Bemidji State in the WCHA?

[mksioux]

Let's see if we can make an 11-team conference schedule workable while keeping to 28 league games.

Group the "natural rivalries" as follows.

UND - MN - Wisc (with 11 teams one group needs to have 3 teams).

DU - CC

AA - Mankato

SCSU - BSU

UMD - MTU

Note: These are the current rivalries with BSU replacing UND.

Play each team twice with an additional series against your rival(s) and play a total of 28 league games (same number of league games as today).

After scheduling each team twice and the rivals for another two games each, UND, MN, Wisc are at 24 games and the other eight teams are at 22 games.

UND-MN-Wisc can each schedule two of the other eight teams each year so they will play a home/home series once every 4 years with the other eight teams. That gets those three teams to 28 games.

The other eight teams will play three additional series. Once every four years they will get a home/home with UND, MN, Wisc.

Slightly more than one out of three years they get a home/home with the other six non-rival teams.

Seems workable to me and as a Sioux fan has the benefit of restoring yearly home/home series with MN and Wisc. I think it is fair to put these three in one grouping given their history with each other and the fact they lead the league in attendance by a large margin over the other eight teams. I believe UND/MN has played more games against each other than any other rivalry in college hockey. I would like to get this back to four times every year and not water it down any more.

Your plan makes sense as a Sioux fan, but there is no way any other team in the WCHA would go for it. The unavoidable consequence of Bemidji joining the WCHA is less games against Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Denver. Anyone who is in favor of adding Bemidji should acknowledge that fact and come to the conclusion that saving Bemidji's hockey program is worth it.

[nodakvindy]

I believe UND/MN has played more games against each other than any other rivalry in college hockey.

In the last year or two DU-CC has surpassed UND-MN.

[rochsioux]

In the last year or two DU-CC has surpassed UND-MN.

FWIW,

DU / CC have played 271 times

UND / MN have played 273 times according to MN records and 266 times according to UND records.

[krangodance]

FWIW,

DU / CC have played 271 times

UND / MN have played 273 times according to MN records and 266 times according to UND records.

this topic has really gone in a strange direction. who played who the most? really? we care about that now?

[mikejm]

^clearly you haven't been around here very long.

We care about everything; often to exhausting lengths.

[yzerman19]

Is saving Bemidji's program worth more than a series with DU, MN or WI? Emotionally, yes; but this is not an emotional decision. It is a business decision. From a business perspective that answer is a resounding no. Too small facilities in Bemidji. I can't imagine the negative revenue stream in terms of opportunity cost with a MN road game to BSU vs a MN road game to the Ralph. It would be a staggering number when you factor in concessions and liquor and other...

[mikejm]

^I wholeheartedly agree with you, but only to a point.

If "we" allow college hockey to continue to diminish in numbers, the sport will reach a point of no return. College hockey may already be there, as we're now down to what, 58 teams? In how many boardrooms do you imagine college honchos are looking for places to cut expenses and saying, "obviously, hockey has to go."? It is a regional sport with a rabid but geographically-limited fanbase. It is expensive to have a team (facilities, equipment, travel) and the financial rewards in most instances simply don't justify the cash outlay.

I think UND (and every other strong program) has to do everything it can to make sure Bemidji and similar programs remain in existence. If that means giving up a series with one of the teams you mentioned, that represents the bitter medicine necessary to make all of college hockey healthy again.

[Goon]

^I wholeheartedly agree with you, but only to a point.

If "we" allow college hockey to continue to diminish in numbers, the sport will reach a point of no return.

It's called less auto bids. That is the diminishing return.

[sagard]

^clearly you haven't been around here very long.

We care about everything; often to exhausting lengths.

Well said Mike. I was going to refute the notion the Gophers don't travel, but I'll let it go out of respect for BSU.

On topic I think it is progress that the Gophers no longer appear to be outwardly opposing the Beavers entrance. Does anyone know definitively who applied to the WCHA in addition to Bemidji?

[siouxweet]

I still believe that with bsu applying to the wcha(which would give us 11) and ala-huntsville applying to the ccha(would give them 13) that there will be a team moving from the ccha to the wcha to make this work. I think that both will recieve acceptence to the respective confrences and a deal will be worked out between the two leagues to make this work.

[yzerman19]

So...Northern Michigan or Lake Superior State?

[yzerman19]

Or Tech to the CCHA to give them 14

[siouxweet]

So...Northern Michigan or Lake Superior State?

I've heard or seen northern mich more than once. however the logical choice would be omaha but they don't want to move becasue of the draw power of michigan,mich state and ohio state football(name recognition).

[siouxweet]

Or Tech to the CCHA to give them 14

then we'd lose the cup again

[stickboy1956]

^I wholeheartedly agree with you, but only to a point.

If "we" allow college hockey to continue to diminish in numbers, the sport will reach a point of no return. College hockey may already be there, as we're now down to what, 58 teams? In how many boardrooms do you imagine college honchos are looking for places to cut expenses and saying, "obviously, hockey has to go."? It is a regional sport with a rabid but geographically-limited fanbase. It is expensive to have a team (facilities, equipment, travel) and the financial rewards in most instances simply don't justify the cash outlay.

I think UND (and every other strong program) has to do everything it can to make sure Bemidji and similar programs remain in existence. If that means giving up a series with one of the teams you mentioned, that represents the bitter medicine necessary to make all of college hockey healthy again.

Remember everyone - at one time we were a "Bemidji State" as well. It was 60 years ago when Big 10 universities let us start competing with them in hockey.

If Mich and Minn blow us off 60 years ago, we probably aren't having this conversation.

[bigmrg74]

Remember everyone - at one time we were a "Bemidji State" as well. It was 60 years ago when Big 10 universities let us start competing with them in hockey.

If Mich and Minn blow us off 60 years ago, we probably aren't having this conversation.

Right, wasn't it some big win against Michigan that helped get the young Fighting Sioux established as a legit hockey team?

[mksioux]

Remember everyone - at one time we were a "Bemidji State" as well. It was 60 years ago when Big 10 universities let us start competing with them in hockey.

If Mich and Minn blow us off 60 years ago, we probably aren't having this conversation.

In 1948, I believe there were only three Big 10 universities playing hockey and there were very few other teams in the west, so it's not an accurate comparison. But nevertheless, I see the merit in saving a college hockey program. I hate to see any school drop hockey, particuarly one with history like Bemidji State. I just want everyone to be clear about the costs involved. Some of the people that are enthusiastically behind Bemidji will probably be complaining when the Gophers come to town only 3 of 5 years, or maybe even 1 of 2 years, depending on how the league handles scheduling.

Of course there are message board arguments about what the NCAA should do or what should happen with "college hockey" in general. But none of that matters. The reality is that the NCAA is not going to allow more games, the WCHA is not going to increase the number of league games, no other team is going to leave the WCHA to make room for Bemidji, and the WCHA isn't going to concoct some complicated schedule so that UND can play Minnesota and Wisconsin four times per year. Adding Bemidji will result in fewer games against UND's biggest rivals. I think that is the backdrop in which people should formulate their position on Bemidji.

[SportsDoc]

Maybe, think "outside the box" a little. I know there is an agreement to keep AA and Alaska in different conferences for travel purposes.

But ... what if they were both in the same conference? Most likely the WCHA, thereby leaving the CCHA at 11 and able to absorb Huntsville. Both WCHA and CCHA end up with 12 teams.

What about the travel, you say? Well, in the years you would play both Alaska and AA on the road, you would go up and stay the week in between up there, playing them on back to back weekends. Maybe even play a Saturday/Sunday on the front end with a Fri/Sat (or even a Thursday/Friday?) on the back end. That would still be only one trip per year to Alaska. If they became their own partner, this would leave the WCHA partners in place, except, UND would partner with Bemidji and SCSU would partner with Mankato.

D-I Men's Hockey can not afford to let any programs go down! It would be the start of the end of College Hockey as we have come to know it. The sport needs to maintain if not grow, not contract.

[AZSIOUX]

just have a 11 team conference. the schedule is unbalanced anyhow. BSU in and if they have to get a 12th then grab someone from the ccha like northern michigan with the ccha adding their teams

I'M A BEAVER BELIEVER

[sagard]

Remember everyone - at one time we were a "Bemidji State" as well. It was 60 years ago when Big 10 universities let us start competing with them in hockey.

If Mich and Minn blow us off 60 years ago, we probably aren't having this conversation.

Most concise and best pro-BSU argument possible.

[jk]

W.W.H.D.

What would Herb do?

[dagies]

W.W.H.D.

What would Herb do?

He'd tell Parise to go to UND.

[Smoggy]

Maybe, think "outside the box" a little. I know there is an agreement to keep AA and Alaska in different conferences for travel purposes.

But ... what if they were both in the same conference? Most likely the WCHA, thereby leaving the CCHA at 11 and able to absorb Huntsville. Both WCHA and CCHA end up with 12 teams.

What about the travel, you say? Well, in the years you would play both Alaska and AA on the road, you would go up and stay the week in between up there, playing them on back to back weekends. Maybe even play a Saturday/Sunday on the front end with a Fri/Sat (or even a Thursday/Friday?) on the back end. That would still be only one trip per year to Alaska. If they became their own partner, this would leave the WCHA partners in place, except, UND would partner with Bemidji and SCSU would partner with Mankato.

I swear that I saw this somewhere before...oh yeah it's here @ post #16

[Goon]

I swear that I saw this somewhere before...oh yeah it's here @ post #16

Whoever wrote it, it makes sense too bad the league comissioners can't get right.

[Upper Deck]

There's (finally) some new updates to the BREC website including some new renditions of the inside. There's a "slight" error regarding the blue line and center colors . . . but it looks good none-the-less.