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Ways to improve???

Re: Ways to improve???

Buy lottery tickets when the jackpot is in the 9 digits range. Donate the winnings to building an on-campus rink!
Before this, move to the downtown arena. I went to the first 3 home games, and on Friday, there was a banana peel on the floor by my seat. The following week, it was still there! They got rid of the good pizza makers at the Olympia, and they can't clean the place.
A booster club would be awesome! Maybe if the Falcons do leave next year, they can move downtown and become the premier team in the city. AIC Broadcaster- contact the paper, only give them positives. Sugarcoat things to get fannies into the seats.

D3 is not an option until D3/D2 schools fix the problem. Too many of the schools are being tools, as the problem does not concern them, so they vote no out of ignorance.(allowing D2 teams in hockey only to play for the D3 title)

They also need more games. I hate to say it, but I find this the most embarrassing. People complain about the coach(and I'll leave that to them) but I have first hand accounts of how vigilant he is with making sure the players keep the grades up. But IF there is a climate of favoritism, that absolutely has to change. Look at Union College. A D3 school where the President(correct?) was once proudly quoted as saying he would be happy if the team won 40% of their games. If Union can do it with those odds.... Why not AIC!

Meisner is a solid goalie. I think they got the goalie situation fixed for the next 2+ years. I like the attitude and play of Puskar. His play needs to infect(positively) the entire team. They have been in every game except for one this year. The winning goal in the Sacred Heart was scored on the powerplay where AIC controlled the PK for 1:40 before collapsing down too low.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

Ways to improve - have more weekends like this =]

I was amazed that Mercyhurst's Arena only ran them 1.5 million dollars.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

There's been a lot of good ideas here, rebranding the team, equipment deal with a top brand, new uniforms, etc... are all good ideas short term and fairly cheap. From the pics on the AIC Hockey website it looks like they have Warrior equipment so that's a good start.

Scheduling is also a quick, and fairly inexpensive fix that may inject some light into the program. Even if it might not be a pretty score, playing the big boys is something players current and future will look to as highlights of their college careers. It also is a good way to gain exposure, especially if AIC can go into BU or BC and get an upset. This season they have THREE non-conference games.

More events like this years Whalers Fest, AIC is playing Army in an outdoor game followed by an AHL game where the league is hoping to break 20,000.

I'd say start with those quick and fairly inexpensive improvements first and see what the coach can do with those. Firing a coach is a bit more expensive and a drastic change- it looks like your coach has been around for a long time, obviously something is working or the athletic department wouldn't have kept him. It maybe a situation where the current coach is doing the best he can with what the school and athletic department give him.

The biggest thing for recruiting these days is facilities, many of the Atlantic Hockey teams play in the same 1,000-2,000 seat ice rinks they did at lower levels of hockey before going DI. There's a lot of NCAA DIII teams and ACHA DI teams that play at bigger and better facilities. Size is not the biggest issue it's more about modern on-campus facilities, AIC�s ice rink is 6 miles across town from the campus. If a recruit is looking at ACI and maybe a few other Mass programs like UMass, UMass-Lowell, etc... there's a drastic difference in the level of facilities. AIC is a small school but a modern cozy 2,500-seat arena on-campus maybe a good start into the program. Connected to that arena have hockey offices for coaches, video review room/theatre for the team to gather and go over game footage, and modern training/workout facility.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

sbkbghockey said:
There's been a lot of good ideas here, rebranding the team, equipment deal with a top brand, new uniforms, etc... are all good ideas short term and fairly cheap. From the pics on the AIC Hockey website it looks like they have Warrior equipment so that's a good start.

Scheduling is also a quick, and fairly inexpensive fix that may inject some light into the program. Even if it might not be a pretty score, playing the big boys is something players current and future will look to as highlights of their college careers. It also is a good way to gain exposure, especially if AIC can go into BU or BC and get an upset. This season they have THREE non-conference games.

More events like this years Whalers Fest, AIC is playing Army in an outdoor game followed by an AHL game where the league is hoping to break 20,000.

I'd say start with those quick and fairly inexpensive improvements first and see what the coach can do with those. Firing a coach is a bit more expensive and a drastic change- it looks like your coach has been around for a long time, obviously something is working or the athletic department wouldn't have kept him. It maybe a situation where the current coach is doing the best he can with what the school and athletic department give him.

The biggest thing for recruiting these days is facilities, many of the Atlantic Hockey teams play in the same 1,000-2,000 seat ice rinks they did at lower levels of hockey before going DI. There's a lot of NCAA DIII teams and ACHA DI teams that play at bigger and better facilities. Size is not the biggest issue it's more about modern on-campus facilities, AIC�s ice rink is 6 miles across town from the campus. If a recruit is looking at ACI and maybe a few other Mass programs like UMass, UMass-Lowell, etc... there's a drastic difference in the level of facilities. AIC is a small school but a modern cozy 2,500-seat arena on-campus maybe a good start into the program. Connected to that arena have hockey offices for coaches, video review room/theatre for the team to gather and go over game footage, and modern training/workout facility.
Click to expand...

Doesn't AIC only have 3 non-conference games because no one WANTS to play them for fear of dropping their RPI? Also, since I don't have the time to look it up, how many non-conference games does AIC play at home? That will generate revenue to help with the ideas discussed in these posts. OK, so you have a small rink. Start selling tickets for it. Bus students to the games (if you don't already). Even if you can't necessarily do it with NC games, start selling the league games. You'd be surprised at what "the 7th man" will do for a team.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

FlagDUDE08 said:
Doesn't AIC only have 3 non-conference games because no one WANTS to play them for fear of dropping their RPI? Also, since I don't have the time to look it up, how many non-conference games does AIC play at home? That will generate revenue to help with the ideas discussed in these posts. OK, so you have a small rink. Start selling tickets for it. Bus students to the games (if you don't already). Even if you can't necessarily do it with NC games, start selling the league games. You'd be surprised at what "the 7th man" will do for a team.
Click to expand...

0 of the 3 NC games are at home. @ Union- Dec 10, @ Minn State- Jan 7-8.

I wouldn't say that the reason for the lack of nc games are b/c no one wants to. A quick glance and schedules showed that teams around AIC in the bottom of Atlantic Hockey have 6-7 nc games. Schedules are made well in advance of the season so that's not really a reason- hypothetically AIC could be #1 in the nation in a season or two when schools are making schedules for in the next six-ten months.

The idea to bus students from campus to the game is a great idea!! I'm not sure about how well AIC fills their ice rink but student sections make for a unique and awesome college hockey atmosphere.
 
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Re: Ways to improve???

sbkbghockey said:
0 of the 3 NC games are at home. @ Union- Dec 10, @ Minn State- Jan 7-8.

I wouldn't say that the reason for the lack of nc games are b/c no one wants to. A quick glance and schedules showed that teams around AIC in the bottom of Atlantic Hockey have 6-7 nc games. Schedules are made well in advance of the season so that's not really a reason- hypothetically AIC could be #1 in the nation in a season or two when schools are making schedules for in the next six-ten months.

The idea to bus students from campus to the game is a great idea!! I'm not sure about how well AIC fills their ice rink but student sections make for a unique and awesome college hockey atmosphere.
Click to expand...

Let's also add this: How are they with advertising the team to the city? IIRC from listening to the radio for one of RPI's NC games, Colorado College has extensive community support despite World Arena being a couple miles from the campus, thereby not as easily accessible to the students as a rink that is directly on campus. I obviously don't live near Springfield, so I don't listen to their radio or watch their TV thereby knowing if AIC hockey is promoted there. Doing that would go a long way towards getting people into the rink. Even a team with strong history like RPI had a decline until it was well advertised, people started going to the games and telling their friends, and it's on the upswing. Get the word out!
 
Re: Ways to improve???

sbkbghockey said:
0 of the 3 NC games are at home. @ Union- Dec 10, @ Minn State- Jan 7-8.

I wouldn't say that the reason for the lack of nc games are b/c no one wants to. A quick glance and schedules showed that teams around AIC in the bottom of Atlantic Hockey have 6-7 nc games. Schedules are made well in advance of the season so that's not really a reason- hypothetically AIC could be #1 in the nation in a season or two when schools are making schedules for in the next six-ten months.
Click to expand...

When you consider the following facts:
1) 4 other teams in college hockey did not fill their allotment of games, including independent UAH;
2) 8 teams in the ECAC filled some non-conference dates with other ECAC teams;
3) UMass opted to play two non-US exhibitions rather than a home date with the physically closest D-I team to them;

It seems that the "nobody wants to play AIC" hypothesis has at least some observational merit behind it.
 
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Re: Ways to improve???

It would also depend on how much AIC is willing to travel for games. If they aren't willing to pony up for travelling to games, that could be a huge factor.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

UMASS gets all the publicity in Springfield. Check their local newspaper. It's really going to take a cheerleader on one of the news stations for sports, or in the newspaper.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

kingdobbs said:
When you consider the following facts:
1) 4 other teams in college hockey did not fill their allotment of games, including independent UAH;
2) 8 teams in the ECAC filled some non-conference dates with other ECAC teams;
3) UMass opted to play two non-US exhibitions rather than a home date with the physically closest D-I team to them;

It seems that the "nobody wants to play AIC" hypothesis has at least some observational merit behind it.
Click to expand...

if I were UMass I wouldn't play AIC... Springfield is their market... AIC beating UMass would just serve to give AIC an opportunity... same reason UConn bball won't schedule UMass anymore.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

Well, tonight's game sure helped. 6-2 vs RIT, with one of their best players being given a game misconduct. They also survived a 2 minute 5-3 (with the help of only one post)
 
Re: Ways to improve???

BC would probably never play AIC... maybe as an exhibition game - though i have never seen an exhibition game that wasnt against canada or a us national team.
 
Re: Ways to improve???

Meisner is proving to be a goalie that can steal games. The AIC offense is better than years past. IF the young players continue to develop, they will be a pretty good team. They have 4 wins already after only 5 last year.
 
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