?
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It doesn't matter how good the team is, kids from south of Lewiston do not want to come to Orono
 
hobeyfaker said:
I would surmise that for most any elite coll hoc recruit, their primary objective is not just to play div 1 hockey, but to choose a program as the best launching pad towards their primary goal, to play professionally. Maine is no longer ONE of those programs. They are in a snowballing downward spiral, accentuated by top prospects reluctance to come here. (Gillies, Dumoulin, Wahlstrom) Who wants to come to a school to showcase their talents, when they won't even get to play in the NCAA's or TD Garden?
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Have you ever heard of a kid named Ben Hutton? I think playing at Maine under Red worked out decently enough for him.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Drew S. said:
Have you ever heard of a kid named Ben Hutton? I think playing at Maine under Red worked out decently enough for him.
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Both Hutton and Shore were Whitehead recruits, and he was able to bring in a few elite players, as many of us have said, based partly on the coat-tails/previous greatness of you know who. My point is, RG has yet to bring in any player of their ilk.
 
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