UConn Hockey Update...

[huskymedic]

UConn Hockey Looking To Future After A Successful Season

http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-uconn-hockey-0423-20130422,0,2804136.story

Facility and Coach Search Update within:

>>The Huskies will join Hockey East in 2014-15. Five scholarships will be awarded starting next season, the program's last in Atlantic Hockey, and the Huskies will award the full allotment of 18 for 2016-17. By then, there could be another ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking ceremony.

Picture a stand-alone hockey facility at the site of the Freitas Ice Forum, or nearby, with maybe 5,000 seats. That is one possibility. Picture Gampel Pavilion, already in need of an overhaul, with its dome flattened, luxury suites added, a sheet of ice among the major renovations needed to make it a dual facility. That's another, more complicated, possibility.

UConn remains in the exploratory phase, having hired architectural firms to conduct feasibility studies for athletics and as part of a more global university plan. Prolonged deliberation will eventually give way to prolonged fundraising. UConn, which will play all Hockey East games at the XL Center for a few years, has an agreement with Hockey East for a campus facility plan to be in place by February 2016.

"We're looking at all the options," athletic director Warde Manuel said. "Nothing is imminent, but I would say in the next year or so we'll have more solid plans."<<


>>First things first. Manuel and senior associate athletic director Doug Gnodtke will begin interviewing hockey coaching candidates, with a hire expected early next week. Forty-plus people have applied, a pool of candidates ranging from youth coaches to former Division I head coaches.

UConn expects to conduct up to five interviews. Berard will be in that group. Some others who have either applied or been part of feeler conversations in recent weeks include Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh, former Denver coach George Gwozdecky and Michigan assistant Billy Powers. That is not necessarily a complete list and it is not clear who applied. UConn does not comment on specifics of a hiring process.

"I'm excited about the future of UConn hockey," Manuel said, "and I feel great about the candidate pool."<<

 

[Adios]

I have also read they are going hard after Union's head coach.

 

[huskymedic]

I have also read they are going hard after Union's head coach.

I haven't seen that they are going hard after Bennett... His name was tossed out as a candidate in the beginning by a few. He's only been head coach there for a few years after assistant for moons. Clearly has program moving.

If not a big name (GG) - I kinda hope they stay w/ Berard. He has the players support. Powers is interesting name w/ WM ties.

 

[FDNY99]

Cavanaugh is a interesting name too...

 

[FDNY99]

Huskymedic after rereading this article again this morning I am even more excited about the future of UCONN ice hockey! The Hockey East did the right thing for the program (both actually) by making UCONN come up with a concrete plan for an on-campus facility with a minimum 5000 seat capacity by a hard date. And since the plan will be tied to Title IX all they need to do is basically raise 1/2 the total cost in donations. Gampel is in dire need of some work (another one of the glaring mistakes Hathaway made as AD... letting facilities go) and how GREAT would it be if they were able to rework that place. I think we will most likely see a stand alone rink near Freitas..remember the master plan has Morrone stadium moving up on top of the hill where the football practice field is now, and the practice field being moved behind Burton/Schenkman. If this is done by placing the practice field horizontally it opens up some serious space back there...allowing Frietas to be expanded or rebuilt right where it is.

 

[freescooter]

That was a really good piece. I am glad to see there is a firm commitment to build an arena on campus, too. I had seen an early version back when this was first announced that called for expanding Freitas, but I think a true new facility would be the better option. Question I have is why did they build such a basic building in the first place? There are a number of D3 rinks that are better. Watson Arena at Bowdoin comes to mind, but there are several others I've been to. Regarding the coaching situation, I really think you have 2 alternatives. If you can land a D-1 head coach, Gwozdecky or Bennett say, I think you need to do it. Gwoz worries me though because I am not sure he wants the job long term. And you need someone who is committed to taking some lumps and building something. Bennett would do that. With a bigger upside than he has at Union, I suspect. It would be long term but it would be higher. If you are looking at D1 Assistants, though, I don't see the point when Dave Berard is there, has shown himself to be a good coach, has Hockey East experience and recruiting experience. It almost seems too sensible.

 

[huskymedic]

Rich Coppola (@richcoppola)
4/23/13, 11:20 PM
UConn reached out to Rand Pecknold.. As did Ohio State.. Sources tell me Quinnipiac is going all out to keep him in Hamden...

Hmmmmm

 

[Adios]

I think Pecknold would stay at Quinnipiac. Their president is one of the most well-paid in the country. They can afford Pecknold.

 

[upstater]

Count me as someone who is highly skeptical of a Gampel conversion. Every time this is broached elsewhere, the bottom line is that a new arena is CHEAPER than a retrofit.

It would be great to convert a by now obsolete Gampel into something for hockey, thereby allowing bball the chance to build a bigger arena on campus. But money wise, you might find that it's cheaper to build a new hockey arena AND flatten Gampel and start from scratch, than it is to retrofit Gampel and then build a new basketball arena.

 

[Afroabe224]

Living out in (former) CCHA country, I am very excited to see UConn transition to HE. This upgrade has been the ONLY good news for UConn in CR. I am just worried about fan support, especially playing in Hartford for the first few years. When I was a student, 800 at Freitas was a decent night and I don't see the fan support just appearing out of nowhere. I see a lot of 7k hockey crowds in Ann Arbor for U of M and I hope to one day see at least a decent on-campus buzz in Storrs. I think this hire is Warde's chance to show us something since Calhoun should really get the credit for Ollie.

 

[Atthewall]

UConn season recap: http://goalmouthradio.com/?p=203

 

[IMind]

Count me as someone who is highly skeptical of a Gampel conversion. Every time this is broached elsewhere, the bottom line is that a new arena is CHEAPER than a retrofit.

It would be great to convert a by now obsolete Gampel into something for hockey, thereby allowing bball the chance to build a bigger arena on campus. But money wise, you might find that it's cheaper to build a new hockey arena AND flatten Gampel and start from scratch, than it is to retrofit Gampel and then build a new basketball arena.

Ideally I'd look at flattening Gampel and building a brand new dual use facility all together. You already have Fritas for hockey practice and the new basketball facility for the basketball teams. Send the basketball teams to XL for a season.. of course since I mentioned XL, I'd rather they flattened that and build a new arena.

 

[upstater]

Ideally I'd look at flattening Gampel and building a brand new dual use facility all together. You already have Fritas for hockey practice and the new basketball facility for the basketball teams. Send the basketball teams to XL for a season.. of course since I mentioned XL, I'd rather they flattened that and build a new arena.

Excellent points. Hadn't really taken the other facilities into account. But you're correct that dual use makes a lot of sense.

 

[WestHartHusk]

I am very excited about how we are approaching this upgrade. I for one really hope that the outcome is a new, state of the art, 12,500 seat multi-use on campus arena with suites. We need a new hockey arena, and gampel needs some serious help so let's kill two birds with one stone (since there probably won't be the political will to do both). So here is my plan:

build the new arena on the site of / adjacent to Freitas - there is plenty of land there. Once complete, knock down Gampel and then begin the new Student Union in a two phase program. Phase I being the current site of Gampel. Phase II being the overhaul/renovation of the current student union.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I am very excited about how we are approaching this upgrade. So here is my plan: Phase II being the overhaul/renovation of the current student union.

Why would UConn overhaul/ renovate the current student union again?

 

[WestHartHusk]

Sorry, meant Rec Center.

 

[freescooter]

I'd rather have a hockey only facility. Hockey is never going to draw 10-12,000 and as a result it will always be a morgue. You just don't need a facility like that for college hockey. I guess it is possible to build something that shares facilities to some extent, though given the other facilities, I'm not too sure it fits very well. In any case I think a separate 5000 seat hockey arena is the way to go.

Also, th emore I read about how this team played for Dave Berard, the more I am convinced that he will make a fine head coach. I get that they reached out to Pecknold. You almost have to do that, but in fact I don't think he's the right match nor would he be likely to take the job anyway. Just like you almost have to at least talk to Gwozdecky. But when a guy takes over a team that hasn't been overly successful under fairly difficult conditions, it has disaster written all over it. Instead he managed to rally the troops and put together the best season in 15 years. Compared to where it was when he took over, 0-4-1, his record, 19-10-3, looks even better. Plus, even given his status he has landed some well respected recruits.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I'd rather have a hockey only facility. Hockey is never going to draw 10-12,000 and as a result it will always be a morgue. You just don't need a facility like that for college hockey. I guess it is possible to build something that shares facilities to some extent, though given the other facilities, I'm not too sure it fits very well. In any case I think a separate 5000 seat hockey arena is the way to go.

Also, th emore I read about how this team played for Dave Berard, the more I am convinced that he will make a fine head coach. I get that they reached out to Pecknold. You almost have to do that, but in fact I don't think he's the right match nor would he be likely to take the job anyway. Just like you almost have to at least talk to Gwozdecky. But when a guy takes over a team that hasn't been overly successful under fairly difficult conditions, it has disaster written all over it. Instead he managed to rally the troops and put together the best season in 15 years. Compared to where it was when he took over, 0-4-1, his record, 19-10-3, looks even better. Plus, even given his status he has landed some well respected recruits.

It really should be hockey only. The amount of seats that the basketball teams would demand on campus will always be far greater than what a hockey team would demand. For reference, the only hockey team in the country that consistently draws a crowd greater than Gampel's current capacity is North Dakota, and that's because there is not a single other thing to do in that whole state, and their arena makes the Taj Mahal look like a garbage dump. Plus, having a hockey-only facility is a huge recruiting tool. Build it next to Freitas, let Freitas be the facility used exclusively by the women's team, which would be a huge advantage for them as well, and have a brand new 5-6K Hockey East quality (or maybe even B1G, HA!) rink for the men next door. That's the right way to do it. Playing in a combined facility would mean playing in front of 50% capacity on a good night, as it's really not logical that hockey would be drawing over 6K at any point, and even that's a pipe dream right now.

 

[WestHartHusk]

free, i don't really disagree with your rationale. but, i think there are more important considerations: 1) the hockey only arena may tap out the political, fundraising coffers to do something about gampel, which we desperately need to address; and 2) perception which involves both the arena and the coach. If CR has taught us one thing it is not results that matter, it is perception. So what looks better to the B1G: a) a shiny new arena and a big name hockey coach; or b) a successful, albeit lesser known coach, a nice hockey arena and a withering bball arena? I think the answer has to be (a) and as bad as I would fee for Berard this is where we are right now.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Pecknold would be a mistake in my opinion and I'm not sure he'd take it. He's a fine coach and he's done a very good job building a program from virtually nothing. However, his NCAA-finalist QU team was built almost exclusively for this season. With the exception of Peca, every important player was a senior, or at least a junior. Furthermore, he's been playing in a league where he has two huge advantages - the best facilities and a chance to recruit some players that wouldn't pass the academic bar for virtually all of his league competitors. He would have neither benefit at UConn. Combined with the fact that UConn is an uphill battle while he can stay at QU virtually forever and they'll pay him well, it might be a tough sell anyway.

If Gwozdecky is interested and they can afford him he'd have to be right near the top of the list. Although he's older (I hear some now, "Not another P"), he's placed teams in the NCAAs virtually every year and he has great connections. He would have to get at least one top assistant with eastern ties (and given his coaching tree that shouldn't be a problem), but most top recruits either come from out west or go play there (USHL, BCHL) for a year or so after completing high school, prep or junior hockey in the east anyway.

 

[huskymedic]

If you want to look @ a dual use facility - look to what QU has done but on a bigger scale. It's two separate arenas - Hockey on one side (3,500 seating capacity but has SRO) and basketball (3,300 seating) on the other with shared concenssions and support functions in the middle. The hassles and man-power to change over court to ice to court is gone. Cost was $52m three years ago.

 

[freescooter]

WestHart, I do think that a separate arena makes the most sense and I don't think anyone looking at UConn's program would see that as a negative at all. If you look at hockey attendance even at established programs, attendance over 10,000 is really rare. 2011-2012 season stats showed 2 teams, North Dakota and Wisconsin averaged 11,000 plus. The numbers for Hockey East were: BC 7549, UMass 6603, Maine 5997, New Hampshire 5297, BU 4963, Lowell 4904, Vermont 3573, Merrimack 2460, Providence 1875. Now these are among the most popular programs in the country and none come close to filling a 10,000 seat arena. So why would you want to do that. We ought to have a hockey facility that is appropriately sized for where we're going, not where we'll be starting out, for sure, but 5000 seems the most rational size to me. If you could do something like Quinnipiac did where you have 2 separate arenas sharing a lobby and so forth, that would work I guess, but I don't think there is enough room on the site for that with the new basketball facility now going on the old memorial Stadium site. You'd have to take down the field house which would mean a new facility for track & field and it just never ends. Despite the university's best efforts to create a uniform identity, this program will need to establish its own in the early years I think. that would help, too. As far as a coach is concerned, I guess I would rather have a long term commitment from a guy who has shown signs of being good than a quick fix from a guy who no question is very good. But I can see where you disagree. And the funding issue you raise is obviously legitimate.

 

[Adios]

The House That Pecknold Built. Yale and QU do have impressive rinks.

5-6K is reasonable for us. We also need an excellent coach. I really was surprised Marshall stepped down when he did. No ill will against him but it was long overdue. I hope UConn hockey doesn't put the Connecticut Whale out of business.

 

[kingdobbs]

I know the axiom is "dress for the job you want", and to a degree, that has to be informing those of you saying you want us to shoot for 10K. But college hockey's small fan bases compared to basketball make it such that 5K IS the job we want. 5K puts us in really good company.

Putting 4K in a 5K arena makes us look good; 3K, healthy but not spectacular. Putting 5K in a 15K arena makes us look anemic. Ohio State takes this rap all the time because they DO play in their dual-use facility, built to 17.5K for their basketball crowds, and can only manage 4K on average for hockey games. UMass-Amherst plays to a half-empty Mullins Center. Nebraska-Omaha ranks FOURTH in overall attendance, but they do it playing in an arena that, for Creighton basketball, draws 17K on a good night.

I've been to about...15 college hockey rinks (counting UConn, and Walter Brown for BU; hoping to finally knock Army and RPI off the list next year). The best ones I've been to are all small, but when they're full, they're raucous as hell. We want to be like Cornell, not Ohio State.

 

[freescooter]

King,
I agree totally. There is nothing that quite compares with a packed college hockey arena . heck even Frietas on the few occassions I've been there with 14-1500 crowds, has rocked. Not Walter Brown vs BC for 1st place in Hockey East rocked or Maine-UNH at Alford rocked, but rocked none the less. I haven't been to 15 rinks, but I've been to a few and I couldn't agree more. even 4000 in BC's 8000 +- seat arena seems like a morgue. Take a crowd of 5000 and put them in Mullins (capacity +-8300) and it seems pretty sparse. Take the same 5000 and put them in Alford Arena(capacity 5100) and the place rocks.