brackets

[whoover]

When will brackets be up for nationals?

[United Inline]

After pool play. I think you're asking about schedules correct?

[BLowe7]

they usually put the pools up once everyone has paid...which sometimes is much later than its supposed to be

[alex]

Division 1 pools:

Pool A
Lindenwood University
Colorado State University
Ohio State University
United States Military Academy at West Point

Pool B
Michigan State University
Rutgers University
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Texas Tech University

Pool C
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Louisiana - Lafayette
Stony Brook University
Florida International University

Pool D
University of Rhode Island
California State University, Long Beach
University of Florida
Pennsylvania State University

Pool E
University of Missouri, St. Louis
Towson University
University of Michigan
Arizona State University

Pool F
University of Central Florida
State University of New York at Buffalo
University of North Texas
University of Missouri, Columbia

[???]

Easiest Pool: Pool C

Stupidest Pool: Pool D - 2 ECRHA teams?? Really??

Pool of Death - Pool E

[William Bourque]

Easiest Pool: Pool C

Stupidest Pool: Pool D - 2 ECRHA teams?? Really??

Pool of Death - Pool E


Well, there are 7 ECRHA teams at nationals and 6 pools...

You do the math.

[boring]

if your goin by the final IP rankings on slammhockey then it would appear that bracket E is actually the easiest, consisting of teams ranked 4, 16, 20, and 27. where as bracket F would be the "death pool" with teams ranked 5, 8, 9, and 19. I just gave each team a value of their ranking and considered the lowest score(highest ranked teams) to be the most difficult pool. pool a=56, b=47, c=56, d=60, e=67, and f=41.

[JLambertUMSL]

Pool of Death - Pool E

Every year UMSL seems to be put in the pool of death! Personally, I think it's fun. My excitement level for Nationals just went WAY up. :D

[GongMaster]

Pool E looks the weaks of the 6.

[alex]

I don't think you can go entirely off the SlammHockey rankings in saying which pool is the toughest. For example, it doesn't matter what the IP rankings say, UMSL is clearly the 2nd best team in the country.

And the last IP rankings were after the regular season; many teams had their stock rise, or fall, after their performance at regionals.

Hell, ask anyone in Pool A other than Lindenwood and they'll tell you they've got the toughest draw.

[JLambertUMSL]

Pool E looks the weaks of the 6.

Yep...boring. We're going to rest our top guys for the round robin.

[JLambertUMSL]

I don't think you can go entirely off the SlammHockey rankings in saying which pool is the toughest. For example, it doesn't matter what the IP rankings say, UMSL is clearly the 2nd best team in the country.

And the last IP rankings were after the regular season; many teams had their stock rise, or fall, after their performance at regionals.

Hell, ask anyone in Pool A other than Lindenwood and they'll tell you they've got the toughest draw.

There hasn't been a final IP ranking...just computer rankings.

[GongMaster]

not to take away anything from any of the teams that are in the pool. I just only see UMSL making it far in bracket play. However michigan gave state a hell of a run for their money in the MCRHL DI regional championship. So they could surprise a lot of people at nationals.

[GripperWheels]

not to take away anything from any of the teams that are in the pool. I just only see UMSL making it far in bracket play. However michigan gave state a hell of a run for their money in the MCRHL DI regional championship. So they could surprise a lot of people at nationals.

It is going to take skill to win at Nationals.
Everyone has a lot of energy and great attitudes on the Midwest teams. but LU will come in with both and skill.

so back to handing LU another trophy. Just like any sports team that has money wins. The rules are not set up to let all teams have a chance like in the NCAA. Thats why the amount of scholarships dictate the school division. DIV 1 schools have more scholarships than DIV 2 or DIV 3.
LU has athletes on workstudy scholarships that compete against school that do not have funded athletes = unlevel playing field. :confused:

[The Stiff]

Then it is incumbent upon the other programs to build their programs to Lindenwood's level. Instead of whining about Lindenwood, the thing to do work to reach their level. It was the same way with UCLA in NCAA basketball years ago. They won every year. That is, until other teams caught up to them.

[GripperWheels]

Then it is incumbent upon the other programs to build their programs to Lindenwood's level. Instead of whining about Lindenwood, the thing to do work to reach their level. It was the same way with UCLA in NCAA basketball years ago. They won every year. That is, until other teams caught up to them.
That is not a comparison. All DIV 1 teams have fully funded scholarship players the NCAA is divided by the amount of schoalarships awarded. DIV 1 vs DIV 2 vs DIV 3.
Look at the list of players not playing this year in the NCRHA because of the 5 year rule. the graduate rule and the PRO rule. Not one rule to address how the NCAA divide the divisions between one two and three which is the amount of scholarships. What about this summer when the players will again call themselves PRO players in the TORHS and NARCH PRO divisions. IF you declare yourself a PRO than you lose your NCAA eligibility in baseball golf basketball and hockey. looks like wehave a new division players that are on scholarship and those that are not. thats the difference.

[thebenchman]

Thus we get back to the definition of a PRO. A PRO makes a paycheck to perform a duty or job. Winning cash in a tournament does not a make a PRO. It's like going to a poker game in your back room winning a game with similar level of play with your friends, and then saying you belong on the World Poker Tour. It ain't happening!

Pro in Roller Hockey is a signature of the LEVEL of talent. e.g., the MASTERS...... explain that..... does that mean they are the best of the best? Would THAT make you feel better?

Having the honor of playing a Lindenwood is a choice you can make. How the school supports Roller Hockey is THEIR choice. Any school could do the same thing. Problem is LU has the right people in the right place and fully supports their teams.The administration knows what the sport does for the school. For those of you out of state or out of STL may not know for years LU has been know a THE place to go for collegiate rollerhockey. I congradulate UMSL for they too are growing and are ginve a GREAT effort thanks to the Lamberts.I know that very soon many of you will soon be saying that UMSL is doing things and THEY have advantages too.

Fact is, right now it is what it is. you can choose to deal with it or not.
dont dont you really want the chance to knock the better teams off? just to HAVE that chance. Do youthink that Morehead State is pissing about having to play Louisville in the NCAA tourney? Hell no!!

Sorry for the ramble.

[train]

Thus we get back to the definition of a PRO. A PRO makes a paycheck to perform a duty or job. Winning cash in a tournament does not a make a PRO. It's like going to a poker game in your back room winning a game with similar level of play with your friends, and then saying you belong on the World Poker Tour. It ain't happening!

Pro in Roller Hockey is a signature of the LEVEL of talent. e.g., the MASTERS...... explain that..... does that mean they are the best of the best? Would THAT make you feel better?

Having the honor of playing a Lindenwood is a choice you can make. How the school supports Roller Hockey is THEIR choice. Any school could do the same thing. Problem is LU has the right people in the right place and fully supports their teams.The administration knows what the sport does for the school. For those of you out of state or out of STL may not know for years LU has been know a THE place to go. I congradulate UMSL for they too are growing and are ginve a GREAT effort thanks to the Lamberts.I know that very soon many of you will soon be saying that UMSL is doing things and THEY have advantages too.

Fact is, right now it is what it is. you can choose to deal with it or not.
dont dont you really want the chance to knock the better teams off? just to HAVE that chance. Do youthink that Morehead State is pissing about having to play Louisville in the NCAA tourney? Hell no!!

Sorry for the ramble.
the place to go for what? education?

[JLambertUMSL]

Thanks for the shout-out, Benchman....

On the subject of advantages we may or may not be lucky enough to receive, if you want the truth, UMSL is receiving no money for Nationals this season from school sources (or outside sponsors). Zero. It is up to the players (and the highly supportive group of parents we are lucky to have).

This is the first time it's been this way for us -- usually our budget is in the neighborhood of $20K and our travel expenses are covered -- and it is very difficult to keep the club together under these circumstances (to their credit, we haven't lost a single player over the course of the year). I know this is just the way it is for most clubs, but we're not used to doing it this way. (We got too comfortable I guess?)

We did pick up a sponsorship from Mission, which is the kind of break most teams can only dream of, but that's not going to help us pay for our flights to Philadelphia.

I'm pretty sure things will be different and better in the future. I still have faith in our club and am committed to it for the foreseeable future, I think my brother is too, and we've got quite a few people clamoring for a leadership role of their own (of course, there are also a few running around behind our backs trying to take things over themselves and insisting that we've screwed it all up and are completely incompetent despite winning some kind of hardware the last five years in a row), but this season being a year in transition (that's a euphemism) meant we got left out in the cold as far as budget allocations are concerned. That puts an extreme amount of stress and strain on every aspect of an organization that used to run like clockwork, where I (as club president from 2005-08) used to be able to just push a button here and there and watch it all happen (because I knew the money would be available). Not so anymore. It's been a rough year for all of us. So we're not quite so comfortable as we used to be...which I think (hope) will make our team that much tougher at Nationals.

"PRO" players were also mentioned above too. And yes, we have some NARCh Pros. However, we're still waiting for our PRO players (we have two of them, a Syndicate player and a Mudcat) to become the type of leaders-by-example that their high caliber of play would suggest they should be. That would help out a lot.

(It's hard. It takes a lot of effort and taking every edge you can get. That's why we have rules like NO ALCOHOL AT NATIONALS. :))

And there's your spill-everything UMSL post. The moral of the story is that no matter who you are, if you're not Lindenwood, college roller hockey is a tough arena in which to sustain success.

[bauernike98]

All other schools can not simply "just do what Lindenwood is doing" correct me if im wrong but lindenwood has no DI,II, or III collegiate programs. Therefor the schools athletic funds is distributed throughout all of these "clubs" instead a major school that has DI programs, and dont have the availability of these grants for club sports. Trust me, at my school, there is no way we could ever do what Lindenwood is doing with scholarships and funding, no matter how hard we tried.

[JLambertUMSL]

All other schools can not simply "just do what Lindenwood is doing" correct me if im wrong but lindenwood has no DI,II, or III collegiate programs. Therefor the schools athletic funds is distributed throughout all of these "clubs" instead a major school that has DI programs, and dont have the availability of these grants for club sports. Trust me, at my school, there is no way we could ever do what Lindenwood is doing with scholarships and funding, no matter how hard we tried.

Lindenwood is a private school with NAIA athletics. (This makes them unique among schools that have roller hockey teams. Embry-Riddle is the only other NAIA school I know of that has had roller hockey.) This is a big assumption on my part, but with neither taxpayers nor the NCAA to answer to, I would imagine that such schools have a bit more freedom to recruit and distribute funds creatively. Someone correct me if I'm wrong (with evidence please).

[thebenchman]

James as you are taking UMSL to the highest level the school have ever been, you will soon be accused of somthing or other in getting better or the best of players too.

As far as LU.....i have heard rumors that they are one of if not the only University that is totally debt free. If that is the case, they have NO reason to NOT support a sport that does bring them more students.

[boring]

WOW, anyway back on topic off brackets....

[GripperWheels]

Do you think that Morehead State is pissing about having to play Louisville in the NCAA tourney? Hell no!!
still not getting the point you cannot have club sports play funded scholarship players. Example MSU Div 1 Ice hockey top ten in the country every year. Do you think there is one college club ice hockey team that could beat them. Maybe 1 out of 25 times. thats why divisions in the NCAA are divided by the number of funded scholarships handed out. my point is the 5 year.... rule graduate rule .....PRO rule for ice not even in the same sport.......rules against club teams but no one will take on LU. Let them go into there own division if you have scholarships you can be in that division. Just like the NCAA.

[ISFN]

Division 1 pools:

Pool A
Lindenwood University
Colorado State University
Ohio State University
United States Military Academy at West Point

Pool B
Michigan State University
Rutgers University
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Texas Tech University

Pool C
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Louisiana - Lafayette
Stony Brook University
Florida International University

Pool D
University of Rhode Island
California State University, Long Beach
University of Florida
Pennsylvania State University

Pool E
University of Missouri, St. Louis
Towson University
University of Michigan
Arizona State University

Pool F
University of Central Florida
State University of New York at Buffalo
University of North Texas
University of Missouri, Columbia

Pool A- Weakest/Easiest (As it should be with LU having the overall #1 Seed)

Pool B- 2 Solid teams, 1 above average and 1 under, decent pool

Pool C- Santa Barbra got a break, easy pool behind A.

Pool D & E- Tied for the hardest pool, All games will be close and tough.

Pool F- Much like Pool B, 2 tough teams, 1 average, 1 underdog/sleeper??

[RaginCajunAlum]

So all this talk about Pool C being easy. No one thinks that UL can touch UCSB? The good thing about nationals is that we get to play these games instead of just talking about them :p

Should be another great nationals this year though.

[ISFN]

Nothing against your team but any pool where you have an "alternate" team is going to be assumed as being weaker. And compared overall it just appears as a weaker pool.

Santa Barbra and ULL will be the only teams making noise in that pool

[RaginCajunAlum]

Yea I figured the same thing. Should be interesting to see who matches up with who in the first games. Sometimes its nice to get that first game under your belt before going up against a tougher team.

[missionhockey33]

Nothing against your team but any pool where you have an "alternate" team is going to be assumed as being weaker. And compared overall it just appears as a weaker pool.

Santa Barbra and ULL will be the only teams making noise in that pool

You can't count Stony Brook out though! This will be the first time SBU will be facing teams from West and Southwest in D1 round robin play. As we all know they are 0-1 against West Coast teams after the lost that ended their run for the NCT. And I can guarantee you that lost to this day, is still lingering in many of the returnees minds today. But you can't count them out of that pool. They finish .500 this season and played competitive with the top teams in there Division like Buffalo and Rutgers. They are on their familiar home turf and will be playing just as hard as their other six opponents from the east. As much as it will a reach for saying they will win the whole thing is understandable. But you can see them being competitive with FIU,ULL, and UCSB. I will have them as a sleeper team in tournament play.

[ISFN]

Just as you mentioned SBU is a .500 team, if i'm not mistaken they are one of the few .500 teams at Nationals. If a team can't compete within their own region what makes you think they will do anything special at nationals, and actually looking at their wins it doesn't appear they beat anyone with a above .500 record all year long. Prove us all wrong I'm sure everyone will be dying for some upsets, goodluck on congrats on the bid.