NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

[840MD]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

All three guys that were apart of that goal were college hockey players. From Mark's reaction on getting the assist I can only imagine what he's going to be like when he gets that first goal.

What reaction are you referring too? I watched it several times on the Av's website and it looked pretty normal to me. Geez give the kid a break.

[boot_walt_kyle]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Alright BWK calm down, it takes time to develop a good team and i think walt is doing a great job so far, I mean he has giving all his freshman solid playing time. This season is very similar to 2008 and the cats did just fine Then, just give it time.

Are you talking about the 2008-2009 season where the team went 14-15-5 or the 2007-2008 season where the team went 15-16-4 during the regular season? It doesn't really matter, because they are both failures of seasons where the Wildcats did not do fine as you say. As supporters of the Cats, we can not sit back and be happy with losing season after losing season with Walt at the helm. We need a coach who can lead his team to winning seasons on a consistent basis, not just once in a while.

[bigmrg74]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Figured I'd pass on the love to our neighbors to the north.



(JF_Gophers is credit to team.)

Isn't Marquette more Southeast of Houghton??

[aparch]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Are you talking about the 2008-2009 season where the team went 14-15-5 or the 2007-2008 season where the team went 15-16-4 during the regular season? It doesn't really matter, because they are both failures of seasons where the Wildcats did not do fine as you say. As supporters of the Cats, we can not sit back and be happy with losing season after losing season with Walt at the helm. We need a coach who can lead his team to winning seasons on a consistent basis, not just once in a while.

*yawn* Seemed to work out okay, both those years the 'Cats made it to the CCHA championship at Joe Louis Arena. And both times were [ ] to being Pairwise teams to make the tournament.

Along with that, there are at least a dozen guys from those two teams who have gone on to play professional hockey and represent the Wildcats well. How great is that to have alumni that continue to represent their alma mater long after they leave? Seems like Walt's doing all the right things.



You're starting to lose your edge while trolling...

[davyd83]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Are you talking about the 2008-2009 season where the team went 14-15-5 or the 2007-2008 season where the team went 15-16-4 during the regular season? It doesn't really matter, because they are both failures of seasons where the Wildcats did not do fine as you say. As supporters of the Cats, we can not sit back and be happy with losing season after losing season with Walt at the helm. We need a coach who can lead his team to winning seasons on a consistent basis, not just once in a while.

It is so difficult to resist temptation. But getting in a battle of hockey wits with this poster is like getting in an arse kicking contest with a one legged man.

[boot_walt_kyle]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

*yawn* Seemed to work out okay, both those years the 'Cats made it to the CCHA championship at Joe Louis Arena. And both times were [ ] to being Pairwise teams to make the tournament.

Along with that, there are at least a dozen guys from those two teams who have gone on to play professional hockey and represent the Wildcats well. How great is that to have alumni that continue to represent their alma mater long after they leave? Seems like Walt's doing all the right things.



You're starting to lose your edge while trolling...

Hate to tell you this, but the CCHA tournament is not the NCAA tournament, and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Since as you have pointed out those teams had professional level talent, don't you think the level of talent on those teams merited a better result than .500 hockey? Because I sure do.

Also, it is very great that NMU has alumni at all different levels of hockey representing the school. It is one of the few bright spots that Walt has had as a coach.

[devildog]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Hate to tell you this, but the CCHA tournament is not the NCAA tournament, and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Since as you have pointed out those teams had professional level talent, don't you think the level of talent on those teams merited a better result than .500 hockey? Because I sure do.

Also, it is very great that NMU has alumni at all different levels of hockey representing the school. It is one of the few bright spots that Walt has had as a coach.

Comley sucked pond water many seasons as coach at NMU, but they never even discussed getting rid of him. He moved on to a sweet gig in East Lansing.
Walt does a good job with what he gets. Face it, top notch players are not going parade to Marquette, so that means top notch coaches aren't either. Many empty seats and a luke warm love for the team by the local community, not to mention the student body really does not get behind the team, either. All that plays into a limited budget, which effects recruiting, so you fire Walt we could easily end up with a much worse situation. Look how long it has taken Tech to climb out of their hole.
I don't think you can expect much better than 500, with an occasional good team that can make a run for it, based on the support Wildcat Hockey gets the school and community.

[davyd83]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

I'll make the offer again. Come on the radio and talk college hockey. I'll even back off on making you use your real name. You can go on under the "boot_walt_kyle" moniker. I think you would make an interesting intermission feature.

[NMUCatChat]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Recap from the Tech game and a preview for Miami. The segment is towards the end of the video

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[NMU8405]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

I'll make the offer again. Come on the radio and talk college hockey. I'll even back off on making you use your real name. You can go on under the "boot_walt_kyle" moniker. I think you would make an interesting intermission feature.

Dave, I dont know why you bother. Why dont you extend that offer to someone that knows hockey, the college game and can offer real insightful ideas, instead of the same nonsense over and over.

[davyd83]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Why would O'Reilly interview a liberal? Or Bill Maher or Keith Olberman a conservative? To present a differing point of view and engage in a lively debate, in this case, in a personal, real time one on one forum. BWK has been quite the polarizing figure on these boards for quite some time. BWK has been a very controversial figure here. So lets meet her/him. A little controversy might be fun.

[MTUHatTrick84]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Comley sucked pond water many seasons as coach at NMU, but they never even discussed getting rid of him. He moved on to a sweet gig in East Lansing.
Walt does a good job with what he gets. Face it, top notch players are not going parade to Marquette, so that means top notch coaches aren't either. Many empty seats and a luke warm love for the team by the local community, not to mention the student body really does not get behind the team, either. All that plays into a limited budget, which effects recruiting, so you fire Walt we could easily end up with a much worse situation. Look how long it has taken Tech to climb out of their hole.
I don't think you can expect much better than 500, with an occasional good team that can make a run for it, based on the support Wildcat Hockey gets the school and community.

Another issue that arises is the conference that NMU plays in requires a huge travel budget. Even taking busses down to Ohio and Kentucky (BGSU), it still adds up to be pretty expensive. Spread that out with the fact that all of the other teams play in the GLIAC, which now has many schools in Ohio. The problem is that there are only 2 legitimate schools within a 5 hour drive. (Then you start to pick up hockey schools of Duluth and Wisconsin if you go a little further out, and a few GLIAC schools as well). Going outside of Lake State, the nearest opponent for NMU hockey is Ferris. That budget gets stretched thin.

Lukewarm community support? Sounds familiar. I think there is a great disconnect between the athletics of the universities in the U.P. and the communities they reside in. The community will come out and support you as "their team" if you start to win, but they don't feel that connection to stick with you when you lose. How many Widcat (/Husky/Laker) fans from the community are alumni? It seems to me that there are few collegiate-level jobs for us diehards when we graduate, and we end up moving away (downstate, Chicago, to the coasts). The average local fan does not have an attachment to the school. That means, if you start to lose, then it snowballs into a more empty arena.

Student body not getting behind the team? Again, there are diehards that will be there for every game. But there are entertainment options out there for students who would rather do something else if the team is struggling, even so far as there are plenty of bars in Marquette. Are the student tickets still free?

The huge issue that hasn't been brought up is revenue sharing. What type of cut does NMU get from the money that comes out of the CCHA tournament? (I would assume 1/11th). How much money does the tournament bring in? I know that Tech relies heavily on the revenue of the Final Five in St. Paul in running the hockey program, and that tournament sells out just about every game. Is the CCHA tournament that profitable for the teams? If not, is it time to start rotating the site? Would the television coverage of FSD follow? Will it be different if Illitch builds his new palace?

Marquette has a lot to offer a recruit, especially those coming from small towns in Canada. You can sell the "We have everything you need here, and a chance to play major teams and be recognized. You can get the NHL from here, and you don't have to get lost in the big city to do it. Oh, and you get a free education." angle.

It is good to point out that a successful coach wasn't always successful with the Wildcats. The mid-90's were pretty bleak, as I remember from my days of growing up.

[aparch]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

...
The huge issue that hasn't been brought up is revenue sharing. What type of cut does NMU get from the money that comes out of the CCHA tournament? (I would assume 1/11th). How much money does the tournament bring in? I know that Tech relies heavily on the revenue of the Final Five in St. Paul in running the hockey program, and that tournament sells out just about every game. Is the CCHA tournament that profitable for the teams? If not, is it time to start rotating the site? Would the television coverage of FSD follow? Will it be different if Illitch builds his new palace?
...

What is this "Revenue Sharing" you speak of? The CCHA keeps what it takes in at the Joe. That's how they throw the free fan party at the Ren Center.


As for alumni in the area that support the team, I would venture that most of who shows up ARE alumni (or in some way connected) to NMU. I feel that there needs to be some better promotion of ALL the athletics within the community. I didn't know the Volleyball team was undefeated so far until I went to the NMU Sports site for hockey information. The only way I found out about the Pink Experience NMU is doing is by the same dumb luck of finding the link on the main sports page.

There hasn't been anything in the Mining Journal other than the pre-prepared blurbs produced by the in-house SID. Dave Fiella is a miracle worker for what limited resources are available to him, but he cannot do it alone. And TV6 isn't exactly the best tool to broadcast information on since they don't reach much more than the very upper central UP.

Hell, I just got a (pre-recorded) phone call last night from Notre Dame's Coach Jeff Jackson saying that because of a break in the academic calendar this weekend, the Hockey Team is looking to fill up the student section and tickets were still available. I only bought tickets to the NMU game last year, and they're flooding me with season ticket information in the mail, phone calls... anything. I still get phone calls or e-mails from the Grand Rapids Griffins, Rockford Icehogs, Peoria Rivermen, AND the Chicago Wolves whenever they're offering promotions. They're actively seeking out ways to get fans into their games. I get Green Bay Gambler promotional e-mails still, and that's because I bought tickets to the NMU/Wisco game in Green Bay.

What does NMU do? Sit on their *ing hands and let a bunch of us blab about what little we find on a message board.


If ANYONE from NMU wants some free marketing advice, I would be more than happy to forward ALL the e-mails I have received from other hockey venues regarding promotions and marketing. I don't delete anything from my Google Mail account, so it's all still there. I can only do so much, and I'm pretty stumped where else to go to spread this when I've already shared this with the coaching staff (and they've passed it their higher-ups... hmmm... wonder where the disconnect is).

[davyd83]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

Another issue that arises is the conference that NMU plays in requires a huge travel budget. Even taking busses down to Ohio and Kentucky (BGSU).

NMU has never played a hockey game in Kentucky. BGSU is in Bowling Green, Ohio, a little more than an hour south of Detroit. What are they telling you there in Houghton Lake?:P

[AnchorsAway]

Re: NMU Wildcats 2010-2011 Season Thread

NMU has never played a hockey game in Kentucky. BGSU is in Bowling Green, Ohio, a little more than an hour south of Detroit. What are they telling you there in Houghton Lake?:P

lol I was gonna say, I have been in the BGSU rink before and I admit I had a few cocktails the night before but I was pretty certain I was in Ohio..