Big A HG

Maybe the Big Ten would be nice enough to be add us into their conference for all sports since the other ND (Notre Dame) won't...then they can have their 12 team, 2 division conference. It'd be rough at first, but we'd get recruits for the other sports, haha. Never say never!

Mankato was moved to the CHA

I think JPL is our only legitimate shot left at the Hobey this year...and he's definitely not out of it (unless you look at fan voting, haha).

Yeah, the UW game is why we are so high in the PIM column. We don't seem to have that many more dumb penalties than any other year. It always happens. Can we play smarter, definitely. But, I think it could be worse.

Yeah, I noticed the 3 WCHA teams too. Disappointing, but it shows you that you can't slack and that's where these slow first halves might bite us down the road somewhere.

That's a game-time decision, both green and black will be on the bus for sure though.

The Big Ten conference would be good and bad for college hockey I think. I think it would bring a "name-brand" type recognition to college hockey. But, schools like us would be looking in from the outside and we'd be scrambling to form a conference with the weak remainders. BIG TEN Michigan Michigan State Ohio State Wisconsin Minnesota Penn State (would be intrigued by the Big Ten name and add both men's and women's programs) Purdue (a bigger stretch, but I think a school that could get persuaded to join, they have lots of money) Notre Dame (could be enough incentive for all athletic programs to join the Big Ten) So, that's an 8-time conference with PSU and Purdue....6 without. 8 is a perfect number I think. NEW WCHA North Dakota St. Cloud Michigan Tech Duluth Denver Colorado College Anchorage Bemidji State NEW CCHA Miami Bowling Green Ferris State Alaska Northern Michigan Lake Superior Western Michigan Air Force NEW CHA Niagara Huntsville Mankato Robert Morris Nebraska-Omaha HOCKEY EAST (unchanged) Boston College Boston U. Maine Northeastern UMass UNH UMass-Lowell Vermont Providence Merrimack NEW ATLANTIC HOCKEY Sacred Heart RIT Mercyhurst Bentley Army Canisius Holy Cross AI UCONN Syracuse (is joining college hockey) Just tinkered everything. Obviously schools would be in conferences where they didn't want, and the Big Ten would be the dominant conference, but if you want 6 remotely balanced conferences, how else could you do it? And for all you people out there, I added BSU into the now much weaker WCHA. CCHA is a really weak conference now.

A1: Nothing A2: Nothing A3: A Nationally competitive team (more than just a conference-competitive team...and yes, I know they never won a tourney game) Why do we need ANOTHER team like MSUM and UAA if that's what level you think they are at. We should just add the whole CHA while we are at it so all of our wonderful brothers and sisters have a great home in our awesome conference. Why not take some away from some other conferences too that might not like it in their conferences. In fact, let's just have a Eastern US conference and a Western US conference and play everyone in our half once and the best team plays the best team from the east. Man, wouldn't that be great. All of our best college hockey buds would have permanent home in the newly expanded 20+ team WCHA. EVERY college hockey program will add "SOMETHING" to the WCHA!! Everyone is competitive once in awhile! BSU beat Merrimack who beat Ohio State who beat Notre Dame who beat Miami who beat Michigan so that must mean BSU is f'in awesome. I changed my mind, let's add the whole gang.

So, after typing all that, what does BSU actually add to the WCHA other than a team that COULD be competitive on any given night (which the WCHA already has 10 of)?

What's a PCM?

I think I'd rather have Clarke

I knew I'd take heat for what I say. Outside of college hockey die hards, no one knows who BSU is...like it or not. I don't have to know enough about the history to know what the situation is right now. To respond to the money issue regarding travel. This is a good point. And really, without a better revenue source, this will continue to be a problem. Without this, close travel needs would be the best option, which is what BSU wants. This seems like a hard option to swallow, but if college hockey schools that don't want to see them go could donate what they could to help the program out, without letting them join the conference, that's one option. Minnesota, UND, and Wisconsin are all huge revenue generators (UND being the smallest by far) from their sports programs, so if you could got help with travel needs from them, what's so bad about that? That way we are still helping out a neighbor without dismantling our own needs. I'm sure Bemedji is a great little college town, but if BSU hockey is "the best thing in town" and their fans can't be any more supportive than they are...how much do they deserve being at the same level as nearly the entire WCHA? I can't say they really do. They CAN beat WCHA level teams from time to time, including always seeming to put up a fight against UND in recent memory, but how come they can't even win their own conference (CHA) of not very good teams (only 5 of them). I know that being in the WCHA would help bringing recruits into BSU, but in the long run it could hurt recruiting to other WCHA schools....there's too great of a chance of a catastrophic outcome to the WCHA in the process. BSU has virtually nothing to add to the WCHA, only BSU to gain from everyone else. It's a selfish thought, but a valid one. Like I said, I would much rather see BSU than Mankato, or even UAA, but 10 has got to be the limit for the conference. So... Before BSU got admitted, I think they HAVE to have a guarenteed new arena. Nothing really to argue about and already stated. I just don't see anything but a decrease in the quality of WCHA play. Sorry, just my opinion. I still am open to hearing other people's opinions.

Trupp would center the line. Trupp has played at center all year, Osh has gone both ways, but with Osh at Center you have two left handed wingers. They'd all just fly around the ice anyways so it might not be much of a difference, haha

I also would agree that BSU is a better addition than Mankato, but who's to say that Mankato belongs in the league either. Take Mankato and UAA out, add them into the CHA, and get the CCHA to give up a couple. Then they have a nice 9-league team, we'd be back down to 8 and playing teams home and away every year. If you're so quick to say I'm short-sighted for thinking they don't add anything, why can't you say why they do? You wrote five sentences but basically said nothing. I'm not opposed to hearing what you have to say, as long as you give me something to listen to.

I know there are a few Bemidji natives on here, so I don't mean to offend them if they had a soft spot for BSU, but when it's not the week that UND plays them, or if you're not talking about them in discussions about adding them to the WCHA, who even notices that they are in college hockey? Why not just let them go. If the CHA isn't good enough for them, obviously they're not serious about their own hockey program, they'd be basically mooching off the fact they are in a big name conference with big name schools. There isn't one thing about them that says WCHA except their location. -They don't make a significant impact on the overall college hockey fanbase -They don't bring in very much money in hockey -Although they are gritty and can play good teams tough, they don't bring a great deal of talent to college hockey consistently -No one even knows they're there really +Allows players a chance at a college hockey career I hate to see them leave college hockey too, but when you really think about, there isn't much we lose if they, and there is less we gain if they stay.

I also need one of each of these (I have a new one of the white one in a small, still has tags), but don't have the green one. I meant to post this but never did. Contact AZSioux first if you have one since he posted first, but anyone he turns down, let me know.

PC who?

He seemed way taller than that 5-10 when I saw him. I'm 5-9 so I think I would notice the difference. Maybe I was just too drunk at the time.

Garrett Clarke is huge for his age. I met him in Wisconsin, he and another RS player were on a recruiting visit with UND...for some reason they did it in Wisconsin. RS must have played in the area around that time. I think he was 6-1 or 6-2 at the time. UND is definitely looking at him pretty strongly.

Ha, I tried calculating my stats and then I couldn't remember two of my players, but after Rakhshani's let down I didn't think I'd win. I'll be giving away the jersey since I already have one. Thanks for the contest. If you don't have one of the jerseys, they are awesome and worth every penny.

Ha, he does. <===Brian at UND <===Brian in the AHL

Watkins is my dark horse.

I was at the MTU series as well, and did look out of sorts...tired easily and wasn't at the same speed mentally as everyone else on the ice. But, when he played against UNH, I thought he looked fast and like he'd been playing awhile. His only downside was he missed a tap-in one timer, but you can't really fault him for that. It was one of our best looking scoring oppurtunities on that line all year.

Is there any chance that he would leave after this year if he thought he was ready but wasn't getting playing time? I would say no, especially because of his size, but stranger things have happened.

A couple of players for Russell Stover were with us when we traveled to Wisconsin. I guess you could say they are recruits. Without looking at the roster I forgot their names (I posted them in the recruits thread)...I think one's last name is Clarke. One kid is huge for his age.