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WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

davyd83 said:
Do you expect the Airlines to hold 25-30 seats available because you may or may not come?

I’ve been up there 11 times, (plus 5 times to Anchorage, 2 trips included both) and yes, it’s a long and sometimes difficult trip. But it’s certainly well worth it. Had a great Two week trip last year. Fairbanks was outstanding this year and can’t wait to get to Anchorage next year. How many times have you been there Talons?
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Been to Alaska a couple of times; never been to Fairbanks. But that wasn’t my point as pdt1081 pointed out. I was disputing a) the awesomeness of the 10+ flights per day out of the Fairbanks airport and b) indirectly confirming the overall comments floating in the ether that travel to the 49th from the Midwest, especially on short notice, sucks. You’ve been on the record for a long time as being a fan of the Fairbanks trips and I’m not challenging that at all.

Edit. And your point about airlines holding seats is valid. But that’s not a problem in a bus league. And, again, we have no one to blame for our third trip up there but ourselves.
 
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Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

TalonsUpPuckDown said:
Assuming you can actually leave. The 10+ flights a day don't do you much good when your team can't book seats on them. At least the boys got to check out the salt springs yesterday (or whatever they're called). And we brought our third trip this season to the college hockey travel wonderland on ourselves, no one to blame but us. They've spent...what...6 days total in Fairbanks this trip? But thank the lord we'll never have to do the Alaska triple again.
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I'm willing to bet that you could have been home a day earlier if you had decided to book on more than one flight. And Karma is a ***** isn't it.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

manurespreader said:
I'm willing to bet that you could have been home a day earlier if you had decided to book on more than one flight. And Karma is a ***** isn't it.
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Correct on all counts. And to your point we could have done even more to guarantee a trip home by booking seats on all 10+ flights on both Sunday and Monday.
 
pdt1081 said:
He's referencing the fact that Bowling Green wasn't able to get a flight out of Alaska until today. They are going straight to Bemidji by way of Minneapolis.
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They have to delay their booking until at least Monday in case it goes 3. Monday is a very busy day. BG has Detroit nearby and the chances of finding enough seats to Seattle is much greater.

I know what a mess it was. Had we lost to Tech at the end of the regular season, it would have been us up there. Booking decent flights for 1 looked difficult enough.
 
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Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

And just like that.... welcome everyone to the final season of the WCHA as we know it.
The WCHA should be dropping the puck for the 2020-21 season
...right about the time the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs wrap up at the end of September.


<CENTER>WCHA 2019-20 SEASON:

<img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZi2Qb4xPV0x9dVMRKDL6gaEGXCthlRaB5YnLMW_3cPW675I-zEw&s">

Wow, that ENDED quickly.</CENTER>
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I've been wondering. Now is the time where all those over-recruits from the big ten and ASU find out that they are not actually going to be showing up at school in the fall if they stay with the program they are in. How many do you think will switch to a different school that actually wants them?
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

manurespreader said:
I've been wondering. Now is the time where all those over-recruits from the big ten and ASU find out that they are not actually going to be showing up at school in the fall if they stay with the program they are in. How many do you think will switch to a different school that actually wants them?
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And there are some players from big time programs with plenty of eligibility, entering the transfer portal.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

manurespreader said:
I've been wondering. Now is the time where all those over-recruits from the big ten and ASU find out that they are not actually going to be showing up at school in the fall if they stay with the program they are in. How many do you think will switch to a different school that actually wants them?
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I think this year, things might take longer to shake out during the off-season regarding transfers, at least until the NCAA makes a decision about Winter sports eligibility being extended. As someone else previously posted, this virus reduction of the season is no different than an injury. You missed a month of hockey because the season was shut down. It sucks, but I don't think that requires the NCAA to extend every single senior player another year of NCAA eligibility. Just think how that would screw over the kids who planned on enrolling next year only to be told "Sorry no one is graduating this year, they are all coming back next season..."
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

JohnsonsJerseys said:
I think this year, things might take longer to shake out during the off-season regarding transfers, at least until the NCAA makes a decision about Winter sports eligibility being extended. As someone else previously posted, this virus reduction of the season is no different than an injury. You missed a month of hockey because the season was shut down. It sucks, but I don't think that requires the NCAA to extend every single senior player another year of NCAA eligibility. Just think how that would screw over the kids who planned on enrolling next year only to be told "Sorry no one is graduating this year, they are all coming back next season..."
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And it would mess with scholarship planning by the programs as well.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

The best players will be gone anyway. They aren't going to wait around to see what's going to happen when there are pro contracts in front of them. Michaelis has already signed with Vancouver.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

Is the universe infinite? I actually tend to think so.

Is carping about B1G/Gwoz/NCHC ruining college hockey infinite? Signs point to yes.

Is MTU being butt hurt about the above infinite? Well, I'm hoping that the answer is no...

Ryan, maybe I missed the argument for UAH-in-AH before. I've never been convinced by one, but we have some time. Care to try? :)

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

gfmorris said:
1) Is the universe infinite? I actually tend to think so.
2) Is carping about B1G/Gwoz/NCHC ruining college hockey infinite? Signs point to yes.
3) Is MTU being butt hurt about the above infinite? Well, I'm hoping that the answer is no...
4) Ryan, maybe I missed the argument for UAH-in-AH before. I've never been convinced by one, but we have some time. Care to try? :)
GFM
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1) I tend to agree, but thinking about anything infinite make my engineer head hurt. I really isn't a concept humans can grasp if they are being honest.
2) In my portion of the assumed to be infinite universe, my answer is "Yes."
3) Not all are, but(t) this person is. I'm a big fan of loyalty. Just ask Merv who is no longer on my Christmas card list, nor are we friends on Facebook.
4) I'm actually not sure if there is a good argument, but I think it is the most reasonable argument other than UAH joining the nCCHA with the other seven. Looking at the other conferences, what are UAH chances of being admitted?
  • NCHC - 0%
  • HE - 0%
  • Bi7 - 0%
  • ECAC - 1%
  • nCCHA - 5%
  • AH - 15%
The NCHC, Hockey East and Big are going to be a hard "No". I don't see UAH even having a sniff at joining any of those conferences.

I put ECAC at a 1% chance only because there is a flight risk of Atlantic Hockey's Holy Cross joining their women's program in Hockey East. If HC leaves Atlantic, maybe someone jumps ship out of the ECAC and moves to Atlantic Hockey. Again this is a very slim chance but you never know when one domino falls...

Was the departure of the seven from the WCHA equally focused on getting away from two AK schools AND also UAH, or did they just want to shed the AK schools and send a wake-up call to UAH at the same time? Is UAH having talks with the other seven and maybe by putting some financial commitments to their program on paper? If so, are they then back on board and a member in the nCCHA?

Given the low percentage chance for the other conferences, this is really the only reason Atlantic Hockey gets the best percentage as a landing spot for UAH. Most of Atlantic Hockey is in the Northeast, no more distant than the WCHA schools were. What's best for college hockey is to have UAH, UAA, UAF and ASU all in separate conferences, or all as independents with the Western schools playing in smaller conferences with room for more NC games. Given that UAH is the most Eastern school of the four, it is semi-logical to fit with AH. I'm not saying it is a great fit, but I feel it is the most realistic, outside of UAH getting 5 other teams in the SE to start hockey in the next two years.

UAH has a geographical advantage of the AK schools. I am far more worried about where UAF and UAA could possibly land. Their 1% chance is in the NCHC (maybe UAF) or a new conference with ASU and three more Western teams. However I don't think the Alaska schools can survive as independents for as long as it will take for three programs out West to appear because currently no one out West is even talking seriously about it... other than fans in online forums.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I think that there are five nCCHA teams in favor of UAH's inclusion. That's just one birdie telling another one who told me.

I think that AHA would laugh and hang up when we called, but maybe not. I don't see another bunch of schools that want to keep travel budgets low picking up a second long trip, guaranteeing a flight or a long bus ride every year. I don't think RoMo, NU, or AFA miss being in a conference with us, either.

GFM
 
gfmorris said:
I think that there are five nCCHA teams in favor of UAH's inclusion. That's just one birdie telling another one who told me.

I think that AHA would laugh and hang up when we called, but maybe not. I don't see another bunch of schools that want to keep travel budgets low picking up a second long trip, guaranteeing a flight or a long bus ride every year. I don't think RoMo, NU, or AFA miss being in a conference with us, either.

GFM
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I’d heard there were three who were having “second thoughts”, but that was a perspective that related to Alaska.

By process of elimination I’m pretty sure it was the UP schools. But I have no way of knowing positively.
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

Well, whoever it is, I don't think that it's very nice.

Honestly, I do worry about the effect of COVID-19 on enrollment. All 10 nWCHA schools are public (right?), but state dollars are going to be hard to come by right now, and the folks with money may be taking a bath in their investments. (That said, rich UAH benefactor: we're a better bet than the S&P 500!) I don't think that this will happen with any of these schools, but it's a big concern in my head that budgets will get slashed as schools try to keep the doors open for academics. I'm fairly sure that BG is the only school where hockey isn't the most expensive sport.

It could get ugly, and boards of trustees would know before the rest of us. If I were a private college or university with an enrollment under $50MM and a budget driven largely by tuition and fees, I'd be dang nervous.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

gfmorris said:
I'm fairly sure that BG is the only school where hockey isn't the most expensive sport.
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Yea DI football! When it comes to spending for athletics in the MAC, BG is towards the bottom (Miami State is towards the top, Western is in the upper quartile). However, when it comes to "stealing" from the general fund to cover athletic department overruns, BG is again towards the bottom of the MAC (Miami State is towards the top). While we are one of the poorer MAC schools when it comes to funding athletics, at least we ain't Eastern Michigan.

And I get it. Nobody cares. That's cool.
 
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