Generic Off Season Thread

[KeithK]

But point is I really should have realized when Stevens basically ended Lindros's career (or the useful portion of it at least), that we don't all get to grow up being yankees fans.

Hey, even Yankees fans have lean years.  The fact that you may not have been alive during the last stretch is beside the point. :-P

[Ed: Come on, everyone reading the board was alive during the terrible trauma of 2008 when the Yanks missed the playoffs!]

[Josh '99]

So yes, some still have these rules in place, but a Bed and Breakfast or a Lodge are places which have these rules typically regardless of location.  If you want to go only for our team though, there are more than enough options that allow for cancellation with as little as 3 days.  And these are only the hotels in Lake Placid, proper.  Once you go SLIGHTLY outside of Lake Placid, they are all refundable.  So the hotel argument to me seems to be invalid.

Not really, you're going to need to know the policy during ECAC week. What they do now doesn't mean what they will do then. Many hotels have different policies for major events. Certainly those were not the policies when the ECAC was there before. Hopefully it will all be explained tomorrow.

What makes you think that it will not be made even better a year later than that and during a weekend when demand will be high?  They will make even MORE money if they are able to make better cancellation policies during that weekend.  Besides, since when have hotels gotten MORE draconian in their policies into the future when it is already almost unheard of for places which are not B&Bs or Resorts.

Ummm.  Past experience?

Life.  Hotels.  Basic common sense?

I'm saying given that we are living in 2012, where social media is incredibly influential in our lives and people are living on the web, that things have likely changed in the last decade.  Things have changed in the last four years and to think that hotel policies are somehow magically free of this is naive.

"Naive" is thinking things will "magically" change because you'd like them to.

LP is a one-horse town...and barely that.  When that one horse shows up, they milk attendees for all they can get.  Big difference between a hick place in the boonies like LP and an accessible, attractive city like Providence.

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

Here's the realization I had earlier:  dedicated alumni fans, like we who read these boards, will be around forever, and, as much as we claim otherwise, I think a lot of us will probably schlep to Lake Placid or Atlantic City or Providence or whatever other random place the ECAC picks.  But we become] that kind of fan because of the experiences we have in our formative years, i.e. (for most of us) as undergrads or recent alumni.  For many of you folks from the national championship era, that means the great memories you have of tournaments at the old Boston Garden before the Divorce; for people from my era, it's the back-to-back championships in 1996 and 1997, the improbable playoff run of 2000, the heartbreak of the 2002 championship game, and the eventual successes of 2003.  To some extent, the team is the team, and our school is our school, and those games could have taken place anywhere; but on the flip side, having had many of those experiences in a unique setting like Lake Placid, in my view made them memories with more resonance than if they'd happened somewhere conveniently located but generic like the Times-Union Center.  Reasonable minds may differ on this point, of course, but I think trips to someplace "special" like LP will cultivate the next generation of hockey-mad Faithful in a way that Albany or Providence won't.  

All that being said, I hope the hotel operators in LP ease up on their cancellation policies this time around, because that was asinine.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

But point is I really should have realized when Stevens basically ended Lindros's career (or the useful portion of it at least), that we don't all get to grow up being yankees fans.

Hey, even Yankees fans have lean years.  The fact that you may not have been alive during the last stretch is beside the point. :-P

[Ed: Come on, everyone reading the board was alive during the terrible trauma of 2008 when the Yanks missed the playoffs!]

Terrible trauma?  2008?  The year the Phillies won the series?  No trauma whatsoever.  ::banana::

[Al DeFlorio]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

Well, there are trains--with frequent service--and interstate highways that go right into downtown Providence from all major northeast cities, where many alumni live (How many Clarkson alums live in Potsdam?)  Albany is also much more accessible than LP, but, in my opinion (sorry, Tim) is not as attractive a city as Providence.  As far as attractiveness goes, what else is there to do in LP other than a bogus bobsled ride?  A ski jump?  [I'll go if Adam promises to jump for us.]

I would be very happy to have seen the ECACs return to Albany, but if the brilliant ADs who chose Atlantic City over Albany felt a continuing need for an alternative to Albany, Providence would be a much more desirable location than LP.

[adamw]

You're a sweet guy Al.

As for what's there to do? It's all in the eye of the beholder. Depends on what you want to do. Suggesting there's nothing to do in LP however, is completely ridiculous. There's more to do there than Providence and Albany, as far as I'm concerned. And unless you're gambling, more than A.C. too.

[Al DeFlorio]

You're a sweet guy Al.

As for what's there to do? It's all in the eye of the beholder. Depends on what you want to do. Suggesting there's nothing to do in LP however, is completely ridiculous. There's more to do there than Providence and Albany, as far as I'm concerned. And unless you're gambling, more than A.C. too.

Like what?  Besides the bobsled and ski jump?  Golf?  Horseback riding?  In March?  A spa?  How many hockey fans go to a spa?  It's a one-street town with nothing to offer but overpriced hotels and restaurants, and a hockey rink that's the wrong size and not nearly as comfortable as the ones in Albany and Providence.  Then, of course, there's the weather.

[adamw]

Like I said, it's in the eye of the beholder. If you want to be cranky about it, have a blast. Not gonna affect me. It's pretty useless for me to try to convince anyone, you in particular.

[Scersk '97]

Like what?  Besides the bobsled and ski jump?  Golf?  Horseback riding?  In March?  A spa?  How many hockey fans go to a spa?  It's a one-street town with nothing to offer but overpriced hotels and restaurants, and a hockey rink that's the wrong size and not nearly as comfortable as the ones in Albany and Providence.  Then, of course, there's the weather.

Having been there over last New Year's, I can say, from recent firsthand experience, that your characterization of the town is either out of whack or out of date.  Perhaps both.  My special lady and I are not made of money, yet we spent a great, somewhat economical four days in Placid.

Ummm... Sliding, skating, jumping, and hockey are not the only winter sports up to which one might get in Lake Placid, even in mid-March.  You may have heard of these things called skis?  And [inserting reference to favorite humorous Placid memory] if your team's victory parade to the rink doesn't get rescheduled, you pretty much have all of Saturday's daylight free.  To be more blunt: there's the enormous speed skating oval, there's the cross-country course, there's Whiteface.  Look around.

We went skiing.  Was it cheap?  No, but skiing isn't anywhere.  I am not God's great gift to athletics, and it was my first downhill experience.  On Whiteface, commonly nicknamed Iceface.  Not known as a beginner's hill.  But it was important to my ladyfriend for me to give it a try, so I got over my chittering fear and clipped in.  Know what?  I guess they've opened a lot of terrain lately, and a bunch of that for kids and beginners. And ski technology has changed.   I learned, didn't die, and, even on the last, iciest of our days, got pretty far up the mountain. Even started to enjoy the difficulty. Ich habe viel Spass gemacht. I'm itching for the summit next time, but ya gotta work up to Whiteface blues.

We stayed at a very well-run motel, if slightly too economical for my delicate nasal mucosa.  (I hate combination heater/air conditioners.)  There was the pretty great brewpub with the good happy hour.  There was the excellent, edgy restaurant with strikingly imaginative cocktails and cuisine down by the old mill.  Not cheap, but worth it.  And I'm hard on restaurants.  There was the welcoming, cheap breakfast place.  There was even nearly edible Mexican.  In the North Country.  You can find what you want at the price point you're looking for if you do some legwork.

So, it's time to give Placid another chance.  Hopefully we'll all have a few years of having a reason to go.

[Swampy]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

I don't buy the accessibility/geography argument. According to Google Maps, these are the driving times from ECACHL locations to Lake Placid & Providence:

LP
Brown: 5:19; Clarkson: 2:32; Colgate: 3:41; Cornell: 4:52; Dartmouth: 3:22; Harvard: 5:26; Princeton: 5:45; Quinnepeac: 5:00; RPI: 2:27; St. L: 1:46; Union: 2:32; Yale: 5:06


Providence
Brown: 0; Clarkson: 6:39; Colgate: 4:53; Cornell: 5:47; Dartmouth: 3:04; Harvard: 1:10; Princeton: 4:30; Quinnepeac: 1:56; RPI: 2:59; St. L: 6:38; Union: 3:10; Yale: 1:48

So the average travel time to LP is 3:59 but to Providence it's only 3:32. At that's by car! The last I heard, Providence is served by Amtrak, Southwest, and Jet Blue. So I'd presume public transportation would be even more in Providence's favor.

[ugarte]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

I don't buy the accessibility/geography argument. According to Google Maps, these are the driving times from ECACHL locations to Lake Placid & Providence:

LP
Brown: 5:19; Clarkson: 2:32; Colgate: 3:41; Cornell: 4:52; Dartmouth: 3:22; Harvard: 5:26; Princeton: 5:45; Quinnepeac: 5:00; RPI: 2:27; St. L: 1:46; Union: 2:32; Yale: 5:06


Providence
Brown: 0; Clarkson: 6:39; Colgate: 4:53; Cornell: 5:47; Dartmouth: 3:04; Harvard: 1:10; Princeton: 4:30; Quinnepeac: 1:56; RPI: 2:59; St. L: 6:38; Union: 3:10; Yale: 1:48

So the average travel time to LP is 3:59 but to Providence it's only 3:32. At that's by car! The last I heard, Providence is served by Amtrak, Southwest, and Jet Blue. So I'd presume public transportation would be even more in Providence's favor.

All right you lunatic Aspies. I want these travel times weighted by Fan Travel Impact by COB.

[Josh '99]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

I don't buy the accessibility/geography argument. According to Google Maps, these are the driving times from ECACHL locations to Lake Placid & Providence:

LP
Brown: 5:19; Clarkson: 2:32; Colgate: 3:41; Cornell: 4:52; Dartmouth: 3:22; Harvard: 5:26; Princeton: 5:45; Quinnepeac: 5:00; RPI: 2:27; St. L: 1:46; Union: 2:32; Yale: 5:06


Providence
Brown: 0; Clarkson: 6:39; Colgate: 4:53; Cornell: 5:47; Dartmouth: 3:04; Harvard: 1:10; Princeton: 4:30; Quinnepeac: 1:56; RPI: 2:59; St. L: 6:38; Union: 3:10; Yale: 1:48

So the average travel time to LP is 3:59 but to Providence it's only 3:32. At that's by car! The last I heard, Providence is served by Amtrak, Southwest, and Jet Blue. So I'd presume public transportation would be even more in Providence's favor.

Well, it's clearly much more convenient to Harvard's and Brown's 9 combined fans anyway.

[Josh '99]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

Well, there are trains--with frequent service--and interstate highways that go right into downtown Providence from all major northeast cities, where many alumni live (How many Clarkson alums live in Potsdam?)  Albany is also much more accessible than LP, but, in my opinion (sorry, Tim) is not as attractive a city as Providence.  As far as attractiveness goes, what else is there to do in LP other than a bogus bobsled ride?  A ski jump?  [I'll go if Adam promises to jump for us.]

I would be very happy to have seen the ECACs return to Albany, but if the brilliant ADs who chose Atlantic City over Albany felt a continuing need for an alternative to Albany, Providence would be a much more desirable location than LP.

OK, so clearly you don't like the wintry options in Lake Placid; what is there to do in Providence?  I've never felt much of a desire to do anything after a game at Meehan except skip town, but maybe I'm missing out.

[Jim Hyla]

Accessible?  I guess, though not as much so as Albany; however, this to some extent disregards the fact that the ECAC is no longer, and in all likelihood never will again be, a Boston-centered league.  Providence is at one end of the league's geographic footprint as much so as Lake Placid is, and for the schools with sizable student/townie fan bases, Lake Placid is comparably convenient (Capital District schools) or much more so (Cornell, North Country schools).  

As for attractiveness, one thing the Lake Placid region certainly has going for it is natural beauty out the wazoo (albeit, in fairness, much of it snow-covered even into March), if that's a major concern.  

Well, there are trains--with frequent service--and interstate highways that go right into downtown Providence from all major northeast cities, where many alumni live (How many Clarkson alums live in Potsdam?)  Albany is also much more accessible than LP, but, in my opinion (sorry, Tim) is not as attractive a city as Providence.  As far as attractiveness goes, what else is there to do in LP other than a bogus bobsled ride?  A ski jump?  [I'll go if Adam promises to jump for us.]

I would be very happy to have seen the ECACs return to Albany, but if the brilliant ADs who chose Atlantic City over Albany felt a continuing need for an alternative to Albany, Providence would be a much more desirable location than LP.

OK, so clearly you don't like the wintry options in Lake Placid; what is there to do in Providence?  I've never felt much of a desire to do anything after a game at Meehan except skip town, but maybe I'm missing out.

You can spend the day in Boston. Beats LP any day.

[adamw]

You can spend the day in Boston. Beats LP any day.

Like I've said, clearly in the eye of the beholder. I mean, talking about finding parking ... yikes

Hey, I love Boston - but driving an hour back and forth from Providence to Boston ... vs. taking a stroll down Main Street in LP ... I'll take the latter.

[redice]

You can spend the day in Boston. Beats LP any day.

Like I've said, clearly in the eye of the beholder. I mean, talking about finding parking ... yikes

Hey, I love Boston - but driving an hour back and forth from Providence to Boston ... vs. taking a stroll down Main Street in LP ... I'll take the latter.

I know this comes as quite a shock, but I'm with Jim & Al on this one...

This discussion is shaping up as a generational divide.   It's not unlike the ones I have with my son...   I keep reminding him:  "remember, you're heading where I am, I'm not headed where you are."   So, let's just respect the fact that, even though we're all college hockey fans, we have differences in exactly how we enjoy that sport.   It's not difficult to understand that 20-30 year olds enjoy different after-hour activities than 60-70 year olds, is it?