IronFist

Regarding Syracuse, I'll repost what I wrote on Niagara's forum a while back....... "As for Syracuse adding a men's hockey program, there have been rumors, but I'm not getting my hopes up about PSU being the impetus that will get the ball rolling at SU. The women's hockey program was started to fulfill Title IX requirements......no more, no less. Adding a men's squad would require scholarships (unless they wanted to half-ass it like UConn has been doing), adding another women's sport, and having an adequate arena. The 350-seat Tennety Ice Skating Pavilion is too small for D1 men's hockey, even per AHA standards, and the dumpy War Memorial is too far off-campus and wouldn't have scheduling priority. SU has been spending money on upgrading facilities like the Manley Field House, and in another decade or two, they will likely need to replace the aging Carrier Dome. With these upcoming capital expenditures, they probably won't have the funds to build a state-of-the-art arena suitable for big-time men's ice hockey. They decided to drop their swimming and diving programs after concluding that these programs would require a new complex that the university did not want to spend $30+ million on. For comparison's sake, $30 million is roughly how much RIT's new hockey arena is projected to cost. Based on UConn's lack of success, hockey at a "name brand" school isn't automatically a smashing hit. In UConn's case, it has been an utter disaster both on and off the ice. They are one of the worst programs in D1, have no fan support, and between their men's and women's programs have been operating deep in the red. As with UConn, a hockey team at SU would be competing with the most popular sport on campus, men's basketball. Everything considered, I don't see SU adding D1 hockey unless they a) receive a massive donation similar to the one that PSU received from Terry Pegula, and b) were guaranteed immediate inclusion into the Hockey East. And even then, it wouldn't be a tap-in putt. The best they can hope for is the construction of an on-campus basketball arena in the future, that would double as a hockey arena similar to the Mullins Center at UMass." "I don't see SU even considering men's ice hockey unless Notre Dame and Providence helped create a Big East Hockey Conference.......and even then, it wouldn't be a slam dunk. At this time, I don't see BC agreeing to play in a Big East Hockey Conference that would presumably include UConn. However, a few years from now, BC's opinion may change. Let me explain. The Big East's current television contract, which is a joke, expires in 2013. From what I've read, there is a good chance that the BE will secure better terms than the ACC did last year. When the ACC and ESPN reached a 12-year deal that netted each school $13M/yr., everyone thought that the ACC got a really good deal. This isn't the case anymore. If the Big East were to top the ACC's deal (or if they established a lucrative network of their own, using the Big Ten's model), one of BC's primary incentives for playing in the ACC is removed. At that point, I could very well see them heading back to the Big East, in spite of there being leftover grudges from the 2003 raid. With BC in the fold, a BEHC would have enough sex appeal as a secondary sport, a la Big East lax. But like I said, the very earliest I could see a BEHC forming is 2013-14. And SU won't even consider men's ice hockey until then, if they consider it at all. There's just not enough money to be made when you consider the costs. That's the bottom line, and Doc Gross knows this." As you can see, I tend to write long-winded posts over there I haven't heard much about Navy or URI. From what I understand, Navy does have an on-campus rink in which their club hockey team plays. It holds about 1,000 and is expandable according to one poster on USCHO's forum. They would be a great addition to the AHA, despite being a bit of a geographical outlier. Air Force, Army, and Navy all playing in the same conference would be an awesome setup. Based on Frank Serratore's recent interview, it appears as though Air Force is committed to Atlantic Hockey for the time being.

NU/CC/MC/RMU switching conferences would have its pros and its cons from an RIT standpoint. The biggest advantage, obviously, would be having a much better shot at winning an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. As we are unable to offer scholarships, we are currently at an inherent disadvantage vis-a-vis those four "AHA West" schools. Among the downsides would be: the loss of nearby conference rivals, an even crappier league schedule, and an increased possibility of the AHA moving its championship game and semifinals away from Rochester. For now, RIT's administrators seem to be waiting it out until Notre Dame reveals its hand. The best-case scenario would be for Notre Dame to head to Hockey East and take an ECAC team with them (RPI? QU?). This would open up a spot in the ECAC, which is RIT's dream destination. We would be a great fit in the ECAC, both institutionally and on the ice. We have a lot in common with the other non-Ivy, NYS-based members. Most of our sports will be playing in the Liberty League with St. Lawrence, Clarkson, RPI, and Union......so there's already some common ground between RIT and a few ECAC members. Also, our inability to offer scholarships wouldn't be much of an impediment because we wouldn't be the only school with this disadvantage. Personally, I could live with RIT playing in the ECAC or AHA. In the latter case, we would be a big fish in a small pond (along with Air Force). The CCHA wouldn't be our best option because of scholarship and travel concerns (especially if UAF discontinues providing travel subsidies). There have been talks about RIT moving up to D1 in all sports, though I haven't heard anything lately. This move, if it were to happen, would likely coincide with the completion of our new arena. RIT at the very least wants to move its women's hockey program up to D1 (if the NCAA allows for it). The Lady Tigers played for the D3 national championship last season. Personally, I would love to see RIT go D1 in all sports and take on the best of the best in men's lacrosse. That is another sport in which we could be competitive from the get-go. Our D3 team was ranked #1 for a good part of last season and was one win away from playing at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

This is going to be huge. As we all know by now, Pegula doesn't mess around when it comes to getting things done. He got the ball rolling at Penn State and has single-handedly erased the "small-market mindset" of the Buffalo Sabres. Canisius' campus is located in midtown Buffalo, right next to one of Buffalo's Metrorail stations. If done right, this arena could become a hub of activity........and host hockey games, basketball games, concerts, conferences, trade shows, and other popular events (in other words, become a smaller-scale version of BU's Agganis Arena). A state-of-the-art venue, backed by Pegula dollars, could inject life into Midtown Main Street, which is mostly devoid of activity compared to the thriving Elmwood Strip. It should also boost local interest in college hockey, in a city where the college brand has been largely an afterthought. As much as I hate to say it, Canisius could be a sleeping giant in college hockey. I never thought I'd ever utter those words in my lifetime, but with Pegula providing financial backing for facility upgrades, anything is possible.

My bracket is FUBAR, but I'll take consolation in the fact that I'm still beating Goon.

Nice work......it took me a while to decide on North Dakota / Boston College in the semifinals.....but I ended up going with the Sioux.

10,556 people packed Blue Cross Arena for RIT's "home" opener against UMass-Lowell. http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2010/10/16/umass-lowell-vs-rit/ I'd love to see a powerhouse team like North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, BU, or BC play RIT at either Blue Cross or HSBC Arena sometime in the future.

As much as I would like this to happen, I am not getting my hopes up. Because I don't have much time this morning, I'll re-post something I wrote on another forum: "As for Syracuse adding a men's hockey program, there have been rumors, but I'm not getting my hopes up about PSU being the impetus that will get the ball rolling at SU. The women's hockey team was started to fulfill Title IX requirements. Adding a men's squad would require scholarships (unless they wanted to half-ass it like UConn has been doing), adding another women's sport, and having an adequate arena (the Tennety Ice Skating Pavilion is too small for D1 men's hockey, and the dumpy War Memorial is too far off-campus and wouldn't have scheduling priority). SU has been spending money on upgrading facilities like the Manley Field House, and in another decade or two, they will likely need to replace the Carrier Dome. With these capital expenditures, SU probably won't have the funds to build a state-of-the-art hockey arena suitable for big-time men's hockey. They decided to drop their swimming and diving programs after concluding that these programs would require a new complex that the university did not want to spend $30+ million on. Based on UConn's lack of success, hockey at a "name brand" school isn't automatically a smashing hit. In UConn's case, it has been an utter disaster on and off the ice. They are one of the worst programs in D1, have no fan support, and between their men's and women's programs have been operating deep in the red. As with UConn, a hockey team at SU would be competing with the most successful sport on campus, men's basketball. Everything considered, I don't see SU adding D1 hockey unless they a) receive a massive donation similar to the one that PSU is rumored to receive from one of its billionaire alums, and b) were guaranteed immediate inclusion into the Hockey East. And even then, it wouldn't be a tap-in putt. Otherwise, the best they can do is hope for the construction of a new on-campus basketball arena in the future, that would double as a hockey arena similar to the Mullins Center at UMass."

Add defending national champion Boston College (and Merrimack) to my confirmed list. I'll be in Beantown for BC's banner night on 10/30.

The Idaho-BG game was arguably the most exciting game of the entire bowl season last year. Neither team knew how to play much defense. I honestly don't know a thing about North Dakota football, but I reckon even FCS schools could put up some points on the Vandal defense which surrendered 433 yards and 36 points per game last year. On the other side of the ball, the Sioux should try to generate a good pass rush because Idaho's offensive line will be largely inexperienced this season. Don't give Enderle much time to make something happen or he'll burn you.

Likely: RIT @ Canisius and Niagara Possibly: RIT @ Cornell, RPI, Union, Mercyhurst

I don't think hockey will play any role in the Big Ten's decision. It'll come down to football, academics, TV revenues, new markets, and maybe basketball. As much as I, a Syracuse fan in most sports, would like lacrosse to be part of the equation, I don't think it will be.

Actually, this video is a little better because it shows what a cheapshot artist Carl Hudson is. He came out of the penalty box to attack one of our players.

1. They are RIT's arch-rival 2. Their team is full of dirty players (e.g. Carl Hudson, David Cianfrini) 3. Their fans have a superiority complex when their team...... - has never amounted to !@#$ in college hockey - gets handled by RIT on a consistent basis - have to use another school's D3 rink because they don't even have their own 4. Their mascot flips off other team's fans 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6mJULLbEjo

Canisius Boston College Denver Michigan I couldn't see myself rooting for any of those teams.

ESPN2 @ 10:30 AM your time.