Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

I heard they're working on bringing Oglethorpe out of retirement....

No, I'm far too busy these days, helping Gilmore Tuttle run his donut shop in Saskatchewan.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

Good Lord, I hope you're wrong about another bush-league "pro" team landing in Utica. The last few have been abysmal fight-league franchises that drew maybe 800 beery fans a night, and the quality of play was basically D-3, except that the guys all had day-jobs... That would appear to be a bad business decision for The Aud, not that I'm privy to how the money will be divided should something like that happen.

I think there are a lot of shysters in Florida Utica.

[llama]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

classic - well played!!

[jcase]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

To Ray Biggs:

I really enjoy listening to your P-B-P call and your energy and excitement on WPNR and PLEASE take this as constructive criticism, as it is meant as nothing but. --
Please Please Please tell us listeners that are hanging on your every word how much time is left in the game way more often! I was screaming at my computer "How much time is left Ray?!?!?" over and over the last 5 minutes of the game tonight. My wife thought I was nuts. You gave time left in penalties a lot but the time left in the game not so much. Otherwise, thanks for the great work as usual!!!

[UCBadger]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

I know that Elmira is struggling this year, but this is the first year since going to the 3 meetings per season (this is the 7th year of that format, I believe) that Utica has taken 4 points and the first time in 4 seasons that they got more than 1 point. Elmira has always seemed to have our number. Hopefully we won't have to seem them again this year.

Hoping for a great game (and a win) at the Cooler tomorrow!

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

It is "not" another bush league team. They are trying to bring in an AHL team. A former owner and a former NHL player from the area are pursuing a team. The money is there. This is fact !

Sounds unlikely, but I'll take your word for it... I just don't see why Utica is a more attractive place to site an AHL team than it was when NJ abandoned it. If memory serves, the Utica Devils drew about 1,800 on average during their last couple of years. That ain't gonna cut it in today's AHL, any more than it did then.

And, while the quality of play in the AHL is certainly light-years ahead of that of D-3, I still prefer college hockey. There's much more of a sense of community involved. Furthermore, D-3 players are never called-up during the season, nor do they leave early to go pro.

Give me UC over any minor-league professional team, any day of the week.

[vcxc3200]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

To Ray Biggs:

I really enjoy listening to your P-B-P call and your energy and excitement on WPNR and PLEASE take this as constructive criticism, as it is meant as nothing but. --
Please Please Please tell us listeners that are hanging on your every word how much time is left in the game way more often! I was screaming at my computer "How much time is left Ray?!?!?" over and over the last 5 minutes of the game tonight. My wife thought I was nuts. You gave time left in penalties a lot but the time left in the game not so much. Otherwise, thanks for the great work as usual!!!

Thanks for the feedback chief, i appreciate it a ton.

I almost feel like i'm doing it every stoppage(although i honestly have my mind losing track of things at times). However, with your feedback in mind, i will do it even more often than usual from now on. I'll start keeping track until it becomes habitual.

Thanks for sticking with us tonight, we had some technical difficulties we arent used to (Only the 2nd time we've ever been on the road as a station). Running off a skype VOIP connex (for the first time in station history) because the phone jack was butchered. On top of it, the internet cut out more than once. and one time, my friend (who was listening to the game) thought it would be a good idea to send a video chat invite (what an incredible show of common sense, right?....i'm on the air.), and as a result it dropped the call. I wanted to slap him when it happened, but some ball busting via text message after the game had to suffice.

Overall, i enjoyed tonight. Nice first visit overall. A bit of idiocy from the girl next to me at the scorers table drove me nuts, but a nice building that is a reliable phone jack away from getting an A grade in my book.

In terms of the game, It was like watching a lack of discipline shift from one team to the other in 30 minute increments. UC didnt take a penalty the entire first while EC was unable to stay out of their own way, and that's how UC jumped out to that lead. Every UC goal in the early portion of that game was scored on a powerplay or as the result of a lot of offensive pressure sustained by a recently expired power play. The Blue Liners played unreal in the offensive zone tonight. Breakout got a bit shaky late, as did the discipline. UC actually ended up with more penalty mins than EC in that game, and they all came in the last 30 or so minutes, and as a result they gave EC some opportunities to get pressure and really make UC skaters work out of their minds for two mins at a time. The last 10 minutes of the 2nd and most of the third were downright sloppy. Therrien honestly saved our butts late. Unreal save to deny the shooter point blank on the doorstep just when you thought EC would tie it up with the puck loose.

Also, Olivieri's second goal was NICE. Amazing setup by Chlanda and from there, you saw McDonald go into unreal desperation mode and Oliveri had so much time to shoot that he just waited until Mcdonald had stopped flat on the ground on the dive and wristed it top shelf. This kid is the real deal.

It was ugly, i'm sure they'll take the win. But Hobart will not let this happen tomorrow.

Hope to see some folks out there. ESPNUR 99.1 will be out there and i have a crew on basketball, so i'll take the night off and enjoy the game.

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

I know that Elmira is struggling this year, but this is the first year since going to the 3 meetings per season (this is the 7th year of that format, I believe) that Utica has taken 4 points and the first time in 4 seasons that they got more than 1 point. Elmira has always seemed to have our number. Hopefully we won't have to seem them again this year.

Hoping for a great game (and a win) at the Cooler tomorrow!

Me too, but that one is gonna be tough: a 4PM start after getting back from Elmira at 2AM or so..? Wonder who came up with that scheduling gem.

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

After two years of saying how good they are, you would think they would have "reserved" a spot on the schedule "just in case" they do make it. Here's hoping they have to play on the road.

...And I hope that you already have your seat all picked-out for Elmira's NCAA home-game.

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

Overall, i enjoyed tonight. Nice first visit overall. A bit of idiocy from the girl next to me at the scorers table drove me nuts, but a nice building that is a reliable phone jack away from getting an A grade in my book.

Hope to see some folks out there. ESPNUR 99.1 will be out there and i have a crew on basketball, so i'll take the night off and enjoy the game.

I love The Domes, too. Of the 15 or so D-3 venues I've visited, it's my hands-down favorite. It's like going to Carlsbad Caverns, and seeing a hockey game there... Completely unique.

I'm curious; where does the radio crew set-up in The Cooler?

[vcxc3200]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

Me too, but that one is gonna be tough: a 4PM start after getting back from Elmira at 2AM or so..? Wonder who came up with that scheduling gem.

It's a 7pm start time now. There stands a good chance with the team budget that they may have stayed down there tonight and then made the easy trek to geneva the next day. Unsure. I'll let you know.

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

Sounds much better.

Thanks for the reply, and I'd much prefer to hear your crew call it than the clueless nimrods on 99.1... They know nothing about our league, nor about hockey in general, last time I heard them do a game.

[vcxc3200]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

I love The Domes, too. Of the 15 or so D-3 venues I've visited, it's my hands-down favorite. It's like going to Carlsbad Caverns, and seeing a hockey game there... Completely unique.

I'm curious; where does the radio crew set-up in The Cooler?

There's a counter upstairs that stretches the length of the ice on the side with the benches. Very, very roomy.

[vcxc3200]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

Sounds much better.

Thanks for the reply, and I'd much prefer to hear your crew call it than the clueless nimrods on 99.1... They know nothing about our league, nor about hockey in general, last time I heard them do a game.

Thanks a ton. I occasionally miss something when i get caught up in the play, but i think that happens to the best of us. Working on it every day.

[Fishman'81]

Re: Utica College Pioneers 2012-13 Season

You two to are D-3's answer to Doc Emrick (who knows all the players' numbers and delivers the PBP in real time, while somehow injecting commentary on the fly), and maybe a Mike Middlebury, re: your cranky color-woman, who never pulls a punch... It's a great contrast in styles, and it makes for an exceptional listen, especially when you consider what I've grown used-to in terms of generally-awful college coverage.

I think that you both have a bright future in sports-broadcasting, and I'll tell you why...

It wasn't but a year or two ago that I heard "Adam the Bull" on The Fan out of NYC while driving to Jersey. He used to broadcast UC games all on his own. He had plenty of enthusiasm but not much hockey-acumen, yet he translated that work into a gig on what is perhaps the most listened-to sports station in the world. He was not bad at all, but you two are better.

If Adam made it from Utica to the big-time, I am confident that both of you will, too, should you both decide to pursue that direction. (It wouldn't hurt if you kept the team together for a while, either; the chemistry from this end of the radio is perfect.)