SHU @ UConn (1/29)

[The Viking]

So the word is out that in 5 years the XL will be shut down and the hockey team will be playing in Freitas as currently constructed

Got it.

 

[zls44]

Six years in, we have a half-baked plan that's half paid for, no shovels in the ground and NOW the bad news has come out about the state of the AD.

 

[The Viking]

Six years in, we have a half-baked plan that's half paid for, no shovels in the ground and NOW the bad news has come out about the state of the AD.

Is there going to be some correlation between the Courant posting the school losses (the school knew about these losses before the paper published them and before they made their decisions on the new hockey rink setup) and this hockey plan not moving forward?

Are we already moving back dates of shovels in the ground?

I don't want to re-hash the whole arena decision thing. Regardless of what we think of the future setup, it will be a big improvement from what is out there now. And we could be building the Taj Mahal of college arenas and this big class that just came in was MAYBE going to see one year of it. He got a nice class despite the current setup.

 

[zls44]

Is there going to be some correlation between the Courant posting the school losses (the school knew about these losses before the paper published them and before they made their decisions on the new hockey rink setup) and this hockey plan not moving forward?

Are we already moving back dates of shovels in the ground?

I don't think anythings being moved back, but there's never been much to push back in the first place.

Look, the plan sucks. And I've heard the coaching staff agrees with everyone else about it. MC is being a good soldier and focusing on the season, disaster that it is.

But there aren't drawings. There's vague assurances.

Meanwhile, Vermont has designs and a sponsor and hard dates. Vermont.

We've got nothing but IOUs

 

[Sea Goat]

The state's fiscal mess is definitely spilling over to UConn. There is no doubt that said mess is impacting the AD's budget. Add to this the dreadful conference situation we are trapped in (thank you, Blumenthal et al) and the financial future is not very bright. There is very little by way of extra state dollars to tap for any UConn project, let alone new hockey arena.

I wish Governor Lamont well, but now he talking about taxing groceries and medications? That will cause people to mount the ramparts! Bottom line is that the state is trying to get "blood from a stone" on many fronts. Money is just not available! UConn must raise the bulk of any project expense on its own. That is a lot easier to accomplish when you have a decent, competitive product on the ice. Other than the five-week Creel hot streak last winter, when did we last seen that?

 

[Adios]

Let's make promises to Cav when he can't even beat Sacred Heart. Great recruiter. That's all I see. College hockey version of Mike Locksley.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Let's make promises to Cav when he can't even beat Sacred Heart. Great recruiter. That's all I see. College hockey version of Mike Locksley.

Cav would get hired in two seconds by an ECAC or HE program with the right facilities/investment structure in place who is looking to rebuild their program. Cav does not currently have either of those at UConn. There are absolutely areas of improvement for him based on results, but in watching his teams there aren't the fundamental coaching mistakes that occur when a coach is not good at his job.

 

[Adios]

Cav would get hired in two seconds by an ECAC or HE program with the right facilities/investment structure in place who is looking to rebuild their program. Cav does not currently have either of those at UConn. There are absolutely areas of improvement for him based on results, but in watching his teams there aren't the fundamental coaching mistakes that occur when a coach is not good at his job.

He's gotta be doing something wrong. I don't want to hate the man, especially knowing how well he recruits. But something is wrong, clearly. SHU plays hard, always.

The way my body is going, I'll probably be dead before we have a winning record against Sacred Heart again. That is sadly humorous.

 

[ASweet3781]

"Cav does not have either of those at UConn..."

Than. Why. Did. We. Upgrade. to. Hockey. East?

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

"Cav does not have either of those at UConn..."

Than. Why. Did. We. Upgrade. to. Hockey. East?

Because when the decision was made to upgrade, there was a plan to build the program out correctly. That included a full-time facility on campus and the requisite resources to compete in Hockey East because the school was not in the complete financial hell that it is right now. The school also severely underestimated the negative impact to the growth of the program that playing in Hartford is. Some here will refuse to accept that this is a factor, but it absolutely is a hindrance to recruiting, and to the development of the players and the program.

Now the plan involves a tiny on-campus rink for exhibition games, Sacred Heart, and Merrimack and with the school in a financial bind they don't have the money needed to build proper facilities to compete with the top tier Hockey East and national programs. And the state saw people come to the XL Center and realized it was another SAVE HARTFORD!!!!!! opportunity and seemingly is forcing UConn's hand to stay there.

 

[The Viking]

Was this entire highly-respected class he just brought in just a mirage? Do they all really suck after all? None of them and in fact no recruit he has brought in was promised a state of the art building. They were promised playing the majority if not all of their careers at the XL with practice at the existing Freitas. OK maybe the current freshman would see some state of the art stuff in their final season.

But what kid commits to a school largely due to the fact that in his senior year, state of the art stuff will arrive. There's other stuff that clearly drew quality talent here in years past.

This season has turned out to be a perfect storm of dung. Lots of youth replacing guys like Letunov, Naas, Schwartz and some quality veteran defenseman. The only way this team was going to be decent was if Huska pulled a 1986 Mike Liut and carried the team on his back - and he hasn't. If this year's class came in last year or the year before and provided the depth we need now we're probably talking a much different story.

Less than a year ago UConn was the 5 seed, got a first round bye and was outplaying BU at BU until Masonius has his typical horrible turnover in the defensive end to cost them Game 1. They win that game, I think they probably win the series and advance to the TD Garden for the Final Four. Instead they end up losing to the eventual HE champions. Quinn said after the UConn series that no team played them harder all year. That was less than a year ago.

So NOW our hockey future sucks because we don't have a 4K state of the art facility on the table?

No.....that's too easy an answer. I've decided to be a reasonable optimist. Next year will be an improved season. We will get back into the playoffs and maybe do some damage. In 2020 or 2021 we will be finally be playing in Boston for the HE Final Four.

However, if next year we are the same or worse (god help us) than Cavanaugh will have a ton of explaining to do. And he won't have the arena to blame, because no quality player he brought in - and he has brought them in - was expected to play much if at all in this 4K arena. And we have had much better seasons than this one.

 

[thetruth123]

Uconns play has nothing to do with on campus facilities. Cav had a top recruiting class this year. It comes down to his isn't a very good coach. I think he has been here long enough where his results speak for themselves.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Uconns play has nothing to do with on campus facilities.

Categorically false. Lack of on-campus facilities directly impact the team's ability to have a home ice advantage as they aren't able to practice every day on the ice they play - this is a significant component of player development and a reason why virtually every NCAA hockey program does not play in a separate rink from where they regularly practice.

 

[whaler11]

Because when the decision was made to upgrade, there was a plan to build the program out correctly. That included a full-time facility on campus and the requisite resources to compete in Hockey East because the school was not in the complete financial hell that it is right now. The school also severely underestimated the negative impact to the growth of the program that playing in Hartford is. Some here will refuse to accept that this is a factor, but it absolutely is a hindrance to recruiting, and to the development of the players and the program.

Now the plan involves a tiny on-campus rink for exhibition games, Sacred Heart, and Merrimack and with the school in a financial bind they don't have the money needed to build proper facilities to compete with the top tier Hockey East and national programs. And the state saw people come to the XL Center and realized it was another SAVE HARTFORD!!!!!! opportunity and seemingly is forcing UConn's hand to stay there.

The financial issues were obvious then. Just leadership liked the glory of saying they accomplished moving to HE with out the wisdom to see they couldn’t afford it.

 

[The Viking]

Categorically false. Lack of on-campus facilities directly impact the team's ability to have a home ice advantage as they aren't able to practice every day on the ice they play - this is a significant component of player development and a reason why virtually every NCAA hockey program does not play in a separate rink from where they regularly practice.

I guess that means in 2021 we will be beating Sacred Heart finally since we will be playing them on the same ice we practice.

 

[Adios]

The athletic department clearly has taken a pro sports approach when it comes to where games are played by playing most games for supposedly revenue-producing programs off campus, in or near the largest city closeby that also happens to be a capital. We must be the first school to do that. Didn't hurt the women's bball team's ability to win too much. Set record winning streaks with plenty of games off-campus.