Ruh Roh! Small school complaining

I was reading this article in USCHO and it's interesting, but not all is equal. The Atlantic Hockey Association while they have made big-time improvements, they still aren't on the same level as the other major conferences. That's the brutal reality. That doesn't mean that they're not going to win games in the NCAA tourney, because they have in a few isolated cases.

Also, these schools in most cases, just  don't have the facilities a lot of the other big schools have, I checked on line and not one of the current schools in the AHA has an arena that seats over 3000 fans.  So, good luck getting the bigger schools to visit the R.I.T., Sacred Hearts and or the Bentley's of the AHA.

Chris Lerch, USCHO.COM -- Atlantic Hockey posted the highest number of non-conference wins (25) and tied for the best non-conference winning percentage (.365) in the league’s history. That was despite AHA teams playing the vast majority of their non-conference games on the road.

And that, according to Wilson, is where change has to happen.

Atlantic Hockey teams hosted 23 non-conference home games (16 with conference-affiliated teams; seven against either Alabama-Huntsville or Penn State) plus three more neutral-ice games where AHA squads were the designated home team (RIT’s game with Penn State at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena and Robert Morris’ contests with Penn State and Ohio State at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center).

In contrast, the league’s 12 teams played 52 pure road games and another five on neutral ice (not including NCAA tournament games). That’s more than a two-to-one disparity.

Mercyhurst played all seven of its non-conference games on the road. Niagara played six of its seven non-conference contests away from Dwyer Arena, where the Purple Eagles were 15-0-2 last season.

In comparison, teams that will form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference played 35 non-conference home games to just 15 road games and 10 neutral-site games. Denver did not play a road non-conference game; no NCHC school played more than two.

Big Ten teams (not including Penn State) played 20 non-conference home games, eight road games and nine neutral-site games out of league. Wisconsin and Michigan did not play any non-conference road games.

Sure, it's true that AHA allows the NCAA tourney to have 16 teams in the NCAA tourney, but now it appears that the smaller schools in college hockey want to start dictating the terms to the bigger schools of college hockey. Yeah, okay! We'll see how that works for them.

I have a feeling this isn't going to play well for these smaller schools and I really don't see them setting the terms. I mean, what's next? The smaller schools start asking that we move the start of the season back a couple of weeks? Or that we start limiting that number of scholarships that teams can give out to level the playing field. The AHA isn't fully funding their hockey teams to the maximum scholarship levels that the other schools are.

Of course that's going to change, a little bit. It was announced back in May, that the Atlantic Hockey beginning with the 2014-15 season will add one additional scholarship bringing the total allowed to 13 scholarships. The following season, Atlantic Hockey will again add one more scholarship for the 2015-16 season, bringing the total number of scholarships to 14.

UND travels on a couple of non-conference series every season. Last year, UND went to the Alaska Goal Rush Tourney in Fairbanks Alaska and played at Notre Dame. So, actually, Mr. Lerch’s article isn’t exactly correct, one NCHC team played three non-conference games away from home. Alaska Fairbanks was the host for the Goal Alaska Rush Tourney.

Break down of UND travel in recent years.

UND traveled to Kendall Classic in Anchorage, Alaska and to Maine for the 2010-11 season.
UND traveled to Cornell during the 2009-10 season.
UND traveled to Boston for the Ice Breaker during the 2008-09 season to play BU and UMass and also played a two game set at Harvard as well. So, that team made two trips to Boston.

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2013 NCAA Division I College Hockey Frozen Four Television Schedule (4/11, 4/13)

Here is next weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. The NCAA’s Frozen Four takes center stage at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Starting on Thursday evening, there will be two semifinal games, as usual the semifinal games on Thursday will be on ESPN2.

The two winning teams will advance and play in the championship game on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. central on ESPN.

In my opinion, this is most wonderful time of the year. It’s also very stressful. There is a finality, which surrounds the college hockey tourney. Seasons and careers end, with losses in the National tourney.   In a one game tourney, the best team doesn’t always win.

Some the players that are playing in this tourney will someday end up in the NHL.

Check your local cable television guide for channels.

Thu.	Apr. 11	UMass Lowell vs. Yale	ESPN2	3:30 p.m.	209 / 144
Thu.	Apr. 11	Quinnipiac vs. Saint Cloud	ESPN2	7:00 p.m.	209 / 144
Sat.	Apr. 13	NCAA Championship	ESPN	6:00 p.m.	206 / 140

All times are Central Standard Time.

 Cross-Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

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New Frozen Four ticket policy

 Official Press Release

The NCAA has announced a new ticket purchase process for the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, effective with the 2013 championship at the CONSOL Energy Center April 11 and 13 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The ticket purchase process, approved by the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, will now be conducted beginning Oct. 1 and will no longer involve submitting an application for the opportunity to purchase tickets. Instead, ticket purchasers will be invited to purchase tickets, based on their priority level, and select their own seat locations at the time of the order submission.

“This new system gives our priority ticket holders something tangible,” said Sean Frazier, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and deputy athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “A lot of people never fully understood what priority status got them. Now, with this new system it leaves no doubt because they will be able to pick their exact seat location first.”

An individual’s priority level is determined by the number of Frozen Four championships he/she has purchased tickets to through the NCAA ticket application process, beginning with the 1997 championship in Milwaukee through the 2012 championship in Tampa. Ticket purchasers are awarded one priority point for each year tickets have been purchased in his/her name.

Each priority level will be given a designated date to begin the ticket purchase process. Individuals with the highest priority level will be invited to purchase tickets starting Oct. 1. Individuals with the next highest priority level will have the opportunity to purchase tickets shortly thereafter, and so on until the available inventory has been sold. Ticket purchasers will receive an e-mail approximately one week prior to the designated purchase date for their priority level with an invitation and instructions for purchasing tickets. Each priority ticket purchaser is limited to a maximum of four tickets.

All orders must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, Nov. 30, and tickets will be mailed in late February 2013.

Under the previous system established in 2002, seat assignments were determined based on the ticket purchaser’s priority level. But that location was not determined by the buyer. Fans also had to purchase tickets almost a full year in advance from the event and seat locations were not known until the tickets arrived in March.

“When the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee came up with the original system in 2002, it was done to ensure that we were rewarding the loyalty of our most avid fans,” said Lori Wolf, NCAA associate director for championships and alliances, ticketing. “However, with the new tweaks, it really takes the ticket-buying and seat selection experience to the next level. We really feel this will be a big hit with our fans.”

Those interested in the opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, but do not currently have an existing account/priority level, are invited to visit http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourtickets to complete a registration form with their contact information. Any individual who registers their contact information prior to Oct. 1 will be sent an invitation to purchase any remaining tickets.

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NCAA Hockey 2013 regional sites announced

Here is the official release for the 2013 NCAA Hockey regional sites.

NCAA.com ---- he NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected the four regional sites for the 2013 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

The four sites and regionals, being held between March 29-31, include: East Regional in Providence, R.I.; Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H.; Midwest Regional in Toledo, Ohio; and the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Brown will serve as hosts for the East Regional and New Hampshire will host the Northeast Regional. Bowling Green will host the Midwest Regional and Michigan will host the West Regional.

“The committee has placed an emphasis in the regional rounds on neutral-site buildings with NHL-size ice surfaces,” said Sean Frazier, chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and associate athletic director at Wisconsin. “All of these facilities meet those standards, and we feel the arenas and hosts will be able to provide a tremendous championship opportunity for the student-athletes.”

The 2013 Men’s Frozen Four will be held in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the Consol Energy Center, April 11 and 13. The 2012 championship will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., April 5 and 7.