Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

02-03 schedule


YaneA

Recommended Posts

Next year's Sioux hockey schedule appeared in the GF Herald a couple days ago.  I don't like the unbalanced schedule and am prepared to p!ss and moan about it forthwith!

Particularly distressing, if only from a money grubbing standpoint, is that the Sioux will not host the Gophers next year but instead will play down at Mariucci only.   Gopher-Sioux weekend is always the biggest of the year here in the Grand Cities so the hotels and the restaurants are getting shortchanged by the scheduling.  We also play Michigan Tech only twice rather than four times and there will be no road trip to Duluth, as we play the Bulldogs also twice (here) rather than four times (here and there).    :  (

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the schedule a few day back.

We are playing two ECAZ schools

The Breaker Tourney opening against Michigan

Niagra University

Canisus University

I also heard from the coaches show that it was UND, BSU, Brandon and I think Manatoba or something like that.

We definately have some patsys on the schedule next season. I think I heard Hennessey say that the tourney will be for like three years. I am sure we will get better teams later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some good things about this schedule but frankly I don't think I like it very much overall.

Also, I thought we were supposed to play SCSU 2 series next year, or is that scheduling system NOT in effect yet??

I don't like the patsy non-conference schedule much at all.

I don't like starting conference play until well into November.  However, it does give us a number of games 6-7? under our belt before we start conference play.  So in a way, that's a wash.

We seem to have an abnormal number of home games early in the season, and spend the last half the season on the road.

Too bad we don't have MN in Grand Forks.  Always a good weekend in GF.  And it would be nice to put to rest some of the gopher fans feeling they "own" the new REA.

Too bad we don't go to Duluth because that has become a nice family get-away for me!!! ???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a mistake in there somewhere.

The schedule lists only 13 conference weekends (26 games). It should be 14 weekends (28 games). It shows seven home but only six road series.

Also, based on the link that describes the new scheduling format, it appears that schedule is missing a trip to SCSU (you play your 'rival' four times).

However, UMD and MTU were supposed to be "rivals" as were UAA and Mankato. Rivals means we'd play one of them for four and one of them for two. The schedule shows both UMD and MTU for two and both UAA and Mankato for four. That also doesn't jive unless there's been a switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not having Minnesota coming in next year will really put a strain on the fickle fans that sell their Gopher tickets to Gopher fans in order to pay for their season tickets for the rest of the year...

Don Lucia is the one that designed the system. (or so he says)

SCSU is our 'natural rival' according to him, so we'll play them every year 4 times.

I'm wondering why we are playing such an easy non-conference schedule. Don't teams want to come to Grand Forks to play? Come on... Bemidji State, Brandon University, and the University of Manitoba is the best we can get for a holiday tourney? Our season tickets are going up next year for this? Wow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

YaneA: If all you know comes from the Herald, you are hurtin'. ;)

That still isn't right compared to what the link said, but I'll blame the Herald. ???

Under the new system you play half a "rivals pair" four games and the other half for two.

Supposedly UAA and Mankato are rivals but you show four against both.

Supposedly MTU and UMD are rivals but you show two against both.

Did the Herald make a mistake or did the rivals pairs switch?

If MTU was rivals with either UAA or Mankato the schedule you list would work. Actually, wouldn't Mankato and UMD and UAA and MTU as rivals make some sense? Who knows. Ask Don "the architect of the schedule" Lucia. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verrry interesting.  In some ways it's like a mirror image of this season:  home from mid-November to mid-January instead of away for all that time, and finish with three of four weekends away.

Things I like:

Only three weekends off all year - Oct 18-19, Dec 20-21, Jan 17-18.  Four if you count the week between the regionals and the Frozen Four. ???

No three-month road trip - It's still not balanced (three straight road series followed by six straight home weekends), but it's better.  

Things I don't like:

Very weak non-conference opponents - It is good for college hockey to schedule these guys, but they won't do much to prepare the team and the RPI is already begging for mercy.  I wish we could get all the schedule abuse from some of our opposing fans out of the way now.  Since UND has the extra games from the UAA trip this year, I guess you could consider the Canisius series in mid-December as two extra games instead of having the weekend off.  

SCSU in the first half - Once again we aren't able to participate in the Husky Swoon, as all of our SCSU games are done by December 7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We'll go generic.

Rivals: A/B, C/D, E/F, G/H, I/J

A's schedule first year:

x2: at C, at E, G, I

x4: D, F, H, J, and B

A's second year:

x2: C, E, at G, at I

x4: D, F, H, J, and B

A's third year:

x2: at D, at F, H, J

x4: C, E, G, I, and B

A's fourth year:

x2: D, F, at H, at  J

x4: C, E, G, I, and B

The Herald says:

x2: at UM, at DU, UMD, MTU

x4: UW, CC, UAA, Mankato, and SCSU

except that doesnt' work unless UMD and MTU really aren't "rivals" like the link says. Maybe UMD and Mankato are rivals. Maybe someone screwed up and swapped MTU and Mankato in print.

Also note the Herald lists 39 games. OK, take out the Oct 22 Manitoba exhibition and that's 38. Figure one exhibition game (Brandon probably, considering Manitoba will have already been played once) in the holiday tournament. That's 37 games. The Punch Imlach Tournament is probably, probably, like the Icebreaker and doesn't count as games (don't quote me). That's 35. The limit is 34, unless you play in Alaska against UAA or UAF, then you can do 36 games, thus UND's limit next year is 36. I guess that's the schedule.

Actually, they have room one more game, or even two if they don't play Bemidji in the holiday tournament final.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SIOUX_HOCKEY,

The first tourney is the Ice Breaker and they play UofMich according to Blaiser on the coaches show. I am not sure who else is in that tourney, I suppose a HE and a EZAC team or something like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Conference schedule:

at St. Cloud Nov. 8-9

at Anchorage Nov. 15-16

Wisconsin Nov. 22-23

Mankato Nov. 29-30

St. Cloud Dec. 6-7

Colorado College Jan 3-4

at Minnesota Jan. 10-11

Anchorage Jan 24-25

at CC Jan 31-Feb 1

Michigan Tech Feb. 7-8

at Denver Feb. 14-15

at Mankato Feb. 21-22

Duluth Mar. 1-2

at Wisconsin Mar 7-8

Link to comment
Share on other sites

YaneA,

If you were paying attention at all this past season, you would realize that the WCHA has decided on "natural rivals" for the regular season, meaning that there will be only one school that each team plays four times a year.  

Minnesota vs Wisconsin

Colorado College vs Denver

Michigan Tech vs Minnesota-Duluth

North Dakota vs St Cloud State

and by default, Minnesota State (Mankato) vs Alaska-Anchorage

Outside of the "natural rival," the other schools rotate around where schools will play them in a single series for that season.  I know, I know, people will whine about UND being Minnesota's natural rival, but let's be honest, everyone in the WCHA thinks Minnesota is their biggest rival.  It's obvious from Big 10 action in football and basketball, that Wisconsin and Minnesota are a great fit.  That applies to hockey as well.  

MafiaMan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...