UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

[Fishman'81]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I tend to agree with you. I prefer watching a more skill oriented game.

Give me a team composed of Kariya- and Cal Ingraham-types, and watch them skate rings around the the dumb lugs... Now, that's pure hockey, to me.

(Fewer penalties, too.)

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I go quite a bit and the attendance is in the 150-200 range and lately higher in the 300+ range...good game to watch and this team has talent and has much improved over last year...stepping up in skill wise...still need to add more recruits but a fun team to watch that plays together...hoping a few years down the line that this program can look back to the 2017-18 team and say they were the team/players that got this program moving forward and in a positive direction.

[Drew S.]

I actually prefer the no body-checking thing. That definitely improves the flow of a game, and rewards feet and hands vs. mere bulk. I'd be just fine with the men adopting that rule, too; when I watch hockey, I want to see skills and finesse, not a wresting match. (Can anyone imagine how amazing it would be to see the '93 team play in a pure foot-race every night..? A 45-0 season, for sure.)

Wishing our Lady Bears ("Sow Bears" ?) the best. I'll watch them on-line at the very least.

I’d like to see hockey at all levels experiment with no hitting. It seems like someday it will happen due to all of the concussion issues.

[amkirby10]

I’d like to see hockey at all levels experiment with no hitting. It seems like someday it will happen due to all of the concussion issues.

I’m not with you guys on this one, solid body contact is one of the best things about the game in my opinion, and I would never want to see a completely contact free hockey. I think women’s should allow body contact.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I have, it's slow compared to men's, skating is nowhere near as good. But it's fun and they play hard.

The women's game is significantly improved over the past 15-20 years at the D1 level. It was unwatchable not that long ago. Now I find the pace to be good. They generally make good decisions and are sound positionally which I find to be an enjoyable take. Makes you appreciate the men's game as well in terms of decisions those kids have to make a far greater speed.

[J.D.]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I’d like to see hockey at all levels experiment with no hitting. It seems like someday it will happen due to all of the concussion issues.

I'm sorry but this is outrageous. I'm all for eliminating head shots and a seek and destroy mentality but no hitting at all is taking it too far. I don't watch a lot of women's hockey but me trying to figure out what contact is allowed and what isn't is like me watching cricket. Difficult enough figuring out the standard for refs in regard to stick infractions etc. The last thing I want is them making more decisions on what kind of body contact is allowed. That is something that would drive me away from the sport.

[Drew S.]

I'm sorry but this is outrageous. I'm all for eliminating head shots and a seek and destroy mentality but no hitting at all is taking it too far. I don't watch a lot of women's hockey but me trying to figure out what contact is allowed and what isn't is like me watching cricket. Difficult enough figuring out the standard for refs in regard to stick infractions etc. The last thing I want is them making more decisions on what kind of body contact is allowed. That is something that would drive me away from the sport.

We certainly wouldn’t want to drive you from the sport, JD. I’d like to just see it. Maybe it would be a disaster but it also might make the sport better. It could be adjusted or abandoned depending on the results.

[J.D.]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

Ya cuz i'm the only one who wouldn't like the prospect of eliminating all hitting from the men's game

[Pucknut]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

My wife and I have gone to a few games. Didn't go today. There is no checking in the women's game, makes it much different. No admission charge and only 75 - 100 people in attendance for most regular season games. Mostly friends and family members of players. Attendance listed at 340 for yesterday's game. Looks like fans jumping on the bandwagon when a program begins to win.

All games will be broadcast by NESN (NESN+) from Mathews Arena, for the first time ever.

I had the opportunity to go on Friday and thought the level of play was equal to two good high school teams. They did charge a $10 admission fee.

[chickod]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

We certainly wouldn’t want to drive you from the sport, JD. I’d like to just see it. Maybe it would be a disaster but it also might make the sport better. It could be adjusted or abandoned depending on the results.

If the only reason you want to eliminate contact is to avoid the "intent to injure" hits I believe there are better ways to do that. But creating a "no checking" men's game would eliminate more PLAYERS than it would fans!!!! I can tell you the first thing that will happen. Offensive players will skate right into a checking opponent and would "draw" a penalty almost every time. If you're playing defense and you're on skates there's no way you would be able to avoid contact. It's similar to that ridiculous call in basketball when the shooter up fakes and after the defender gets in the air he just dives under him to force the guy to land on him. And that's almost an automatic call (even though it's the wrong call). The game is too fast and there would be too many unavoidable collisions. It would be a disaster, IMO.

[UncleRay]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

Yeah keep thinking that, AARP is knocking on your door also

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

They can knock all they want. I've got selective hearing - just ask AuntRay!

[BlackI]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

If the only reason you want to eliminate contact is to avoid the "intent to injure" hits I believe there are better ways to do that. But creating a "no checking" men's game would eliminate more PLAYERS than it would fans!!!! I can tell you the first thing that will happen. Offensive players will skate right into a checking opponent and would "draw" a penalty almost every time. If you're playing defense and you're on skates there's no way you would be able to avoid contact. It's similar to that ridiculous call in basketball when the shooter up fakes and after the defender gets in the air he just dives under him to force the guy to land on him. And that's almost an automatic call (even though it's the wrong call). The game is too fast and there would be too many unavoidable collisions. It would be a disaster, IMO.

Well that would actually be the second thing that would happen. The first is all top talent would go major junior. Then we are left with a terrible disadvantage. It is and has been bad enough already. But that would kill college hockey as we know it.

And speaking of that, if anything I think it would be great to loosen up some rules in college hockey as far as when and how much you can talk to young players. And fighting should be allowed, that severely cuts down on cheap shots. But I doubt us college hockey would ever agree to fighting. But it is there in USHL and last I watched that hockey is great. In fact, it would be interesting if they had a draft where they had a major junior league to compete with Canada's major junior.

[Drew S.]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

If the only reason you want to eliminate contact is to avoid the "intent to injure" hits I believe there are better ways to do that. But creating a "no checking" men's game would eliminate more PLAYERS than it would fans!!!! I can tell you the first thing that will happen. Offensive players will skate right into a checking opponent and would "draw" a penalty almost every time. If you're playing defense and you're on skates there's no way you would be able to avoid contact. It's similar to that ridiculous call in basketball when the shooter up fakes and after the defender gets in the air he just dives under him to force the guy to land on him. And that's almost an automatic call (even though it's the wrong call). The game is too fast and there would be too many unavoidable collisions. It would be a disaster, IMO.

I think you misinterpreted my post. I never said get rid of contact and that was never my intention. I'm talking about eliminating hitting. That is when someone is skating with some amount of speed and runs into another player. I think every level of hockey should try it and see what it looks like. I'm not convinced it would be a good thing, but its something that should be given a go. The concussion issue is only going to get worse and hockey should try to get in front of it.

[Fishman'81]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I think you misinterpreted my post. I never said get rid of contact and that was never my intention. I'm talking about eliminating hitting. That is when someone is skating with some amount of speed and runs into another player. I think every level of hockey should try it and see what it looks like. I'm not convinced it would be a good thing, but its something that should be given a go. The concussion issue is only going to get worse and hockey should try to get in front of it.

Hockey needs to get in front of it, as does football. The lawyers will see to it if the sports themselves don't.

And, to a below post, there are very few checking penalties called in the women's games I've seen. It's pretty obvious when the puck-carrier creates contact, and body-contact itself isn't checking. There's plenty of body-contact in women's hockey as people battle for the puck, but there's no room for knockout blows.

And to Blackie's (fairly ridiculous) take on fighting in hockey, I can't imagine that our grandkids will be watching any sport that legalizes assault and battery. Sucker-punches and tomahawk sticks will be punishable by law; it's already getting there. It's easy to show intent on that, with 15 cameras rolling.

Fighting in any sport aside from boxing or MMA is seriously stupid. Imagine Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson looking at each other funny on the 12th green, throwing down their putters, and duking it out. That's not golf, and neither is it hockey.

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: UMaine Black Bears 2017/18, Red dawn

I had the opportunity to go on Friday and thought the level of play was equal to two good high school teams. They did charge a $10 admission fee.

Go to more then one game, the level is way better then that....and the fee was by the League {Hockey East}.