The next step is harder, though Quinn Hughes is an ideal piece to build around. The premier defenseman in college hockey has a really solid chance at the Hobey.Watching some of the opening night coverage tonight, he seems to be the consensus #1 pick right now in the 2019 Draft. So calling him the premier college defenseman seems like a bit of an undersell when you consider the last NCAA player selected #1 was Rick DiPietro in 2000, and the last position player was Joe Murphy from MSU in 1986. So arguably, he's the top position player prospect in college hockey in 30 years.
Week 3UW played that weekend too. Swept Boston College in Madison.
Penn St swept #17Clarkson at home
Mich St split with N Michigan at home
Notre Dame tied Mercyhurst and then beat #4Providence at the Ice Breaker
Ohio St swept Arizona St on the road
Exhibition games:
Michigan lost to Under18
Minnesota beat Under18
1. | Ohio State (http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/osu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 32 |
Wisconsin (http://www.uwbadgers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 16 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 25 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 57 | 51 | |
3. | Notre Dame (http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/nd-m-hockey-sched.html) | 15 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 54 | 38 |
4. | Minnesota (http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/minn-m-hockey-sched.html) | 12 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 40 | 39 |
Michigan (http://www.mgoblue.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 12 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 32 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 53 | 56 | |
6. | Penn State (http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/psu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 11 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 37 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 90 | 63 |
7. | Michigan State (http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/msu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 42 | 51 |
1. | Ohio State (http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/osu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 29 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 29 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 77 | 53 |
2. | Notre Dame (http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/nd-m-hockey-sched.html) | 25 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 42 | 25 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 77 | 59 |
3. | Minnesota (http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/minn-m-hockey-sched.html) | 24 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 45 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 78 | 70 |
4. | Michigan (http://www.mgoblue.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 21 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 43 | 45 | 25 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 74 | 77 |
5. | Penn State (http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/psu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 20 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 62 | 68 | 26 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 118 | 98 |
Wisconsin (http://www.uwbadgers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 20 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 45 | 24 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 77 | 81 | |
Michigan State (http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/msu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 20 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 60 | 26 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 76 | 81 |
Honest question from someone who has basically lost touch...I missed this, but I think the answer has to be mixed. UW's attendance may be partly due to joining the Big Ten conference. But it has to also be due to poor coaching/poor product. And coaching is also the best explanation for Michigan's and Minnesota's recent dips. Michigan dipped out of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 22 years in 2013. That wasn't because the CCHA was dying. It was because Berenson was holding on too long.
Has the Big Ten hockey conference killed college hockey at the Big Ten's preeminent hockey schools?
Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and to some degree probably Michigan State used to be consistently top-tier programs. Seems like not so much now.
Wisconsin's attendance seems way down, too. Averaging closer to 10K--only about 2/3 of the Kohl Center's capacity.
It is kind of funny how the Big Ten "hockey schools" were so incensed about having to be in a conference with lowly OSU and PSU, but fast forward to today and those two along with Notre Dame are the only ones that are ranked in the Top 20.And like clockwork all three of the ranked teams were upended by the lowly "hockey schools" tonight.
Poetic Justice....
I mean you also kind of made up the point yourself. UM and MSU were already with OSU. So going back to the CCHA means dumping Minnesota and Wisconsin, not OSU. And likewise, going back to the WCHA for those schools means dumping all of the CCHA schools, not just OSU. I've never gotten the impression they wanted to be with UM or MSU any more than with OSU.I specifically recall a Gopher fan (draftnik, I believe) declaring that there is NO WAY that Gopher fans can get excited about playing 8 games against OSU and PSU.
MSUs drop has nothing to do with the Big Ten. They made back to back bad coaching hires. They were bad in the final days of the CCHA too
I was excited about the Big Ten because I thought I would get to see a lot of hockey on TV. Not so much. I'd rather UW and Minnie go back to the WCHA for that reason alone.The gals still play in the Wcha since the state of Michigan apparently doesn't find it proper for women to play the sport. I like to go to one game a year because it's free and because the old ice rink is cool (this year it was OSU knocking off the #1 ranked Badgers O0 ).
1. | Ohio State (http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/osu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 46 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 79 | 52 | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 107 | 76 |
2. | Notre Dame (http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/nd-m-hockey-sched.html) | 37 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 63 | 65 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 101 | 82 |
3. | Minnesota (http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/minn-m-hockey-sched.html) | 36 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 75 | 35 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 110 | 103 |
4. | Penn State (http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/psu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 35 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 101 | 96 | 34 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 157 | 126 |
5. | Wisconsin (http://www.uwbadgers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 34 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 69 | 81 | 34 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 104 | 117 |
Michigan (http://www.mgoblue.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey) | 34 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 76 | 75 | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 107 | 107 | |
7. | Michigan State (http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/msu-m-hockey-sched.html) | 30 | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 88 | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 99 | 119 |
Gophers need to win @ ND and then beat the winner of OSU/PSU. PSU has given the Gophers fits. But that would be on home ice. OSU is the best team pointwise in the conference. Gophers just swept them on their ice a couple weeks ago. Either way....the only way into the tournament is a Big Ten Championship.Mrs. 847 is one of those.
Oh.....and I'm also a Saint Cloud alum. Trumps my love for the Gophers. They're #1 and have a decent shot at a title.
Mrs. 847 is one of those.Ah! So while I hate on the Badgers and you hate on the Gophers.....we can at least root for the Huskies!
Oh.....and I'm also a Saint Cloud alum. Trumps my love for the Gophers. They're #1 and have a decent shot at a title.Sounds like you've always had that lean. I'm reading that your fan base is growing fast.
Sounds like you've always had that lean. I'm reading that your fan base is growing fast.Ever since I attended school there. The Huskies were fairly good when I went there.....but they've REALLY good for the past few years now. Motzko was a great coach.....and since he bailed.....I'm glad he went to the Gophers. Are you a Red Wings fan? Nick Jensen graduated a year after me in high school and played for the Huskies. I know that he plays for the Caps now.....but he was drafted in 2009 by the Red Wings.
I'd be curious of your opinion on the shrinking UMinn hockey fan base, measured by plummeting attendance. It seems perfectly correlated with the Big Ten hockey inauguration, mixed in with poor decisions by the AD - ticket licensing, and mandatory combos for season hockey tickets with football.
My main curiosity is the affected demographics. Are we actually talking students and alumni fleeing UMinn hockey, or is this about the unaffiliated Minnesotans leaving and flocking to other in-state teams like UMD and SCSU?
My guess would be that alumni/students are most likely to stick to their team despite unpopular decisions and non-alumni would be fastest to bail.
Ever since I attended school there. The Huskies were fairly good when I went there.....but they've REALLY good for the past few years now. Motzko was a great coach.....and since he bailed.....I'm glad he went to the Gophers. Are you a Red Wings fan? Nick Jensen graduated a year after me in high school and played for the Huskies. I know that he plays for the Caps now.....but he was drafted in 2009 by the Red Wings.I grew up an enormous(!) Red Wings fan. I haven't followed any professional sports in 15 years -- college has been easier and more than enough of a work load as fandom and "keeping up" goes -- but the next time I watch the NHL playoffs, it'll be because the Red Wings are doing well again ... and even then I'll have skipped the regular season.
And the Gophers attendance issues are pretty well known. There are several reasons for that. After the two titles in the early 00's.....Lucia started to get lazy and performance suffered. But Motzko should be able to right the ship. Another thing about the declining attendance has to do with the athletic department. Huge chunks of the best seats in Mariucci go to corporate sponsors. These tickets often go unused. It doesn't help that UMD is consistently good.....and teams like SCSU and MSU Mankato are now really good as well. Both are top 3 in the country....and they've been siphoning high end talent in the state. But Motzko took some high end recruits with him when he went to the Gophers. Another issue is the Big Ten. A lot of the Gophers natural rivalries were in the WCHA, which became the NCHC when the Big Ten stole a couple of teams and the WCHA as it once was dissolved. Finally....the Gophers tournament game was going on during the high school hockey tournament....which is a HUGE event here in MN.That's what I figured, though I didn't know about the state HS tournament. No doubt that distorted the narrative. The place looked as active as a mausoleum in the photo I saw.
Pretty huge for ASU hockey to make the tournament. What Coach Powers has done for the program is remarkable.What Penn State and now Arizona State have done has made me wonder if it's better for MSU to scrap the program for a decade, then bring it back with excitement, rather than the stale thing it has become, with total fan apathy.
What Penn State and now Arizona State have done has made me wonder if it's better for MSU to scrap the program for a decade, then bring it back with excitement, rather than the stale thing it has become, with total fan apathy.You guys could test that theory by bringing your lacrosse program back from the dead.
You guys could test that theory by bringing your lacrosse program back from the dead.No thanks
Why spread our resources out even thinner?You wouldn't unless it were mandated. Interestingly, MSU (the Big Ten) might prefer it to be mandated. I'm curious of the ramifications to the world of CFB, for example, if every P5 (emphasis on: SEC) school were required to fully fund, say, 32 revenue sports. If "spreading thin" were a relative game, doing it could be attractive for MSU. Moreso nationally than in conference, though.
Is that true, BB? Maybe something has changed but a decade ago hockey was only a profit-bearing sport for the helmet schools like Michigan, Minnesota, BC, etc. The rest only did it because they loved it / they were a small school and this was their best chance at "mainstream" fame. After Title IX, cutting hockey was a priority for many schools. I suspect dollars and cents were a big part of that, so this can't have commonly been a revenue sport..There was a time when hockey was a revenue sport at MSU, it actually still I believe breaks even-ish. Most recent data I can find is from 2 years ago, showing UM with $3.1 million in hockey revenue and MSU with $2.9 million, I'm assuming expenses are probably close? I'm not sure if BTN breaks it down by sport as to how much each school gets.
I wonder where Wisconsin is on the revenue side of things. Traditionally hockey was a money maker, but with dropping ticket sales, I'm not sure now. Probably still breaking even, but it can't be a good sign.I'm told it still makes money, but they can feel free to start winning any time now.
Need to start winning more.
I know Oakland did a feasibility study to add hockey, and I think it would make a lot of sense because they're not a football school, they have a decent sized student body, and they'd have natural rivalries with the other Michigan schools in the league.Agreed. Robert Morris here in Pittsburgh did something similar, and IMO, if Penn State hadn't added hockey, RMU would be a formidable hockey school by now. I'll be interested to see how both schools do with the resurgence of youth hockey in Western PA as a result of the Pens last decade of success. The kids who were starting to pick sports when the Penguins reached the Stanley Cup in 2008 are hitting the upper levels of high school, and I think RMU is the only D1 program between PSU and OSU geographically. Obviously, Michigan has far more established hockey programs than Pennsylvania, but I think Oakland could exist in that same realm of spending money on hockey, because they don't have to on football.