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.

Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Wow! Great games!!! Princeton in OT to tie the series up. Strong comeback by QU to tie their series up as well. RPI and Clarkson still in 2OT. Union will have to wait until Sunday to find out their QF opponent regardless of the RPI vs Clarkson outcome.....I love college hockey!

Keith.

Edit: After almost 3 OT periods in a game where it's a shame someone had to lose, RPI and Clarkson will go to the rubber match tomorrow night as well.

Good luck to RPI tomorrow.
 
Last edited:
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

I've been on the laptop for most of the night, hence my flurry of posts....

Another issue I would like to address: Why do people in the ECAC feel that the Cleary Cup is a meaningless trophy????

It is given to the regular season champion, AKA the team or teams that finish with the highest number of points at the end of the regular season.

Having more points than anyone else suggests dominance and a consistently good hockey team over the long haul of the season.

The Cornell SID thought the Cleary Cup was a big enough deal to advertise it in advance of the games against Union and RPI last weekend.

Furthermore, I copied this from the CHN coverage of the Gophers winning the MacNaughton Cup on the last game of the season in the WCHA.

"For a championship, against a rival, in the closing weekend for the Cup ... it doesn't get much better than that," Schmidt said.

"I really haven't won anything in my career so far, so it felt great to win something with this team," Haula said.


This seems to be a big deal to folks in the WCHA, why not here in the ECAC?

Is it suddenly a "meaningless" trophy based on Union winning it last year and defending it again this year?

The conspiracy-minded might surmise that the reason the Cup has been declared "meaningless" by certain people on this board is because those very people root for teams that have not won a regular season title since Union entered the league in 1991-1992. And now Union has two.

I will now brace for the inevitable regaling of achievements that were secured regardless of the fact they happened in the Bronze Age.....;)

On another note, I can't wait to listen to tomorrow's games online and follow the twitter feeds....Tonight was fun!!!!

Keith.

PS: Good Luck to the Engineers tomorrow.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

The regular season championship gets you "home ice". The last change is all it gives you. It doesn't get you a playoff berth. It doesn't give you an autobid into the national tournament. Therefore, it's meaningless.
 
FlagDUDE08 said:
The regular season championship gets you "home ice". The last change is all it gives you. It doesn't get you a playoff berth. It doesn't give you an autobid into the national tournament. Therefore, it's meaningless.
Click to expand...

This. It's like the President's Trophy in the NHL...it means you had a great regular season compared to everyone else, but since the playoffs is what determines the league champion, it doesn't mean much.

Winning the cup has been great for Union's program because it makes future recruits take notice and it's been a validation for us season ticket holders who have suffered through the lean D-1 years....that's why we've all been giddy about winning the thing.

But crunch time will be upon us again next weekend and with Union's penchant for not winning playoff series when they should, let's not assume this will be a walk in the park (see 2011 Colgate).
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Cornell fans are certainly some of the instigators of the "meaningless cup" idea. Through 2001, Cornell had finished in first place 5 times (the last time in 1973!), but won the tournament 9 times. It's evened out a little more now (8 and 12), but nevertheless, which do you suppose Cornell fans would value more highly? I can come up with lots of reasons to justify this belief, but if I'm being honest, these statistics have a lot to do with it.

Still, I have to think that whenever a #1 seed bows out of the postseason tournament, they must go away with a bad taste in their mouths, feeling like they let something slip away without finishing the job - like they had to turn back within a few hundred yards of the summit.

The fact that it's named after our #1 rival's coach just makes it that much easier to disdain.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Union garnered two Starzie nominations, announced between periods last night at the UVM-BC game. A loud applause is in order for coach Bennett and his outstanding goaltender, Troy Grosenick.
For those with a long memory (pre varsity days at Union), it is staggering to realize that the Dutchmen are now spoken of in the same breath with the Minnesotas and Michigans of the world. Aspiring to a DI national championship is no chimera. Union is the real deal. Rick Bennett is an extraordinary individual whose leadership will sustain the Union program well into the future.
The next fewweeks will have the Union faithful on the edge of their seats.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

FlagDUDE08 said:
The regular season championship gets you "home ice". The last change is all it gives you. It doesn't get you a playoff berth. It doesn't give you an autobid into the national tournament. Therefore, it's meaningless.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate the responses. I like an active board. I live in hockey Purgatory, so it keeps me sane.

If you told any coach in the ECAC that by winning the Cup they "only" would get last change for the entire ECAC tourney, they would launch into a long conversation about just how important last change is. The modern game has always been about match-ups on the ice. Forward line versus Defense line. Many coaches will change on the fly after a face-off to get a match-up they want. Last change is incredibly important and is an outstanding award for winning the Cleary Cup. I would bet you a bag of donuts that SA thinks that the last change is a significant advantage that normally comes with home ice. The Cup winner is guaranteed this last change even when the tourney goes to the neutral site i.e. AC. Furthermore, the Cup is a symbol of regular season dominance. I agree that a league tourney title and an NCAA title are more important, however, I still feel that the regular season is a long haul and the team that comes out on top is deserving of praise. The other leagues don't minimize it. Why should we? Unless, of course, the team one roots for has never won the Cup. Then I could see why it becomes meaningless....IMO, of course.....

aweise said:
This. It's like the President's Trophy in the NHL...it means you had a great regular season compared to everyone else, but since the playoffs is what determines the league champion, it doesn't mean much.

Winning the cup has been great for Union's program because it makes future recruits take notice and it's been a validation for us season ticket holders who have suffered through the lean D-1 years....that's why we've all been giddy about winning the thing.

But crunch time will be upon us again next weekend and with Union's penchant for not winning playoff series when they should, let's not assume this will be a walk in the park (see 2011 Colgate).
Click to expand...

OK, the President's Trophy in the NHL means home ice for the entire playoffs. That's not huge? Being able to sleep in your own bed the night before and be in your home arena for a Game 7 isn't a big deal? Now home ice doesn't guarantee a victory. (I think Vancouver is still smoldering in certain neighborhoods..;)) But I think that if you were to ask anyone in the NHL, coaches, players, trainers, even the mascot about how crucial home ice is in the playoffs and you would get an overwhelming positive response. I sometimes think that we as fans (myself included) sometimes lose sight of some of the nuances that drive the game itself.

I do agree that with the recent success, Union needs some tangible validation and banners and trophies never fail to impress recruits. I also agree that Union needs to buckle down next weekend and do a little TCB against whomever shows up to Messa on Friday night.

Looking forward to the rubber matches tonight!

Keith.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Let's not get carried away. In the 20 seasons Union's been in the league, the RS champion (the team which showed supposed dominance over the regular season) has only won the tournament 6 times (even with this supposed awesome advantage of last change). Last change is certainly nice to have, of course, but it's clearly not a major advantage.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

FlagDUDE08 said:
Sounds like someone wasn't around in the 80's. ;)
Click to expand...
Only happened 3 times in the 80s, too (RPI in 84, 85 and Harvard in 87). 3/10 is exactly the same as the 6/10 since Union joined the league.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

FlagDUDE08 said:
Sounds like someone wasn't around in the 80's. ;)
Click to expand...

I only use statistics from 1991-1992 to the present since these are the seasons that Union was in the league competing. Talking about the years previous is an unfair comparison. I want to also call out the fact that I predicted on a previous post that an achievement would be injected into this discussion that occurred when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. ;) I just saw a picture on the front page here at USCHO of the BC Eagles posing after their outright HE regular season win. The head coach even talked about how special it was to win trophies. The Wisconsin coach was quoted as saying that the bottom line after the Gophers beat them last night was that they get to hang another banner. Maybe in the Ivory Tower league, the regular season might be passe', but in the blue collar realm, it's still a big deal.

Alas, we agree to disagree....That's rare on these boards, right? :p

Keith.

PS: It looks like we will welcome the Engineers to Messa on Friday night for the QF round. Good job RPI!
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

Wholin1 said:
Tickets went on sale two weeks ago. Best act quickly because these are going to be SRO.
Click to expand...

And if you already have tickets, get there early on Friday (like, 3:00...on Thursday) if you want a parking spot.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

I find it interesting that certain folks that attended rival institutions are using second-grade, playground-style, name-calling to respond to a valid argument as opposing to creating their own argument based on FACTS and STATISTICS. That's the true definition of "whining." Complaining about something and not being able to back up your claim. Go ahead. Call me a name and dishonor the academic reputation of your institution.

On a calmer note, once again, I congratulate every team that won their initial series and I welcome RPI to Messa on Friday night.

Keith.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

aweise said:
And if you already have tickets, get there early on Friday (like, 3:00...on Thursday) if you want a parking spot.
Click to expand...

I suppose you could park in the GE lot on Erie if worse came to worst ;)
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

rdf8585 said:
Get tickets here:

http://unionathleticstickets.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event_listings.asp

If there's no Sunday game, you can get a refund, donate it to the Garnet Blades, or apply to 12-13 season tickets.
Click to expand...

Careful, Union likes to conceal donations in your fees. I went to the Hall of Fame dinner last year and the ticket cost $50. $17 went to the meal and $33 was a direct donation to the athletic department. I found out that last part a month later when the school sent me a letter thanking me for my $33 donation. :rolleyes:
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

LynahFan said:
Only happened 3 times in the 80s, too (RPI in 84, 85 and Harvard in 87). 3/10 is exactly the same as the 6/10 since Union joined the league.
Click to expand...

I was referring to uniontrack's ignorant comment about thinking RPI hasn't won the regular season championship.
 
Re: Union Hockey 2011-2012 Season Thread "We Can See Cleary Now"

uniontrack;5381320The conspiracy-minded might surmise that the reason the Cup has been declared "meaningless" by certain people on this board is because those very people root for teams that have not won a regular season title since Union entered the league in 1991-1992. And now Union has two.[/QUOTE said:
FlagDUDE08 said:
I was referring to uniontrack's ignorant comment about thinking RPI hasn't won the regular season championship.
Click to expand...

As you can see above, how is it ignorant to say that you haven't won the regular season championship since Union joined the league? Check the ECAC page. Maybe I read it wrong.

AS RC would say, Did I say that RPI has NEVER won the Regular Season? No, I didn't. I only use the statistics from when we entered the league. That's the only fair comparison. To use another set of data to compare the teams would be statistically illogical and to a degree, unethical.

On a different note, I appreciate you FD for talking to me on what I say here instead of staying over there and staying within the safety and comfort of the "gang" mentality.

I look forward to the weekend. IF you guys prevail, I will give credit where credit is due since it was done on the ice and, more importantly, recently.

Keith.
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top