OSU Hockey

[bucknutz]

Buckeyes Back in NCAA Tournament

NCAA Tournament
Northeast Regional
First Round
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Boston University.- 5:30 p.m.
No. 3 New Hampshire vs. No. 2 North Dakota - 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 28
Second Round
Game 1 vs. Game 2 winner - 5:30 p.m.
Verizon Wireless Arena
Manchester, N.H.

Buckeye Bullets
? The Buckeyes are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament all under head coach John Markell. The squad is making its first trip to the national tournament since 2005.
? The 27-player Buckeye roster includes 22 freshmen and sophomores, along with just three seniors and two juniors. Fifth-year senior Zach Pelletier is the only current Buckeye to travel to an NCAA tournament regional.
? Senior Corey Elkins, the Buckeyes? leading scorer with 40 points, earned his bachelor?s degree in history Sunday.
? Forward Zac Dalpe and defenseman Matt Bartkowski were named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team.
? Ohio State ranks seventh nationally in scoring offense, averaging 3.41 goals a game.
? The Buckeyes have 23 wins this season, the seventh 20-win campaign under Markell.

tOSU

 

[LitlBuck]

I had read in the past couple weeks that the administration at Bowling Green was thinking of getting rid of their hockey program but last week read something somewhere that they decided to continue it for at least one more year. In a way, I was hoping that they might discontinue it and we can get some of their better players but I guess that wouldn't be right

 

[jimotis4heisman]

The Hockey News: Campbell's Cuts: Campbell's Cuts: Growing NCAA hockey a tough task

As those who run college hockey cast an eye to Monday night’s basketball Final Four finale in front of 72,000 fans at Ford Field in Detroit, they hope to get a glimpse of the future of their own sport.

That’s because the Frozen Four – which goes this weekend in Washington – will move to Ford Field next year in a configuration much the same as the Final Four in basketball. Filling more than 70,000 seats for college hockey is a tall order to be sure, but with the event being held in a hockey hotbed so close to the Canadian border, officials are hoping to rival the numbers the round-ballers are getting.

Should they do so, it will be another indication college hockey is thriving, but there are underlying problems in the sport, most of them associated with the cost of running a men’s hockey team. In fact, longtime hockey power Bowling Green is currently conducting a thorough review of all its athletic programs and men’s hockey could very well be on the chopping block.

College hockey in the United States actually faces many of the same problems the NHL encounters every day. There are pockets of loyal fans, but not enough to make college hockey a galvanizing collegiate force nationally. And while there have been inroads made in television, there is no national exposure for the game. CBS Sports owns the television rights to all NCAA sports and stands to make a killing with the basketball Final Four. For hockey, it sold off the rights to the Frozen Four to ESPN, which will televise the two semifinals on ESPN2 and the championship game on ESPN.

...

It’s a great feel-good story that a school such as Bemidji State has found its way into the Frozen Four, but the problem is there are too many small schools that are good at hockey and not enough large ones in conferences such as the ACC and Pac-10.

“We don’t have the size and we don’t have the geography,” said CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos. “In that way, we’re almost a microcosm of the NHL and we have a lot of the same problems as the NHL.”

And that includes a huge disparity between so-called large- and small-market teams. Just as the NHL have-nots are encountering challenges spending up to the minimum of the salary cap, smaller schools are having a more difficult time keeping pace. That’s because it costs between $1- and $2-million to run a men’s hockey program. While that isn’t a problem for a school such as Ohio State, which has an athletic budget in excess of $100 million, for a smaller school whose athletic budget is less than $5 million, it represents an enormous chunk of the program’s costs.

...

It also causes problems for the smaller schools when it comes to recruiting players. Observers say if a promising recruit shows interest in one of Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State or Notre Dame, any of the smaller schools might as well forget about even trying to recruit him. That’s because if one of those schools goes after a player, all of them will and since a recruit is allowed only four campus visits, it’s almost certain those will be the four schools he visits.

...

which begs the question of jm's performance of late...

 

[bucknutz]

The Hockey News: Campbell's Cuts: Campbell's Cuts: Growing NCAA hockey a tough task


which begs the question of jm's performance of late...

I assume you're talking about John Markell?

as of late he had the team nationally ranked, competed for the CCHA title, and made it to the NCAA tournament. btw he was also a candidate for CCHA coach of the year.

all of this with a very young team consisting of 3 seniors.

 

[LitlBuck]

I assume you're talking about John Markell?

as of late he had the team nationally ranked, competed for the CCHA title, and made it to the NCAA tournament. btw he was also a candidate for CCHA coach of the year.

all of this with a very young team consisting of 3 seniors.

I think you have to look at his past record which is not very good and he has lost some quality players to lesser programs in prior years. Yes, they did very well this year but I think if he does not continue to perform as well, if not better, it might be time for a fresher face. Ohio State has put a lot of money into its hockey program and it is time for it to start producing.

 

[bucknutz]

I think you have to look at his past record which is not very good and he has lost some quality players to lesser programs in prior years. Yes, they did very well this year but I think if he does not continue to perform as well, if not better, it might be time for a fresher face. Ohio State has put a lot of money into its hockey program and it is time for it to start producing.

I can agree with this but my response was to the claim of Markell's performance "as of late."