WCHA Bound.

[Flipper]

What "habit' is that?

[rood]

*Not you, Flipper.

[Freddie]

While I am on record as supporting the possible 'saving' of the CCHA by bringing in those eastern schools, it became obvious that would not/could not happen within the time frame dictated by the WCHA offer.

I am glad the speculation and uncertainty are over. The 'new look' 2013 and beyond WCHA is the best fit for us...other than the increased travel time and cost.

Thanks GC for taking the time to complete 'due diligence' before committing.

Now it's time to focus on competing in the CCHA this year.

[Lord_Byron]

What "habit' is that?

I'm kind of partial to the blue ones. . .

[Flipper]

Thanks for the *, rood....my feelings were a little hurt until I saw that....

[joehockey]

The one thing I read in the whole article that kind of made me happy was the fact no time limit was set on our WCHA membership. My feelings is this could just be a stopping place for a couple of years for our program while the rest of college hockey plays out. If the NCHC falls flat on its face, or BTHC experiences difficulties, maybe just maybe, we can benefit from it. Coach B has to have the program competing for conference championships should the next round of conference realignment come about. The next 2-3 years are no doubt the most important in our programs history.

[rally]

Humm, not exactly what I expected given all the time taken, but it probably was the best option for the immediate future. I really think that GC did his best to analyze the situation and look at all angles. I got the feeling in the Toledo Blade interview that there may be other options down the road. When asked about the end of conference shuffling, Christopher said " ... I think there's always a possibility for more to come." Perhaps when the AHA matures? It's an interesting read.

http://www.toledoblade.com/sports/2011/ ... -WCHA.html

Now that the WCHA is a blend, maybe the name should be changed to something like the "Bigger Than National Collegiate Hockey Conference."

[BGHockeyisRtradition]

Now that the WCHA is a blend, maybe the name should be changed to something like the "Bigger Than National Collegiate Hockey Conference."

+1

[DavyBG]

I'm glad I don't have to try to figure out how to make a conference schedule for nine teams (two of which are in Alaska). I think it would be a good idea to have schools play at the Alaskas on consecutive weeks to save on airfare and only make that trip every other year. Those schools could even set aside dorm space for the visiting teams to help save on expenses.

You can't do that, despite the convenience. Remember these are student athletes, not athlete students. They can't miss a whole week of classes just to chill up in Alaska. Many professors hate it enough when athletes miss just a day of class for sports, let alone an entire week. I am hoping we just won't have to visit both Alaska teams in the same season

[rood]

Well.....

I know a few years ago when Alaska had to fly down to play somebody in the first round of the playoffs and won they just stayed down south until the next week to play the second round. Don't football teams head to bowl games way ahead of time?

[bgpuckster]

It is done every time Alaska Fairbanks plays on the road. They play two weekends in a row on the road and stay the week between them. They have tutors and online capability to keep up with classes. It's not ideal, but it beats flying twice in one season to Alaska. What would be better is to figure out a way to play one team up there each year and the other Alaska team play in our rink.

[BGWriter]

Two things...

First, I am happy to see there's no time commitment being made. That makes me believe (hope) that not too far down the road we'll see a shuffling of schools that will bring BG into a conference with more members closer.

Second, in this age of skype, video conferencing, etc. there's no reason the team couldn't be on the road for a little over a week and have tutors, and use the Internet to connect with classes to keep up on studies.

People get degrees on-line every day; it shouldn't be a problem to arrange classes for members of an athletic team over one week.

Now the real work begins for this coaching staff. If they want BG to have options in the future, they need to be bringing in and developing top players to the point the Falcons can compete with anyone in the country.

It's not like it hasn't been done before.

[rood]

Now the real work begins for this coaching staff. If they want BG to have options in the future, they need to be bringing in and developing top players to the point the Falcons can compete with anyone in the country.

They are doing that but it's the current nature of hockey recruiting that the best players commit very early and many years in advance of their college careers. Here's a taste of what the staff has accomplished in the last year:

Brett D'Andrea-C 3/28/11 2013 Port Huron (NAHL) 5'11 165 1-2-94

Reed Whiteside-D 1/19/11 2013 Sioux Falls (USHL) 6' 170 6-29-95

Mark Friedman-D 12/8/10 2013 North York (OJHL) 5'11 183 12-25-95

The first date is when the information was added to Chris Heisenberg's online recruit list. The last date is their birthdate.

All these guys are planning on starting at BG two years from now.

[Falcon Fanatic]

I don't think we'll contend much down the road, but I agree, its still college hockey.

You are wrong, dead wrong!!! We WILL be contenders down the road! I seriously believe that two years from now, when we start in the WCHA, WE'RE GOING TO ROCK THAT LEAGUE! And you can bank on that!!!

[DavyBG]

Two things...

First, I am happy to see there's no time commitment being made. That makes me believe (hope) that not too far down the road we'll see a shuffling of schools that will bring BG into a conference with more members closer.

Second, in this age of skype, video conferencing, etc. there's no reason the team couldn't be on the road for a little over a week and have tutors, and use the Internet to connect with classes to keep up on studies.

People get degrees on-line every day; it shouldn't be a problem to arrange classes for members of an athletic team over one week.

Now the real work begins for this coaching staff. If they want BG to have options in the future, they need to be bringing in and developing top players to the point the Falcons can compete with anyone in the country.

It's not like it hasn't been done before.

It's necessary for the Alaska teams to do that, otherwise they'd only ever have 1 away game. We don't need to do that in BG. Missing a week of classes can be hard to make up if you're not in the classroom. It's not like every classroom has video conferencing capabilities here on campus, only a handful do. And when I say a handful, I mean about 4. And it's not like all classes are powerpoint based. I still have professors who straight up lecture without using powerpoints or even write stuff on the board. That would be impossible to make up. These guys are here to learn first and play hockey second. Football teams often do that for bowl games, but I don't agree with that either. That at least makes money for the University, a regular season hockey game at Alaska-Fairbanks only causes the University to lose money.

Keep the guys in the classroom. College is hard enough for them with how much they are on the road anyway.