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.

The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

I don't see SCSU playing UND.
Nickname issues being part of it.
I wouldn't be surprised to see SCSU adopt the same policy UMN & UW have on Native American nickname teams and not play them if they still have the name.
I do see the 5 MN schools continuing to play each other, but outside of that, it's a crapshoot.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

5mn_Major said:
UMD will get the benefit of the doubt cause they bring huge intangibles...the city of Duluth and the primary hockey school in the north half of Minnesota. And with those assets, I don't think you can ever write the program off.
Click to expand...
Who said anything about writing them off?

All that was said was that without the new arena and National Championship, they wouldn't have been invited. You said it was a no-brainer. That is idiotic. Before last year, UMD had finished in 4th or better in the WCHA only twice in 10 years. Not saying it is a bad program, but its far from a premier one.

They have had the same "assets" for the 45 years they have been in the WCHA. If they were going to become an annual powerhouse it would have happened by now.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

By the time this conference gets rolling, the SCSU rink will have been remodeled to the tune of $30M. It'll become a $75M facility with the ugrades. It will not be difficult to schedule NC games. Being 70 miles from Mpls, the Gophers will be more than happy to make the short trip.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Montelena said:
By the time this conference gets rolling, the SCSU rink will have been remodeled to the tune of $30M. It'll become a $75M facility with the ugrades. It will not be difficult to schedule NC games. Being 70 miles from Mpls, the Gophers will be more than happy to make the short trip.
Click to expand...

Hey, I'd be all for the Gophers playing a series at the NHC every year. But I think it is highly unlikely that MN will commit 2 NC games a season to play away at SCSU, regardless of what kind of facilities and upgrades they boast.

I really think the best SCSU can hope for in regards to a scheduling agreement with MN is the 2-1 deal I outlined before.

Maybe I'm wrong. If so, that would be just fine by me. But I don't think I am.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Tipsy McStagger said:
Who said anything about writing them off?

All that was said was that without the new arena and National Championship, they wouldn't have been invited. You said it was a no-brainer. That is idiotic. Before last year, UMD had finished in 4th or better in the WCHA only twice in 10 years. Not saying it is a bad program, but its far from a premier one.

They have had the same "assets" for the 45 years they have been in the WCHA. If they were going to become an annual powerhouse it would have happened by now.
Click to expand...

I said they should be a no brainer if the National participants had any eye for strategy.

Again, this is not primarily about UMD's win/loss as you keep positioning it. This is about having a satisfactory win/loss...and being essentially the number two school in the U of Minnesota system...with its campus in the largest city in hockey crazy northern Minnesota. To be clear, if UMD bats .500 in the conference...they will be playing their part by bringing northern Minnesota to the party.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Runninwiththedogs said:
ADs of BSU, MTU, SCSU, and MSUM are going to play UMD still. When they look at a flight out east + zero visiting fanbase when the eastern team comes out the next year vs. bus trip to Duluth + Duluth fans coming to their rinks during the return trip, there's no question what the smart decision is.
Click to expand...

Exactly. It's all about money and UND and UMD will be playing BSU/SCSU/Mankato because it puts visiting (and home) team fans in the seats. Bemidji's AD is already on record saying they are close to a scheduling agreement with UND and UMD (both programs which have always played BSU - including in Bemidji).
 
5mn_Major said:
I said they should be a no brainer if the National participants had any eye for strategy.

Again, this is not primarily about UMD's win/loss as you keep positioning it. This is about having a satisfactory win/loss...and being essentially the number two school in the U of Minnesota system...with its campus in the largest city in hockey crazy northern Minnesota. To be clear, if UMD bats .500 in the conference...they will be playing their part by bringing northern Minnesota to the party.
Click to expand...
You're insane.

Northern Minnesota is a tiny market and Bemidji is going to take a decent portion of that. In a supposed "national hockey conference" a percentage of northern Minnesota doesn't mean squat.

UMD isn't going to bat .500 in this new conference. They have signed up to be the doormat.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Tipsy McStagger said:
You're insane.

Northern Minnesota is a tiny market and Bemidji is going to take a decent portion of that. In a supposed "national hockey conference" a percentage of northern Minnesota doesn't mean squat.
Click to expand...

Ok, so whatever you feel about UMD, you are VASTLY overestimating the size and scope of the Bemidji fanbase.

Also, a lot of Gopher fans who have dreamed of being Bulldog fans all their lives will now have that chance as the two will not be in the same conference.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Runninwiththedogs said:
Ok, so whatever you feel about UMD, you are VASTLY overestimating the size and scope of the Bemidji fanbase.

Also, a lot of Gopher fans who have dreamed of being Bulldog fans all their lives will now have that chance as the two will not be in the same conference.
Click to expand...

Gophers fan pitty Bulldog fans.

RWD - wanna make out?
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

As a bulldog fan, I hate these new conferences. But lets look at the positives
*This is two years away and we have not yet seen the schedules. Six team conferences will leave lots of room for non-conference, so intrastate rivalries may continue.
*Most of the teams in the new league will likely benefit from better TV exposure as that seems to be one of the driving forces for splitting off from the WCHA
*The remaining WCHA/CCHA will have a better chance of getting into the tournament
*Do any of the Alaska schools even lose out at all on this? I can't speak on behalf of Alaskans, but I would imagine the most important issue there is getting those two teams in the same conference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the Gophers sellout Sullivan arena

On the other hand, the Final Five...:mad: RIP
will HAVE to make it to the final two
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Shirtless Guy said:
I think the NCHC teams will miss having the whipping boys around.
Click to expand...
I agree completely with this statement.
Stauber1 said:
Bemidji I'm sure would like to continue to schedule UMD and UND. But I'd wager their relationship with CC/DU/UNO will end come 2013.

St. Cloud/MSU? My guess is they will need even return trips to consider playing UND and UMD. *MAYBE* they could be talked in to a 2-1 with UND due to it's large gate revenue, but I wouldn't be too surprised if that isn't enough for them.
Click to expand...
UND has a good track record of scheduling equal-up series with schools like Bemidji. I'm sure they will be interested in continuing to play schools like BSU, SCSU, and MSU-M. If those schools are willing to play the Sioux, I would bet those agreements are made on a 1-1 basis. Those games would be good for all the schools involved. They would represent low travel cost non-conference games against teams the fans from both schools will recognise, and there would be a good deal of fan travel back and forth in those games. In particular, there are a lot of UND alums in the Twin Cities, and both SCSU and MSU-M could expect large influxes of UND fans for games the Sioux play in St Cloud and Mankato.

Stauber1 said:
As far as the NCHC and the Big10....the more I think about it, the more it seems that games between the two conferences will be few and far between; even those games that pit longstanding rivals against each other. Just from a MN perspective, I think the Gophers are likely to commit a significant number of NC games to play other MN schools. And after that is all said and done, I think they will be inclined to ship in some lesser competition for added home games. I'd think UW and UofMI would have a similar philosophy.
Click to expand...

Stauber1 said:
I was responding to the idea that the NCHC will be playing a number of series with the WCHA, and even scheduling with the Big 10.

So to sum up my other post, it seems to me that UMD will still be playing series against the new WCHA (BSU, Tech, SCSU and maybe MSU). UND is going to have a much harder time getting those series (BSU, *maybe* SCSU and MSU). And DU/CC/UNO won't get any of them on their schedules.

I don't think we will see much of any play between the NCHC and the Big 10.

At any rate, UND won't have any trouble filling their NC schedule. I just don't think it will be filled with Big 10 or WCHA teams.
Click to expand...
Agreed all the way around here. Reasons include: 1) It is likely the Big 10 schools will be looking to ramp up their home games, while minimizing their travel for NC games. UND isn't going to agree to anything less than a 1-1 arrangement. This is a big part of why we haven't seen any regular season UND-Michigan games for a long time. 2) The NCHC schools, and to a lesser extent the Big 10 schools, are going to be looking for NC games against some teams they are pretty certain they'll beat. The Big 10 at least has Penn State and OSU as their expected bottom dwellers. But in the early days of the NCHC, they are going to be trying to figure out who the bottom dwellers are. No team is going to be looked at as nearly guaranteed points. So I think many of the NCHC schools will be looking for teams they expect to beat so they can put some wins in the win column. Scheduling the upper half of the Big 10 isn't the way to do that. 3) UND's nickname may be a hinderance to scheduling Minnesota and Wisconsin as long as UND remains the Sioux.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

UMD21 said:
*The remaining WCHA/CCHA will have a better chance of getting into the tournament
Click to expand...
How many teams usually make the tournament from the WCHA as currently constructed? How many do you think will make it from the left-behind WCHA?
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

Shirtless Guy said:
1-2 of 8 is not better than 4-6 of 10-12...
Click to expand...

Hate to say, but most of those "4-6" teams left the conference. I know BSU has made it a couple times in previous history, and SCSU has had fairly consistent success getting INTO the tournament for a quite a period of time, but who else in the WCHA has had more than one appearance in the last 5-10 years? Putting out 2 (and who knows, maybe more depending how they fare pairwise) teams from the WCHA sounds about right to me
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

MavsFan said:
How many teams usually make the tournament from the WCHA as currently constructed? How many do you think will make it from the left-behind WCHA?
Click to expand...

This is a fair point. As it is, SCSU makes the tournament every now and then. With the new WCHA, there will be 1 team in the tournament, and maybe a 2nd every now and then. So they gain 1 team a year that makes the tournament. That's certainly a good thing, but nothing groundshaking.

UMD21 said:
As a bulldog fan, I hate these new conferences. But lets look at the positives

*The remaining WCHA/CCHA will have a better chance of getting into the tournament
Click to expand...

Try making that arguement to BGSU, Ferris, or whoever else gets left behind in the CCHA. The remaining teams there have to be in full on panic mode. ND and Western seem to be headed out the door. Northern is almost certainly going to the WCHA. It seems that the WCHA will look to add 1 more team. My guess is they will take a wait and see approach in order to gauge what Moorhead ends up doing. If Moorhead doesn't put together a D1 program, it seems very clear to me that either UAF or LSSU will move to the WCHA.

That will leave the CCHA with BGSU, Ferris, and either UAF or LSSU. 3 teams. They can go after UAH, but will still need to draw at least 2 teams from AHA. Even then, with 6 teams with a fairly large geographic footprint and no real top-flite teams, they are going to be on very shaky ground. It's hard to make the NCAA Tournament if you don't have a conference....or a program.

If I'm UAF or LSSU, I'm desperately rooting against Moorhead making the jump while at the same time trying to make my school look better than the other.

If I'm BGSU or FSU, I'm working my *** off to try to get at minimum 2 AHA schools to give a serious look at changing conferences. If AHA stays at 12 teams, the CCHA and at least 3 D1 hockey teams are in serious jepoardy.
 
Re: The new Super League is going down the tubes.

MavsFan said:
How many teams usually make the tournament from the WCHA as currently constructed? How many do you think will make it from the left-behind WCHA?
Click to expand...
How often do the left-behind teams make the NCAA tourney right now having to get through programs like UND, DU, CC, Minnesota, and Wisconsin year in and year out? The only left-behind that has done so with any frequency in the last decade is SCSU. Now lets say the left-behind WCHA averages about 2 NCAA tourney berths per year, similar to the ECAC. Lets say for arguments sake that SCSU gets one of those NCAA berths most years. That still leaves an NCAA berth for a school that has rarely gotten one in years past. It is also highly likely that at least a couple of major challengers to SCSU for that top spot will emerge as the new WCHA establishes itself, which means there could be a number of years when 2 or more schools who rarely make the NCAA tourney in the current WCHA get in. That is where the left-behinds stand to benefit from the new college hockey landscape.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top