Holy Cross hockey could be moving to Hockey East, DCU Center

[wildthing202]

http://www.telegram.com/sports/20160914/holy-cross-hockey-could-be-moving-to-hockey-east-dcu-center

Finally some news about ND's potential replacement.

Click to read more...

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Good move think ND and the newer teams meant too many games outside the Greater Boston area. Everyone other than Maine used to be within an hour or so of each other. Ideally I'd boot Uconn to ECAC or Atlantic and just have 2 fewer teams. They'd deserve it too for keeping Umass and their football program out of the AAC those losers sure didn't learn a thing from their ACC snub refusing a natural rival an hour away access to that mediocre conference.


Would love to see HC bring back Football at the FBS level and have basketball join a better conference and play at the Centrum too. Boston College even with Flutie and Ryan has never had the same level of relevance that HC did back in the day. Recruiting would be pretty tough being a big Syracuse fan myself I can say that the Northeast is not a fun place to try and convince top recruits to come and play but Army and Umass would definitely give them home and home series no questions asked with both being independent with a lot of dates to fill and so close to each other geographically.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

In my current conference realignment projections, I have Air Force and American International (which moves up from D2 and has football) joining the Patriot League as all-sports members (excepting Air Force football which goes to FBS independence).

Air Force would make such a move as to align itself with the other D1 service academies, Army and Navy. And it would most likely mean Air Force help out at least the other private schools in the conference with their travel costs due to Air Force's location relative to other Patriot League schools.

We are in an era in which geography is sometimes ignored when conferences add new schools (like when WVU joined the Big 12).

Those two joining the Patriot League give that conference 6 schools with men's ice hockey - the others being Boston U, Army, Holy Cross and Colgate.

I'm also projecting the Ivy League schools splitting off from the ECAC in both men's and women's hockey, leading to the merger of the ECAC Hockey League (which has 5 men's programs remaining, all of which also have women's counterparts, plus Colgate's women's team) into Atlantic Hockey, which forms a women's side with the 6 non-Ivy ECAC schools, plus Mercyhurst, Penn State, RIT and Robert Morris of CHA, and the WCHA's Ohio State and indie Sacred Heart.

Over in Hockey East, Post men's ice hockey (moving up from D2), Franklin Pierce for men and women (also from D2, as I have them joining the America East), and Holy Cross women (coming from a D3 league, same league FPU is participating in now) and Syracuse women (from CHA) are in my projections to join.

That's a lot of changes I am projecting, but that is the tip of the iceberg.

Oh and UConn is also projected to join the ACC along with Cincinnati. The prospect of geographic football divisions, especially for the NC schools, might just be too good to pass up.

 

[wiz35]

In my current conference realignment projections, I have Air Force and American International (which moves up from D2 and has football) joining the Patriot League as all-sports members (excepting Air Force football which goes to FBS independence).

Air Force would make such a move as to align itself with the other D1 service academies, Army and Navy. And it would most likely mean Air Force help out at least the other private schools in the conference with their travel costs due to Air Force's location relative to other Patriot League schools.

We are in an era in which geography is sometimes ignored when conferences add new schools (like when WVU joined the Big 12).

Those two joining the Patriot League give that conference 6 schools with men's ice hockey - the others being Boston U, Army, Holy Cross and Colgate.

I'm also projecting the Ivy League schools splitting off from the ECAC in both men's and women's hockey, leading to the merger of the ECAC Hockey League (which has 5 men's programs remaining, all of which also have women's counterparts, plus Colgate's women's team) into Atlantic Hockey, which forms a women's side with the 6 non-Ivy ECAC schools, plus Mercyhurst, Penn State, RIT and Robert Morris of CHA, and the WCHA's Ohio State and indie Sacred Heart.

Over in Hockey East, Post men's ice hockey (moving up from D2), Franklin Pierce for men and women (also from D2, as I have them joining the America East), and Holy Cross women (coming from a D3 league, same league FPU is participating in now) and Syracuse women (from CHA) are in my projections to join.

That's a lot of changes I am projecting, but that is the tip of the iceberg.

Oh and UConn is also projected to join the ACC along with Cincinnati. The prospect of geographic football divisions, especially for the NC schools, might just be too good to pass up.

Interesting thoughts, but I can't imagine BU would want to leave a relatively strong conference in Hockey East and go into a conference with much weaker teams. They are already one of the consistently better teams in HE and if they don't win it have a good shot at an at-large bid due to the strong schedule. This new conference would them would weaken their schedule. Some of the other ideas are definitely interesting though.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Interesting thoughts, but I can't imagine BU would want to leave a relatively strong conference in Hockey East and go into a conference with much weaker teams. They are already one of the consistently better teams in HE and if they don't win it have a good shot at an at-large bid due to the strong schedule. This new conference would them would weaken their schedule. Some of the other ideas are definitely interesting though.

The Patriot League is BU's primary conference. I'm sure BU would have to leave HE if the Patriot League ever got up to six schools with men's ice hockey teams (which is what I am projecting). The Big Ten formed its league almost as soon as Penn State became school #6 with the sport.

The Ivy League schools withdrawing from the ECAC (which precipitates its demise) is brought on by the formation of Patriot League hockey as in many sports, Ivy and Patriot schools schedule each other in OOC competition.

How are the moves of 'Cuse women's hockey to Hockey East and UConn to the ACC tied to each other? Well, UConn by joining the ACC reunites them with 'Cuse and BC. 'Cuse would then move to HE to align themselves with the other two in women's ice hockey as well.

And remember. BU can fill its non-conference schedule with HE teams if it were to move to the Patriot League.

 

[Ballroomblitz]

Do not think a lot of changes will be happening in Atlantic Hockey, although the rumor of Holy Cross I had heard about but was never ever confirmed. With schedules out shortly the answer will be known soon enough, if Holy Cross does leave I believe it will only be a single occurrence considering the vote to 18 scholarships.

After the Holy Cross rumor team in the Atlantic Hockey conference voted and passed their scholarship amounts from 14 to 18 scholarships to be on par with most other NCAA conferences.

Atlantic only the year or two previous went from 12 to 14 scholarships, so the drastic increase to 18 was a monumental change of direction. Of course the balance was to keep programs who wished to compete nationally the opportunity to play on an even footing, balancing the fact some of the very small colleges in Atlantic may not be able to afford the player arms race. In the end to keep programs engaged the new maximum was passed, making current teams invested in growing the sport within the current confines rather than looking outward.

 

[Woo Hockey]

Only a matter of time for Men's Hockey...

 

[210]

Only a matter of time for Men's Hockey...

It will be either RPI or Quinnipiac to Hockey East, and Holy Cross to the ECAC.

 

[Ballroomblitz]

I doubt Holy Cross (men's program) is moving anywhere, especially for the upcoming 2017 / 2018 season. Schedules are still to be released, but it will be very shortly and if a major change such as this was going to be made it would be known already.

 

[CrazyEddie20]

It will be either RPI or Quinnipiac to Hockey East, and Holy Cross to the ECAC.

Hopefully it'll be Quinnipiac. That glorified community college never should have been in the ECAC.

 

[BOS358]

Hopefully it'll be Quinnipiac. That glorified community college never should have been in the ECAC.

Too bad that school down the road from Quinnipiac sponsored their admission to the conference.

Difficult to say, but Holy Cross looks like the most obvious 12th member of Hockey East. Remember that UCONN was a women's-only member for a few years before the men joined.