Notre Dame Hockey 2015-2016 Season

[FightingIrishLover7]

I wish it was for everything.

No.

Especially no for basketball.

ACC is where it's at. Easily the best basketball/football combo in the country.

 

[NDgradstudent]

This is a big mistake in my opinion. Hockey East is and will continue to be a superior conference. The "low profile" of some of the schools (not BC or BU presumably) is a non-issue. The importance is the quality of the hockey programs, and many of these schools are excellent at hockey. If relative amount of travel is such an issue, why not join the NCHC?

 

[NDdomer2]

If air force can travel to play in the Atlantic, ND can certainly afford the travel for hockey East.

 

[NDgradstudent]

If air force can travel to play in the Atlantic, ND can certainly afford the travel for hockey East.

I think the issue is relative amount of travel, rather than costs. ND has to travel quite a bit back and forth from New England, and the other schools are within driving distance of each other. I understand all of that, but if we joined the NCHC -also a superior hockey conference, like Hockey East- we would avoid this problem because the other schools would have to travel as much as we would.

There is not really any good reason for this. We look like we are just following Michigan around.

 

[MNIrishman]

Hockey East only offers challenge without reward. No one watches hockey east outside Massachusetts. Heck, just look at the arena sizes.

 

[JD Irish]

This is so stupid. I will never watch ND hockey now. Hockey East to Big 10? I was really hopeful that when I checked the date it would say April 1. This might be the dumbest thing ND has ever done since I have been a fan of the school, including the horrible football affiliation with the ACC.

 

[NDgradstudent]

Hockey East only offers challenge without reward. No one watches hockey east outside Massachusetts. Heck, just look at the arena sizes.

The reward is you play against the elite teams and win a title.

Arena sizes are related to the sizes of the schools. Hockey East schools are either private schools like ND or state universities from relatively small states.

Big 10 hockey has been lousy since it started. In the case of the CCHA, we had to jump off a sinking ship (and waited pretty late in the process to do so). Now, though, we've jumped back onto one.

Big 10 has Minnesota and Michigan; Hockey East has BC and BU. But beyond Minnesota and Michigan, what does the Big 10 have? Several other Hockey East schools have proven themselves the past couple years. Hockey East is similar to the old CCHA in the sense that it has a couple Power-5 schools and a bunch of smaller schools that are really good at hockey.

I like Hockey East a lot and would have preferred to stay put, but joining the NCHC would have at least been a defensible move. Looking forward to seeing how Swarbrick and Jackson defend this move.

Games against NCAA tourney teams as % of overall conference schedule (including conference tournaments), 2014-16
Michigan: 8/21 5/23 0/22 = 13/66 = 20%
Minnesota: 4/19 0/22 5/23 = 9/64 = 14%
Notre Dame: 12/25 6/28 12/24 = 30/77 = 39%

 

[Buster Bluth]

No.

Especially no for basketball.

ACC is where it's at. Easily the best basketball/football combo in the country.

I think that is highly debatable. Hell the ACC hasn't even won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge since I was in high school.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I think that is highly debatable. Hell the ACC hasn't even won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge since I was in high school.

The acc/big 10 tournament is now the best metric to measure the two?

Just watch the quality of play, it's noticeably better in the acc, and way, way deeper of a league.

Also, the acc has absolutely dominated the past two seasons in the ncaa tournament (plus Louisville would be right up there this year, had it not been for them being slime balls, per usual).

Also, if you count ND has an ACC football team (which I know isn't exactly the case), I also believe the ACC is deeper in football as well.

 

[Buster Bluth]

The acc/big 10 tournament is now the best metric to measure the two?

Just watch the quality of play, it's noticeably better in the acc, and way, way deeper of a league.

Also, the acc has absolutely dominated the past two seasons in the ncaa tournament (plus Louisville would be right up there this year, had it not been for them being slime balls, per usual).

Also, if you count ND has an ACC football team (which I know isn't exactly the case), I also believe the ACC is deeper in football as well.

ACC football has been hot garbage recently, last year their depth was respectable but it's been a two-team conference for way too long. They assumed by adding Virginia Tech and Miami that they'd get two elite programs to go along with Florida State, but Miami soon fell into disarray and Virginia Tech has been mediocre for years.

I just think it's a stretch to say the ACC is easily the best combination of basketball and football. It varies by year.

 

[MNIrishman]

I think that is highly debatable. Hell the ACC hasn't even won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge since I was in high school.

I think it's pretty unequivocal that the big dance is a better measure of best basketball conference. There have been 6 ACC champions since the last B1G team won it, and 3 ACC champions before that. This year, the ACC broke the record for most teams from one conference in the sweet sixteen. Last year, the ACC had half the teams in the final four.

 

[MNIrishman]

ACC football has been hot garbage recently, last year their depth was respectable but it's been a two-team conference for way too long. They assumed by adding Virginia Tech and Miami that they'd get two elite programs to go along with Florida State, but Miami soon fell into disarray and Virginia Tech has been mediocre for years.

I just think it's a stretch to say the ACC is easily the best combination of basketball and football. It varies by year.

The B1G has been as much of a two-team conference as the ACC.

 

[pumpdog20]

I think it's pretty unequivocal that the big dance is a better measure of best basketball conference. There have been 6 ACC champions since the last B1G team won it, and 3 ACC champions before that. This year, the ACC broke the record for most teams from one conference in the sweet sixteen. Last year, the ACC had half the teams in the final four.

The SEC gets bagged on for using their football national champions as a barometer of conference success, so the same can't be used for ACC basketball. Like Buster has pointed out, the B1G has won the challenge the last few years. Sure it isn't the end all be all, but what is? This year's 6 ACC teams have had an incredible easy schedule to the sweet 16, with the highest seeded team being 7 that they've beaten.

All that said, I really don't care if the ACC is better or not. I just selfishly want ND in the B1G so they have to come to Iowa City every once in a while, and hoping it would think about adding wrestling.

 

[MNIrishman]

The SEC gets bagged on for using their football national champions as a barometer of conference success, so the same can't be used for ACC basketball. Like Buster has pointed out, the B1G has won the challenge the last few years. Sure it isn't the end all be all, but what is? This year's 6 ACC teams have had an incredible easy schedule to the sweet 16, with the highest seeded team being 7 that they've beaten.

All that said, I really don't care if the ACC is better or not. I just selfishly want ND in the B1G so they have to come to Iowa City every once in a while, and hoping it would think about adding wrestling.

Different sport, different method of choosing champions. The big dance is much more statistically valid than the BCS, for example, because the bracket of 64 has never been composed of just one conference like happened in the abomination that was 2011. In other words, champions have to earn it in basketball, whereas in the BCS getting selected for the big game was half the battle, then the rest, as they say, was 'any given Saturday.'

 

[NDgradstudent]

Don't worry, eventually Syracuse and Pitt will sponsor hockey, UConn will join the ACC, and then we'll have ACC hockey. And won't that be something!

Only a slightly worse idea than joining the Big 10.

 

[phillyirish]

Not to derail the thread but you are crazy, CRAZY if you think the ACC isn't the best basketball conference. Its not even close.

The SEC gets bagged on for using their football national champions as a barometer of conference success, so the same can't be used for ACC basketball. Like Buster has pointed out, the B1G has won the challenge the last few years. Sure it isn't the end all be all, but what is? This year's 6 ACC teams have had an incredible easy schedule to the sweet 16, with the highest seeded team being 7 that they've beaten.


All that said, I really don't care if the ACC is better or not. I just selfishly want ND in the B1G so they have to come to Iowa City every once in a while, and hoping it would think about adding wrestling.

Totally different. Until recently, the championship was a one game event. No one is arguing that Bama hasn't been the best program the past decade winning 4 championships. Its the conference as a whole where most teams refuse to play quality out of conference opponents, clouding the true level of play. A more fare comparison to tourney success would be conference bowl records, which the SEC did win last year but is more fluid year to year.

Different sport, different method of choosing champions. The big dance is much more statistically valid than the BCS, for example, because the bracket of 64 has never been composed of just one conference like happened in the abomination that was 2011. In other words, champions have to earn it in basketball, whereas in the BCS getting selected for the big game was half the battle, then the rest, as they say, was 'any given Saturday.'

Exactly.

ACC is what 12-1 this year? They were 17-5 last year 5 more wins than the next conference, B1G, who had more teams in the feild (7 vs 6). A few years ago the argument was between the ACC and Big East for best basketball conference, with the formation of the super conferences and the flight of some of th top Big East schools the ACC is by far the best.

 

[IrishInFl]

B1G hockey is hilarious. I love it because UMD has been whipping the crap out of UMTC since they joined.

 

[NorthDakota]

The North Dakota fans are all upset. Worried B1G will be poaching more big names and make a good conference out of it.

 

[MNIrishman]

B1G hockey is hilarious. I love it because UMD has been whipping the crap out of UMTC since they joined.

Stop saying UMTC. It's UM and then the secondary branch campuses who try their hardest, God bless em.

 

[IrishLion]

ND-scUM is about four minutes from my house on Friday evening, but I'm assuming I won't be able to THEN stay out and watch the basketball game at the bars.

What do I do? Go see the hockey team play scUM (rare opportunity; chance to see scUM lose), or wait and go out for the basketball game (a trip to the Elite Eight is on the line!)?

 

[NorthDakota]

Stop saying UMTC. It's UM and then the secondary branch campuses who try their hardest, God bless em.

Lol the boys in the Twin Cities arr apparently real dickheads... It's a good thing God blesses the other campuses because the U ain't gonna throw them any bones.

 

[IrishInFl]

Stop saying UMTC. It's UM and then the secondary branch campuses who try their hardest, God bless em.

I'll stop it as soon as people stop calling umd the Duluth Bulldogs. It's funny that umtc fans get upset over being called their proper name, while Duluthians don't like it when their known by their improper name.

 

[MNIrishman]

Lol the boys in the Twin Cities arr apparently real dickheads... It's a good thing God blesses the other campuses because the U ain't gonna throw them any bones.

Main campuses are usually known by the central name. It's Ohio State, not OSUC. It's Michigan, not UMAA. It's Minnesota, not UMTC. There's nothing dickish about that. The Gophers are the flagship and that's just the way it is. By the way, other state universities in Ohio getting uppity is how they added THE to OSU.

 

[NorthDakota]

Notre Dame to the B1G for hockey is big news here. I love listening to the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I wish it was for everything.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My long-held belief is I would rather fold the football program than join the Big Ten and that certainly applies to hockey as well.</p>— Chris W. (@rakesofmallow) <a href="https://twitter.com/rakesofmallow/status/712679099517558784">March 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

/cosigned

 

[irishroo]

The reward is you play against the elite teams and win a title.

Arena sizes are related to the sizes of the schools. Hockey East schools are either private schools like ND or state universities from relatively small states.

Big 10 hockey has been lousy since it started. In the case of the CCHA, we had to jump off a sinking ship (and waited pretty late in the process to do so). Now, though, we've jumped back onto one.

Big 10 has Minnesota and Michigan; Hockey East has BC and BU. But beyond Minnesota and Michigan, what does the Big 10 have? Several other Hockey East schools have proven themselves the past couple years. Hockey East is similar to the old CCHA in the sense that it has a couple Power-5 schools and a bunch of smaller schools that are really good at hockey.

I like Hockey East a lot and would have preferred to stay put, but joining the NCHC would have at least been a defensible move. Looking forward to seeing how Swarbrick and Jackson defend this move.

Games against NCAA tourney teams as % of overall conference schedule (including conference tournaments), 2014-16
Michigan: 8/21 5/23 0/22 = 13/66 = 20%
Minnesota: 4/19 0/22 5/23 = 9/64 = 14%
Notre Dame: 12/25 6/28 12/24 = 30/77 = 39%

Wisconsin has 6 titles, 1 more than BC and BU and good for 4th all-time, and Michigan St has 3 titles, good for T-8th all time. Both have won a title in the past decade. 4 of 6 teams in the B10 are among the top 10 college hockey programs all-time, and are vastly superior to ND's program. The only program in the B10 that is objectively inferior to ND is Penn St, and they just became a D1 program a few years ago. Where do you get off saying the quality of hockey in the Big Ten isn't good enough for ND?

 

[NorthDakota]

Wisconsin has 6 titles, 1 more than BC and BU and good for 4th all-time, and Michigan St has 3 titles, good for T-8th all time. Both have won a title in the past decade. 4 of 6 teams in the B10 are among the top 10 college hockey programs all-time, and are vastly superior to ND's program. The only program in the B10 that is objectively inferior to ND is Penn St, and they just became a D1 program a few years ago. Where do you get off saying the quality of hockey in the Big Ten isn't good enough for ND?

The way I see it, the B1G has nowhere to go but up. I hear it all the time here, "Oh the Gophs are so bad now! Look at Wisconsin's empty arena! Those guys suck!" A couple traditional powers are down right now, they'll fix themselves, particularly Minnesota.

 

[IrishInFl]

Does anyone know much about providence hockey? How good are they?

 

[NDgradstudent]

Wisconsin has 6 titles, 1 more than BC and BU and good for 4th all-time, and Michigan St has 3 titles, good for T-8th all time. Both have won a title in the past decade. 4 of 6 teams in the B10 are among the top 10 college hockey programs all-time, and are vastly superior to ND's program. The only program in the B10 that is objectively inferior to ND is Penn St, and they just became a D1 program a few years ago. Where do you get off saying the quality of hockey in the Big Ten isn't good enough for ND?

I didn't say that the quality of hockey is not "good enough" for ND. ND is "good enough" for the Big 10 and HE, and HE and the Big 10 are "good enough" for ND. ND didn't have D1 hockey until the late 1960s, and reverted to non-varsity status in the 1980s. I'm not claiming our hockey program is some world-beater, I am saying I want our team to be in the best league, which I believe is HE.

Does anyone know much about providence hockey? How good are they?

There's another "unknown" (to whom?) HE program that won the national title last year.

 

[NDgradstudent]

A brief remark on how much attention BC fans on the internet are giving to ND’s move. It is of course novel for them to discuss a functional college athletics department. Certainly BC fans have considerable nerve mocking anybody’s conference performance, even in the one sport that BC is good at. (Incidentally, even this sport may fall apart when Jerry York retires. Their athletics department is not known for its ability to hire good coaches and maintain the quality of its programs.) Anyway, its not too surprising the BC fans are happy to see ND leave- we have been 5-4 against them, including 4-1 in Chestnut Hill, since joining Hockey East, even though they have had better teams each year since we joined. I gather than for many BC alums (I would say 'fans,' but these groups are identical) it is very important to beat ND in something, and they are running out of sports to beat us in.

And yet, I'd still rather deal with BC fans than Michigan fans.