~2018-19 Big Ten M Ice Hockey~

[Anonymous Coward]

In every series, that's the weekend Michigan needed to jump up to #2.

[RestingB!tchFace]

Let's go SCSU!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not sure I really knew the definition of gallows humor until now:

https://twitter.com/internetraj/status/1095516995586387968

[ELA]

Shouldn't Kelly mean stick to basketball?

[Anonymous Coward]

bah

[SFBadger96]

Honest question from someone who has basically lost touch...

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.

[Brutus Buckeye]

I sure hope the fan apathy at the "Hockey schools" is the driving force behind their new found mediocrity.

[Brutus Buckeye]

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. 

Poetic Justice....

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't let me get in the way of something you think is funny, but there weren't any arguments against a Big Ten conference that had to do with M/MSU/Minn/UW not wanting to be with OSU/PSU. For starters, Michigan and MSU were already associated with OSU in the CCHA. And neither ever wanted OSU out of the CCHA. Then there was PSU. They joined college hockey and our fanbases basically celebrated it (though it was effortless to be happy when no one expected them to get into the tournament for a decade).

So the Big Ten argument wasn't "not wanting to be with OSU/PSU," it was not wanting to be away from the CCHA and WCHA. Meaning that OSU had the same perspective as Michigan and MSU. And the CCHA teams didn't too badly seem to care. Michigan and MSU were bummed to drop WMU/FSU/LSSU, etc., but generally preferred the idea of the Big Ten conference. I figured OSU felt the same. In the WCHA, UW cared more than we did but moved on pretty quickly. Minnesota is the only one who's still bent out of shape.

Maybe you are conflating some of the common opinions from the inaugural Big Ten year, when we sucked. OSU and PSU were part of that, but really everyone was to blame.

[Brutus Buckeye]

It was definitely a gripe that was somewhat unique to Minnesota fans. I'll give you that. 

Although I don't think the "hockey schools" struggles can solely be attributed to their fan bases bemoaning the fact that they are no longer in a Conference with a bunch of in-state D2 teams. I'm sure that Maryland fans are not exactly thrilled to be in the Big Ten Lacrosse Conference, yet they have carried on at an elite level, competing for National Championships. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think there's a strong argument for Michigan, UW, and Minnesota being down *because* of the Big Ten. The explanation is coaching/coaching transitions. 

Granato hasn't been there long, but maybe UW already needs another coach. Michigan is in good shape in the long term but lost a lot to the pros after their FF run last year and it shows. Minnesota is also (probably) in good hands for the long run. MSU is harder to address. They sorely needed and made a coaching change but their AD no longer seems invested in hockey, so they are different to project. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I also think that this year's conference standings is partially explained by roster age. Minnesota and Michigan always have among the youngest rosters in college hockey. That's inevitable when signing this many NHL draft picks. Ditto for UW and Notre Dame (who probably join M and Minn as the best recruiters in the conference). These are by far the youngest teams in the conference and among the very youngest in the country. Because the other teams, with fewer NHL draft picks incentivizing them to recruit young, go to the other extreme and recruit "old men," signing guys who are well into their 20s as true freshmen.

Michigan and Minnesota won't get much older in future years, but this is the rare year where they have the tough trifecta of hyperyoung roster + restocking roster + new coach. I don't think we should expect OSU to be a permanent fixture at the top of the conference. They have good coaching and shouldn't plummet. But there are at least 4 or 5 good coaches in the Big Ten.

[Anonymous Coward]

Honest question from someone who has basically lost touch...

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.

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. 
Berenson then held on for 4 additional years, and Michigan only made the tourney one of those. Blaming the Big Ten alignment for any of them seems misplaced. Red just retired too late. Then Mel Pearson took Berenson's last roster to the Frozen Four on his first try. I'd say Michigan is in good shape. Not this year, of course. Michigan is rebuilding because of both the coaching transition and from losing so many guys last year when we couldn't afford to. None of that seems due to Big Ten alignment. I feel the same about UW and Minnesota. Minnesota seems to have found a good coach. UW, I'm not sure. 
But yeah, just coaching. Bad coaching and tough transitions with good coaches (for M and Minn) or all the time bad coaching (for UW).

[Brutus Buckeye]

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.

Poetic Justice....

And like clockwork all three of the ranked teams were upended by the lowly "hockey schools" tonight. 
I ought to start selling my remarkable jinxing abilities for profit.