WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

[bigblue_dl]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

This won't be a popular opinion on this thread, but why should they have to keep doing that? Especially when the cash cow B1G schools left.

Because that is what being in a league, with other teams, means. Why does the SEC keep writing checks to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State?

[Jimjamesak]

This.

It was UND and DU's baby to stop writing welfare checks to UAA and MTU after the WCHA Final Five every year.


Miami was coerced because of ties to DU and Gwozdecki (who ironically, never coached a game in his new conference). Omaha with Blais' ties to UND. And tUMD I haven't figured out how they got suckered into rounding out the Original Motel 6 league.

We all know Jan Brady State begged not to leave the WCHA, then begged to leave the WCHA. And Western, well, Miami likely twisted their arm after BGSU said no.

I like how CC has become so irrelevant that they’re not even mentioned in this post.

[John J. MacInnes]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

And Western, well, Miami likely twisted their arm after BGSU said no.

Western was the throw-in. The Nacho wanted Notre Dame, who turned them down flat. That's why the horsies came in to make up the 8th spot.

[aparch]

Once they did that, it opened the door for the Nacho.

The NCHC was coming whether we liked to admit it or not.

The WCHA would have been hurt without Minnesota or Wisconsin, but it would have done okay-ish tournament wise for attendance, but the checks would have not been to UND and DU's liking.

[aparch]

This won't be a popular opinion on this thread, but why should they have to keep doing that? Especially when the cash cow B1G schools left.

No question there needed to be changes. I am unaware of how to WCHA front office operated, but there seemed to be some underlying resentment from the NCHC schools and the WCHA.

They didn't even negotiate for changes, just upped and left for their new conference they had in their back pocket.

[Jimjamesak]

This.

It was UND and DU's baby to stop writing welfare checks to UAA and MTU after the WCHA Final Five every year.


Miami was coerced because of ties to DU and Gwozdecki (who ironically, never coached a game in his new conference). Omaha with Blais' ties to UND. And tUMD I haven't figured out how they got suckered into rounding out the Original Motel 6 league.

We all know Jan Brady State begged not to leave the WCHA, then begged to leave the WCHA. And Western, well, Miami likely twisted their arm after BGSU said no.

DU and UND started the mess.
CC got dragged in because big brother (DU) said so.
Duluth got in because they had just won the National Championship and opened a new arena.
Omaha got in on the Blais connection, the market size, and a new arena.
Miami made it six because of the Gwoz connection, their recent success, and a new arena.
Western was in with Andy Murray and some cash.
St. Cloud was in because Notre Dame said no (how the Nacho ever convinced themselves ND would join them was beyond me).

[aparch]

DU and UND started the mess.
CC got dragged in because big brother (DU) said so.
Duluth got in because they had just won the National Championship and opened a new arena.
Omaha got in on the Blais connection, the market size, and a new arena.
Miami made it six because of the Gwoz connection, their recent success, and a new arena.
Western was in with Andy Murray and some cash.
St. Cloud was in because Notre Dame said no (how the Nacho ever convinced themselves ND would join them was beyond me).

Yep, that's what I recall. The motel 6 we're the base. Western came after whoring themselves out. "Why Western" indeed.

[Jimjamesak]

The NCHC was coming whether we liked to admit it or not.

The WCHA would have been hurt without Minnesota or Wisconsin, but it would have done okay-ish tournament wise for attendance, but the checks would have not been to UND and DU's liking.

This. Once Minnesota and Wisconsin left NoDak and DU were ready to drop the dead weight of UAA, Tech, Kato, and Bemidji. Remember, the original idea was to grab ND, BU, and BC to form a conference. DU and NoDak had stars in their eyes and thought their pants were bigger than they were, before they were reminded they aren’t even mid-majors in the grand scheme of college athletics and had to go to plan B.

To be fair, Wisconsin pretty much tolerated everyone but Minnesota in the same vein as DU tolerated us. Minnesota at least gave a **** about the other Minnesota schools.

[Jimjamesak]

Yep, that's what I recall. The motel 6 we're the base. Western came after whoring themselves out. "Why Western" indeed.

And Jan Brady got a date after Marcia said no.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

And Jan Brady got a date after Marcia said no.

Ohhhhh....so NOWWWWWWW I get the "Jan Brady" reference (had to look it up, apparently us lowly ex-CCHA Ohio guys haven't paid close enough attention to what's been going on in God's country the last 25+ years).

http://uaafan.blogspot.com/2007/01/y...s-wo-scsu.html

[Jimjamesak]

Ohhhhh....so NOWWWWWWW I get the "Jan Brady" reference (had to look it up, apparently us lowly ex-CCHA Ohio guys haven't paid close enough attention to what's been going on in God's country the last 25+ years).

http://uaafan.blogspot.com/2007/01/y...s-wo-scsu.html

Man, the Minnesota - SCSU threads were a thing of beauty back then.

[Lost_Husky]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

This. Once Minnesota and Wisconsin left NoDak and DU were ready to drop the dead weight of UAA, Tech, Kato, and Bemidji. Remember, the original idea was to grab ND, BU, and BC to form a conference. DU and NoDak had stars in their eyes and thought their pants were bigger than they were, before they were reminded they aren’t even mid-majors in the grand scheme of college athletics and had to go to plan B.

To be fair, Wisconsin pretty much tolerated everyone but Minnesota in the same vein as DU tolerated us. Minnesota at least gave a **** about the other Minnesota schools.

Someone needs to throw an ice water on the "big money" schools. D1 college hockey struggles to maintain 60 D1 teams. Most of them are in cold sparsely populated, hard to get to places that may or may not have money. It is inherent in a sport that has a core in the Great Lakes Basin and Northeast to have some teams in remote locations. If they want the sport to grow, there need to be some form of rules that allow smaller/poorer schools to be able to be competitive with larger/richer schools.

IF programs want to look at college hockey as a whole, they will put some formal agreements into place that will level the playing field. If some programs are insecure about their scouting/recruiting ability, losing players to the pro leagues, or about a "lesser" school beating them, I pity them.

[RaceBoarder]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Having never been through the recruiting process myself or with a kid, please explain something:

- These kids can count. If a school recruits a class of 25 skaters, some have to know that they all aren't making the team. With the plethora of blogs and other musings out there, they have to see where they rank. Why ignore that info? Is it just a case of not wanting to be honest about their skill level? I get that all these kids see themselves as NHL-caliber, but at some point, they have to realize their situation, right?

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Someone needs to throw an ice water on the "big money" schools. D1 college hockey struggles to maintain 60 D1 teams. Most of them are in cold sparsely populated, hard to get to places that may or may not have money. It is inherent in a sport that has a core in the Great Lakes Basin and Northeast to have some teams in remote locations. If they want the sport to grow, there need to be some form of rules that allow smaller/poorer schools to be able to be competitive with larger/richer schools.

IF programs want to look at college hockey as a whole, they will put some formal agreements into place that will level the playing field. If some programs are insecure about their scouting/recruiting ability, losing players to the pro leagues, or about a "lesser" school beating them, I pity them.

I always wonder if they'd bring back D-II hockey and whether it would be as largely irrelevant as it was before (says the guy whose alma mater won two of the last four contested titles). I honestly don't think so, because if we're just going to be D-I === scholarship and D-III === non-scholarship, then why divide up a pool of 60 schools unless you're looking to lower the number of games played? Wait, that's never going to happen — do that and the top talent won't play D-I hockey.

I don't think that anything will really change in D-I men's ice hockey until the NCAA largely reforms, presuming the latest basketball and football scandals push them to do so.

GFM

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Having never been through the recruiting process myself or with a kid, please explain something:

- These kids can count. If a school recruits a class of 25 skaters, some have to know that they all aren't making the team. With the plethora of blogs and other musings out there, they have to see where they rank. Why ignore that info? Is it just a case of not wanting to be honest about their skill level? I get that all these kids see themselves as NHL-caliber, but at some point, they have to realize their situation, right?

"When I get there, I'll show them I belong." You have to admire the confidence of youth.

And in fairness, it does (sometimes) happen. At Kato, Casey Nelson went from an NAHL kid who was often a healthy scratch to playing on the Buffalo Sabres. On the current team, Zeb Knutson was a lightly regarded player at Sioux Falls who played in only 9 games his freshman year. This year, he's scored 40 points. Are those cases the norm? Obviously not, but I think when you're talking about 17-20 year-olds, they see opportunity, where we see challenge.