Scheduling on USCHO

[jtwcornell91]

KASA (KRACH Adjusted for Site Advantage) incorporates home ice in a natural way.

[Beeeej]

[Q]ithacat Wrote:
And btw, how does North Dakota fill a 10,000 seat arena? I know they play great hockey but they only have around 13,000 students. [/q]

First of all, it's 11,500 seats; second, they fill it by being the most interesting thing happening in Grand Forks on most given Friday and Saturday nights.

Beeeej

[ithacat]

Thanks for the correction. I imagine they have bars, movies, and music like Ithaca. I love it here but it's not as if we have MOMA, the Met, and Madison Square Garden. It's got to be more than that.

[Jim Hyla]

 [Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:
Bah, Berenson's only interested in playing games in his own building that he knows he can win.[/Q]Hardly, since he plays Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase, as well as the Great Lakes Invitational, arguably the most difficult Christmas tournament year in and year out.

[Cornell Fan]

We hosted Maine in Fall 2000 a week or two before winter break. At the time I believe Maine was ranked #7. That game ended in a 1-1 tie.

[Scersk '97]

[Q]Jim Hyla Wrote:

  [Q2]Scersk '97 Wrote:
Bah, Berenson's only interested in playing games in his own building that he knows he can win.[/Q]
Hardly, since he plays Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase, as well as the Great Lakes Invitational, arguably the most difficult Christmas tournament year in and year out.[/q]

If you look at the quote out of context, your interpretation, sure, makes some sense, but I framed my argument more around how Michigan seems to avoid coming east to play difficult teams.  I believe the College Hockey Showcase is a traveling show, so Michigan hosts it every four years, no?  And the GLI hardly counts as anything other than a home game for Michigan, unless they are playing against Michigan State.  Also, in both an RPI/PWR and reputation sense, losing to Minnesota or Wisconsin is no great shame.

[Q]Berenson said:
"Do you think that Harvard would rather play UConn than Yale? It gives these younger leagues credibility. Once these leagues get established, we might go out there."[/Q]

One would think that Hockey Least and the ECAC(HL) are establshed leagues.  So, why hasn't Michigan made some trips?  Are they going to come to Lynah?  Probably not.  What about Boston, though?  Or Maine in Portland?  If they're concerned about gate, they could probably seek to play at a "neutral" location.  The question is not whether Michigan plays tough teams, but rather why they don't come east to play tough teams.

Now, the answer?  As has been abundantly examined above, the answer, as always, is mostly money.  I'm sure some of the Hockey Least programs could spring for part of the bill, though.  I think the answer is, also, a lack of backbone on the part of some eastern programs.  Require the reciprocation and make Michigan fill their schedule, in order to look "fair," with eastern cupcakes, like North Dakota with Canisius a year or two ago.

The article seems motivated by the comments of Schafer and Vaughan, with Colgate/Cornell being the kind of weekend most schools should like to play to toughen up their schedule.  Schafer's schedule for this year has come under criticism on this board, and I'm sure Vaughan has had many of the same problems at Colgate.  Teams just simply won't reciprocate with us, whether because of money or because they're afraid.  After what happened to BU in 2002-03, wouldn't you be?  (Which, once again, points up that Jack Parker is practicing what Berenson preaches.  Good for him.)

I'm starting to wonder if participation in the Everblades tournament is being used as a bargaining chip with some of these schools.  Maine, after all, came to Lynah with seemingly no reciprocation, and Ohio State has been on our schedule quite a bit.  When's BC coming in for a couple?  (My own answer to that question, BC/BU already have an established relationship with Clarkson and St. Lawrence, so, if they added Colgate and Cornell, it would start to look like they're back in the ol' ECAC.  Maybe it's time for Colgate and Cornell to steal them away from Clarkson and SLU, though.)

[jtwcornell91]

[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:
I'm starting to wonder if participation in the Everblades tournament is being used as a bargaining chip with some of these schools.  Maine, after all, came to Lynah with seemingly no reciprocation[/q]

We played the Black Bears in Portland the season before they came to Lynah.