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OT: General College Hockey Talk

College Hockey is going to contract more before it expands with the way NIL and the transfer portal are going. The AHA and CCHA are basically farm systems for the big 3 leagues and I have no idea how schools like Lindenwood, Stonehill, and LIU are going to continue to survive without even a league.

(And yes, I'm still pissed RIT's two best forwards from last year entered the portal)
 
misterchainsaw said:
College Hockey is going to contract more before it expands with the way NIL and the transfer portal are going. The AHA and CCHA are basically farm systems for the big 3 leagues and I have no idea how schools like Lindenwood, Stonehill, and LIU are going to continue to survive without even a league.

(And yes, I'm still pissed RIT's two best forwards from last year entered the portal)
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I would hope the smaller uni's would be the first to dive on recruiting out of the CHL.
 
misterchainsaw said:
Sure, but even then they have a great season and they're off to one of the better conferences - it seems impossible to develop teams and players in this atmosphere.
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Sounds similar to college basketball. Although the "one and done" is more towards the pros I think.

Haven't really kept up with college athletics enough to see how transfer portals are affecting everything.
 
I just saw RIT had a higher average attendence with their worst team in recent memory than the national champions did.

RIT should be pulling any lever and using any leverage they have to get the hell out of Atlantic Hockey in the current environment.
 
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misterchainsaw said:
I just saw RIT had a higher average attendence with their worst team in recent memory than the national champions did.

RIT should be pulling any lever and using any leverage they have to get the hell out of Atlantic Hockey in the current environment.
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Where does RIT go though? Dunno if CCHA want to expand that far east (BGSU would be the closest school). HE/NCHC/B1G are non-starters. ECAC won't expand unless someone leave, and despite HE's repeated courting of Qunnipiac, there doesn't seem to be any appetite for them to move. Plus there's the whole Ivy/Non-Ivy balance, travel partners, etc. And independence is a tough existence.
 
NotABadPeriod said:
Where does RIT go though? Dunno if CCHA want to expand that far east (BGSU would be the closest school). HE/NCHC/B1G are non-starters. ECAC won't expand unless someone leave, and despite HE's repeated courting of Qunnipiac, there doesn't seem to be any appetite for them to move. Plus there's the whole Ivy/Non-Ivy balance, travel partners, etc. And independence is a tough existence.
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Yeah it's a rough terrain. The hope was there's going to be a somewhat significant shuffling going forward with all the independents that need homes. The CCHA would probably be worse for them than their current spot (same issues with being a "mid-major" plus way worse travel). It's too bad LIU couldn't have looked like St. Thomas or Augustania out of the gate - the ECAC might consider admitting RIT if someone of their caliber came with them. I don't think there's any doubt that RIT would be a draw for a conference like the ECAC - they'd instantly have the 3rd biggest building in the conference and the 2nd highest attendence this past year, with again a terrible team and Atlantic Hockey opponents coming into the building (hardly big draws)

ECAC would probably be the ideal - they're about the same distance to Cornell as Cornell's current playing partner. But like you said they're probably not looking to expand at the moment. I think the most likely scenario would be Quinnipiac jumping to Hockey East and taking their spot (obviously the travel partners would have to be shuffled). Q-Pac may say they're satisfied now, but if ECAC remains a full step behind the top 3 and at-large bids become scarce.....that may change.

It's just frustrating watching UConn go from RIT's personal punching bag to an at-large NCAA bid because they could get into HE. (at one point RIT had won 11 of 12 games against the Huskies). And we'll see how much longer programs like Mercyhurst and Robert Morris last in the current environment.....RoMo already killed hockey once.
 
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misterchainsaw said:
Yeah it's a rough terrain. The hope was there's going to be a somewhat significant shuffling going forward with all the independents that need homes. The CCHA would probably be worse for them than their current spot (same issues with being a "mid-major" plus way worse travel). It's too bad LIU couldn't have looked like St. Thomas or Augustania out of the gate - the ECAC might consider admitting RIT if someone of their caliber came with them. I don't think there's any doubt that RIT would be a draw for a conference like the ECAC - they'd instantly have the 3rd biggest building in the conference and the 2nd highest attendence this past year, with again a terrible team and Atlantic Hockey opponents coming into the building (hardly big draws)

ECAC would probably be the ideal - they're about the same distance to Cornell as Cornell's current playing partner. But like you said they're probably not looking to expand at the moment. I think the most likely scenario would be Quinnipiac jumping to Hockey East and taking their spot (obviously the travel partners would have to be shuffled). Q-Pac may say they're satisfied now, but if ECAC remains a full step behind the top 3 and at-large bids become scarce.....that may change.

It's just frustrating watching UConn go from RIT's personal punching bag to an at-large NCAA bid because they could get into HE. (at one point RIT had won 11 of 12 games against the Huskies). And we'll see how much longer programs like Mercyhurst and Robert Morris last in the current environment.....RoMo already killed hockey once.
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The ECAC only makes sense if they want to add a pair of schools and they get one of the two Buffalo schools to go with them.

From a footprint POV, getting into Buffalo and Rochester might not be a bad move for the ECAC. But, who knows if they want to add two more schools.
 
Jim Bob said:
The ECAC only makes sense if they want to add a pair of schools and they get one of the two Buffalo schools to go with them.

From a footprint POV, getting into Buffalo and Rochester might not be a bad move for the ECAC. But, who knows if they want to add two more schools.
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I can't see either Buffalo school or the ECAC having interest in each other, frankly. I think the best chance, outside of Q-Pac fleeing a struggling conference in a couple of years - is another new school (perhaps the much rumored Syracuse or Binghamton men's team) or a complete upheaval of the current conferences.
 
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JF has been busy tapping into the CHL, Jr A, DI and DIII to add talent. He does not seem to be leaving no stone unturned.

And the Noah Houle that is coming from Lindenwood is not a nepobaby move. JF's son Noah is a lacrosse player and not a hockey player having played at SUNY Potsdam as an LSM before transferring to Clarkson for this school year and choosing not to play lacrosse.
 
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