Gandalf nails it...

This week features the watch up between the UND Fighting Sioux and UW Badgers. With the BTHC becoming a reality in the future with the addition of the Penn State University Nittany Lions we may not will not see the Wisconsin Badgers as much as we have in the past, it shame as well because it is one of the great rivalries in college hockey. The Badger fan base is one of the best in college sports, they get it and Badger fans are a lot of fun to converse with and talk hockey over a few beers. ExileOnDaytonStreet has a great article on the formation of the Big Ten hockey conference, basically he is telling WCHA fans enjoy it while you can. Here is what Gandalf the Red had to say about the BTHC.

I'm not sure who this "welcomed by many of us" crowd is. The hardcore Badger HOCKEY fans that I know aren't looking forward to the BTHC, or at best are luke warm to the idea. I think the casual fan who is more into football and basketball, would be the welcoming crowd. You already have your sports, don't ruin men's hockey.

I don't like the idea of the BTHC. While UAA sucks, and Tech sucks and Mankato sucks, Penn State is going to suck, MSU often sucks, and OSU hasn't exactly ever been a powerhouse though Oz might turn them into something 5 years from now. So what is the trade off? More of the same old boring programs IMHO in the Big 10, or old rivalries built against other WCHA powerhouses over the years. Oh sure we can still schedule North Dakota, St Could, Duluth & Denver in non-conference, but that is a two way street. They have to agree, and just because UW and um leave the WCHA, don't kid yourself, those four schools listed aren't going to turn into Lake Superior State. North Dakota and Denver especially will still recruit stud filled classes. The BTHC won't be anything more special for the junior A players in Canada, or mn high school kids, or kids in the USHL.

Sure it will be more money in the pockets of the big 10 schools, wow that gets me really fuckin excited. Good for Barry who didn't even know what the Hobey Baker was until last year.

I agree about conferences, and opening things up, but it will sure suck to replace home games against great teams like DU and UND w/ OSU & PSU. Wow I can't wait...

Sure I go to Kohl Center to see the Badgers play first and foremost, but I also enjoy watching the boat loads of talent that exist in the WCHA, which is only rivaled by Hockey East, and the BTHC will not feature that kind of talent outside of michigan and minny. Sure it might some day, but if I had a vote on this one, Barry can stuff change right up his fat ass

I also think the formation of the BTHC is a direct result of what happens when you let athletic directors with football and basketball backgrounds run ruin college hockey. All you have to do is return to the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules committee kerfuffle from this past summer, that was a exercise in futility that looked like a major league Cluster Fuck , oops I mean Charlie foxtrot.

I can guarantee there more Charlie foxtrots and proverbial goat ropes if we continue to let football and basketball buffoons people like Barry Alverez and James E. Delany continue with their determination to ruin college hockey. Seriously folks, we don’t need a BTHC to maximize the money of the six Big Ten Schools that will have hockey.

I also hate to think how many CCHA schools will just pull up shop and drop hockey, I am sure some of the CCHA schools that have struggled as of late probably depend on big draws like Michigan and Michigan State to beef up their gates. I actually can’t imagine the CCHA without Michigan and Michigan State and without those teams that could drop the CCHA to a league on par with the AHA. Who knows what Notre Dame will do if they are coaxed with the prospects of the playing all of their sports in the Big Ten. I think there is a delicate balance that could be upset with they BTHC goes about this the wrong way.