Ryerson suspends Men's hockey team for 7 days

[WilcoxHound]

The Ryerson Rams men's hockey team has been suspended for 7 days and will forfeit 2 regular season games which were to be played during that period. The punishment is being handed out in response to drinking on their exhibition trip to New Jersey. The coach of the Rams has been suspended for 4 games by the school.

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[Rob]

The Ryerson Rams men's hockey team has been suspended for 7 days and will forfeit 2 regular season games which were to be played during that period. The punishment is being handed out in response to drinking on their exhibition trip to New Jersey. The coach of the Rams has been suspended for 4 games by the school.

What rule was violated exactly?

 

[AUS Fan]

It would not be a CIS rule, but one by the administration. Without knowing the details, it's hard to judge. BUT, if there was excess drinking which caused embarrassment to the school and the program...........


Edit: just saw this Twitter feed:
http://www.ryersonian.ca/?p=7387

Thanks to 'Foyle for the re-rweet

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

It's their policy not to allow drinking on road trips, IIRC.

 

[Drummer]

As some of you may have read in other online reports - the Ryerson Athletic Department has a student-athlete Code of Conduct which stipulates that they will not consume alcohol while on trips (from the moment they leave to the moment they return).

I wonder if the faculty & administration have the same requirement when they travel to conferences or the President at an Alumni event that is held off campus? or a Graduate student who goes to a conference? probably not.

Are they not allowed to smoke either?

I guess I just don't like rules like these. I would prefer a Code of Conduct to be just that - based on their conduct in public with no mention of drinking (or smoking). Then punish them for breaking that (which would still have resulted in a suspention, but the issue would have been their conduct not the fact they consumed a legally purchased beverage).

If you don't trust them - then don't take them. Signing a document rarely dissuades someone from being who they are - it just gives the authorizes more reason to punish.

I don't understand suspending the coach when the report the school released indicated the coaches were performing their nightly duties of reviewing the tape. I guess the administration feels the coaching staff should have been checking beds. The assistance coach must have been found to have knowledge of the events - why else fire him?

This will put a damper on their recruiting. The year this happened to Ryerson's Women's Volleyball team, they ended the season 10th out of 13. They were Last the next season (with just 1 win) and moved to 11th the next season.

 

[SnipeShow91]

As some of you may have read in other online reports - the Ryerson Athletic Department has a student-athlete Code of Conduct which stipulates that they will not consume alcohol while on trips (from the moment they leave to the moment they return).

I wonder if the faculty & administration have the same requirement when they travel to conferences or the President at an Alumni event that is held off campus? or a Graduate student who goes to a conference? probably not.

Are they not allowed to smoke either?

I guess I just don't like rules like these. I would prefer a Code of Conduct to be just that - based on their conduct in public with no mention of drinking (or smoking). Then punish them for breaking that (which would still have resulted in a suspention, but the issue would have been their conduct not the fact they consumed a legally purchased beverage).

If you don't trust them - then don't take them. Signing a document rarely dissuades someone from being who they are - it just gives the authorizes more reason to punish.

I don't understand suspending the coach when the report the school released indicated the coaches were performing their nightly duties of reviewing the tape. I guess the administration feels the coaching staff should have been checking beds. The assistance coach must have been found to have knowledge of the events - why else fire him?

This will put a damper on their recruiting. The year this happened to Ryerson's Women's Volleyball team, they ended the season 10th out of 13. They were Last the next season (with just 1 win) and moved to 11th the next season.

I'm sure there is more to the story they are letting on for why the team got suspended. The Waterloo Men's Rugby team had to forfeit a game to RMC because of the same thing, then it leaked out they trashed a New York hotel room after a game. Maybe they shouldn't have got caught.

And this won't put a damper on recruiting at all! One incident like this won't affect this team 3 to 4 years down the road.

 

[Drummer]

And this won't put a damper on recruiting at all! One incident like this won't affect this team 3 to 4 years down the road.

I think it will for next season, but I agree that with enough water under the bridge these things fall to the way-side and are forgotten over time.

 

[2minutes4elbowing]

I thnk this whole scenerio is a mess. Whether it was drinking, or if there was a bit of hotel damage done, there was absolutely no need for this to become a national story. These types of scenerios have happened to many teams throughout many institutions for years. Normally the coach can address it by making the players accountable and paying for damages. Certainly if an Athletic Director needs to get involved he/she can dole out appropriate punishment and send the appropriate message without embarrasing his/her entire university. The fact that this administration made such a mountain out of a molehill leads me to believe that the Sports Administrator;
a. Is completetly out of touch with the reality of the CIS athlete
b. is holier than thou
c. thinks he's/she's the smarters kid on the block
d. is a master at self-promotion.

Unfortunately which ever reason or combination of reasons above he/she suffers from the administrator (not the coach or team) has embarrased his/her institution by not keeping this matter in-house.

Additonally this decision now compromises the competitive integrity of both of the OUA's hockey playing conferences as well. Ryerson was 5-2 and in the race for first. Now they are automatically 5-4. 4 points in this tight conference is huge and will cost Ryerson playoff ranking if not a playoff berth. Queens and UOIT benefit in the other conference as being the recipient of 2 points they may not have earned in head to head competition. That has to be a touch pill for the other 8 East Conference teams to swallow, all who are either challenging Queens for first place or are challenging UOIT for middle of the pack.

In my eyes, shame shame on the Ryerson administrators who blew up a teachable moment and created an institutional national embarrassment ( and completely threw the OUA's longest serving and most respected coach under the bus).

 

[Hollywood3]

This would be a severe over-reaction to mere drinking. The linked article mentions "noise violations" which adds another element here.

 

[Dutch]

There sure seems to be something more than fishy about this whole thing.

Graham Wise has been coaching Ryerson for 8 years now, with very limited success. Can't say I was really impressed by his coaching during the playoffs last year.

With the Mattamy Center opening up last year, the program took a sharp turn towards taking care of their athletes, therefore giving a boost to recruiting efforts. I'm wondering if in the end, some people upstairs might want to go new from A to Z and get a new coach.

By suspending Wise, this might be a good way to do it at the end of the season.

 

[2minutes4elbowing]

ok ok hold the fort. Noise violations at a hotel at Princeton in the USA. If you fart after 1 am in a hotel at Princeton in the US some 70 year old alumni is calling hotel security for a noise violation. Maybe even a stink violation lol. Let's not sound the alarm bells on noise violations.

As for Graham Wise and his 8 years. This guy took Ryerson when they were the pile of S___ at the bottom of the barrel and has made them into something. He did this on a gamble, leaving York and an established program with an on campus facility to go to Ryerson and build a program that did not provide him a rink. Only RMC had a worst hockey history than Ryerson. Wise spent years at Ryerson recruiting guys to play out of George Bell Arena. All he did was post the best seasons in Ryerson history. Now he finally has a great rink, posts the best start in Ryerson history and his school throws him under the bus. And you run your mouth about not being impressed with his coaching in the playoffs. Give me a break buddy.

 

[Dutch]

ok ok hold the fort. Noise violations at a hotel at Princeton in the USA. If you fart after 1 am in a hotel at Princeton in the US some 70 year old alumni is calling hotel security for a noise violation. Maybe even a stink violation lol. Let's not sound the alarm bells on noise violations.

As for Graham Wise and his 8 years. This guy took Ryerson when they were the pile of S___ at the bottom of the barrel and has made them into something. He did this on a gamble, leaving York and an established program with an on campus facility to go to Ryerson and build a program that did not provide him a rink. Only RMC had a worst hockey history than Ryerson. Wise spent years at Ryerson recruiting guys to play out of George Bell Arena. All he did was post the best seasons in Ryerson history. Now he finally has a great rink, posts the best start in Ryerson history and his school throws him under the bus. And you run your mouth about not being impressed with his coaching in the playoffs. Give me a break buddy.

Limited success might have been the wrong term used, should have went with relative. Pardon my french.

However, every time I talked to him during last year's playoffs, he seemed like a beaten dog, telling me how good UQTR is and how his team pretty much didn't have a chance after losing the first game. The only time I saw a emotional reaction from him was when former NHL goalkeeper Patrick Lalime went in the stands behind the bench and tapped him on the shoulder, telling him to calm his guys down, which almost started a fight between players and the crowd.

I fully agree that he has taken a team from the gutters and made it respectable, which is why I don't understand why the school threw him under the bus like that and fired the assistant-coach, especially if this was just an noise complaint about guys being drunk and playing Monopoly too loudly. Nothing to be proud of, but nothing to spark a national controversy for sure.

It has been seen before in junior hockey. After a team went all the way, a coach graduates, giving his place to a new one. After 2-3 years of rebuilding, he's thrown out the door just as the team is starting to look good, making place for a well established skipper who's looking for a good team. This is pretty much where Wise is right now. Pulled the program up, but if the University feels he doesn't have what it takes to make it all the way, they might be looking for a way to axe him, which explain throwing him under the bus.

But since the two posts you have made in this subject are your first two on HF Boards, which means you want to set the record straight, I think that you're probably closer to the team, and maybe the truth, than I am.

BTW, I fully agree with your first post.

 

[2minutes4elbowing]

Keeping it civil

Thanks for the reply, and for keeping this post civil. No need for personal attacks, just opinions. I am not particularly close to Ryerson but I am particularly close to CIS hockey in general. Watching this drama unfolds reminds me of a Canadian government who audits your taxes trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of you while they squander millions of tax payers dollars of frivolous spending. I would seriously like to know if Ryerson's Athletic Director has never had an alcoholic beverage at OUA or CIS event. I would seriously like to know if all Ryerson's academic administration has never had an alcoholic beverage during an institutional meeting. If the answer is "no they have not" then good for them for holding their athletes to the same standards. But I suspect that the answer was "yes they have" and again, shame on Ryerson for throwing the team and coach under the bus for not meeting standards that they themselves do not adhere to.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

For me, the root of the Ryerson problem seems to be the prohibition of alcohol for their student-athletes. Most of whom are probably of legal age, certainly the hockey players (even when in the States with their 21 years-of-age minimum). So prohibition is never going to work, whereas treating them as adults probably will (and does.)

Whoever wrote and voted for that policy must be hypocrites, or else Ryerson is home to the highest-percentage of teetotalers in the country.

And hockey = beer. Not every hockey player drinks, but c'mon. One or two pops after a roadtrip weekend is probably the norm, not the exception (although drinking Friday night before the Saturday game is probably frowned on by most teams )

We're talking university sports here, not high school.

Finally, anyone who's ever been with a group in a hotel, whether for a conference or sports event, knows that it is ridiculously easy to get a "noise violation" while just having innocent fun. So it doesn't mean anyone was necessarily being outrageous. Count me in the camp that considers this a ridiculous over-reaction by Ryerson, and maybe part of a larger plan to stain Wise so they can move him out (and void his contract to save money).

 

[MiamiHockey]

For me, the root of the Ryerson problem seems to be the prohibition of alcohol for their student-athletes.

I believe that there are many colleges that have student-athlete codes of conduct with similar provisions, but the enforcement is extremely rare. Basically, it is put in there to give administrators a rule that they can selectively enforce to discipline teams for initiation parties / behavioural issues.

Let's be frank - Ryerson is not a school that has ever cared much about its athletic programs, including hockey. This is the school that had it's hockey program play at a rundown rink in Etobicoke (Lakeshore Lions) ... which is a solid 20-30 minute drive without traffic. They were a complete embarrassment on and off the ice.

And the acquisition of Maple Leaf Gardens was quite opportunistic - let's recall that it was supposed to become a Loblaws at one point - and should not be misconstrued as a sudden focus on athletics at Ryerson.

I'm wondering if there is more to the story, and if this was simply the opportunity they needed to punish the team.

But, let's not disparage the coaching of Graham Wise. Has anybody seen what York has done since he left?

 

[SnipeShow91]

I have no problem with the punishment handed down of being suspended and forefitting games. If Ryerson has those policies in place, the players shouldn't get caught. And from what I am hearing, its not so much a "noise violation" as it was something else.

I do have a problem with how the punishment happened. Ryerson is now in the OUA West, with the forfeiting, 2 OUA East teams gets 2 points, Queen's and UOIT. With the way the OUA East is shaking down early, Concordia, Ottawa, Nipissing, UOIT and RMC are all battling for spots 7-10. UOIT gets 2 free points which could be a difference in the final weekend of the season for playoff seedings or getting into the playoffs in general. It dosen't affect the West at all, as it just a 4 point loss for the Rams.

And unlucky RMC gets Ryerson's first game back....

 

[Hollywood3]

I have no problem with the punishment handed down of being suspended and forefitting games. If Ryerson has those policies in place, the players shouldn't get caught. And from what I am hearing, its not so much a "noise violation" as it was something else.

I do have a problem with how the punishment happened. Ryerson is now in the OUA West, with the forfeiting, 2 OUA East teams gets 2 points, Queen's and UOIT. With the way the OUA East is shaking down early, Concordia, Ottawa, Nipissing, UOIT and RMC are all battling for spots 7-10. UOIT gets 2 free points which could be a difference in the final weekend of the season for playoff seedings or getting into the playoffs in general. It dosen't affect the West at all, as it just a 4 point loss for the Rams.

And unlucky RMC gets Ryerson's first game back....

That's why I don't like the suspension of games. Also, I know there are not a lot of fans but there are no doubt several who had plans on watching some hockey this weekend and they are getting ripped off.

I would not have a problem in suspending a guilty player, or taking away some other perks for the players and coaches.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

That's why I don't like the suspension of games. Also, I know there are not a lot of fans but there are no doubt several who had plans on watching some hockey this weekend and they are getting ripped off.

I would not have a problem in suspending a guilty player, or taking away some other perks for the players and coaches.

It's not like unsanctioned drinking doesn't happen to other teams. There was an AUS team a few years back that had several players go to the then-new casino while on a Halifax road trip. The first many of us knew about it was when some key players were scratched their next home game "for breaking team rules". That's they way I believe it should be handled - don't punish all the players, their fans and their opponents.

 

[11111]

To those who have been discussing Coach Wise, have a look at this. The Rams are back from suspension, but Wise still is not, with his four-game ban continuing this weekend. With former assistant Lawrence Smith also let go, that means the bench will look quite different for the next two games.

http://www.ryersonian.ca/?p=8301

 

[WilcoxHound]

"Revenge of the Nerds" in the Ivy Towers.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

I was talking to a Ryerson sports info person at the soccer Nationals in Fredericton last weekend. He said Ryerson has a zero-tolerance policy on drinking on road trips.

 

[MiamiHockey]

I was talking to a Ryerson sports info person at the soccer Nationals in Fredericton last weekend. He said Ryerson has a zero-tolerance policy on drinking on road trips.

That's certainly odd - it's not as though Ryerson has a Harvard-esque reputation to uphold - but very much in keeping with Ryerson's traditional aversion to supporting athletes.

I dare suggest that word of this will hurt Ryerson's recruiting efforts next year ... what 22 yr old hockey player wants to go to that sort of an environment?

 

[JacqueKallis]

Will Wise last till next season?

That's certainly odd - it's not as though Ryerson has a Harvard-esque reputation to uphold - but very much in keeping with Ryerson's traditional aversion to supporting athletes.

I dare suggest that word of this will hurt Ryerson's recruiting efforts next year ... what 22 yr old hockey player wants to go to that sort of an environment?

Whether this will happen or not, but do you think Wise makes it to next season?

Would the next logical step be to remove him at the end of the year and seek someone to take the program in a new direction?

As for the upcoming weekend, can't see the interim coaching staff making huge adjustments.........but could be some fireworks with a young staff on the bench given there opponents!

 

[MiamiHockey]

Whether this will happen or not, but do you think Wise makes it to next season?

Would the next logical step be to remove him at the end of the year and seek someone to take the program in a new direction?

As for the upcoming weekend, can't see the interim coaching staff making huge adjustments.........but could be some fireworks with a young staff on the bench given there opponents!

The answer to this question will give good insight to what Ryerson values.

A quick look at Ryerson's hockey record pre-Wise vs. with-Wise suggest that he has had nothing but a positive effect on the program. For years they were an embarrassment to CIS hockey, and he has turned them into a respectable program, which is no small feat given that it's a small school offering a very limited number of programs in an expensive city.

Granted, Wise is also the first full-time hockey coach at Ryerson (I believe), so it's plausible that any good coach could have had the same impact. But, the decline of the York hockey program since Wise's departure would suggest that he has been the source of Ryerson's success.

The fact that Ryerson did not fire him may be just as much due to budgetary reasons (i.e., not wanting to pay two coaches at the same time) as actual respect for what Wise has done for Ryerson hockey.

I would suggest that, if Wise is not brought back for next year, it means Ryerson didn't want to pay two coaches, and that they have limited interest in actually icing a winning program.