ARM
Fan of chipmunk-like mascots.
UMD versus UND, I think.
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NCAA Tournament Games
- Thread starter vicb
- Start date
robertearle
Well-known member
Another rematch from last year for Northeastern
you can find the goals on Twitter on the team pages
I made the 2 he drive to the OSU game yesterday with my daughter. Thought we’d stay as long she lasted but not for any OT. So we made it for 50 minutes of regulation. Some duplicate 3 stars, as we wait for PGB to do the real deal:
1- Sophie Jaques. She had a point and an assist but part of what made her fun to watch is her steadiness. She’s not a perfect player, had an offensive shift where she whiffed on the puck twice and got burnt wide on the 2nd QU goal. Yet she was unflappable and also: held the d line on one play and made a pass to her teammate with the outside edge of her skate for a scoring chance; took the shot on net that led to DeGeorge’s 1st goal; and in the third received a pass in the neutral zone on the defensive side of the red line, put on her jet pack and just blew through a bunch of QU players and sniped on Schroeder to go up 3-2. Super fun player to watch.
2- There was a vintage RMU Lexi Templeman jersey walking around the rink. The game started and at times QU did a good job keeping OSU to the outside or stuck behind the net in the offensive zone. All the OSU players work HARD on the walls to get pucks. Very complementary to a team that is also very skilled. One shift it was 22 grinding and grinding, and not her first shift doing so. She ultimately got the puck to her teammate who got a little chance in tight. Who is 22? I thought. Lexi Templeman, it turns out. Happy for her. OSU had to do a bunch of work below the goal line. Take what QU gives them and exploit it. Fitting that the game winner came from pass below the goal line (although different personnel).
3- The OSU power play. They went 2 for 2 on their first opportunities. Spoiled as fans when you are like well we are about to see a goal cause they are on the pp!
Just generally great puck movement from the Buckeyes throughout the game. A couple great neutral zone transitions that had the crowd cheering in appreciation.
Whether it was bouncing pucks or nerves, or more likely the Nature of the game, the Buckeyes do look human of course. There are no foregone conclusions here about next weekend although they should remain the favorite. QU’s first goal appeared to be a player throwing a puck across the slot that maybe hit a Buckeye skate and in? The second one surprised me...Jaques getting beat enough wide that a bad angle shot was taken and somehow went in, a few bouncing or mishandled pucks in the neutral zone where QU got chances.
I had a great time all in all. Regarding the rink: yesterday the #1 seed D1 NCAA women’s hockey team played at the OSU Ice Rink in the National Tourney. Meanwhile high school boys wrestling and their fans enjoyed use of the Schott. And this weekend high school boys hockey and their fans enjoyed use of Nationwide Arena where the Blue Jackets play. It doesn’t make sense. The OSU women need a better home rink for sure, and the 1,000 seat rink that is currently proposed is not big enough. We were in there like sardines and ushers were telling us to get closer. As a diehard I had a lot of fun, but that rink...you have to laugh or you will cry.
1- Sophie Jaques. She had a point and an assist but part of what made her fun to watch is her steadiness. She’s not a perfect player, had an offensive shift where she whiffed on the puck twice and got burnt wide on the 2nd QU goal. Yet she was unflappable and also: held the d line on one play and made a pass to her teammate with the outside edge of her skate for a scoring chance; took the shot on net that led to DeGeorge’s 1st goal; and in the third received a pass in the neutral zone on the defensive side of the red line, put on her jet pack and just blew through a bunch of QU players and sniped on Schroeder to go up 3-2. Super fun player to watch.
2- There was a vintage RMU Lexi Templeman jersey walking around the rink. The game started and at times QU did a good job keeping OSU to the outside or stuck behind the net in the offensive zone. All the OSU players work HARD on the walls to get pucks. Very complementary to a team that is also very skilled. One shift it was 22 grinding and grinding, and not her first shift doing so. She ultimately got the puck to her teammate who got a little chance in tight. Who is 22? I thought. Lexi Templeman, it turns out. Happy for her. OSU had to do a bunch of work below the goal line. Take what QU gives them and exploit it. Fitting that the game winner came from pass below the goal line (although different personnel).
3- The OSU power play. They went 2 for 2 on their first opportunities. Spoiled as fans when you are like well we are about to see a goal cause they are on the pp!
Just generally great puck movement from the Buckeyes throughout the game. A couple great neutral zone transitions that had the crowd cheering in appreciation.
Whether it was bouncing pucks or nerves, or more likely the Nature of the game, the Buckeyes do look human of course. There are no foregone conclusions here about next weekend although they should remain the favorite. QU’s first goal appeared to be a player throwing a puck across the slot that maybe hit a Buckeye skate and in? The second one surprised me...Jaques getting beat enough wide that a bad angle shot was taken and somehow went in, a few bouncing or mishandled pucks in the neutral zone where QU got chances.
I had a great time all in all. Regarding the rink: yesterday the #1 seed D1 NCAA women’s hockey team played at the OSU Ice Rink in the National Tourney. Meanwhile high school boys wrestling and their fans enjoyed use of the Schott. And this weekend high school boys hockey and their fans enjoyed use of Nationwide Arena where the Blue Jackets play. It doesn’t make sense. The OSU women need a better home rink for sure, and the 1,000 seat rink that is currently proposed is not big enough. We were in there like sardines and ushers were telling us to get closer. As a diehard I had a lot of fun, but that rink...you have to laugh or you will cry.
Lindsay, I have to ask if you’ve ever been to Mathews Arena in Boston? While most of the country’s universities like to build new edifice, as Fenway shows, Boston tries to renovate their historic homes…while Mathews has undergone such work, I remember our games there! (73’-77’) As long as the ice is great, I’m good with it….btw, Fenway seats are wicked uncomfortable!!
Yes I have. Just once at Northeastern. I thought of old Boston facilities yesterday. It’s a balance of maintaining historic venues with new age convenience and don’t know the answer on that issue as I’ve never been a fan attending such a building. that is not the issue at OSU Ice Rink. It literally doesn’t have enough seats for the fans for one. Also doesn’t have toilets or concessions in the building? Or a concourse to stretch your legs and btw no one is allowed in the lobby when the teams walk thru (understandably). And instead of curb appeal there are just dumpsters in front of the building and then
some random things lining the building as you walk to the breezeway. The restroom stalls in St Johns Arena that a hockey fan uses may have that old Fenway feel as they are small and dark (maybe, I’ve never been to Fenway). Also OSU ice rink has netting so if you try to get above the glass that distorts the view, you look thru a net. Just sharing the facts for folks who haven’t been there. It is not hyperbole, it is a rink unworthy of Ohio State given their resources and when I thought about the facilities that high school boys enjoyed in the area yesterday... like I said laugh or you’ll cry. I hope they win the whole thing and maybe some movement can happen. But that shouldn’t be what’s required by any means.
I’m smiling knowing that you’ve been to Mathews! Your point is well taken too…my home for UNH was Snively, a true old barn that sat 3500, had fencing for glass at both ends, 1 concession stand that only a few could get to within the allotted time…
our locker room didn’t, did NOT even have baseboard heating, so our skates or equipment never truly dried out between practices!! When they built the Whittemore, I was on the Friends board and yes we were agog with our triumph knowing that without it, UNH hockey would fade away! It is a very hard decision to say goodbye to our pasts but given your argument, I understand and am also hopeful that women’s athletics at OSU will precipitate the change they need!
However that said, I’m truly hoping that Northeastern can bring home the NC to Hockey East….just to end this crap!
our locker room didn’t, did NOT even have baseboard heating, so our skates or equipment never truly dried out between practices!! When they built the Whittemore, I was on the Friends board and yes we were agog with our triumph knowing that without it, UNH hockey would fade away! It is a very hard decision to say goodbye to our pasts but given your argument, I understand and am also hopeful that women’s athletics at OSU will precipitate the change they need!
However that said, I’m truly hoping that Northeastern can bring home the NC to Hockey East….just to end this crap!
There’s no question the old barns have tons of memories in them and the change can be bittersweet. I had the good fortune of playing at UNH as well, Olympic sized tho right? Wonderful facility but rough on someone like me haha. I think traveling around being in all the rinks is a big piece of the fun of college hockey. My all time favorite away rink was Princeton’s. Hope to return there one day. I’d also like to watch a game at all the CHA rinks but it may be an endeavor for when my kids are grown.
I do appreciate the atmosphere argument for little rinks. Packed is better than a cavernous expanse of empty seats... just a question of finding that magic number .
I’m not sure who suggested the Whittemore be Olympic size but I believe Coach Umile thought it fit our team those days….there are plans to reduce it but Covid put that on hold….
I agree with favoring the smaller ice surface…the thing I remember of Princeton’s arena were the size of the bench doors!! Coming off at any rate of speed made it hard to finagle! I also enjoyed Gutterson Field House up at UVM…I think it was the whole atmosphere for the games their….they used to throw a frisbee across the ice surface before the games, and never had it land on the ice! Having been a sub for the UNH Frisbee team, I loved that everyone there could throw so well!
Those memories I have of all the rinks, campuses, trips with the team….and yes, the NCAAs in Detroit! Playing at Joe Louis Arena was great but the monorail from the Hyatt Regency to & fro was the bomb back then!
I agree with favoring the smaller ice surface…the thing I remember of Princeton’s arena were the size of the bench doors!! Coming off at any rate of speed made it hard to finagle! I also enjoyed Gutterson Field House up at UVM…I think it was the whole atmosphere for the games their….they used to throw a frisbee across the ice surface before the games, and never had it land on the ice! Having been a sub for the UNH Frisbee team, I loved that everyone there could throw so well!
Those memories I have of all the rinks, campuses, trips with the team….and yes, the NCAAs in Detroit! Playing at Joe Louis Arena was great but the monorail from the Hyatt Regency to & fro was the bomb back then!
Agreed the Women's Team deserves a better home rink. Agreed that 1,000 seats wouldn't be enough for a new facility. But I can't agree that the NCAA game would have been better off in Nationwide or the Schott.
I'm aware that a good number of fans were turned away yesterday due to the sell-out. But even so, I'm guessing that that perhaps 1,500 fans would have been a realistic turnout had there been unlimited seating. Plop a crowd of 1,500 in an facility that holds 17,000 or 18,000, and you essentially destroy the atmosphere.
Comfortable, decent restrooms should be a priority, of course. But the Ice Rink/St. John Arena set-up doesn't sink to the level of say the old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland for the Browns & Indians. I'm not sure that "award winning restrooms" is a priority in any event.Lindsay said:
Have to share a quick story from a long ago visit to Great Britain. At a tourist site, some government agency had determined that a particular public restroom was the "Loo of the Year." That struck me as funny, so I decided to take a photo of the plaque to prove that this really existed. Our tour guide noticed my photograhy, and was mortified by my behavior. Until I explained to him why I was taking the picture. Then he was mortified by his country.
This is a Covid issue, and may go away as soon as next season. Fans used to be welcome in the lobby when the team walked through. Little kids would line the tensor ropes & high five the players. It was actually a cool little tradition. But for now, the public is socially distanced from the players as they enter. Maybe for security reasons that will be a permanent change; don't know about that.
This issue even has a name now. People are saying we have an "Ugly Building Problem." I don't think that "optics" should be the tail that wags the dog. But it is a legitimate complaint.
Putting up netting down the full length of the rink probably is an over-reaction. But I would gently ask you to remember that Columbus is where a young woman (Brittanie Cecil) was killed by deflected puck at an NHL game. Decision-makers here are going to be ultra-cautious on this issue and will have the attitude of "never again." Maybe when building a new facility is finally underway, it can be gently suggested that extra tall glass on the sides is enough of a precaution.
Winning it all shouldn't be required.
Believe me, hockey people at Ohio State definitely want a new facility for the Women's program. My motivation in responding is twofold. First, to say we're currently doing the best we can with what we've got. Second, some of optics are jarring. But until we can get a new facility to address the full range of concerns, functionality > optics.
I definitely appreciate the thoughtful, reasonable tone used throughout your entire critique.
Thank you for this, and I couldn't agree more.
For quite a while, there was a proposal to build a new facility where both Varsity teams would play home games. Over on the Men's Hockey Board, we had some spirited debates about what the "magic number" would be for such a facility. (although we didn't use that phrase) Some posters wanted to go as high as 10,000 or 11,000. That's a number that would be much too large for the Women's Program. Some us were arguing for numbers in the 5,000 to 8,000 range. That might have been the sweet spot for Men's Hockey, but likely still too large for Women's Hockey.
Now it appears that Men's Hockey will be in the Schott for the foreseeable future, using curtains to cover the entire upper bowl. In terms of atmosphere, that has actually worked out much better than the "partially covered" upper bowl approach that was first tried.
This being the case, the seating capacity for a new ice sheet could be determined primarily with Women's Hockey in mind. Under the current thinking, Men's Hockey would use the new ice sheet for some practices, but not play games there. Do you have any more specific thoughts on what the magic number should be? Perhaps 2,500 or 3,000?
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I watched the OT GWG and OMG it was a fluke of a goal. Two sticks came together and it popped up and over the shoulder and just found the inside corner of the net. Wow! Very lucky. It just goes to show, it doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be in.
slapshot willy
New member
So true. The box score or actual game sheet simply states who scored and maybe assisted. Not how it was scored.
QuasiCosmos
Member
A few thoughts:
In previous years' format, the exciting UMD team would have been left out of the tournament - as Syracuse would have gotten the eighth seed.
Why not expand the tournament to 12 teams? Would have been interesting to have had a second HE team in the tournament.
How about limiting field to only four teams per league?
The Pairwise puts too much weight on early season non-league contests.
In previous years' format, the exciting UMD team would have been left out of the tournament - as Syracuse would have gotten the eighth seed.
Why not expand the tournament to 12 teams? Would have been interesting to have had a second HE team in the tournament.
How about limiting field to only four teams per league?
The Pairwise puts too much weight on early season non-league contests.
PGB, thanks for the detailed reply as well as your 3 stars post. I know I’m preaching to the choir on the rink thing. I was unclear here, but I wasn’t suggesting the women be in the Schott, rather I was saying it bugs me that high school boys get a special experience in first class facilities while the #1 ranked women’s college team does not. I’m glad for the boys but believe the women worthy of a great facility too. Until then, yes play these big games in their true home rink.
I see that the OSU athletic website lists 3 projects on a to do list and a women’s ice rink is one of them. Let’s hope it becomes reality, soon.
On a more positive note let me tell you one of my favorite things from the game, aside from the on ice product and sold out rink: There were so many little girl hockey players there. I saw a Cleveland Lady Barons jersey, I saw girls in Buckeye jerseys, I saw girls in Blue Jackets jerseys. There was a girl hockey player behind me, beside me, and the family in front of me had a girl in hockey too. gratifying to see and there is no question a game like that has a positive impact on the girls.
robertearle
Well-known member
One of the real 'driving forces' in getting LaBahn built in Madison was that it would not only serve as a home for the women's team, but also be readily available as a practice facility for both men and women's teams. At that time, while the teams played their games at the Kohl Center, because the KC gets used for both basketball and hockey (and high school wrestling, and ...), it was quite frequently not available for hockey practice, because quite frequently the ice was covered over for other uses, and the switchover isn't simple or cheap. . Teams would have to find their way a mile down the street to a rink attached to the indoor track building next to the football stadium at Camp Randall, or all the way out to the Dane County Coliseum. You would actually see players, one or two at a time, going down Dayton Street in practice uniform on a moped, carrying bags of gear on their back.... in winter... in snow. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
No idea what the 'practice facility' situation in Columbus is, or how a new rink would affect it. But it was a major consideration in building LaBahn.
Well I am also curious on people’s opinions on this, what they should build. I don’t know the answer but can certainly think out loud. I think first and foremost when the rink is designed, “practice rink” can’t be the mentality. D1 rink for one of the best teams in the country with a well resourced athletic department should be the mindset.
I like rinks that have seating on both sides of the playing surface and I also like smallish rinks. so I’d say more than 1,000 and seats on both side. Consider space for the band; they are lovely but take up a lot of room. Getting the media and broadcast section right is a must. The program has a bunch of history and needs a place to display it too. Wisco receives a bit of criticism for their media box being too small. After years of hindered broadcasts, OSU can get it right in a new building.
Bowls are nice if you can fill them but realistically I don’t think any women’s program fills theirs. Unless Ohio State aspires to host Frozen Fours at their home rink I wouldn’t go to whatever that req is (3,000?). And it’s possible NCAA ups that at some point anyway.
Maybe 1800 with seats on both sides of the playing area is what id go with. Would not go smaller than 1500. Maybe 1500 works if you have designated space for the band and production crew. Not sure.
1800 is what Harbor Center is.
Princeton is around 2000 I think. I like the designs of both those rinks.
Online it says OSU is proposing a 50,000 sq foot facility with 1,000 seats. For context Ive read Mercyhurst rink is 44,000 sq feet with 1,300 or 1,500 seats (different numbers out there). And That includes a fitness center, VIP area, coaches offices, maybe like 7 locker rooms? Although not all for hockey.
So I think considering OSU is proposing 50,000 sq feet for just women’s hockey, they can make a great facility out of it, but need to remember it’s a D1 game rink and nothing less; not a practice rink and nothing more. If it’s going to be attached to the Schott it will be a small building in the shadow of a big one so figure out how to make the small building stand out in its own way, even if that is in the details on the inside. I hope they don’t create something that looks like the standard NHL practice rink.
Something you touched on from the other thread - the glove taps from the players to the little kids as a silver lining of going thru the lobby. Yes that is very cool. POssibly the coolest think about OSU Ice Rink and
any small rink. the players did it on Saturday in the rink area, if not the lobby. If the players/program is up for it and the ability for glove taps to the kids can somehow be incorporated into a new build, yea that would be cool.
what do others think? What’s the right number of seats or specific details for a women’s hockey specific OSU rink?
Thanks for the history. I was wondering if the Wisconsin guys practice at LaBahn