Offseason 2022

[mbenecke]

Illinois announced they will not be fielding a D1 hockey program, citing lack of financial support.

Welp… bring back the old CCHA, then!

[Schadenfreude]

Illinois announced they will not be fielding a D1 hockey program, citing lack of financial support.

So Big Ten hockey remains at six plus Notre Dame.

Could they look to Arizona State to get to a round number?

[mbenecke]

Michigan State hires Adam Nightingale as their next HC.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Looks like Hastings is staying put through this round.

[pdt1081]

On Flo tonight, you can watch L. Craggs and Mingo battle in Toledo against Hawkins. Cincinnati currently trails 0-2 halfway through the 2nd.

[pdt1081]

And at the end of the second, it's 3-1 Toledo. Hawkins has the first two Toledo goals, and Mingo, from Craggs, has the Cincinnati goal.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Hawkins with the hat trick. Walleye move on in an exciting game. Largest crowd ever in the Huntington Center. Toledo has always been a great minor league hockey town. The first game I attended was a Hornets game at the Sports Arena and ever since I’ve been hooked.

[jpfalcon09]

Would be nice if BGSU did more collaboration and advertising with the Walleye. The BG/Toledo baseball series gets one game at 5/3 Field each year. I get that BG hockey and the Walleye season overlap, but doing a BG alumni night at the Bank Tank each year against a decent opponent would be a fun event, and a way to increase exposure for the program.

But what do I know...

[mbenecke]

Would be nice if BGSU did more collaboration and advertising with the Walleye. The BG/Toledo baseball series gets one game at 5/3 Field each year. I get that BG hockey and the Walleye season overlap, but doing a BG alumni night at the Bank Tank each year against a decent opponent would be a fun event, and a way to increase exposure for the program.

But what do I know...

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

[BillyLP]

Would be nice if BGSU did more collaboration and advertising with the Walleye. The BG/Toledo baseball series gets one game at 5/3 Field each year. I get that BG hockey and the Walleye season overlap, but doing a BG alumni night at the Bank Tank each year against a decent opponent would be a fun event, and a way to increase exposure for the program.

But what do I know...

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

BG played a couple of games up there back when it first opened. I remember going with some friends and it was a decent turnout, even though they were just awful those years. Not sure why it didn't continue.

[jpfalcon09]

Would be nice if BGSU did more collaboration and advertising with the Walleye. The BG/Toledo baseball series gets one game at 5/3 Field each year. I get that BG hockey and the Walleye season overlap, but doing a BG alumni night at the Bank Tank each year against a decent opponent would be a fun event, and a way to increase exposure for the program.

But what do I know...

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

BG played a couple of games up there back when it first opened. I remember going with some friends and it was a decent turnout, even though they were just awful those years. Not sure why it didn't continue.

Last game there was the Icebreaker event in 2019 and the attendance was pretty bad, albeit it was early October. My guess is the cost of ice rental plus the potential loss of revenue from parking and the risk of low attendance could steer the university away, but it feels like such a missed opportunity. With Toledo lacking a D1 program (which I also don't understand) it seems like a no-brainer to try and tap into that market.

[mbenecke]

Would be nice if BGSU did more collaboration and advertising with the Walleye. The BG/Toledo baseball series gets one game at 5/3 Field each year. I get that BG hockey and the Walleye season overlap, but doing a BG alumni night at the Bank Tank each year against a decent opponent would be a fun event, and a way to increase exposure for the program.

But what do I know...

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

BG played a couple of games up there back when it first opened. I remember going with some friends and it was a decent turnout, even though they were just awful those years. Not sure why it didn't continue.

Last game there was the Icebreaker event in 2019 and the attendance was pretty bad, albeit it was early October. My guess is the cost of ice rental plus the potential loss of revenue from parking and the risk of low attendance could steer the university away, but it feels like such a missed opportunity. With Toledo lacking a D1 program (which I also don't understand) it seems like a no-brainer to try and tap into that market.

I think an underrated issue with it happening that weekend specifically is that football hosted (and beat ) Toledo that day, which obviously took up a lot of Northwest Ohio’s attention that weekend. If they could put it in early December before students leave for the holiday break and potentially even offer to bus students up there as part of a ticket package, I think it would work.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I think it also depends on the opponent. Scheduling Sparty would work out much better than Bemidji or St. Thomas.

So you're proposing we get our own Ice Bus? I'm in.

Edit: More details on the Ice Bus.

[pdt1081]

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

Those are games you don't want to give up outside the Ice Arena. The atmosphere inside the Huntington doesn't even come close to that of the Ice Arena. So you'd basically take away the home ice advantage, and any revenue goes elsewhere. There's nothing really to be gained during the regular season, because you want every advantage you can get.

I could possibly see a holiday tournament working out, but you'd need another somewhat local team to join in. Maybe a traveling tournament with Notre Dame? Toledo, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids. Or maybe even Western and have it travel between Grand Rapids and Toledo. I'm not really a fan of moving home games away from the Ice Arena. But, if it means getting 2 non-conference opponents instead of just one, may be a sacrifice worth making.

[jpfalcon09]

BG should absolutely look into partnering with the Walleye and hosting a game at the Huntington Center each season. It’s a great facility, it’s local, and it holds a good amount of people. If we got the right opponent (I’m thinking a local team with name recognition like Western Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.) and they advertised it well, I think we would have a real shot to make it a great event with a lot of people in the seats.

Those are games you don't want to give up outside the Ice Arena. The atmosphere inside the Huntington doesn't even come close to that of the Ice Arena. So you'd basically take away the home ice advantage, and any revenue goes elsewhere. There's nothing really to be gained during the regular season, because you want every advantage you can get.

I could possibly see a holiday tournament working out, but you'd need another somewhat local team to join in. Maybe a traveling tournament with Notre Dame? Toledo, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids. Or maybe even Western and have it travel between Grand Rapids and Toledo. I'm not really a fan of moving home games away from the Ice Arena. But, if it means getting 2 non-conference opponents instead of just one, may be a sacrifice worth making.

I think it could work with the right marketing and planning. I simply don't trust the athletic department in it's current state however to be able to execute such a thing. It would just be nice to even see a BGSU hockey advertisement during the intermission of a Walleye game, or something in the arena to increase exposure of the program. What could it hurt? Just silly to me more isn't being done to try and capitalize on that.