What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Stonehill to D-I Independent for 2022-23

SNHUPenman said:
Utica is better IMO. Bigger name, better program. Stonehill could begin to spend, but they are still a really tiny school.
Click to expand...

Something will have to give over the next few years. LIU, Stonehill, Utica etc...there is no long term path as independents. At least I don't think there is. How many teams are needed in a conference for an auto bid? 6? Just as an example, wouldn't Merrimack be better off in a league with a school like Stonehill? I have been calling for Hockey East to add a 12th team but is it possible some of these bigger conferences end up splitting into more conferences?
 
J.D. said:
Something will have to give over the next few years. LIU, Stonehill, Utica etc...there is no long term path as independents. At least I don't think there is. How many teams are needed in a conference for an auto bid? 6? Just as an example, wouldn't Merrimack be better off in a league with a school like Stonehill? I have been calling for Hockey East to add a 12th team but is it possible some of these bigger conferences end up splitting into more conferences?
Click to expand...

Merrimack would be silly to leave Hockey East though. The TV deal they just announced w/ ESPN will being in 6 figures. They need that money, plus they will never match the schedule they get now.

6 is the numbers. But the think w/ Utica is they need to get into Atlantic Hockey or they won't make the move from DIII.

I wish everyone in DII would wise up and move the hockey league up - bring back Stonehill, LIU into the fold and have an 8 team league. After 4 years or so they could apply to receive an AQ. It is very likely they expand the national tournament in the years ahead.
 
True but on the ice it's difficult for Merrimack to compete in Hockey East. There are a number of ways this could all unfold. Maybe Atlantic Hockey just keeps adding teams and ends up with a two division super league. But at that point it might make sense for Atlantic Hockey to split into two separate conferences. For scheduling purposes I do still want Hockey East to add a team. They don't seem to be in any rush though.
 
J.D. said:
True but on the ice it's difficult for Merrimack to compete in Hockey East. There are a number of ways this could all unfold. Maybe Atlantic Hockey just keeps adding teams and ends up with a two division super league. But at that point it might make sense for Atlantic Hockey to split into two separate conferences. For scheduling purposes I do still want Hockey East to add a team. They don't seem to be in any rush though.
Click to expand...

After their short-term dalliance with Northern Indiana Community College, who can blame HEA?

My guess is HEA is still waiting for the arrival of the unicorn that would be a D-1 hockey program that impacts New York City, which could be a game-changer for the league and its schools. Otherwise, any of the established programs who might be considered, don't have any interest in leaving the ECAC (see Quinnipiac and/or RPI). in AHA, Holy Cross might fill an empty geographical space if HEA was desperate for Team #12 ... but clearly they aren't.

Maybe the new ESPN deal signals that something might be up in the not-too-distant future? HEA is definitely in a state of flux with the emergence of UMass as a perennial national contender, while each of the old "Big Four" will likely see new leadership in the next 2-3 years (UMaine already, BU pending, UNH and BC to follow, albeit for diametrically opposite reasons). I suspect HEA is going to look very different from the current model when we all awaken 5 years from now.

First domino to fall will be whether Commish Nigel stays put, or returns to UNH. I'm hearing strong messaging on both sides of that issue right now. Should know soon enough ...
 
I think a new conference with Stonehill, Bentley, Merrimack, Lowell, AIC, and Holy Cross with room to add a few more would do really well. Hockey East would be a lot better off with fewer teams.
 
Puckstopper467 said:
How does Stonehill stack up to Utica?
Click to expand...

Stonehill is arguably the South Shore (Boston) version of what Merrimack is further north of the big city. Maybe a Bentley comparison (MetroWest) is closer to the mark, but in terms of enrollment and facilities, Stonehill lags behind both by quite a bit right now. I think Utica's enrollment is about midway between Bentley and Stonehill, and it sounds like facilities-wise, Utica has a clear edge over Stonehill there too. For whatever that's worth ...
 
Drew S. said:
I think a new conference with Stonehill, Bentley, Merrimack, Lowell, AIC, and Holy Cross with room to add a few more would do really well. Hockey East would be a lot better off with fewer teams.
Click to expand...

As unlikely as it is that Merrimack would voluntarily walk away from the money and stature of Hockey East, the likelihood of UMass Lowell also doing so is infinitesimally even smaller. State school, big arena, history of success in the current league, they don't even belong in the discussion with the other five schools you've mentioned. And it's not even a close call.
 
Chuck Murray said:
As unlikely as it is that Merrimack would voluntarily walk away from the money and stature of Hockey East, the likelihood of UMass Lowell also doing so is infinitesimally even smaller. State school, big arena, history of success in the current league, they don't even belong in the discussion with the other five schools you've mentioned. And it's not even a close call.
Click to expand...

You’re living in the past. 20 years ago I would have agreed with you but in today’s world I think both would be better off financially in the new conference and I don’t think Hockey East has any where close to the stature it used to. Both teams would have a much, much better chance of making the NCAA tournament too.
 
Drew S. said:
You’re living in the past. 20 years ago I would have agreed with you but in today’s world I think both would be better off financially in the new conference and I don’t think Hockey East has any where close to the stature it used to. Both teams would have a much, much better chance of making the NCAA tournament too.
Click to expand...

Who's the one living in the past? In the past 11 years, Lowell has been to the Hockey East Championship Game 6 times, won it 3 times, and made the NCAAs 6 times.
 
ScottK said:
Who's the one living in the past? In the past 11 years, Lowell has been to the Hockey East Championship Game 6 times, won it 3 times, and made the NCAAs 6 times.
Click to expand...

Most of that success was between 2012 and 2017. They’ve only made the tournament one year since.
 
Drew S. said:
You’re living in the past. 20 years ago I would have agreed with you but in today’s world I think both would be better off financially in the new conference and I don’t think Hockey East has any where close to the stature it used to. Both teams would have a much, much better chance of making the NCAA tournament too.
Click to expand...

Hockey Easy did just pull in a really good TV deal. Possibly best in the nation? I think their reputation is fine even if heavy weights of the past struggle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top