Nationals

[sniper15135]

I know we are still waiting on a site for nationals, but does anyone at least know what week nationals will be?

[warwick]

was looking at plane fares yesterday. the cost of a round trip ticket was 408.00 from newark to st.louis. it was half of that to california.

[William Bourque]

I was looking at the same stuff this weekend...

-To fly from Shannon, Ireland to St. Louis, MO and then with a return flight to Philly, PA Total Costs: $700

-To fly from Shannon, Ireland to Anaheim, CA and then with a return flight to Philly, PA Total Costs: $802

-To fly from Philadelphia to St. Louis, MO and then with a return flight to Philly, PA Total Costs: $287

-To fly from Philadelphia to Anaheim, CA and then with a return flight to Philly, PA Total Costs: $288

[GoRangrHky]

there's more to factor in than just the cost of a plane ticket, like rink costs and all that, too. And i found a roundtrip from JFK to St. Louis for $233.

[hockeyrobin1]

From Brennen's email to me:

Hey Robin, the tentative date for nationals is April 4th through 8th, the other possible dates would be April 11th through 15th. We are also trying what we can to do away with the Wednesday night games, but who knows if we will be able to do that.

Thanks,
Brennan

[William Bourque]

From Brennen's email to me:

Hey Robin, the tentative date for nationals is April 4th through 8th, the other possible dates would be April 11th through 15th. We are also trying what we can to do away with the Wednesday night games, but who knows if we will be able to do that.

Thanks,
Brennan


i wish it was the second week, it makes travel less hectic with the holiday

[JLambertUMSL]

I'm not exactly a devout Christian....but I can see how some schools might object to holding a tournament over Easter weekend.

[JLambertUMSL]

i wish it was the second week, it makes travel less hectic with the holiday

It would also set up the possibility of having it in St. Louis the same weekend as the Frozen Four. That would be awesome.

The biggest problem is that half of Lindenwood's team is supposed to be in Cincinnati playing PIHA that weekend!

[sanford]

i have a feeling that they will miss a piha game to keep their legacy alive.

[Defense1st]

That is most likely true, but why make them do that. This is one of the problems with our entire sport, everyone scheudles on top of each otehr and make teams, players and fans choose.

We can't grow that way.

I cannot believe ice hockey would schedule such important events the same weekend; or even Easter weekend.

Phil Steur

[William Bourque]

That is most likely true, but why make them do that. This is one of the problems with our entire sport, everyone scheudles on top of each otehr and make teams, players and fans choose.

We can't grow that way.

I cannot believe ice hockey would schedule such important events the same weekend; or even Easter weekend.

Phil Steur

Isn't the Frozen Four on Easter Weekend?

[GoRangrHky]

Frozen Four is April 5 and 7- http://www.ncaasports.com/icehockey/mens/schedules/

If you want to go play PIHA over this, help yourself, I'm sure most people wouldn't mind. :rolleyes:

I would imagine that if it was Easter weekend, it'd probably finish on Sat morning, maybe just start a day earlier. But that's only if it's that week. And just a guess.

[Dave Garland]

I agree with what Phil said. I'm affiliated with the NCRHA as a coach in the Great Plains Division and obviously PIHA.

It is difficult to make everyone happy when a schedule takes forever to come out, no matter what the excuse is.

State Wars is one of the best ran inline hockey ventures and they put out their schedules MONTHS in advance. NARCh also does a good job of announcing block schedules nice and early.

I hate to call out one organization in particular, but I feel the NCRHA is an important organization and perhaps some criticism will help improve it because collegiate inline hockey is extremely important.

It is unacceptable for at least the Nationals DATES let alone schedule to not be out right now. People have lives both inside and outside of inline hockey they have to worry about including religious holidays, etc. College Nationals is a great time and if it is to be a classy event, we cannot have these last minute announcements and decisions which just causes stress on everyone.

We have TWO PIHA teams traveling the weekend of April 13th-15th. Plans are being made for these trips well in advance. That is just an example, and I'm sure everyone has various conflicts both hockey and non-hockey related throughout the country. Conflicts sometimes cannot be avoided, but more time always provides a better opportunity to work something out.

Collectively there are many organizations right now attempting to improve our sport, which is a very good thing; however, we need to change the stereotypes NOW of inline hockey being unorganized and joke if we want our sport to continue to succeed in the future.

Sorry for the long message, but just a couple of thoughts.

[Hockey_Freak]

[quote=Dave Garland;30820]It is difficult to make everyone happy when a schedule takes forever to come out, no matter what the excuse is.

I hate to call out one organization in particular, but I feel the NCRHA is an important organization and perhaps some criticism will help improve it because collegiate inline hockey is extremely important.

It is unacceptable for at least the Nationals DATES let alone schedule to not be out right now. People have lives both inside and outside of inline hockey they have to worry about including religious holidays, etc. College Nationals is a great time and if it is to be a classy event, we cannot have these last minute announcements and decisions which just causes stress on everyone.

Collectively there are many organizations right now attempting to improve our sport, which is a very good thing; however, we need to change the stereotypes NOW of inline hockey being unorganized and joke if we want our sport to continue to succeed in the future.quote]

Well said, I've inquired about these dates for a while now. I know of a bunch of players who have other commitments for other tourneys and such. With no dates available the Nationals are being pushed to the bottom of the priority list. It's a shame, instead of having full teams with the rosters we've had all year we will be showing up with less players, and the better players off playing for their travel and tournament teams. This really needs to be addressed and fixed.

[thebenchman]

hmmmm, it was better with Rebecca?

I think so!

[bobraynor]

Since we don't have official confirmation on dates and times and places for Nationals yet, what about bids?
Is there any information about how bids will be given out this year, and also how long after Regionals will we know about bids?

Thanks!

[William Bourque]

Since we don't have official confirmation on dates and times and places for Nationals yet, what about bids?
Is there any information about how bids will be given out this year, and also how long after Regionals will we know about bids?

Thanks!

I see no reason that the way bids are handed out would change.

The only auto-bids would go to the winner of the regional tournament, and then the selection committe would select the best team available after the champions to fill the slots.

Not sure what the #'s of teams were last year, but im sure it will be the same this year...

But that's just me speculating

[Defense1st]

Frozen Four is April 5 and 7- http://www.ncaasports.com/icehockey/mens/schedules/

If you want to go play PIHA over this, help yourself, I'm sure most people wouldn't mind. :rolleyes:

I would imagine that if it was Easter weekend, it'd probably finish on Sat morning, maybe just start a day earlier. But that's only if it's that week. And just a guess.

This is all true, and I was just making a point as Dave Garland picked up on.

Dave picked up my point exactly. Look at how many Amateur Nationals we have each summer stuffed into June, July and August. 6Pac, ECHO, 2 Hot 4 Ice, Junior Olympics, The International Division of Junior Olympics, TEAM USA-USARS, TEAM USA-IIHF, Narch, Torhs, Coastal Cup, Pacific Cup, Contintental Cup and others. Almost all of them have announced their tournament dates and many of them have announced their block schedules for the age groups.

However, NCRHA:
1. which is probably the most important of all of them for the continued growth of our sport and the one that can influence the younger generations to consider inline hockey a viable sport to play in and hopefully, someday, have a chance at a scholarship,
2. HAS NO EXACT DATES, BLOCK SCHEDULES, TEAM LIST OR ANYTHING VIABLE FOR THE PLAYERS, MANAGERS, COACHES AND SCHOOLS TO COUNT ON
3. THEY WILL ALSO BE THE FIRST OF ALL THE TOURNAMENTS, and obviously the last to be planned (even the AAU High School Nationals are already planned in May in St. Louis.

It is imperative that this organziation gets on the ball at least 9-12 months in advance with a venue, dates and better yet, blocks for Div I, Div II, Div III, "B", small schools, community schools or whatever division they are planning to have. This allows everyone to plan to get in the most playing time with the least hassles and expense they can so they can play PIHA, Narch, Torhs, Team USA-USARS, Team USA-IIHF (these teams go to Europe to play).

At this time in our lives this sport is played completely for pleasure........there are no monetary rewards (except Narch and Torhs Pro), almost no scholarship possibilities, No paid Pro Leagues...........and that is why teams will end up going to Nationals short some of their best players.

Just a lack of good, solid planning.

Phil Steur
(father of a 14 year old, who someday would like to get a college scholarship to play the game he loves and then graduate to a pro league where he will get paid, just like an ice hockey prodigy)

[MBurke]

I agree completely.

[Leaferguy]

Wasn't this place being tossed around for next year?

http://silvercreeksportsplex.com/docs/Silver_Creek_Floor_Plan.pdf
http://www.rollinice.com/index.html

[MBurke]

Wasn't this place being tossed around for next year?

http://silvercreeksportsplex.com/docs/Silver_Creek_Floor_Plan.pdf
http://www.rollinice.com/index.html

It's on the list of places being considered, last I heard.

[Hockey_Freak]

Hummm....Still no word on this ? :eek:

[HockeyGod98]

B.Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships
i. Site Selection
a) Sites shall be selected as soon as possible but no later than the January 1st
preceding the competition.
b) Proposals for sites shall be approved by a vote of the Board of Directors.
ii. Team Selection
a) Teams shall be selected by the NCRHA Selection Committee on the first
Monday of the first full week of March, also known as ?Selection Monday.?
b) Teams shall be notified of selection within 48 hours of selection and must
accept or deny bids in writing within 48 hours of notification.
iii. Tournament Format
a) Tournament format and seeding policies shall be set by the NCRHA Director of
Tournaments no later than the first Monday of the first full week of March.
iv. Multiple Team Participation
a) Players listed on a primary team's roster at the beginning of the event
are locked onto that primary team for the duration of the event.
b) Players listed on a secondary team's roster at the beginning of the event
may be added to the primary team's roster at any time. Once added to
the primary team, players are then locked to the primary team for the
duration of the event

We Ignoring the Bylaws now?

[GoRangrHky]

Well, no. The site has been selected. They just haven't announced to the general public where it is. There's nothing in there stating they have to do that by a certain date. If you're going to get technical, might as well go all the way...

[warwick]

well if they know, wouldn't it be nice if they shared the information with everyone else.

[Drexel63]

seems to me that a timely announcement would be the only way to enforce said bylaw...

[Hockey_Freak]

well if they know, wouldn't it be nice if they shared the information with everyone else.

Hell ya it would...And forget bylaws and being technical...it's about giving time to plan, flights, hotel ect. It would just make things easier for all if we had a clue...If they want a quality event they have to give as much time as possible. "Winterfest" was announced at least a month and a half before the event. The website hasn't been updated in two weeks. I realize planning an event isn't easy and give credit to the league for that, but as each day passes the harder it will be to field a full roster, find flights, rooms and plan on the individual team's behalf.....:confused:

[RustyPipes27]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! It's the Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaambulance!

[Leaferguy]

It is?

It looks like posts on a messageboard to me.

[RustyPipes27]

Well I was kidding Captain Sensitivity, but...

I mean, yeah, it would be great if we knew when/where Nationals were. They do this every year. But posts on the message board aren't going to accelerate the process.

I'm sure there's a reason that they haven't informed everyone about Nationals. If everything was confirmed, they would let us know, right? So try to be patient, people.

Besides, you have to get to Nationals first...

[Leaferguy]

I'm no Captain; I'm just facetious.

[KillinAintShe]

April 4 - 7 in st louis, just waiting on the contract to announce it.

Sorry if I pissed anybody off by putting this up here.

[RustyPipes27]

That's wonderful news if it's true. Thank you.

[KillinAintShe]

Take it with a grain of salt. Nothing is finalized obviously. I am not a league official. That is what I heard.

[RustyPipes27]

As always.

[William Bourque]

If that is the case, travel home on the 7th and 8th is going to be horrible...

nothing worse than traveling on a holiday weekend...

not that this is christmas or thanksgiving, but im sure that its a pretty busy one for the airports and such

[KillinAintShe]

Didn't say who I heard it from though...

[HockeyGod98]

who'd u hear it from

[Alex Kozik]

Though I would also like to know where and when the Nationals are gonna be, all this planning talks cracks me up.

How many teams can honestly plan on going to nationals as far as reserving plane tickets and such at this point of the season??? I know not too many teams in ECRHA! Maybe only Neumann and Towson have right to be this cocky!

[KillinAintShe]

A league official.

[Leaferguy]

Though I would also like to know where and when the Nationals are gonna be, all this planning talks cracks me up.

How many teams can honestly plan on going to nationals as far as reserving plane tickets and such at this point of the season??? I know not too many teams in ECRHA! Maybe only Neumann and Towson have right to be this cocky!

Very true, but on the off chance that a team makes it, supervisors in the school like to know where and when certain events may be held beforehand.

[Army Defense]

Though I would also like to know where and when the Nationals are gonna be, all this planning talks cracks me up.

How many teams can honestly plan on going to nationals as far as reserving plane tickets and such at this point of the season??? I know not too many teams in ECRHA! Maybe only Neumann and Towson have right to be this cocky!

it takes months for us to get approved to leave for a trip. we just got approved for feasterville and its been in to the school officials since october, so while we may or may not make it, if we dont have school approval, then we cant go anyways

[William Bourque]

not that we are going this year...but if we were...

i can get it approved tommorrow if i wanted and knew the location...

our school would give us "probationary funds" or something like that...

with the only stipulation being that we actually qualify for the event...

that way after bids go out...

i call and the money get put in the account...


additionally, im sure there are schools, esp in DI that know they are going, there are always bad DI teams there since there are more bids to go around, so its safe to say at this point that michigan state is prob going...so if they could book flights and hotels tommorrow, it would save them money...

im sure thats why people keep asking...

[KillinAintShe]

I'm sure its really not the league's fault but rather the rink who they are trying to book with. If it's where I think it is, the owner is probably dragging his feet. He has an impression that the world turns as he wants it to...

[KillinAintShe]

I am wondering if we are going to even have nationals this year? That would be sweet!

[JLambertUMSL]

Here's something that looks pretty definitive to me.

http://www.moiha.org/~moiha/?p=34

This is the official blog of the St. Louis area high school league (MOIHA), which is run by Ian Mackie.

Ian (who is the head coach of the River City Whalers, runs a very nice rink, and also helps coach Lindenwood) is one of the big names in St. Louis roller hockey (and nationwide, for that matter) and usually knows what he's talking about.

[KillinAintShe]

http://www.ncrha.org/article.php?article_id=51427

[warwick]

i noticed they r using 2 different rinks for the nationals. i looked it up on the map they r about 7 miles apart. is it possible for the ncrha people to give everyone an idea on how it will determine if the divisions will be broken up into each location. omni has 1 rink matteson 2 rinks.

[dan sangiorgio]

are all three rinks going to be used for the whole tournment or is the third rink going be shut down after robin games/first round of playoffs
i am intersted to see how that will work having games at 2 different locations could really help the event move more smothly with having 3 rinks rather then 2 like the past 2 nationals or it could be a burden having the staff spilt over two rinks.
plus how is the rink size at omni compared to matteson.

[warwick]

according to both rinks websites omni is 190x85 and the 2 matteson rinks r
185x85.

[alawrence]

are all three rinks going to be used for the whole tournment or is the third rink going be shut down after robin games/first round of playoffs
i am intersted to see how that will work having games at 2 different locations could really help the event move more smothly with having 3 rinks rather then 2 like the past 2 nationals or it could be a burden having the staff spilt over two rinks.
plus how is the rink size at omni compared to matteson.

Your right on the money here Dan, Its going to be a bit of both in my oppinion. The staff will have their work cut out for them between the 2 rinks but having 3 rinks will end nights a lot earlier than in the past and allow a lot more flexability schedule wise. the actual schedule is still being finalized since obviously the NCRHA can't use the one from last season but I do know that all the championship games will be at matteson's.

[paddymac]

while making the schedule please take into consideration that some programs will have both their A and B teams invited and it will be pretty tough for a coach to be at both rinks at the same time.

[cdolan]

From everything I heard, Omni will only be used for some round robin b games. If this is still true, then they are doing it so that no one plays on Easter. Thats what i heard last anyway.

[GoRangrHky]

Yeah, i'm fairly sure thye are going to try and end early on Saturday so everyone can fly out Sat night to be home for the holiday. I think the two rink thing will also help prevent 6am and 2am games from happening.

[JLambertUMSL]

I'm sure its really not the league's fault but rather the rink who they are trying to book with. If it's where I think it is, the owner is probably dragging his feet. He has an impression that the world turns as he wants it to...

I'm pretty sure this comment was not directed toward the owner/operator of Omni.

[JLambertUMSL]

Omni is a super frickin' rink. It would be great to actually have a few of the bigger games there.

Last year they had the state high school championships, and that place seriously got so loud you couldn't hear. It was DEAFENING.

Omni is very clean (Ian is a self-described neat freak) and has a good bar upstairs with TVs...just a good place to watch a game.

[JLambertUMSL]

Also...

MSG and Omni are close together, but beware of the traffic on the weekdays. Omni to MSG is normally a 10-minute drive (at the very worst), but between 3:30 and 6 on a weekday it could take about 25 minutes.

(MSG to Omni - heading east on 70 - isn't bad.)

That said, this is a great move by the NCRHA. I'm glad they were able to get Omni in on the event.

[GoRangrHky]

What hotels are between the two rinks, if any? That way it's only ~5 minutes either way.

[alawrence]

while making the schedule please take into consideration that some programs will have both their A and B teams invited and it will be pretty tough for a coach to be at both rinks at the same time.


I can tell you we will try our best however the schedules are usually finished before the bids are handed out so there are no guarantees.

[RustyPipes27]

I know it's a bit early to make predictions, but who do you think will be in the final four this year?

I say Lindenwood, Ohio State, Towson, and Central Florida.

[WCRHL]

While the schedule has not been done, nor has the divisional breakdown been announced, I can tell you this. All teams should be prepared to play at least 1 round robin game and 1 playoff game at the Omni. We will be using the Omni on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and Matteson's W/Th/Fri/Sat. We hope to get done by a reasonable hour on Saturday (4pm or sooner), realizing that the next day is Easter.

Reminder, bids go out the week of March 5-9. We will try and get them out as early in that week as possible.

Also please check out www.NCRHATravel.com for your travel needs for this event, for the remainder of this season, for next season, and for your personal travel needs. The NCRHA will not be having a "host hotel" for this event, but rather encourage you to book through our travel website, as it has a benefit to the NCRHA and consequently to all of our players.

Thanks, and we look forward to a great tournament!!

Brennan

[HockeyGod98]

Final Four
1. Artie Woods
2. Artie Woods
3. Artie Woods
4. a cloned Artie Woods.

[bakerg81]

I know it's a bit early to make predictions, but who do you think will be in the final four this year?

I say Lindenwood, Ohio State, Towson, and Central Florida.

Does Towson have Matt Vensel in net? Because if so, I heard they might actually be playing in the Frozen Four and the NCRHA Final Four. At the same time. With him playing goal in both nets simultaneously.

[HockeyGod98]

isnt matt vensel from butler county.

Artie Woods is from Butler County. Artie Woods is amazing.

[GoRangrHky]

any way it can end earlier on saturday? If you're done by 4 (and let's be serious, who actually thinks it's going to be done at 4 if you say 4??) Give an hour to get dressed and the cars loaded, a half hour (if traffic is nice) to the airport, and 90 min or so for security and stuff, means that we can't fly out until 7pm or later. Looking at NCRHAtravel.com, there are currently 3 flights that come back to any of the New York airports (and there's 3 of them) and the odds of being able to get 20+ seats on any one of these I'm going to have to imagine is slim, at best. And this is not just us, but Rutgers, Suffolk, Stony Brook, and Nassau (should all 5-6 teams make it, including B) that are going to be trying to get 20+ people on that same flight. So now we're looking at 100 seats between 3 flights that we have to wait until March 4 to book. I'm sure no one wants to wait until Sunday to fly back, obviously. An 11:00 or 11:30 finish expands it to 6-7 flights. All it involves (essentially, although i'm sure it's much more complicated) is adding a game or 2 per day to what you planned on having there, and you save the teams a LOT of problems.

[GoRangrHky]

Ok, small request, but can the info for the Omni Sportsplex be put online in the facilities section for the GP region?

[ISFN]

What do you want to know?

1 Rink
No Pro Shop
Slow/old rink
Small Bar
Nasty Showers
But it does have some raquet ball rooms...

Anything else?

[STLHockey]

What do you want to know?

1 Rink
No Pro Shop
Slow/old rink
Small Bar
Nasty Showers
But it does have some raquet ball rooms...

Anything else?

While I do agree with most of the things posted above, there are some pro's to this rink-

-a lot of room behind the net
-great lighting (It is always very bright in there)
-They are building a pro shop right now, not sure when it will be ready (Total Hockey is right up the street and in-between both rinks www.totalhockey.net)
-Sweet outdoor soccer field

[James Lambert]

Omni is a good rink. It's well-lit, and the bar is nice, with windows overlooking the rink. It's also cleaner than most.

And when there's a crowd, there's actually a bit of "atmosphere." The high school championships were there last year, and the place actually got LOUD. :cool:

[GoRangrHky]

Um, all I really wanted was just like a link to it on the site so I don't have to keep digging to get the address and stuff. But ok, sounds like we can handle playing there.