Lynah Expansion Moves Forward

[evilnaturedrobot]

It's one thing to create home ice with your crowd.  When you start to affect the dynamics of play on the ice then i think your going over the line.

[KeithK]

[q]I find it hard to get worked up over this. Home team already has lots of advantages (e.g., matching lines, preferred end of the ice for two periods, etc.), so why not this? Unless you get the NCAA to prohibit this setup, other teams will take what advantages they can get.

You cannot unilaterally declare peace.[/q]Sometimes you have to stand up for what's right even when others are doing the wrong thing.  Just because lots of NCAA teams have this bench setup doesn't make it any less cheap and unfair.

As for getting worked up, I'm not about to stop following Cornell hockey over this.  But I will throw in a perjorative when the subject comes up.

[billhoward]

Two advantages to having the Cornell bench on the south side of the rink, where the penalty boxes are (and remain):

Quicker change coming off a penalty

Direct access to the locker room for a skate change or a minor injury that could be handled better there than on the bench.

(One hopes the Cornell women's locker room also gets upgraded and has that direct access. They can use some support, too. Cornell in recent years has been an also-ran to Harvard and Dartmouth.)

[Chris \'03]

[Q]Jacob '06 Wrote:

 [Q2]Doug '08 Wrote:

 That is the way it should be... the opposing bench in front of our student fans![/Q]
I'm pretty sure they are actually putting the cornell bench in front of our student fans. This would probably make the most sense because the new lockerrooms are going below the student sections, so Cornell's tunnel could lead right to the bench.[/q]

From what I gathered from someone involved in fundraising for the project about a year ago, the visiting bench is slated to be in front of the student section with the new locker rooms under both the north and south stands (picture lynah east). That way both teams have access to their locker rooms.

Of course those plans may have changed in the past year. Nothing in the Sun article contradicted the idea that the penalty box/home bench will be on the north side though.

I presume the timetable on the project is intended so that the renovations will be complete to celebrate the Lynah's 50th birthday in April, 2007.

[peterg]

[Q]billhoward Wrote:

 Two advantages to having the Cornell bench on the south side of the rink, where the penalty boxes are (and remain):

Quicker change coming off a penalty

Direct access to the locker room for a skate change or a minor injury that could be handled better there than on the bench.

(One hopes the Cornell women's locker room also gets upgraded and has that direct access. They can use some support, too. Cornell in recent years has been an also-ran to Harvard and Dartmouth.)[/q]

As I understood the plan there will be both new men's and women's locker rooms under the south stands, with the existing locker rooms to become visitor's facilities.  

[jy3]

it may be possible to schedule the season such that all of the home games are later in the season...

[Josh '99]

[Q]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:
It's one thing to create home ice with your crowd.  When you start to affect the dynamics of play on the ice then i think your going over the line.[/q]You mean like last line change?

[evilnaturedrobot]

I'm sure that I'm about to make myself look like an idiot, but you've lost me.

[Rosey]

[Q]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

 I'm sure that I'm about to make myself look like an idiot, but you've lost me.[/q]
At stoppages, the home team gets to match their lines against whatever the visiting team puts out: the visitor chooses lines, and after the ref signals no more changes, they are stuck, at which point the home team can put out whichever line best matches up against the visitor.

IMO, this is a much bigger deal than the location of the penalty box.  If you have a problem with home ice rules, start with the low-hanging fruit.

Cheers,
Kyle

[redhair34]

[Q]krose Wrote:

IMO, this is a much bigger deal than the location of the penalty box.  [/q]

I agree, but last line change is a standard, universal practice.  The penalty box-next to home bench set-up isn't.  When we play Dartmouth  they get last line change at Thompson, we get the last line change at Lynah.  It evens out.  The same goes for Lynah East.  However, at Lynah East they get their 5th man into play quicker, when they come to Lynah we don't have the advantage they had at Lynah East.  It doesn't even out.  I don't think it's really that big of a deal (aka I wouldn't exactly call it unfair) it's just cheap.

[Rosey]

[Q]when they come to Lynah we don't have the advantage they had at Lynah East.[/q]
Sounds like a good enough reason to give us that advantage at home. I repeat: you cannot unilaterally declare peace.

So, simply from a practical standpoint, you need to follow the arms race to its logical conclusion within the boundaries set by the rules.  This happens in every hockey game at every level when players hit from behind, crosscheck, slash, hold, or dive without being called for it.  Guess what?  These things might be cheap, but they are functionally within the rules when they aren't noticed by the officials, and our guys commit these kinds of fouls all the time because if they didn't, they'd be at a tactical and strategic disadvantage.

Cheers,
Kyle

[David Harding]

[q]Players’ Bench
SECTION 9. a. The rink shall provide seats or benches for the use of players of both teams that accommodate at least 21 persons of each team. The benches should be placed immediately alongside the ice in the neutral zone, as near to the center of the rink as possible, with the doors opening in the neutral zone, convenient to the dressing rooms. When players’ benches are situated in the spectator area, they should be separated from the spectators by a protective screening of sufficient height to afford the necessary protection to the players and team personnel. Benches may be situated on opposite sides or on the same side of the rink, in which case the two teams should be separated by a substantial distance. Where physically possible, each players’ bench should have two doors opening in the neutral zone. All doors opening to the playing surface shall be constructed so that they swing away from the ice surface. Each players’ bench should have an elevated coaches’ walkway behind the area where the players are seated.
b. Only players in uniform and six additional team personnel shall be permitted to occupy the bench area. For a violation, after a warning by the referee, a bench minor penalty shall be assessed.

Penalty Bench
SECTION 10. a. The rink must be provided with benches or seats to be known as the penalty bench. It is preferable to have penalty benches for each team separated from each other and substantially separated from either players’ bench. When penalty benches are situated in the spectator area, they should be separated from the spectators by a protective glass of sufficient height to afford the necessary protection to penalized players and any other personnel. The penalty bench(es) should be situated in the neutral zone. The penalty bench(es) should accommodate at least 10 persons, including the timekeeper, the penalty timekeeper, the scorer and penalized players. Only penalized players may occupy the penalty-bench area. For a violation, after a warning by the referee, a bench minor penalty shall be assessed.
b. Immediately in front of the penalty timekeeper’s bench, there shall be marked in red on the ice a semicircle of 10 feet radius and 2 inches in width, which shall be known as the referee’s crease.[/q]

[Jim Hyla]

[Q]krose Wrote:

 [Q2]when they come to Lynah we don't have the advantage they had at Lynah East.[/Q]
Sounds like a good enough reason to give us that advantage at home. I repeat: you cannot unilaterally declare peace.

So, simply from a practical standpoint, you need to follow the arms race to its logical conclusion within the boundaries set by the rules.  This happens in every hockey game at every level when players hit from behind, crosscheck, slash, hold, or dive without being called for it.  Guess what?  These things might be cheap, but they are functionally within the rules when they aren't noticed by the officials, and our guys commit these kinds of fouls all the time because if they didn't, they'd be at a tactical and strategic disadvantage.

Cheers,
Kyle[/q]The fact is that we have declared peace all these years, and done well. Many of us get annoyed seeing it at other rinks, and are happy to go the way of the NHL in our own rink. We don't need to stoop to this to win. Of course we could be as dumb as Colgate and redesign our rink like we propose, and then switch benches so we are at a disadvantage in our own rink.

The fact is that eventually, like the NHL, this practice will be outlawed, and we will change back.

[Peter]

I think this will have an impact on the quality of the seats in (if i'm thinking of this correclty) sections B and D.  Instead of mostly just glass and the timekeeper etc. now you have a full bench of players, often standing and/or leaning over the edge of the boards, making it more difficult to see into the corner.  

I noticed this at the Rochester game.  My seats were near the bench and I found it much more difficult to see the corner than at lynah.

[Ben Rocky '04]

That is one of the crappier rinks I've ever been in personally.  The layout of seats, and the slope of the seating made for poor viewing, much like Meehan.  The scoreboard lacked the penalties, which were instead displayed at the end of the ice.  It reminded me to really appreciate the layout of Appleton, Thompson.. and oh yeah Lynah.  Sucks for the teams that end up at the regionals there......

On the other hand, beer is good for a throat after you've been chanting, screaming and yelling for 2 periods.  Live and let die I suppose.:-P