One of the causes for Dal's decline was a recruiting scandal several years ago. The AUS and then-CIS clamped down on their athletic scholarships and put them under review. It is too long a story to get into all the details. This was before Chris Donnelly was hired.I’m genuinely more excited for this season than I’ve been any time in recent memory. The rich are still going to be the rich I think but theirs so many unknowns. I expect the top 4 teams in recent years to remain the top 4 and the bottom 3 to remain the bottom 3 but in what order they finish is anyone’s guess... I want to say UNB is the favourite but theirs to many unknowns , the only thing I feel confident in is that Dal will finish 7th...
On the note of Dal, does anyone know what exactly caused their program to fall behind so badly ? I remember not long ago when they were playing at a National championship and had Chris Stanley who seems to be one of the forgotten super stars in AUS hockey.
I see , I vaguely remember the scandal , but I was born in 1995 so my memory on some things is a little distorted through a young mans point of view. Definitely one of the youngest CIS Hockey fans I’ve come across haha. Thanks to you fine gents for filling me in on the stuff that seems just a little foggy, when Dal went to nationals in 04 I still believed in Santa Claus , and Ryan Lindsay was my hero in life haha.Dal was the wild card in 2003-04 and won Bronze against a totally uninterested UofA team. Yes, Stanley was a good player and Dal had several in the early years. As 'Foyle points out, the "scandal" played a big part in the demise of Dal hockey. At the same time the school lost interest in sports and poured their dollars into buildings designed to attract International students.
To his credit, Donnelly has worked hard to bring in good players and it shows. The fact that Dal is going to build a rink is a positive as well. I like to see a competitive cross-town team. It's much more fun to watch a good game.
UNB
Acadia
X
SMU
UdeM
UPEI
Dal
I thought this might be the year that UNB finally loses its grip on first. Their recruiting class is just too strong though. From the small preseason sample size it is an incredibly fast team. Only issues may be their D. Not much size up front either.
The reason I'm putting Acadia ahead of SMU and X is the goaltending factor. X had disappointing goaltending last season and I don't feel the Huskie found a suitable replacement for Brassard.
While I do have the Tigers in last I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish ahead of the Panthers. Goaltending again being the factor. The Panthers lost their prime recruit before the season started.
UdeM still have Montpettite in nets and St. Cyr. Might challenge for 4th spot.
To be clear, U de M doesn't have sniper Maxime St. Cyr this season. They do have Mika Cyr who will be in his first AUS season after finishing with the Moncton Wildcats in 19/20 and attended the Montreal Canadiens camp this fall.
You mean Matt Welsh is not a replacement for Brassard?UNB
Acadia
X
SMU
UdeM
UPEI
Dal
I thought this might be the year that UNB finally loses its grip on first. Their recruiting class is just too strong though. From the small preseason sample size it is an incredibly fast team. Only issues may be their D. Not much size up front either.
The reason I'm putting Acadia ahead of SMU and X is the goaltending factor. X had disappointing goaltending last season and I don't feel the Huskie found a suitable replacement for Brassard.
While I do have the Tigers in last I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish ahead of the Panthers. Goaltending again being the factor. The Panthers lost their prime recruit before the season started.
UdeM still have Montpettite in nets and St. Cyr. Might challenge for 4th spot.
Dal was the wild card in 2003-04 and won Bronze against a totally uninterested UofA team. Yes, Stanley was a good player and Dal had several in the early years. As 'Foyle points out, the "scandal" played a big part in the demise of Dal hockey. At the same time the school lost interest in sports and poured their dollars into buildings designed to attract International students.
To his credit, Donnelly has worked hard to bring in good players and it shows. The fact that Dal is going to build a rink is a positive as well. I like to see a competitive cross-town team. It's much more fun to watch a good game.
You mean Matt Welsh is not a replacement for Brassard?
Not sure he attended any NHL camps either. Injured maybe??No problem Rob, one thing I noticed is Mitchell Balmas has not been in the lineup for the any of the exhibition games
Balmas was in the lineup tonight, in a 5-4 loss to X.No problem Rob, one thing I noticed is Mitchell Balmas has not been in the lineup for the any of the exhibition games
Looking at the scores and noticed X was 5 for 10 on the PP….and SMU was 0 for 1.
That boxscore is a hot mess. Duplicate penalties and goals marked as PP that aren't. PP chances are definitely not right.Yeah that is incorrect. Should be 0 for 5. Still a big night for X on the power play.