Cornell vs. BU

[DeltaOne81]

BRA,

So we should expect the top teams in the nation to agree to play teams from a generally weaker conference, but in turn never schedule any games against the MAAC/CHA?

Scheduling is all about being open and willing to schedule some good games against the people who want to play you. While with our team recently, I'm not so sure if MAAC teams *will* want to play us, if they do, we should absolutely agree. Otherwise we have no right to try claim that the UNH's and Maine's and ND's should schedule with us.

-Fred

[jd]

For those of you who don't want to risk death and drive to Ithaca this weekend through a severe snowstorm, the BU games will be broadcast on BU radio station 830 AM and 1330 AM in the Boston area.

[jd212]

[ugarte]

DeltaOne81 '03 wrote:

So we should expect the top teams in the nation to agree to play teams from a generally weaker conference,

Expect? No. Try? Yes. We are a reliably decent team despite our conference affiliation and should be able to pull off a top tier home and home.

but in turn never schedule any games against the MAAC/CHA?

Yes. YESYESYESYESYES.

Scheduling is all about being open and willing to schedule some good games against the people who want to play you. . . .  Otherwise we have no right to try claim that the UNH's and Maine's and ND's should schedule with us.

Sorry to disagree, Fred, but this isn't about Moral Authority to make decisions.   This is about figuring out what is best for Cornell and following that plan.  I don't want to drag Cornell down with MAAC/CHA teams just so I can be properly indignant when NoDak tells us to pound salt.  

Call me selfish ("Selfish!!!"), but I don't think we need the right to claim that the top teams should schedule us.  I see no reason that they should schedule us.  I just think that we should make every effort to get them on our schedule instead of dead weight like Mercyhurst and Wright State.  This year we have the type of NC schedule that we should have every year.  If we have to throw the MAAC/CHA a bone every few years to get better games scheduled, so be it.  But it isn't a moral imperative.

[Anne 85]

jd,

Where do you get your weather forecasts?  I haven't seen anything about a "severe snowstorm" this weekend.  The most I've seen (for the Boston-Ithaca route) is a 30% chance of flurries on Saturday and a chance of rain/snow showers Sunday night.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]Call me selfish ("Selfish!!!")... But it isn't a moral imperative.[/Q]
Damn straight it's selfish. Of course, there's not anything wrong with that in and of itself. Sure you should want to do the best for yourself. Cornell should, and I'm sure has, do what it can to schedule against the top teams in the nation, but we should also be willing to schedule against people who would like the opportunity to play up to us.

I'm not saying the AD 'n' company should be calling the AIC AD on the phone, but if a MAAC or CHA team calls us, we should be open minded and willing to extend a hand to them, in the same way we're asking the traditional (traditional in the sense of the last 5, 10 years) powehouses to extend a hand to us.

If you're the kind of person who believes the MAAC/CHA shouldn't have autobids, well, then I guess the conversation's over because we'll never agree. If not however, then I propose it's the same thing. You extend lesser teams the opportunity to test themselves. To put them with the big boys and let them play. It helps the program, it helps conferences, and it in turn helps spread college hockey. Being from Ct, and knowing how half our state's sports is UConn sports, I guarantee you that if UConn made the NCAAs, it would be on the local news and help the program grow. As opposed to Thanksgiving dinner, when the father of a UConn freshman said to me "UConn has a hockey team?"

My point may have gotten a bit lost there, but spreading the wealth is what it takes to make a strong sport. Sure, Bentley will probably never be a BU, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve their chance to try.

-Fred

[Greg Berge]

> the traditional (traditional in the sense of the last 5, 10 years) powehouses to extend a hand to us.


Must... try... to... keep... control.

If anybody's a traditional powerhouse, it's us.  Currently great teams like Maine and UNH are the Nouveau Riche.  And are they doing anything to help the Great Unwashed of the new conferences?  Nope, not a thing -- in fact they're doing everything they can to roll back the newbies' bids.

Just because the MAAC and CHA want to join the big boys doesn't mean we should do anything not directly in our own interest.  If it works out to be in our interest to schedule them, fine.  If not, screw em (just as they would screw us if the roles were reversed).

[Al DeFlorio]

Greg wrote:

And are they [Maine and UNH] doing anything to help the Great Unwashed of the new conferences?  Nope, not a thing -- in fact they're doing everything they can to roll back the newbies' bids.

Well, Maine's scheduled four games this year with MAAC teams.  What else could they do--change leagues? ::yark::

[jnachod]

It's hard to beat the free, no-ads (!) National Weather Service forecast.

Very detalied, which is useful for Ithaca.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/NYZ025.php?warncounty=NYC109&city=Ithaca

[jnachod]

Oops I put my above post in the wrong subthread but it looks like you can't move your posts around (only edit them).  It should be in the thread started by jd.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]Well, Maine's scheduled four games this year with MAAC teams. What else could they do--change leagues?[/Q]
And UNH's playing Connecticut this week. I've been a college hockey fan since I came to Cornell, so I'm not exactly well versed on some of the real 'traditional' powers (hence the time-disclaimer). Sure, I realize we'd have great programs, but in the last couple decades it hasn't been anything amazing (right?).

Anyway, I still stand by my point. The upper schools need to give the lesser school a chance to play if they're ever gonna get better. Sure, you should look out for your own interests, but you should be open to the needs of others at the same time.

[jason]

To cut to the chase: Why should we care to see other NC teams get better? And why should we necessarily desire the growth of college hockey? Sure, I want to see some healthy competition for Cornell, but that existed a-plenty without the MAAC or CHA. I personally preferred it when the Div I universe consisted of the WCHA and CCHA out west and the ECAC and Hockey East here --the East-West symmetry was nice for tourney purposes and the number of Div I schools was such that a fan could stay pretty well versed about most all of them. Growth of college hockey strikes me as bringing more bad than good --both for Cornell and the college game in general.

And I would be happy with the BU games being a perennial thing for at least the near future since it probably ensures some meaningful NC games on Cornell's schedule each and every year.  Of course, if Coach could convince some west powerhouse to agree to do something similar, I'd be very happy to see that (and if they won't agree to come to Lynah, screw 'em, I have no interest in seeing Cornell doing an away trip without it being reciprocated).

[min]

just want to get my 2 cents in...
i think there's no need to pick on the lesser schools... they are all trying very hard to increase their level of competition. (has anyone looked at mercyhurst's nc schedule? is it a coincidence that all of their scheduled games are on the road?)

in the long run, reciprocity is always a good thing...