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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?

BoSox3066 said:
Can't compete in your own building with a team you have more league wins than.....I didn't expect much against ND or PC...but to get blown off the ice by Merrimack....
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Dude, you still got 4 goals by us. That's usually enough to win in HEA..
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Just a comment from an interested "outsider" observer. As we know, "expansion" seems to be the big buzzword in almost every facet of society today. Invariably people come to the realization that it just isn't feasible, which leads to one of two things - a lot of mediocrity or, ultimately, contraction. This "craze" that suddenly every school wants to start a college hockey program will eventually run its course. As usual, we will see that, regardless of how much the sport trumpets that they have "opened up new markets" and have become a "nationwide" sport, there is only so much talent to go around. The problem for schools like Maine is that they no longer have a captive audience. When there weren't a lot of choices, it was easier to get great talent. But (and this is not meant in a disparaging way, because I happen to love Maine and the lifestyle - we go there all the time) the reality is, with so many choices today (at least for now), why would an aspiring athlete want to go there? I mean, if you had a choice to go to Arizona to school, or California, or Florida, or Notre Dame, or Pennsylvania, or a number of other places, why would you go to Maine? I mention those places specifically, because ten years ago none of those places had Division 1 hockey programs (or hockey programs at all). The competition, from the school's perspective, has been dialed up five notches and the cold weather schools are no longer monopolizing all the good talent. But...I DO think that eventually many of these schools will give it up and they will see that without the rabid fan interest (sure, it's a novelty right now) the program will be unable to be sustained. If the sport is not really in the "culture" of the region, it doesn't matter how fancy an arena you build. The bottom line is money, and if people don't show up, the program will wither and die. So you just have to hang in there for awhile. These things go in cycles. Only time will tell how it will ultimately play out.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Runsub5 said:
He needs to bring in several talented players within two years time in order to compete for a national title in 2018. I wish him well.
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He would need to have the players on hand already to be able to compete for the 2018 title.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

chickod said:
Just a comment from an interested "outsider" observer. As we know, "expansion" seems to be the big buzzword in almost every facet of society today. Invariably people come to the realization that it just isn't feasible, which leads to one of two things - a lot of mediocrity or, ultimately, contraction. This "craze" that suddenly every school wants to start a college hockey program will eventually run its course. As usual, we will see that, regardless of how much the sport trumpets that they have "opened up new markets" and have become a "nationwide" sport, there is only so much talent to go around. The problem for schools like Maine is that they no longer have a captive audience. When there weren't a lot of choices, it was easier to get great talent. But (and this is not meant in a disparaging way, because I happen to love Maine and the lifestyle - we go there all the time) the reality is, with so many choices today (at least for now), why would an aspiring athlete want to go there? I mean, if you had a choice to go to Arizona to school, or California, or Florida, or Notre Dame, or Pennsylvania, or a number of other places, why would you go to Maine? I mention those places specifically, because ten years ago none of those places had Division 1 hockey programs (or hockey programs at all). The competition, from the school's perspective, has been dialed up five notches and the cold weather schools are no longer monopolizing all the good talent. But...I DO think that eventually many of these schools will give it up and they will see that without the rabid fan interest (sure, it's a novelty right now) the program will be unable to be sustained. If the sport is not really in the "culture" of the region, it doesn't matter how fancy an arena you build. The bottom line is money, and if people don't show up, the program will wither and die. So you just have to hang in there for awhile. These things go in cycles. Only time will tell how it will ultimately play out.
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"Every school wants to start a hockey program.."?? Penn State and Arizona are "every school"?? College hockey isn't expanding. Unless I've missed something about the California and Florida schools adding programs that you mention.

Times have changed. With increased access to communication and information, everybody's world has expanded. When I was a kid, everybody was a Red Sox fan. Now, kids are fans of teams from all over. The world has grown. And that's what we're seeing in college hockey.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

chickod said:
.......... But...I DO think that eventually many of these schools will give it up and they will see that without the rabid fan interest (sure, it's a novelty right now) the program will be unable to be sustained. If the sport is not really in the "culture" of the region, it doesn't matter how fancy an arena you build. The bottom line is money, and if people don't show up, the program will wither and die. So you just have to hang in there for awhile. These things go in cycles. Only time will tell how it will ultimately play out.
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I happen to agree with most of what you said. You summed it up well. I would disagree that these new programs will eventually fail. With new ice arenas and competitive programs, they will receive support from their fan base. They also have "deep pockets" and the academic credentials to attract student athletes. These schools also provide the exposure for these players to move on and play professionally. Programs like Maine's will continue to struggle. There will be years when they are competitive and there will also be years like the current one. I don't see Maine ever consistently being in the top 4 of Hockey East.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Yuppie Scum said:
Dude, you still got 4 goals by us. That's usually enough to win in HEA..
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Right. the one game where they actually score some goals, and the defense is atrocious. Shows how good your goalie must be if Maine can put four behind him.

It's sad when your team can't even compete against its fellow league bottom dwellers.
 
walrus said:
Got to be one of the most boring games I've ever been to
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They tried to blow it, 2 nothing lead with a minute and something left, mc scores 2 6 on 5 goals. Maine wins in ot, brutal game to watch. Mc trapped the minute the game started. Sucked.I kill myself if I had to watch that every game
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Kinda sad to see you guys win last night. Was looking forward to another week of Maine fans losing their minds! :D
 
walrus said:
They tried to blow it, 2 nothing lead with a minute and something left, mc scores 2 6 on 5 goals. Maine wins in ot, brutal game to watch. Mc trapped the minute the game started. Sucked.I kill myself if I had to watch that every game
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I liked the ot goal, had some big bodies in front of the net. Lacroix and perez, and maybe vesey? Need to do more of that.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

Watched a real BAD team on Friday night and on Saturday watched 2 real BAD teams, that's the reason why Merrimack/Maine and UMass are all keeping the Bottom of Hockey East warm. They are & play BAD Hockey.
 
Re: Maine Black Bears - Return to the Glory Years or On to Oblivion?

umhockey91 said:
This one is a pretty big get IMO.
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Well let's hope so, but he's turning 17 this year and playing in a fairly obscure league. There have been a few recent recruits with flashy Jr. numbers who came to Maine and looked like a waste of a scholarship.
 
Runsub5 said:
He may have potential to be a very good recruiter in the future. So far, the student athletes he has brought in have been mediocre at best. Here's hoping they develop.
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I agree. In this year's class Robbins and Michel look good. Gibson ok, Muelbauer too young but may turn out to be good. Rai, concussions so.....
 
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