Sunday Gravy - Quinnipiac, Holy Cross Hockey East Thoughts

[FDNY99]

OK, I agree on this, but you to blame the big wigs at UConn for the non-campus facility. You can't blame this on city or state officials on trying to prop up Hartford by keeping games there, the attendance #s they get, etc. Uconn higher ups want $$$ and hockey games @ XL makes UConn at least some $. You have to put this on money grubbing Herbst, BoT, donors, and the AD. They don't want to spend $ on an on campus rink.

The new AD Benedict seems to like football and baseball way more than hockey. And his sidekick Goetz is a former soccer coach. Warde seemed to get the ball rolling or at least attempted to get an on campus rink. I saw him at nearly every game going down the stairs in between periods.

Benedict was sworn in as AD and while still in CT, the 1st potential UConn game he coulda went to was the 1st round playoffs against Vermont. Benedict was a no show. He says he looks forward to a game, but we'll see how that goes.

The new order fee is only going to raise like 1.5 million a year and that won't cover the required funds for the 3 facilities they seem to want first. No mention of the order $ going to hockey. I want them to build one, but apparently it's not on their priority list.

Back to league scheduling.... Why is the home and AWAY for BC this year on a Tuesday? It's not just UConn that is scheduling games on Tuesday.

You do understand that having s on-campus facility that can sit at least 4500 was a condition UConn agreed to when they accepted the HE invitation. They have until the spring semester of 2017 to break ground on this facility or they will be in violation of that agreement.

 

[ct06111]

New ice making equipment , new dasher boards and new glass (hopefully seamless) is not a band-aid. It's major work that will benefit the men's hockey program.

That dumb goal that Creel gave up against Vermont was due to a crappy bounce off the old boards.

Yes, a on campus arena will help with recruitment, but so will new ice, boards, and glass. At least the state is spending $ on the hockey program. UConn isn't. Cavanaugh couldn't even tell his upcoming season recruits about the new equipment because it just got approved on Tuesday.

 

[FDNY99]

New ice making equipment , new dasher boards and new glass (hopefully seamless) is not a band-aid. It's major work that will benefit the men's hockey program.

That dumb goal that Creel gave up against Vermont was due to a crappy bounce off the old boards.

Yes, a on campus arena will help with recruitment, but so will new ice, boards, and glass. At least the state is spending $ on the hockey program. UConn isn't. Cavanaugh couldn't even tell his upcoming season recruits about the new equipment because it just got approved on Tuesday.

At the end of the day just understand that UConn made a deal with HE and the schools that make up that league. If they violate that deal and say they aren't building a on-campus arena that they were told was a condition of acceptance into the league there are gonna be problems. As for your statement about new boards, ice and glass at the XL being a recruiting tool...that is a HUGE reach!

 

[ct06111]

You do understand that having s on-campus facility that can sit at least 4500 was a condition UConn agreed to when they accepted the HE invitation. They have until the spring semester of 2017 to break ground on this facility or they will be in violation of that agreement.

Yes man. We have had this conversation like 4-5 times already. Contracts and agreement s can change between parties. Like I said, this is entirely on the UConn brass. They either know it's OK to keep playing @ XL, they really don't care about staying in HE or they truly know stuff we don't know. Something either changed in the agreement/contract or they better get moving on it. Like you said, it was to be privately funded and I don't see it in the cards by spring 2017.

 

[TheDoggPound]

FDNY give it a rest man, complain to the University if you don't like it but I'm pretty sure they're keenly aware (much more than you) on what needs to be accomplished.

And BrassBonanza you don't root against UConn? I guess that going around spreading lies saying our attendance is artificial is rooting for us then?

 

[TheDoggPound]

"League commissioner, Joe Bertagna, has acknowledged that even if UConn builds a state-of-the-art arena in Storrs, most home games still will be played at the XL Center."

That doesn't sound like someone concerned with a 2017 deadline to me.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

New ice making equipment , new dasher boards and new glass (hopefully seamless) is not a band-aid. It's major work that will benefit the men's hockey program.

While these are good and necessary steps, it basically brings XL on par with every other HE rink in these categories, and not at all ahead. It was the only remaining rink without seamless glass and new(er) boards, and many have installed or reinstalled ice-making equipment recently. Northeastern, Merrimack, UMass, and even Maine have all made these improvements recently, in addition to the teams with already new facilities. If you're UConn and you want to be recruiting against the top of the league, your facilities have to go above and beyond the norm of the conference.

My attendance arguments aren't lies, they're based on my own two eyes from the games I've attended at XL as well as information I've gotten through the grapevine about how some other HE schools feel about UConn's attendance claims. But that's not an argument relevant to this thread or this topic.

 

[TheDoggPound]

While these are good and necessary steps, it basically brings XL on par with every other HE rink in these categories, and not at all ahead. It was the only remaining rink without seamless glass and new(er) boards, and many have installed or reinstalled ice-making equipment recently. Northeastern, Merrimack, UMass, and even Maine have all made these improvements recently, in addition to the teams with already new facilities. If you're UConn and you want to be recruiting against the top of the league, your facilities have to go above and beyond the norm of the conference.

My attendance arguments aren't lies, they're based on my own two eyes from the games I've attended at XL as well as information I've gotten through the grapevine about how some other HE schools feel about UConn's attendance claims. But that's not an argument relevant to this thread or this topic.

I've been to hundreds of hockey games at the XL and do not share that same sentiment. I think I would have a better feel for that than you or anybody else for that matter.

You probably don't even know how much the lower bowl seats but yet are capable on making a determination on whether or not crowds match attendance figures?

Honestly get lost guy.

 

[TheDoggPound]

And it sure is relevant because you had to point out that you don't root against UConn yet you disparage them when you're not on here.

 

[TheDoggPound]

It sounds like those "other unnamed HE schools" are just jealous that UConn is doing numbers at the XLC with a crap team and crap schedule imagine what we'll draw when our team is good and our schedule continues to be like the 2016-17 one. We will be head and shoulders above the rest of HE, so I don't blame them I guess.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I've been to hundreds of hockey games at the XL and do not share that same sentiment. I think I would have a better feel for that than you or anybody else for that matter.

You probably don't even know how much the lower bowl seats but yet are capable on making a determination on whether or not crowds match attendance figures?

Cool, I've been to XL hundreds of times as well, for hockey, basketball, and other events. Lower bowl capacity is roughly 5,600. As for your other points, I'm not here to argue I'm only offering my opinion and what I've heard elsewhere. This is still not relevant to this thread or the discussion of adding Holy Cross or potentially booting one HE school.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Cool, I've been to XL hundreds of times as well, for hockey, basketball, and other events. Lower bowl capacity is roughly 5,600. As for your other points, I'm not here to argue I'm only offering my opinion and what I've heard elsewhere. This is still not relevant to this thread or the discussion of adding Holy Cross or potentially booting one HE school.

The league is not going to shed itself of it's top draw so it is actually relevant to this discussion guy.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

The league is not going to shed itself of it's top draw so it is actually relevant to this discussion guy.

I already agreed with the point that UConn would not be kicked out. Merrimack would be the one booted if anyone was, and I strongly doubt anyone will.

 

[TheDoggPound]

I really don't mean to get uptight but I'm a stickler for attendance numbers (For instance NHL's are a joke and I call them out on it all the time) but I honestly, honestly think UConn's #'s are genuine, I know the arena well, I know what crowds look like in there and know if the figure matches. So that's why I'm perceiving your opinion as a slight because it's too easy for someone to just throw that claim around especially not naming any schools who feel that way in a lame attempt to tarnish and discredit our #'s.

Getting back on topic agreed no one goes, but seems like 11 member league will be here for foreseeable future.

 

[FDNY99]

"League commissioner, Joe Bertagna, has acknowledged that even if UConn builds a state-of-the-art arena in Storrs, most home games still will be played at the XL Center."

That doesn't sound like someone concerned with a 2017 deadline to me.

Thanks for sharing...post the link so I can read the rest of the article. There isn't much college hockey news in the metro NYC area except for when my copies of The Hockey News, NE Hockey Journal & NY Hockey Journal arrive in the mail. As for giving it a rest...not a chance. As a life long UCONN fan and a long time season ticket holder for football and now season ticket holder for hockey I've been to that dump in Hartford more times than I can remember. A new on-campus arena would add at least 45 minutes to my ride for games, but to me a deal is a deal. Maybe they have already submitted plans to HE that are approved..maybe not you never know. I will tell you this..MSG isn't far from my firehouse , we lived in there while that place was renovated..Dolan had unlimited funds..the state won't. So they better have somewhere to play when they start the XL refurb because there is no way that project is done on schedule without going over budget.

 

[TheDoggPound]

You could have just copy pasted the quote into Google but here ya go: UConn's Success At XL Puts On-Campus Arena Focus On Freitas Upgrade .

 

[TheDoggPound]

The scope of the 2 projects are not even close to the same, XLC vs. MSG. If you think you're comparing apples-apples you're not.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Please note in the article that Bertagna doesn't really have a clue wth he's talking about because again the circus comes to Hartford every MAY. I'm truly not understanding why it is so hard for people to grasp that. The ONLY time it EVER impacts the XL Center or one of it's tenants is when the Wolf Pack advanced to the 2nd round of the AHL playoffs. That's it. Hopefully this is the last time this is erroneously cited.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

At least for me, I used the circus as a sarcastic placeholder to represent lower-tier events being scheduled on weekends at XL in the past that bumped UConn hockey to midweek or otherwise weird times. Some examples:

Tuesday 11/18/14 vs. RPI because Disney Live was at XL the previous Saturday
Wednesday 2/4/15 vs. PC because Monster Jam was at XL the subsequent weekend
Tuesday 10/27/15 vs. BU - I can't find what was at XL the Friday before when UConn's home game in the series would have been. No Wolf Pack game or concert I can find.
Tuesday 11/17/15 vs. QU or Tuesday 11/24/15 vs. BC because Disney Live was at XL on the weekend of 11/20. Not sure which of the two games was bumped as a result.
Tuesday 2/2/16 vs. Brown because Monster Jam was at XL the subsequent weekend

The point is UConn shouldn't have to be dealing with this stuff. If they're going to be roped into putting the majority of the basketball and all of the hockey games at XL, they need to have first priority on the totem pole for ALL events. Of course basketball goes first, but hockey must come after them, before the Wolf Pack, before Monster Jam, before Disney on Ice, etc. Hockey and basketball rarely would conflict as BB is almost never played on Friday nights, and BB can play a day game and hockey can play a night game on a Saturday. This is how the scheduling should work, this is how UConn should be pushing for scheduling to work, and it does seem from this year's schedule that they're making progress with it. The only game I can see that got bumped to a mid-week game inexplicably is the February game against PC. BC on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is a popular night for hockey, Maine on a Thursday before Fenway is because of Maine's travel schedule, and that seems to be it.

I think we can both agree on the overarching point that UConn now being in a power conference playing big-name opponents in a revenue sport, they need to have the first pick of scheduling time slots. No other team in Hockey East, or any major hockey program in the country, has to fight for scheduling time slots with Monster Jam. It makes the program look second-rate, makes it harder to recruit, makes it less advantageous competitively due to short turnaround times and odd practice scheduling - it's a terrible idea all around. UConn's with the big boys now in the world of hockey, Hartford and XL need to treat them as such.

 

[FDNY99]

The scope of the 2 projects are not even close to the same, XLC vs. MSG. If you think you're comparing apples-apples you're not.

I'm comparing Apples to Apples in the time line laid out by Freimuth for construction estimations and no loss of event time. Scope of project..no way..MSG has 3 high profile major league teams...the XL Center doesn't.

 

[FDNY99]

You could have just copy pasted the quote into Google but here ya go: UConn's Success At XL Puts On-Campus Arena Focus On Freitas Upgrade .

You do realize that you took a quote from a article that basically backs up my stance about why they need a on-camnpus facility. Thanks for validating my point(s)!

 

[FDNY99]

You could have just copy pasted the quote into Google but here ya go: UConn's Success At XL Puts On-Campus Arena Focus On Freitas Upgrade .

Click on this link Nos put up on the football board and fast forward to 36:02....That will give you an idea on where HE stands about playing on-campus.

Try this. If it works I'll be the most surprised. I had to wait for the download so be patient. Good luck.

http://download.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d1/dC/d8/dU/dO/1C8UO_3.MP3?show=Joe+D+and+Gresh&category=Sports+&+Recreation&callsign=WTICAM&market=Connecticut&awCollectionId=1294&awEpisodeId=657998

 

[jbreen]

dream arena is an on campus 15000 seat for both basketball and hockey. just block upper bowl for hockey games with a curtain

 

[dbmill]

Click on this link Nos put up on the football board and fast forward to 36:02....That will give you an idea on where HE stands about playing on-campus.

Not only does that interview give the idea on where Hockey East stands on playing on-campus, but I also like that the UConn Athletics recognizes the value of having some games on campus so as to help develop a following for the team among the student body.

 

[freescooter]

At least for me, I used the circus as a sarcastic placeholder to represent lower-tier events being scheduled on weekends at XL in the past that bumped UConn hockey to midweek or otherwise weird times. Some examples:

Tuesday 11/18/14 vs. RPI because Disney Live was at XL the previous Saturday
Wednesday 2/4/15 vs. PC because Monster Jam was at XL the subsequent weekend
Tuesday 10/27/15 vs. BU - I can't find what was at XL the Friday before when UConn's home game in the series would have been. No Wolf Pack game or concert I can find.
Tuesday 11/17/15 vs. QU or Tuesday 11/24/15 vs. BC because Disney Live was at XL on the weekend of 11/20. Not sure which of the two games was bumped as a result.
Tuesday 2/2/16 vs. Brown because Monster Jam was at XL the subsequent weekend

The point is UConn shouldn't have to be dealing with this stuff. If they're going to be roped into putting the majority of the basketball and all of the hockey games at XL, they need to have first priority on the totem pole for ALL events. Of course basketball goes first, but hockey must come after them, before the Wolf Pack, before Monster Jam, before Disney on Ice, etc. Hockey and basketball rarely would conflict as BB is almost never played on Friday nights, and BB can play a day game and hockey can play a night game on a Saturday. This is how the scheduling should work, this is how UConn should be pushing for scheduling to work, and it does seem from this year's schedule that they're making progress with it. The only game I can see that got bumped to a mid-week game inexplicably is the February game against PC. BC on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is a popular night for hockey, Maine on a Thursday before Fenway is because of Maine's travel schedule, and that seems to be it.

I think we can both agree on the overarching point that UConn now being in a power conference playing big-name opponents in a revenue sport, they need to have the first pick of scheduling time slots. No other team in Hockey East, or any major hockey program in the country, has to fight for scheduling time slots with Monster Jam. It makes the program look second-rate, makes it harder to recruit, makes it less advantageous competitively due to short turnaround times and odd practice scheduling - it's a terrible idea all around. UConn's with the big boys now in the world of hockey, Hartford and XL need to treat them as such.

I agree with the principal but I think you might be overstating things a bit. There are a few games like BC which I think UConn wants to be separate. makes them special. You can Agee or not with the strategy but they would prefer not to have certain games back to back.

If you look at the upcoming schedule most league games are the more typical Fri-Sat model. So it doesn't look to be an issue now. Year 1 and to a degree last year was really an "experiment" with top level hockey. Now that it works, they seem to have a pretty "normal" schedule and likely will in the future. Though they will continue to play occasional midweek games out of conference or for purposes of creating an event type feeling.