Championship Game

[mom4hockey]

This is coming from a mom who has watched a lot of hockey. I was totally disgusted yesterday. That last game was truly painful to watch. I was there to support my son and watch some talented hockey players, instead I got to see the politics of the sport. That game should have been played for the kids - this was not the time to get any points across. I believe that was accomplished at Saturday night's game. I felt bad for the boys that were playing their last game, I felt bad for the boys who didn't get to play (because there was no playing going on), I felt bad for the fans who came to watch what was supposed to be the best of college hockey.
What happened yesterday was a travesty. It did nothing to promote the game of hockey. There were a couple of teenagers standing next to me watching the game - they had wandered over from the other rink. After about 5 minutes of nothing happening they walked off shaking their heads. I don't think they'll be back to watch college hockey. Then a young boy came up, watched for awhile and said how can you say you're winning a championship if you're not playing(OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES). Someone said Michigan fans asked for their money back. I know of at least one Lindenwood fan who asked for his money back also. People came to watch the kids play - some spent their hard earned money to fly in and stay in hotels. Coaches you owed it to your kids and to their fans and to the game of hockey to play the best game you were capable of. I didn't see it happen.
I was disappointed in the tournament as it was. It didn't seem like a national championship, it was more like a regional because we played the same teams we played all year. I felt it should have been more like last year - That was exciting for everyone. When your team wasn't playing you got to watch some other very exciting games. You felt like it was something special to be competing there. This was just going to be another league game. Well yesterday's game was the icing on the cake - I believe it put back college hockey a few years!!!

[MDE3]

Good post

[CollegeFan02]

Excellent post. Another great reason why CRHL should go back to the original way the league was setup.

[mackertm]

Yes, this year's NCT for Premier was a bit goofy with only six teams. But it's likely that next season there will be more divisions and more teams. This was a transition season, everyone knew that going into it. Changing back to the "old" way will only set CRHL back into problems it was seeking to get rid of with the Premier program.

Mike Mackert
Michigan State University

[CollegeFan02]

First of all, congrats on a great season.

The question is, who was seeking to get rid of the problems? CRHL.....or the MCRHL? From a spectators view, the premeir league almost made CRHL lose one of its regions by taking all the teams from it. I just dont see how its going to work.

If the premeir league had scheduled your team to have games twice in a year in California, twice a year in Texas, and twice a year in Florida, would your team have the time, money, and resources to make this work?? And then you also want to play in the ETS at Narch and the NCT when the season is over. Just a question I have been dying to hear an answer to.

Mack, congrats once again on a great season and a great career.

[mackertm]

It's true that the CRHL Premier program was driven by the needs of the MCRHL teams that are currently playing in it. MCRHL teams have long been a very organized group, which is one reason I believe it was the most successful region in the country for 1999-2002. During the time we put two teams into the 1999 Final Four, two teams into the 2000 Final Four (I'm pretty sure), we crapped out huge in 2001, and then put three teams into the Final Four in 2002. The MCRHL also claims a few DII titles in there.

That said, every team in the country had the opportunity to play Premier, and my understanding is that there was almost an eastern division of Premier. If there was an eastern division of Premier, I'm quite sure part of the schedule would include going out there to play those teams. The first few years I was on the team we would travel out east to play. I think that as Premier regions grow across the country there would be incrased oppotunities for cross-division play and the ability to subsidize travel - like not having to pay game fees when you travel. That's a policy the MCRHL always had for any visiting teams.

Mike Mackert
Michigan State University