The Frozen Faceoff…may it rest in peace

[FSSD]

Does the development of St. Thomas program help replace the Gopher X Factor in St. Paul in the future?

[fightingsioux4life]

14 minutes ago, FSSD said:

Does the development of St. Thomas program help replace the Gopher X Factor in St. Paul in the future?

Possibly. But the NCHC has to get them in first.

[farce poobah]

19 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

Can UND just join the Big 10? 

All we have to do ... is remind them that our football team has won the last 10 national championships and we are definitely in.

[The Sicatoka]

1 minute ago, farce poobah said:

All we have to do ... is remind them that our football team has won the last 10 national championships and we are definitely in.

[BulldogMafia]

Having the Bulldogs in St. Paul would have helped.

[Goon]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:32 AM, fightingsioux4life said:

Possibly. But the NCHC has to get them in first.

You would have to convince 8 Athletic Directors to let them in. 

[fightingsioux4life]

18 minutes ago, Goon said:

You would have to convince 8 Athletic Directors to let them in. 

Yeah, well it would be a big mistake not to get them in. They are a sleeping giant who will give any conference a boost in multiple ways.

[MafiaMan]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:17 AM, FSSD said:

Does the development of St. Thomas program help replace the Gopher X Factor in St. Paul in the future?

 

19 minutes ago, Goon said:

You would have to convince 8 Athletic Directors to let them in. 

 

Just now, fightingsioux4life said:

Yeah, well it would be a big mistake not to get them in. They are a sleeping giant who will give any conference a boost in multiple ways.

I’ll have to check out a St Thomas game at their high school rink next season and give you all my report.

[fightingsioux4life]

Just now, MafiaMan said:

I’ll have to check out a St Thomas game at their high school rink next season and give you all my report.

You know doggone well they are in the process of building a brand new arena for their hockey and basketball teams. They mean business with their transition to Division I athletics. They are a sleeping giant. The Summit was smart to snatch them up, the NCHC would be wise to do the same.

[MafiaMan]

8 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

You know doggone well they are in the process of building a brand new arena for their hockey and basketball teams. They mean business with their transition to Division I athletics. They are a sleeping giant. The Summit was smart to snatch them up, the NCHC would be wise to do the same.

I’m in agreement with you - I’m curious to see what their team looks like and how the attendance is.  

[fightingsioux4life]

37 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

I’m in agreement with you - I’m curious to see what their team looks like and how the attendance is.  

They'll have their growing pains at first. But with their large and engaged alumni base, they should have no problem getting people to go to the games. Their talent should increase exponentially, as they are a Division I institution now and will attract better athletes and better players. They'll be a tough team to play on the ice in a couple of years.

St. Thomas would get the NCHC into the Twin Cities area television market. Their academic profile and reputation would be a great addition to the NCHC. Their alumni base has the resources to make St. Thomas very competitive at the Division I level in all sports (it is only a matter of time before their FB team is invited to the MVFC). There are very few negatives with adding St. Thomas to the NCHC and I really hope the conference does not get hung up on having an odd number of teams (9) as an excuse not to invite them.

Opportunities like this don't come up often and the NCHC needs to jump all over this.

[siouxkid12]

36 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

I’m in agreement with you - I’m curious to see what their team looks like and how the attendance is.  

can't be any worse than St. Cloud

[fightingsioux4life]

Just now, siouxkid12 said:

can't be any worse than St. Cloud

St. Thomas is 10x the school St. Cloud is.

[siouxkid12]

14 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

They'll have their growing pains at first. But with their large and engaged alumni base, they should have no problem getting people to go to the games. Their talent should increase exponentially, as they are a Division I institution now and will attract better athletes and better players. They'll be a tough team to play on the ice in a couple of years.

St. Thomas would get the NCHC into the Twin Cities area television market. Their academic profile and reputation would be a great addition to the NCHC. Their alumni base has the resources to make St. Thomas very competitive at the Division I level in all sports (it is only a matter of time before their FB team is invited to the MVFC). There are very few negatives with adding St. Thomas to the NCHC and I really hope the conference does not get hung up on having an odd number of teams (9) as an excuse not to invite them.

Opportunities like this don't come up often and the NCHC needs to jump all over this.

If they add St. Thomas you might as well go for Mankato

[fightingsioux4life]

Just now, siouxkid12 said:

If they add St. Thomas you might as well go for Mankato

Mankato would be another excellent addition. But I would cap the league at 10 teams. The old WCHA got watered down towards the end with 12 teams.

[siouxkid12]

Just now, fightingsioux4life said:

St. Thomas is 10x the school St. Cloud is.

I'm speaking about the fans. It's unbelievable that they couldn't get in their cars for the 77 mile trip to support their team

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, siouxkid12 said:

I'm speaking about the fans. It's unbelievable that they couldn't get in their cars for the 77 mile trip to support their team

I know and you are 1000% correct; that was embarrassing. But I also think St. Thomas is a much more attractive school overall.

[siouxkid12]

3 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I know and you are 1000% correct; that was embarrassing. But I also think St. Thomas is a much more attractive school overall.

For a school that pissed and moaned to get into the NCHC, they should be one of the biggest supporters.

[I Ranger]

1 hour ago, fightingsioux4life said:

You know doggone well they are in the process of building a brand new arena for their hockey and basketball teams. They mean business with their transition to Division I athletics. They are a sleeping giant. The Summit was smart to snatch them up, the NCHC would be wise to do the same.

I mentioned this in another thread joking but you obviously never picked up on it but others did. St Thomas is already in the CCHA. 

[fightingsioux4life]

4 minutes ago, I Ranger said:

I mentioned this in another thread joking but you obviously never picked up on it but others did. St Thomas is already in the CCHA. 

They will outgrow that conference in about 5 years.

[FSSD]

1 hour ago, siouxkid12 said:

If they add St. Thomas you might as well go for Mankato

Or add St. Thomas and dump the Clowns.  Addition by subtraction.

[Big Green]

St Thomas needs to prove it.  Its not like if the NCHC doesn't invite them they are going somewhere else.  It's basically NCHC or CCHA for them.  They need to prove they have what it takes to play in the NCHC.  As of now they would weaken the league.

 

[jdub27]

2 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

There are very few negatives with adding St. Thomas to the NCHC and I really hope the conference does not get hung up on having an odd number of teams (9) as an excuse not to invite them.

Putting them on a pedestal and bending over backwards for them and then being stuck with any resulting mess as they use the conferences as a stepping stone would be one of those negatives.

[siouxkid12]

27 minutes ago, Big Green said:

St Thomas needs to prove it.  Its not like if the NCHC doesn't invite them they are going somewhere else.  It's basically NCHC or CCHA for them.  They need to prove they have what it takes to play in the NCHC.  As of now they would weaken the league.

 

It's not like Miami of Ohio is making the league strong (8-24-4). 
Rico is only in his second year and needs another year or two to fully implement his system with his own guys. 

Let's also no forget that Augustana is going to have a D1 program here soon. Might not be the prettiest team to start out but I believe they are showing the hockey world they want to compete right away. They even have their own NIL marketplace for their student athletes. 
If the NCHC truly wants to this tournament to continue they need to start looking at local teams. This notion that fans from Western MI, and Miami are going to come to St. Paul (even if their teams don't make it) to watch the conference tournament is a pipedream.

[FSSD]

1 hour ago, Big Green said:

St Thomas needs to prove it.  Its not like if the NCHC doesn't invite them they are going somewhere else.  It's basically NCHC or CCHA for them.  They need to prove they have what it takes to play in the NCHC.  As of now they would weaken the league.

 

St. Thomas brings many things to the table that SCSU or even UMD do not.  One primary example is that Midco Sports channel is now on Xfinity in the Twin Cities.  The Summit League tried for years to break through.  The first year St. Thomas joins they break through in the TC metro.  What other opportunities are available to the Summit Leage and NCHC with St. Thomas in the fold?

From a Summit League standpoint, I noticed that St. Johns has declining enrollment and cut several programs.  My question now is given this new information.  Would St. Johns be willing to look at moving up with St. Thomas now that they have see a path.  I would love to see both St. Thomas and St. Johns in the TSL.