>>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

[schiegs]

Well eastern teams that are good will accumulate points more easily than western teams of the same quality since their schedule is easier. Hence a good eastern team would most likely be seeded higher going into a tournament over a western team who is equally as good, if not better.

Like the AL East vs. AL Central in baseball? Central vs. Atlantic in the NBA? SEC East vs. West? I see your point, but it's no different in any other sport.

And for the record, the disparity between east vs. west teams is shrinking to a point of irrelevance. It has and will change over time, just like in every other sport.

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Like the AL East vs. AL Central in baseball? Central vs. Atlantic in the NBA? SEC East vs. West? I see your point, but it's no different in any other sport.

And for the record, the disparity between east vs. west teams is shrinking to a point of irrelevance. It has and will change over time, just like in every other sport.

Well, while the scheme will not be the same next year because of UCONN leaving, perhaps when the league is back up up to 12 teams and the Eastern Pod - Western Pod schema is back in place, perhaps the Western Pod teams can play the Eastern Pod teams three times each and only play their Western Pod adversaries twice, and the Eastern Pod could do the same with their Eastern adversaries.

ECAC members play against each other twice, have travel partners, and the remainder are their games are out of conference. I don't see why the AHA could not adopt something similar.

 

[schiegs]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Well, while the scheme will not be the same next year because of UCONN leaving, perhaps when the league is back up up to 12 teams and the Eastern Pod - Western Pod schema is back in place, perhaps the Western Pod teams can play the Eastern Pod teams three times each and only play their Western Pod adversaries twice, and the Eastern Pod could do the same with their Eastern adversaries. .

That actually makes my point for me, since the top 3 east teams (Bentley, UConn and HC) all had better winning percentage vs. western teams than they did against the east. In fact, of the top six teams in the league, only MC and RMU fared batter in the east. All others had an easier go in the west.

Check my math, as this is from some scribbles on a Post-It note from a week ago.

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

That actually makes my point for me, since the top 3 east teams (Bentley, UConn and HC) all had better winning percentage vs. western teams than they did against the east. In fact, of the top six teams in the league, only MC and RMU fared batter in the east. All others had an easier go in the west.

Check my math, as this is from some scribbles on a Post-It note from a week ago.

Well Schiegs, I will take your word for it, however in the last four years that there have been 12 teams in the league, the Eastern POD has taken 4 of the 6 bottom spots in the standings every year even when playing the Eastern POD teams three times.

Don't get me wrong, I am pulling for Bentley (as are many RIT fans), I like your team, good chemistry, I like Komm, I just think that when you split the league in the way that it is, that the playing surface is not level. Yes, the better Eastern POD teams did well this year against the Western POD teams but I think on any given year Bentley would rather play Sacred Heart, AIC, and Army three times each rather than playing Air Force, Niagara, and Mercyhurst three times each. When the league is looking for respect among the other leagues, and I agree there is more parity in the league this year, and every team in the AHA wants to reach the goal of making the NCAA and every point counts, why not let every team play each against each other an equal amount of times?

RIT did better against the Eastern POD teams this year, maybe if they played the Eastern POD three times each instead of twice they would have had enough points to host a playoff series in the final season of the Ritter? Maybe hosting a playoff series at home would have been just enough to get RIT into the next series and maybe a trip to the BCA where everybody in the AHA benefits when RIT gets there because attendance is much better.

I know its sour grapes on my part, and we should be talking about next weeks games and maybe I'll head over to your thread and do just that, but I never liked the POD system. If all the teams are playing for the same thing, (a trip to the NCAA's) let them play each other an equal amount of times without the handicapping, no matter how the handicapping is perceived by the fans.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Here are some photos of the Polisseni construction: http://imgur.com/a/mTCcg

Any concerns I had are long gone...it's going to be an amazing barn. I'll answer what questions I can..

 

[lmg6841]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

There are going to be boxes right? Can you tell at all where they're going to be?

Here are some photos of the Polisseni construction: http://imgur.com/a/mTCcg

Any concerns I had are long gone...it's going to be an amazing barn. I'll answer what questions I can..

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Here are some photos of the Polisseni construction: http://imgur.com/a/mTCcg

Any concerns I had are long gone...it's going to be an amazing barn. I'll answer what questions I can..

Very nice! Especially full screen on a wide screen monitor, I feel like I'm standing inside looking for a cold beer.

 

[RIT Winters]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

There are going to be boxes right? Can you tell at all where they're going to be?

There's going to be a few, on the West side of the building, which is..roughly behind me in most of these pictures. They also mentioned there will be VIP seating area along the glass in a particular spot (I missed where he was pointing while I was gawking at the place) that will be used for recruits, VIPs, etc.

Home team lockers are on the West side, away team on the East. There's a pit the zamboni can dump snow in instead of dumping outside like at Ritter. Lots of lobby and concession area.

They weren't super detailed in their descriptions of things, and they didn't show us any updated maps/blueprints.

 

[komey1]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

ECAC members play against each other twice, have travel partners, and the remainder are their games are out of conference. I don't see why the AHA could not adopt something similar.

If more teams in the AHA could get home non-conference games, I think this would work. But only a handful have been able to get them on a consistant basis. Hopefully Canisius having a new place and the newfound fanbase at Bentley could help in scheduling a home OOC. However, I can't think too many teams are looking to go to AIC or Sacred Heart.

 

[schiegs]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Even scheduling would have necessitated either 22 or 33 league games. That means either minimal room for non-con games, or way too many to fill, leaving inflated travel budgets, and an unsustainable model (see CHA results). komey nailed it. 10-12 non-con games requires at least a few home dates. Not going to happen at many of the league venues.

Despite our wishes, the reality is AHA is not the ECAC. Nor is it intended to be. That being said, with the resources being added year after year, the conference is getting better every year. As long as the league doesn't practice "addition by subtraction", then it will work.

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Even scheduling would have necessitated either 22 or 33 league games. That means either minimal room for non-con games, or way too many to fill, leaving inflated travel budgets, and an unsustainable model (see CHA results). komey nailed it. 10-12 non-con games requires at least a few home dates. Not going to happen at many of the league venues.

Despite our wishes, the reality is AHA is not the ECAC. Nor is it intended to be. That being said, with the resources being added year after year, the conference is getting better every year. As long as the league doesn't practice "addition by subtraction", then it will work.

Schiegs, you and Komey are right about this, the AHA in it's present form could not sustain that many OOC games for all it's members.., I didn't really think this through. Guess I'm looking at it through "burnt umber" colored glasses and that leaves me thinking what kind of attendance will RIT have in the new barn when an AIC comes calling and in the long run will it be a mistake that RIT built such a big barn if it plans on staying in the AHA where cost containment is an important part of the equation for many of it's members.

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Would the "pod scheme" have been more accepted had we simply called it what it was; East Division and West Division? It is basically identical to the scheduling format used in every other sport, but for some reason caused a lot of heartburn with AHA fans. Absent some sort of playoff spot guarantee for a division winner (which is moot in a league where everyone gets a playoff birth), what's the difference between "pods" and every other conference alignment, other than the name?

I don't think the "heartburn" is nearly as pronounced the last couple years as it was when they instituted the concept and aligned the playoffs by pod standings rather than overall standings. While there is still a bit of a disparity between East and West, it certainly isn't as wide as it was that season when 4 of the top five overall seeds were from the West, but two of them had to play in the single game first round against the 5 and 6 West seeds, where they stood a much better chance of being upset than in today's format. If they had seeded the 12 teams overall rather than by pod, either three or four Western teams (I don't feel like looking it up right now) would have gotten a bye rather than just two. That was then, this is now.
Yes, there still is a disparity in scheduling, but it's only a few games. Although it is still true that four of the bottom five teams in the league this year were from the East and one of the two Eastern teams that finished in the top four is no longer in the AHA next season. So the disparity will potentially blip upwards again next season... maybe.

 

[schiegs]

Schiegs, you and Komey are right about this, the AHA in it's present form could not sustain that many OOC games for all it's members.., I didn't really think this through. Guess I'm looking at it through "burnt umber" colored glasses and that leaves me thinking what kind of attendance will RIT have in the new barn when an AIC comes calling and in the long run will it be a mistake that RIT built such a big barn if it plans on staying in the AHA where cost containment is an important part of the equation for many of it's members.

Valid point. My bet is that RIT creates a venue experience that can sustain attendance. Let's face it; RIT is light years ahead of nearly every AHA program in terms of attendance. The risk isn't with conference affiliation, it's with on-ice performance. A few more years like this past one would do much more damage to attendance than having AIC come to town every other year. And as other programs (Bentley, SHU, and yes, AIC) gradually add the scholarships that RIT can't, that battle could seem more real as years go by.

Which is why I find RIT fans clamoring for raising scholarship limits (or any other form of arms race) to be a real head-scratcher.

 

[Downstate_RIT_Fan]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Which is why I find RIT fans clamoring for raising scholarship limits (or any other form of arms race) to be a real head-scratcher.

Unless there are other plans down the road for RIT and it's committment to AHA hockey, new barns now for Canisius and RIT and maybe new barns on the horizon for other members (Bentley and whoever else needs to get with the program)? In return for RIT's ongoing committment to the AHA it appeals to the NCAA and some type of agreement can be made that would allow D1 scholarships for RIT. Pure speculation on my part. I do agree with you, more scholarships in the AHA would help those schools who offer scholarships and hurt those who do not, and indeed,be a head-scratcher for RIT, who would need to borrow a page out of the Union's current recruiting playbook to keep up.

 

[Tom Naeger]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

If more teams in the AHA could get home non-conference games, I think this would work. But only a handful have been able to get them on a consistant basis. Hopefully Canisius having a new place and the newfound fanbase at Bentley could help in scheduling a home OOC. However, I can't think too many teams are looking to go to AIC or Sacred Heart.

I am a little skeptical about Canisius moving into the Harbor Center, but am reserving final judgement for the finished product. If you look at the artist renderings thus far it doesn't look much more impressive than what they had at Buff State. Sure it's going to be newer and have a fresher look but to me there still big questions about what they are going to draw. I guess the good news is that students can take the metro train for $4 from campus all the way down to the arena. Hopefully that will bring more students who show up for the on campus basketball in much greater numbers. I think the general public attendance is even more up in the air. Buff State was probably a better location to draw youth hockey. The Campus was on the edge of downtown, easy to get to with free parking. Generally no one goes to anywhere near where the Harbor will be unless something happening at First Niagara Arena. Now part of the reason of building the Harbor Center is to attract more people downtown, but will see how it goes. Seems like the Harbor center is going to be mostly use for a bunch of travel teams sponsored by the Sabres. Downtown Buffalo is not booming like local politicians are trying to make us believe. There is a lot of private starting much need improvements, but still lots needs to be down and the question of the long term impact is very much in doubt. So that is the long way of saying, I am unsure if the change will improve atmosphere at Canisius games or not.

On the subject of RIT changing conference and adding scholar ships. I do think the last two years will end up being the exception rather than the rule. I like the looks of the recruiting class coming in and I think we are going to start seeing even better classes come in. I saw it at Oswego, you can talk about a new arena all you want, but until you can actually can show a recruit a game in that new arena I don't think it give you much of an advantage on the recruiting trail. I do see the AHA as a crutch for trying to bring the program to the kind of power house level it was at the D-III level. As I been saying for year, it would be worth the investment for a school the size of RIT to elevate all athletic programs to DI. It would be great for the Rochester Community and I think they would support it. There absolutely no reason Rochester can not have 1 DI college and Buffalo have 3! Scholarships along with moving into a conference where school are more committed to hockey would be a great thing...

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

In return for RIT's ongoing committment to the AHA it appeals to the NCAA and some type of agreement can be made that would allow D1 scholarships for RIT. Pure speculation on my part.

I'm tempted to say it will never happen, given the way the separation between divisions is being intensified (no more play-ups, etc.). We were **** lucky to get the women's squad up to D1 at all (and the delay due to the moratorium ended up working out in our favor, as it allowed us to capture a D-III title before moving up).

That said, however, I can envision one scenario. Now that new play-ups aren't allowed, they could decide that it's safe to grandfather in all of the existing play-ups and let them offer scholarships like the previously grandfathered teams. I doubt the D-III schools would vote in favor at this point in time, but maybe in several years.

(For the record: Grandfathered teams that can offer scholarships are Clarkson M/W hockey; RPI M/W hockey; St. Lawrence M/W hockey; Colorado College M hockey / W soccer; Hartwick M soccer / W water polo; Johns Hopkins M/W lacrosse; and Rutgers-Newark M volleyball. Non-grandfathered teams that can't offer scholarships are RIT M/W hockey; Union M/W hockey; Hobart lacrosse; Franklin&Marshall M wrestling; and MIT W rowing. SUNY Oneonta used to be grandfathered in M soccer but no longer plays at D-I.)


Powers &8^]

 

[schiegs]

I'm tempted to say it will never happen, given the way the separation between divisions is being intensified (no more play-ups, etc.). We were **** lucky to get the women's squad up to D1 at all (and the delay due to the moratorium ended up working out in our favor, as it allowed us to capture a D-III title before moving up).

That said, however, I can envision one scenario. Now that new play-ups aren't allowed, they could decide that it's safe to grandfather in all of the existing play-ups and let them offer scholarships like the previously grandfathered teams. I doubt the D-III schools would vote in favor at this point in time, but maybe in several years.

(For the record: Grandfathered teams that can offer scholarships are Clarkson M/W hockey; RPI M/W hockey; St. Lawrence M/W hockey; Colorado College M hockey / W soccer; Hartwick M soccer / W water polo; Johns Hopkins M/W lacrosse; and Rutgers-Newark M volleyball. Non-grandfathered teams that can't offer scholarships are RIT M/W hockey; Union M/W hockey; Hobart lacrosse; Franklin&Marshall M wrestling; and MIT W rowing. SUNY Oneonta used to be grandfathered in M soccer but no longer plays at D-I.)


Powers &8^]

With all the changes over the last decade, it's hard to keep track. But, is it true that a program cannot reclassify it's entire athletic program from D-III straight to D-I? A transition via D-II is required? Wouldn't you then need to complete two divisional transitional periods, amounting to perhaps a decade of sports limbo?

 

[LtPowers]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

With all the changes over the last decade, it's hard to keep track. But, is it true that a program cannot reclassify it's entire athletic program from D-III straight to D-I? A transition via D-II is required? Wouldn't you then need to complete two divisional transitional periods, amounting to perhaps a decade of sports limbo?

As far as I know, that too is true.


Powers &8^]

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

However, once you are at D-II, you can offer scholarships.

 

[Rochester]

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Re: >>>>> RIT TIGERS - Final Game at Ritter/Playoffs <<<<<

Here are some photos of the Polisseni construction: http://imgur.com/a/mTCcg

Any concerns I had are long gone...it's going to be an amazing barn. I'll answer what questions I can..

Well that answers my question about standing room! Standing room makes for a much more intimidating arena to play in.

I would like to know how many people will be able to sit in the bowl and then I would also like to know how much standing room will be.

I would assume around 4,200 seats in bowl and another 1000 for standing. Please someone know!