BTHC Brackets Are Set: But Will Anyone Watch It?

Question: If a tree falls in the forest, and there's nobody around to hear, does it make a sound?

The conference tourneys are moving on to the Semifinals and the Big Ten will be taking over the Xcel Energy Center. Word has it that tickets sales aren't very good at all. No one is shocked. I can't imagine that too many fans will go out to watch the afternoon game between the PSU Nittany Lions take on the hapless Wisconsin Badgers. Then the night game isn't any more intriguing.

I imagine that the Big Ten Hockey Conference is hoping that the Gophers don't get bounced the first game that they play in.

Big Ten Freshman Proposal: Why Don't They Just Say It?

Here's an idea, why doesn't the Big Ten Hockey Conference and the Power 5 schools just come out and say it. We're tired of losing to the Mid Majors, and Division II and III schools. Here's another good read from Scott McLaughlin of WEEI out of Boston.

Scott McLaughlin, WEEI --- First year [at Notre Dame], we lost in the playoffs to Alaska-Fairbanks at home. I was knocking my head up against the wall trying to figure out why. And their average age was like 24 and ours was under 20. A lot of it has to do with how we recruit. When I was at Lake Superior, we recruited 19-, 20-year-old freshmen and it helped us win. It’s a true advantage. That’s how we had to recruit to win.

It’s a little different at Notre Dame for me. I can’t recruit 20-year-old freshmen because all the top academic students out there are long gone by the time they’re 20. I’m not going to say it’s self-serving, but it’s self-serving both ways. I’ve experienced both ways. I experienced it at Lake Superior State one way, and I’m experiencing it another way at Notre Dame.

Big Ten vs. The Rest of College Hockey?

Adam Lambert of Puck Daddy has a really good article on the Big Ten's freshman proposal. This is what caught my eye. And I believe that Lambert is right, the big schools are tired of losing to the less prolific teams, that's it, the Big Ten teams don't like losing to Union, Providence, Yale and other like- minded schools.

That's it in a nutshell.

The proposal smacks of elitism. The high-profile teams are tired of losing to lessers fortunate schools that might have recruited a few older stronger players. Is that such a bad thing?

These same aforementioned schools don't have the advantages the high-profile teams have. They have to recruit players while the big high-profile schools can just select the players they want.

Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy --- Which brings us back to Lucia, there was this Q&A with College Hockey News in which he basically said, repeatedly, that while he understands his opinion is not popular with his coaching peers, he also doesn't care because “they are looking out for their program, and I am looking out for mine.”

This is the kind of casual F-you attitude you can adopt if you have the political clout of the Big Ten — a big-money power conference in all sports, which makes it unique among college hockey conferences — and one you may necessarily feel must be adopted if your program is struggling for the second year in a row.

Ditto Michigan, which hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2011-12. Ditto Michigan State, which hasn't cleared 20 wins since Obama got elected. Ditto Ohio State, which he been a .500 team just twice since 2009. Ditto Wisconsin, which has seven wins in its last 49 games. And ditto, I guess, Penn State, which is a new program but has the resources behind it to start attracting high-end players that others likely cannot.

If I had to guess the teams that are for this moronic proposal are UCONN (said as much in the article cited), BU, B.C., Notre Dame, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State (said as much on the TPS show).  Who's the other program?

TPS Asks Guy Gadowsky About Big Ten's Freshmen Proposal

Over on the Pipeline show Guy Flaming asked Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Guy Gadowsky his thoughts on the Big Ten freshmen proposal. Here's the link to the broadcast.

Gadowsky said, "this discussion came out of the Big Ten meetings. It came out of the discussion on the growth of the game."

Somehow, Gadowsky thinks that this proposal will help grow the college hockey game.

@TPS_Guy hard to believe 80% of coaches would be so vocally against something that will be "best for college hockey/athletes/expansion."

— Brad Lucke (@blucke_) December 3, 2015

Nick Seeler Suspended One Game by the Big Ten for Dirty Elbow

The Big Ten has assessed Minnesota's defenseman Nick Seeler an additional game for his flying elbow on t. Cloud State's Niklas Nevalainen. In my opinion, this suspension should be longer, I would like to see him gone for the series against the OSU Buckeyes. Seeler, get's off easy with a one-game suspension.

These are the types of hit's that hockey is trying to eliminate. Why not make an example out of Seeler?

#Gophers defenseman Nick Seeler has been suspended one game for his hit on SCSU's Nick Nevalainen https://t.co/6hU5erHxab

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) November 30, 2015

How I Think It's Going to Turn out

Before some Gopher fan comes on here and calls me a moron, UMN is 1-2-1 in the state of Michigan, so I wouldn't be surprised if the final Pairwise Rankings looked like this. Feel free to share yours.

Here's another thing to consider, Minnesota has a 2-1-1 record against Michigan State and a 3-1 record against Ohio State this season. Three of those combined wins against the two teams came at home

Big Ten Mulling 'Year of Readiness'

This is a horrible idea and couldn't see college hockey adopting this silly rule. a rule like this would cause big ticket recruits to do to Major Junior and bypass college hockey altogether.

I think this is a horrible idea for football and basketball as well.

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com -- The Big Ten is seeking feedback from its members about the possibility of making freshmen athletes ineligible for competition as they adjust to college life.

In a statement to ESPN.com, the league says it is gauging interest from its members about a "national discussion regarding a year of readiness for student-athletes."

The league has provided background to its members about such a step but has made no official proposal at this point.

The Big Ten has provided background to its members about the possibility of making freshmen athletes ineligible for competition as they adjust to college life but has made no official proposal at this point.

The Diamondback, the student newspaper at Maryland, reported Thursday that the Big Ten is circulating a document titled, "A Year of Readiness," which explores making freshmen in football and men's basketball ineligible for competition.

ASU to Add Division I Hockey

The story of the day -- the announcement that Arizona State University is going to add Division I Hockey. One of the places that ASU could land is the NCHC. As Brad Schlossman mentioned earlier this week, there's been some discussion between the commissioner and ASU.

House of Sparky --- Three years from now in 2017-18 the Sun Devils will join a conference and two stand out as the most likely landing spots. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has shown interest, as has the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). It is to be determined which one Arizona State chooses.

Of the two, the NCHC would boost Arizona State's profile the most. It would guarantee games against one of the NCAA perennial powerhouses in North Dakota, a school with 20 Frozen Four appearances and seven national titles. Last season North Dakota lost in the Frozen Four to Minnesota.

Geographically the NCHC makes sense as well. Included in it are Colorado College and the University of Denver, the two closest schools to Tempe in either the NCHC or WCHA. The third-closest, Nebraska-Omaha, is also an NCHC school.

The NCHA is the more popular conference as far as fan attendance as well. Last season the most popular WCHA team was Bemidji State with an average of 3,562 fans per game, according to U.S. College Hockey Online. That ranked 22nd in the NCAA.

#ASU promotes men's ice hockey program to NCAA Division I status: http://t.co/pdIRC6hmxj pic.twitter.com/tqyVJeq86n
— Arizona Sports 98.7 (@AZSports) November 18, 2014

Final version: ASU (@TheSunDevils) to launch Division I men's hockey program (18 new scholarships): http://t.co/gQFPAPU3lL via @FOXSPORTSAZ
— Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) November 19, 2014

Arizona State to sponsor NCAA Division I men's hockey program: ASU will become the ninth col... http://t.co/wSVEgUqrch #NCAAhockey #NCAA
— NCAA Wire (@ncaawire) November 19, 2014

Small Crowd plagues first game of the B1G

RIP Final Five RT @ChrisDilks: Here's another X crowd shot for y'all. pic.twitter.com/KIzuebcQnr
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) March 20, 2014

Here's a picture of the stands Xcel Energy Center from game one of the Big Ten Hockey Tourney. I wonder what the crowd size will be for the second game tonight between OSU and MSU? I would think that Minnesota Golden Gopher fans will attend the games their teams are playing in this weekend.

Related articles

• College Hockey: Monday Pontifications (Links) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Lucia Wants to Revisit the Gentleman's Agreement (hockeywilderness.com)

(Video) MSU vs. UMN Joe Cox Shootout no-goal

So, the moral of the story just is -- just kick the net off  -- if you feel like the opposition is going to score on you in the shootout. Right? I have to say, that the officiating in the NCHC, for the most part has been pretty good, except for the second game of the DU vs. UND series.

That being said, it seems like the B1G has been getting some brutal officiating this season. Thoughts? I guess we could say that the shootout is a work in progress.

From SBN College Hockey: Spartans head coach Tom Anastos said to SB Nation's Nate Wells after the game that the referees told him "the net was not in its place when the puck crossed the line." So, the ref spends 4+ minutes reviewing a video and that's the explanation the coach gets. Wow!

B1G Hockey: Sam Warning interference call

Another call from the bad call department. Actually, this is a brutal call by the B1G officials. Minnesota forward Sam Warning is rammed into the Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam. I don't know how Warning could have avoided contact with the goalie. I would have penalized the McAdam for punching Warning with his blocker. Pretty obvious to see why Lucia was upset with this call.

Big Ten Hockey: Conference releases their TV Schedule

The Big Ten Hockey Conference released it's television schedule today for the 2013-14 hockey season.  The league will also cover the inaugural Big Ten Hockey hockey tournament at the Xcel Energy Center as well.

Related articles

• Photo: Hockey teams add 'B1G' logo to ice (btn.com)

Gophers Release their Big Ten Television Schedule

The Minnesota Gophers Men's hockey team released their B1G Television Schedule. You can see the rest of the schedule by clicking on this link.

Big Ten Hockey: To use Point System like NCHC

Brad Elliot Schlossman from the Grand Forks Herald, is reporting that the Big Ten Hockey conference will use a point system like the one that the NCHC announced a few weeks ago.

This past May, it was announced that the Big Ten will also use the shootout.

Big Ten will use the same point system as NCHC: 3 for reg/OT win; 2 for SO win; 1 for SO loss; 0 for reg/OT loss.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) September 11, 2013

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• NCHC UNVEILS NEW WEBSITE - NCHCHockey.com (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Top Stories Surrounding New League (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Conference to use Shootouts to Break Ties (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Dog Days of Summer (thehockeywriters.com)
• Most Anticipated NCHC Game: North Dakota vs. Miami (thehockeywriters.com)

OSU Hockey: Debuts New Alternative Uniforms....

Voted BY, not my. @OhioState_MHKY Debuting the Buckeyes' alternate jerseys, voted on BY current and former players. pic.twitter.com/q6i052mz3a
— Ohio State M Hockey (@OhioState_MHKY) August 21, 2013

Yesterday, OSU Hockey debuted their new alternative uniforms on Twitter. I must say that I am not all that impressed with tOSU's new look hockey jersey's. Yuck! I would think that a B1G school could come up with something better than that. Some have said they Buckeye logo's look like pot plants.

Related articles

• Did Buckeyes Use Pot To Create Alternative Jersey? (detroit.cbslocal.com)
• Ohio State's New Hockey Sweater Is Adorned With Marijuana Leaves (sportsgrid.com)

USA Hockey Trims Camp Roster

Here is the roster for the Team USA's National Junior Evaluation Camp, after it was cut down from 43 to 31 players. Not that many players from the CHL this year. 

GOALIES: 

Thatcher Demko, Boston College, HE (2014 draft eligible) 

Jon Gillies, Providence, HE, (Calgary)

Anthony Stolarz, London, OHL (Philadelphia)

DEFENSEMEN:

Michael Brodzinski, Minnesota, BIG 10 (San Jose) 

Will Butcher, Denver, NCHC (Colorado) 

Connor Carrick, Plymouth, OHL (Washington) 

Connor Clifton, Quinnipiac, ECAC (Phoenix) 

Matthew Grzelcyk, Boston University, HE (Boston) 

Ian McCoshen, Boston College, HE (Florida) 

Brett Pesce, New Hampshire, HE (Carolina; 

Steven Santini, Boston College, HE (New Jersey) 

Patrick Sieloff, Windsor, OHL (Calgary) 

Brady Skjei, Minnesota, BIG 10 (N.Y. Rangers)

FORWARDS: 

Riley Barber, Miami, NCHC (Washington); 

Taylor Cammarata, Minnesota, BIG 10 (N.Y. Islanders) 

J.T. Compher, Michigan, BIG 10 (Buffalo) 

Andrew Copp, Michigan, BIG 10 (Winnipeg) 

Thomas Di Pauli, Notre Dame, HE (Washington) 

Adam Erne, Quebec, QMJHL (Tampa Bay)

 Hudson Fasching, Minnesota, BIG 10 (Los Angeles)

 Jake Guentzel, Nebraska-Omaha, NCHC (Pittsburgh)

Nicolas Kerdiles, Wisconsin, BIG 10 (Anaheim)

Stefan Matteau, Rimouski, QMJHL (New Jersey)

Michael McCarron, London, OHL (Montreal)

 Tyler Motte, Michigan, BIG 10 (Chicago)

 Boo Nieves, Michigan, BIG 10 (N.Y. Rangers)

 Daniel O'Regan, Boston University, HE (San Jose)

Henrik Samuelsson, Edmonton, WHL (Phoenix)

Quentin Shore, Denver, NCHC (Ottawa)

Zach Stepan, Minnesota State, WCHA (Nashville)

Dominic Toninato, Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC (Toronto)

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NCHC Launches it's New Webpage

Well, the NCHC launched it's new webpage today. Yay! Good times have come our way...  Actually, the new webpage looks pretty good. I don't know, comparing it to the B1G Hockey webpage, I like this one better.

Related articles

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Predicting who wins the Inaugural 2014 B1G Title: Good Question

@THNRyanKennedy How dare you suggest that anyone other than the Minnesota Gophers win the inaugural B1G 2014 title. #sarcasm.
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) July 19, 2013

That is a very good question. It does bring up an interesting conversation, who is the favorite to win the 2014 Big Ten Hockey Conference Title. I would have to say that Wisconsin, based on who they return, would be one of the favorites. I think that Minnesota lost way too much high-end talent to make much of a impact next season.

. @THNRyanKennedy says Wisconsin looks like a safe bet to win B1G title right now. I’ll take Minnesota as a safer bet at this point.
— Andrew Weiss (@WeissFC) July 19, 2013

NCHC to launch new web page on August 1, 2013

New site countdown http://t.co/27rSfWbFbb @CCTigers @DU_Hockey @MiamiRedHawks @UMDBulldogs @omavs @UNDMHockey @SCSUHUSKIES @WMUHockey
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) July 16, 2013

The NCHC is set to launch it's new web page on August 1, 2013 and I am sure there will be some that will have a great time with this one,  because we know that Webpages make a conference. Right? Here is what's posing as a webpage for the Big Ten Hockey Conference right now.

Related articles

• Is this the list of NCHC refs? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC and B1G raided WCHA of their officials (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
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Satisfaction waning for ticket buyers in two of Badgers' biggest sports

s/t Sioux Volley... There was an interesting article that was posted in the Madison Newspaper on June 11, 2013, that was written by Todd Milewski.

I think that you will find some of the points of the article to be very interesting to why Wisconsin Badgers "might" have experienced a drop off in attendance and ticket sales last season.

That comes after a season in which the Badgers did not lead the nation in men's hockey attendance for the first time since 1998.

"I think hockey's in a little bit of what will ultimately be a positive transitional phase in the scheduling in that you're going to have all the games against the Big Ten schools plus the games against nonconference opponents that people are familiar with," Doherty said.

Athletics officials received no shortage of comments from hockey fans. Among them:

• "Take steps to improve game-day atmosphere such as increased marketing to increase attendance, allow signs, etc., in student section."

• "Allow signs, noisemakers, other items to enhance the environment."

• "Allow beer sales at the Kohl Center."

• "The value is severely diminished when you do not get Minnesota and/or North Dakota at home."

Last season, the Badgers sold one of their home games against archrival Minnesota to a company that staged it outdoors at Chicago's Soldier Field.

"Sending your premier rivalry game to Chicago shows disrespect to your fan base," one comment read.

Despite the dip in game-day satisfaction with men's basketball, the report indicates that the athletic department should not expect a decline in renewal rate next season.

Read more: