cross regional action

[bonesy21]

to whom this may concern,

i was trying to figure out why there arent more teams in the premier league first off, and secondly, why there arent more inter league games? for example, why penn st, or penn st altoona didnt sign up as a premier team, or why certain teams on the west, south or great plains regional teams havent gone to premier. in those regions, there are some of the best teams, especially on the west coast with cal poly slo, UCSB and many others, regardless if we play them all or not, they could atleast be pulled into the premier division at nationals? on the contrary, i have not really noticed too many mixed region games. for example, i havent seen any east coast teams come out and play against midwest region, or great plains region teams or vice versa? i just think that it would be a great test to see where each teams stands across the country to play a few teams from different regions. it would be fun for every team, and it would be fun for fans to come and watch as well. what do you all think? i was just curious as well, and rebecca, i heard that the ECRHL didnt want to let go of any more teams other than RIT to the premier league, but in tune, didnt penn state altoona beat RIT? please send me some info this way when you guys get a chance, id love to know what you all think. thanks for the time boys and girls.....

"bone"

[Hatebounce40]

Yes, it would be a good idea for this. However, the thing is that this is a club level sport, and no every school is willing to put up some money for the club, say for example the Nittany Lions, to go to a Great Plains event somewhere out in Missouri and take on good teams such as Lindenwood. It would be so great, but not feasible financially at this point.

[John_S_Osborne]

All of the ECRHA, both DI and DII, is in very tight competition this year. Alot of teams have improved, and are quite capable of beating any other team in the league. James Madison has won quite a few games, Pitt is looking good I hear. Even perenially strong teams are having off-starts, like University of Delaware, Penn State, and University of Maryland. The new NECRHA teams are fun to watch, as well as Towson, who's just been tearing it up on the powerplay.

The hockey is insanely good. I watched a game in Rahway last weekend, UDel vs. Boston. Game was 1-1 almost the entire way, until late in the fourth quarter, Boston made a terrible change in their own zone, resulting in a 2-on-0, and a UDel goal with about 2 minutes remaining. Boston called timeout, got possession and their goaltender to the bench, and managed to put in the game tying goal on a shot from the point with about 30 seconds remaining. I couldn't believe it, but Boston managed to win the game with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock, with the puck barely making it over the goal line. If the floor wasn't a little moist, I don't think this one would have made it in ;)

DII is really good this year too. I watch a few of Neumann's games, one of the teams that was in the PCRHL, and I'm very proud of the impact they're making in DII. They will certainly give WCU, Binghamton, and the other leaders a run for their money at the end of the season.

From what I understand, any teams who wanted to play Premier could have. I don't think there was anything from the ECRHA that said they couldn't. The competition in ECRHA is just great though. I don't think anyone wants to pass it up.

- john

[Benny_Gulakiw]

I think more cross-regional play would be great. Last year, the University at Buffalo went to Detroit to play against some Midwest teams and it was a lot of fun (we went 2-1-1). Anytime you get a chance to play other, new teams is fun. Buffalo is in a unique position. Being the farthest team West in the ECRHA, we are as close or closer to some Midwest schools.

Buffalo is hosting an ECRHA regular season weekend event on February 7-9, 2003. Right now, there are only a limited number of ECRHA teams scheduled to attend. This would be a great opportunity for some Midwest teams to play some cross-over games with the ECRHA. In particular, I'm trying to set-up two feature games (consisting of 4, 12-minute stop time quarters) which will be televised on local TV via tape delay. These games are sometimes picked up for a larger cable audience.

Any Midwest team, or any other collegiate team willing to travel to Buffalo on that weekend, that is interested in playing can contact me at [email protected] Also, the Buffalo Wings is hosting a Holiday Cup Tournament on December 20-22, 2002. That tournament will have a college division and there are already a number of schools that have expressed an interest in playing. Just e-mail me and I will give you all the information on both events.

By the way, does the Midwest league have a web site? What is there status with the CRHL?

Benny Gulakiw
President
Inline Hockey America<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Benny_Gulakiw on 11/20/02 03:10 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

[bonesy21]

i understand that the money is an issue too, cuz lord knows i can barely afford to eat. i mean i have food stamps, but i dont have the gas to get me to the store, and horse and buggy went out of style last year, so thats strike two; however, if you guys really wanted to work something out, im sure the people in michigan would love to see teams from the east coast come out. then we could get the great planes regional teams to come up, and wed be set. it could be like a miniature tournament. it may be some extra money, but maybe theres something we could do to afford lost cost housing or gettting the red cross to set up a shelter for the weekend. if people want it bad enough, it will happen...but i just think it would be fun and exciting for fans to come and watch, and for the players as well. i mean we could even swap jerseys like those soccer people over seas do after the game. anyways, im off to make fun of someone else, have a goodnight men!