What's the story on Sacred Heart?

[ExHockeyguy]

Year in and year out, they're not that good. Is that why they don't join a conference?

[scores]

Hmmmm It gets tougher and tougher to get top rank players when the slide starts..

That was a loopsided score(uconn) and usually when its that bad there is an issue with skating(speed).

I as a player have been on both sides of these games and they are not mutch FUN. The better skating team has you in there wheel house and the team struggling is chasing the play.

I hope things get better for Sacred Heart..thats no fun. I guess as a team they will have to pull themselves up by boot straps.

Good luck to them..

[Hux]

They are a D1 team because the school's teams play D1, but they are not funded like a D1 team, and as such are not able to attract D1 talent.

[wihobserver]

are they allowed to drop to d3...i've watched their results the last few years and they don't even win many games against d3 teams...it's a shame for the girls and borders on an insult to d1 hockey...if i recall correctly they don't even beat union anymore...they'll lose to syracuse this year for sure

[Hux]

are they allowed to drop to d3...i've watched their results the last few years and they don't even win many games against d3 teams...it's a shame for the girls and borders on an insult to d1 hockey...if i recall correctly they don't even beat union anymore...they'll lose to syracuse this year for sure

No, because they are a D1 school. They play a mostly DIII schedule

[americanbaby1341]

The talent on sacred heart gets better year in and year out, its just not being put together correctly. People look at the scores and automatically assume that SHU is a poor excuse for a D1 hockey team but the reality is that the scores don't do SHU justice. It is hard to have a top D1 team when the school doesn't fund the program properly. Sacred Heart can't "talk girls" into coming there, the big time players want to see the money and the program is just not getting it. This year, SHU will upset some teams that nobody expects them too and maybe they could get people to believe in them again. People have a lot to say about things they really dont know much about. Good luck to Sacred Heart. I hope they turn peoples heads in the right direction

[goldp]

I'll say a Novena for them.

[wihobserver]

The talent on sacred heart gets better year in and year out, its just not being put together correctly. People look at the scores and automatically assume that SHU is a poor excuse for a D1 hockey team but the reality is that the scores don't do SHU justice. It is hard to have a top D1 team when the school doesn't fund the program properly. Sacred Heart can't "talk girls" into coming there, the big time players want to see the money and the program is just not getting it. This year, SHU will upset some teams that nobody expects them too and maybe they could get people to believe in them again. People have a lot to say about things they really dont know much about. Good luck to Sacred Heart. I hope they turn peoples heads in the right direction

no offense but who exactly are they going to upset? i'm looking at their schedule and they play 32 games but only 13 of those games are against d1 teams...they played their nailbiter at uconn and they have 2 at maine, 4 with syracuse, 2 with union, and 4 with robert morris...i don't think they will beat any of those teams but if they happen to get lucky and beat syracuse will that be considered an upset to beat a new d1 team? the rest of their games are against a variety of d3 teams except for 3 games against 2 club teams...you say the talent just isn't being put together correctly so i'd say you have a problem with the coach but if they had a team full of d1 talent they would beat more d3 teams than they do no matter who the coach is or how much funding is there...if the money isn't there then they won't be able to get d1 talent so you're right about that...i just don't think there is a right direction for this team until they decide to give it proper backing and join a league...i can't imagine they have much luck recruiting players for an independant team when there are so many other better d1 and d3 options available that are not independant teams...i'd wish them luck but they need more than just luck if they really want to be a legit d1 team

[americanbaby1341]

Its amazing how much you could say on the topic. Where do you fit in here? Have you played D1 hockey? In the next few years or so, SHU will be up there in D1 hockey. Not the best obviously, but they will be fine. It's people like you who give them no hope at all.

[capster59]

well there is an old saying that I think fits the bill...
If it walks like a duck , if it sounds like a duck, and if it looks like a duck,,,then IT most likely is a duck...

[americanbaby1341]

I am not 100% sure what you mean..

[D2D]

well there is an old saying that I think fits the bill...
If it walks like a duck , if it sounds like a duck, and if it looks like a duck,,,then IT most likely is a duck...

Well this guy http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8468095&service=page skates and kind of looks like a duck, not that I would ever say that to his face! :eek:

Regarding Sacred Heart I find myself kind of pulling for them as they are obviously underdogs in just about every game they play. Now that I think about it, it does kind of remind me of the Ducks in the original movie when they went up against whatever that other hotshot team was called.

[Hux]

Its amazing how much you could say on the topic. Where do you fit in here? Have you played D1 hockey? In the next few years or so, SHU will be up there in D1 hockey. Not the best obviously, but they will be fine. It's people like you who give them no hope at all.

To be "up there" requires a large commitment in resources to recruit D1 student-athletes. Unfortunately, neither Sacred Heart or Holy Cross have made that commitment, and as such continue to have uncompetitive programs in D1.

[winsorhockeydad]

To be "up there" requires a large commitment in resources to recruit D1 student-athletes. Unfortunately, neither Sacred Heart or Holy Cross have made that commitment, and as such continue to have uncompetitive programs in D1.

I thought Holy Cross has been playing a D-3 schedule as part of the ECAC-East (but ineligible for the playoffs).

[Da Big Bad Cow]

I thought Holy Cross has been playing a D-3 schedule as part of the ECAC-East (but ineligible for the playoffs). i think that was kind of his point.

[winsorhockeydad]

i think that was kind of his point.

Perhaps, but maybe he was thinking about the Holy Cross men who are not very competitive in D-1 in recent years. The Holy Cross women do not even attempt to be a D-1 program, unlike Sacred Heart (which was the point I was trying to make).

[wihobserver]

To be "up there" requires a large commitment in resources to recruit D1 student-athletes. Unfortunately, neither Sacred Heart or Holy Cross have made that commitment, and as such continue to have uncompetitive programs in D1.

i thought holy cross was d2 like st michaels and st anselms

[Da Big Bad Cow]

Perhaps, but maybe he was thinking about the Holy Cross men who are not very competitive in D-1 in recent years. The Holy Cross women do not even attempt to be a D-1 program, unlike Sacred Heart (which was the point I was trying to make).

Hux is pretty aware of what is going on in the world of women's hockey so I doubt he was confused. HC is a D1 athletic department, their women's hockey coaches take the NCAA recruiting test each year in order to be allowed out to recruit, and so forth. However they make the choice not to fund their women's program as a D1 program, and with the realization that they could not possibly compete at the D1 level they give out no scholarships and they are playing a full D3 schedule, sans being eligible for any kind of postseason.

Sacred Heart used to run their program that way, but for some unknown reason decided to take their program and 'elevate' it to D1, (if thats what you call this). They play less than half their games against D1 teams, and are entirely uncompetitive when they play D1 teams. Years ago Quinnipiac Yale and UConn tried to include them in the Nutmeg tournament and their AD at the time (not sure if its the same one as now) wouldn't let them participate because they didnt want them to get embarassed. No sure-fire D1kid is going to give them the time of day...because why would they want to play 75% of their games against D3 schools and 25% against the low-level D1 schools? So, Sacred Heart is left to recruit the low end bubble D1 kids who aren't getting scholarship offers from anyone else, and are probably better off in most cases playing D3. They offer them a little scholarship money which nobody else has done, and the kid decides that the lure of scholarship and playing D1 hockey is what they really want...when in reality they could be playing better hockey at some of the D3 schools.

Some may applaud the effort of Sacred Heart for "trying" to be D1...(and the players work hard and the coaches do what they can with what they are given and should be applauded for their effort) but I say that the effort of the athletic department is hardly indicitive of trying. That's not a knock on the kids who are there...for whatever reasons they've decided Sacred Heart was the best fit for them...but if the athletic department were supporting the program as a proper D1 program should be supported, the majority of those kids would be looking for new places to play. Holy Cross on the other hand has shown intelligence to stay where they were if they weren't going to jump in with both feet....I applaud them for not doing something just for the sake of doing it, which it seems like is happening at Sacred Heart

[Da Big Bad Cow]

i thought holy cross was d2 like st michaels and st anselms
no, not a D2 school, but they participate in the end of the year tournament with those schools and sacred heart because they are also not allowed to participate in the NCAA playoffs, for the same reasons as the D2 schools

[Ironman33]

Perhaps, but maybe he was thinking about the Holy Cross men who are not very competitive in D-1 in recent years. The Holy Cross women do not even attempt to be a D-1 program, unlike Sacred Heart (which was the point I was trying to make).

Not to pile on here whdad, but HC men have had three winning records & two NCAA appearances in the last 5 years and in 05-06, beat #1 Minnesota in the opening game of the NCAA tourney, so I'd hardly call them "not very competitive", at this point.

As always good post DBBC. A great explanation of the situation.