The Official Big Six Hockey Thread

[RabidBadger]

Well, the Minnesota and Wisconsin ADs decided to go after the filthy lucre of Big 10 revenues and media muscle. They will be joining the storied programs of Michigan and Michigan State, upstart Penn state, who aquitted themselves nicely in their initial year, and I think there's a team from Ohio or something like that as well.

I have mixed emotions about leaving the WCHA. It will be nice since I only have to travel 30 and 40 minutes to see the Badgers at Ann Arbor and Lansing respectively. Also the Badgers have contracts in place for multiple year series with North Dakota and a split series with DU/CC, kind of like the forgone holiday showcase they had with Sparty and Mich. On the other hand, I just can't get enthused about series with Penn State and OSU the same way I would for say, St. Cloud or Duluth. We'll see if it's a positive thing for fans of the programs or not.

Welcome new conference foes, your team better tighten the chinstraps when Bucky comes to town!

Click to read more...

 

[Numbah4]

Thanks for the warm welcome Bucky I was kinda shocked how well PSU did last year. Even managed to split with your Mighty Badgers in Madison. Is there any place on this site that breaks down players/prospects by conference?

 

[Oilers Chick]

Well, the Minnesota and Wisconsin ADs decided to go after the filthy lucre of Big 10 revenues and media muscle. They will be joining the storied programs of Michigan and Michigan State, upstart Penn state, who aquitted themselves nicely in their initial year, and I think there's a team from Ohio or something like that as well.

I have mixed emotions about leaving the WCHA. It will be nice since I only have to travel 30 and 40 minutes to see the Badgers at Ann Arbor and Lansing respectively. Also the Badgers have contracts in place for multiple year series with North Dakota and a split series with DU/CC, kind of like the forgone holiday showcase they had with Sparty and Mich. On the other hand, I just can't get enthused about series with Penn State and OSU the same way I would for say, St. Cloud or Duluth. We'll see if it's a positive thing for fans of the programs or not.

Welcome new conference foes, your team better tighten the chinstraps when Bucky comes to town!

RB, I take it you don't like the Buckeyes. Well at least one player the other Big Ten...er six schools won't have to contend with in conference is OSU's now-former prized recruit Zach Stepan.

BTW, PSU could continue to surprise people this coming season. Many top players return & good incoming class.

Only thing sucks about the new conferences/leagues.....the (for now) demise of the Minnesota/North Dakota love fest. Always fun to watch, nothing like a good ol' fashioned rivalry at its most heated.

 

[RabidBadger]

Thanks for the warm welcome Bucky I was kinda shocked how well PSU did last year. Even managed to split with your Mighty Badgers in Madison. Is there any place on this site that breaks down players/prospects by conference?

The win in Madtown had to be considered their signature win, for sure. that should up the intensity for next year's meetings. I think PSU surprised everyone and I hope they continue to expand on their success.

P.S. I don't know of a propects by conference thread, but if you go to College Hockey News and look through team rosters it tells you who drafted them and what round off to the side.

I actually don't dislike OSU, OC. I went to quite a few of their games back in the Tom Aske (played a short time for anaheim) days as I went to college in Columbus. I also saw the Umberger/Kesler led team play in the CCHA playoffs. It's hard to pass up an opportunity to slag OSU, though. Especially with the recent OZ (former Bucky asst., Mark Oszieki who was head coach for the Bux last year, for those of you not familiar with The Badgers) connection. I hope they regroup and make the conference strong from top to bottom. they have showed signs of promise lately but haven't been able to maintain any momentum.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see Illinois jump up to the varsity level sooner rather than later.... then again, our athletic department's run by a bunch of mouth breathers that couldn't [insert vulgar statement here] if you let them use both hands, so I'm doubting it'll happen....

 

[Teemu]

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=677307

tOSU's gonna need a new coach

 

[Samkow]

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=677307

tOSU's gonna need a new coach

Osiecki resigned 2-3 months ago...

 

[Tartan]

This is the Gopher's conference to lose.

 

[RabidBadger]

This is the Gopher's conference to lose.

With all the early departures I wouldn't be so quick to anoint Minny with the inaugural conference championship. Bucky is returning almost everyone and you can never count Michigan out of anything.

 

[Slowe]

Penn State's Pegula Ice Arena is pretty much done.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BSJf0xWCAAACD5M.jpg:large

Looking good. First game is October 11 against the Army Black Knights.

 

[Oilers Chick]

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=677307

tOSU's gonna need a new coach

They already do. Steve Rohlik was promoted from asst. to head coach. The coaching change shouldn't affect the team very much this season. The biggest issue IMO with OSU is consistency. I saw some games last season where the Buckeyes looked unstoppable and others where the local PeeWee team could've beat them. If they can get regular consistency throughout their lineup, then I think they could have a real shot at the Big Ten title.

 

[Oilers Chick]

With all the early departures I wouldn't be so quick to anoint Minny with the inaugural conference championship. Bucky is returning almost everyone and you can never count Michigan out of anything.

The biggest issue for Michigan will be their back end. They lost Trouba and Merrill early to the pros and goaltending (until the last few weeks of the season) was mediocre at best last year. If Racine can pick up from where he left off last season and give them that solid goaltending & plug up the holes left by Trouba & Merrill on the blue line, they WILL contend for not only the Big Ten title but possibly for a national championship as well.

Minnesota is going to be intriguing to watch this season. Lost a lot of scoring but also brings in one of the best recruiting classes too. The thing with the Gophers though is that they can't underestimate their opponents, especially in the NCAA Tournament. IMO, that's what they did against Yale and it cost them dearly. It shouldn't matter WHO your opponent is or what their record is or what conference they play in or if they have fewer NHL prospects than you. If don't bring your "A" game, you're doomed. Had the Gophers played Yale as hard as they would play say Wisconsin or North Dakota, they probably would've beaten them.

As I look at all of the Big Ten teams and see who's coming back and who's gone, I can't help but to think that Wisconsin will be one of, if not the early favorite to win the Big Ten. As you mentioned, Bucky had few offseason losses and return nearly all of their top guys. But what I'd really like to see is Bucky get off to a better start to the season this year. They posted only one win last Oct & Nov combined. Sure, they were great at midseason and down the stretch, but the early games are important too. Those early wins, especially versus non conference opponents that could be ranked later in the season, are crucial PWR points and ones they can pocket when the season moves along.

 

[ecemleafs]

PSU is gonna struggle this year in relation to their record last season. We are playing many more difficult games with us actually being in a conference this year. We can definitely get a win against anyone though, but I wouldnt expect many. The arena looks sick though, really hope to catch a game sometime soon.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, they're still effectively an expansion franchise to use pro sports lingo. If they finish above sixth out of six, that's going to be an extremely successful season for them. It'll be at least another couple years before they get their varsity recruiting down and starting icing good teams.

 

[ecemleafs]

Yeah, they're still effectively an expansion franchise to use pro sports lingo. If they finish above sixth out of six, that's going to be an extremely successful season for them. It'll be at least another couple years before they get their varsity recruiting down and starting icing good teams.

meh. OSU and MSU prob wont be very good either. psu should be a better team than last year just figuring that the players recruited for club hockey will no longer be on the team.