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Post by jimflamesfan on Oct 25, 2004 20:48:34 GMT -5
When is LU going to build the ice hockey rink that they have been talking about for the last 5 years? Right now, there is almost no hockey at all in the area with the Roanoke Express going out of business.
Liberty is missing a golden oppertunity...I'd like to see some hockey games on the mountain!
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Post by Stevev on Oct 26, 2004 18:30:27 GMT -5
I thought that they originally wanted to convert the Shilling Center into a ice arena. The old Erickson plant has also been talked about as a possibility.
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Post by Sly Fox on Oct 26, 2004 18:30:47 GMT -5
Jim, I believe I have seen a rink listed among the proposed plans for the old GE complex. I was actually rather surprised to see it included. If the hockey team could get games on campus, I believe it would be wildly successful. It always amazed me how many students were willing to make the drive all the way to Salem to that old dump.
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Post by grimmy50 on Nov 11, 2004 10:58:56 GMT -5
I have to disagree with all of you on how popular hockey was. Yes, many Liberty students flocked to Salem or the Roanoke Civic Center, but that was an excuse to get off campus and stay out after curfew. If you put hockey on campus, it wouldnt draw. Plus, maintaining a hockey facility is very expensive.
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Post by Sly Fox on Nov 11, 2004 15:36:18 GMT -5
Granted, my experience was from many years ago. But if there was ice on campus, I sincerely believe the team would draw great numbers. You would not only have the on campus students making the drive, as you mentioned, to get off campus but also have townies become involved. And I have stated for year that if Liberty could ever get any big name opponents to come to the mountain, not only LU but possible Lynchburgers in general would turn out. But then again, I could be completely wrong.
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Post by jimflamesfan on Nov 11, 2004 19:30:08 GMT -5
I agree that hockey would be popular. I also agree that maintaining an ice rink is expensive, but it is well worth the cost.
We would already have "big" names comming to the mountain, because Pitt and Maryland are in our hockey conference and play us home and home as it is now.
A lot of "big" names play at the D-II club level that Liberty plays at because most schools do not support hockey. You can have an on-campus facility...I believe Indiana University of Pennsylvania does, and still be div II, and I think that they won D-II last year.
It would be easy to market hockey because there is currently No Express hockey in Roanoke anymore, and if they would have built it this year or next year, there is no NHL. Where else are the people going to go to watch hockey?
And if some of these people from in town came to see hockey, the would come to see other sports.
I sometimes went to Roanoke to see LU play when I was there, and I actually went to see the game...I'd say at least 1/4 of the crowd wanted to see the game. On campus, a 3,000 seat hockey rink would sell out - and rememeber, Hockey was one of the sports at LU where you actually have to pay for the ticket!
Besides, the money has already been donated for the rink, and the ice rink was one of the things "promised" to the community by LU when they were going through the Ericson rezoning.
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Post by LUconn on Nov 15, 2004 12:41:41 GMT -5
I'll be the first to admit that 75% of the students that go to the hockey games just do it to get off campus late at night. But if it were on campus I don't see it drawing any less of a crowd. The most important thing though is getting the Lynchburgers involved. Right now it's all students because who would want to travel to roanoke if you're not a student. And why would a roanoker care to go? It's good for all of the sports if we get the community involved with more sports programs.
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Post by guest on Nov 18, 2004 8:01:50 GMT -5
I'll be the first to admit that 75% of the students that go to the hockey games just do it to get off campus late at night. Is this STILL a big deal down there? Has anyone mentioned the fact that its 2004, not 1954?
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Post by LUconn on Nov 18, 2004 9:02:45 GMT -5
It's not big. It's only big for students who didn't know what Liberty is before attending, as stupid as that is. But if you're asking is this still a rule, yes it is. And we weren't around in 1954.
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Post by Sly Fox on Nov 23, 2004 15:35:42 GMT -5
For the record, I believe the sarcasm meter was off the charts on guest's 1954 crack. Frankly, I'm glad the school still maintains some standards.
As for hockey, I'd love to hear about the state of the club these days. I haven't heard much at all in years. I was ins chool when it started and it was a kick in the pamnts to go watch those guys rip on the likes of UNC, Duke, Georgetown, VT, Maryland and the like. That first season the average score was something like 15-1. And having a school loaded with Canucks, Minnesotans, Michiganders and Chowderheads has its advantages back in the day. Obviously, the sport has become a much more national sport. I know down here in Texas there is even a rather stout high school league in addition tot he junior and midget programs.
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 6, 2004 10:11:24 GMT -5
sooo- whats the deal on this hockey club? Rink or no rink, hows the season shaping up, etc...?
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Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 6, 2004 16:33:23 GMT -5
Right now it looks like LU hockey is 7-0-1. With wins over Pittsburgh, NC State, WVU, & Maryland (I think), VA Tech, and a tie at IUP. (Indiana University of Pennsylvania - my sister went there - very good hockey program).
Still waiting for the rink on campus!!
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 15, 2004 8:41:41 GMT -5
Cancel Mens B-ball and let the hockey club skate at the Vines Center!
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Post by LUconn on Dec 15, 2004 8:57:44 GMT -5
Get out of here. Hockey is a club. Bball rules this school because we're actually in the top league in the country (1a, not the Big South) I wouldn't waste money building that on campus, even thought they're gonna most likely. If we were to get in real hockey, it will always be ruled by BC, Michigan and the other hockey schools.
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 15, 2004 12:30:43 GMT -5
explain "real hockey" ?
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Post by LUconn on Dec 15, 2004 13:43:51 GMT -5
Not a club team.
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Post by Sly Fox on Dec 15, 2004 22:28:02 GMT -5
Division I hockey is a bit of a paradox. The vast majority of NCAA Division I hockey competitors are little schools in the Great Lakes & New England regions who don't compete in hardly any other sports. In a world of Title IX, hockey scholies just don't make sense. That's why club hockey has become so successful.
I don't think getting our butts whipped by Lake Superior State and the Rochester Institute of Technology would be any more entertaining to students and folks in Lynchburg than beating the tar out of club teams from ACC schools.
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Post by Innocent Bystander on Dec 16, 2004 8:09:24 GMT -5
Interesting point about the small schools. NCAA rules allow schools to play one sport at a higher level than their others, with the exception of football or basketball. As a result, there are many D-II schools playing D-I ice hockey, like the aforementioned Lake Superior State. This is so common, that D-II hockey has been discontinued.
As for Liberty and ice hockey, I would think that club hockey makes much more sense. As near as I can tell, the closest D-I hockey schools would be Ohio St., Miami (OH) and Mercyhurst (Erie, PA). I think the travel costs involved make D-I hockey problematic at best.
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 16, 2004 18:45:49 GMT -5
OK- kinda got it. This link to ACHA (collegiate hockey webpage) shows LU #1 in the SE region. www.achahockey.org/league.php?scriptName=LEAGUEINFO&leagueID=7879&leagueInfoID=4417Now, reading this, it appears that we are in the same league as nearly every other big name school- so , someone please explain how this is not "real"hockey. It appears there is a Nat'l tourney as well? Lastly, evidently the UHL is a "sub-division" of ACHA?
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 16, 2004 22:07:47 GMT -5
the more I follow this club, the more I wonder why they aren't bragged up like they should be. (though I haven't been on campus for 15 years! maybe they are?) For cryin' out loud, the DEBATE team gets more publicity!
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Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 18, 2004 10:05:08 GMT -5
I'm no expert on college hockey. I'm a hockey fan that played in high school and went to LU, and I had some friends that I played with in high school play for LU, but I'll give my best shot explaining "club" hockey and "real" hockey.
Most colleges have "club" hockey programs that aren't officially supported by the university (i.e. no scholarships). There is div. II and div III hockey, but to the best of my knowledge, this is all "club hockey".
When PAmedic says "real hockey", he's refering to Division I scholarship hockey. Boston, Michigan, Minnesota, etc. These schools go out and recruit scholarship players. His point is that if LU was to play DI scholarship hockey, they wouldn't be successful.
I'd have to disagree. I know the other comment was made sarcastically, but if LU invested as much money in ice hockey as it did basketball, they could have a very successful ice hockey program in a very short time. LU's club hockey team has already beaten some IA scholarship teams...I think they beat Life college about two years ago, which was a IA scholarship team. Also, they are clearly close to being on the level with some other IA teams as well, I could think of Lehigh, WVU, and some others - and this is with no $ support.
However, my point was, Liberty shouldn't go DI in hockey unless they are willing to support it. Most "big name" schools do not support hockey, so a lot of big schools play D-II club hockey anyway. It would be great to see LU playing on campus, and they can have NC State, Pitt, Maryland, and IUP all playing us home-and-home because their in our conference.
Another reason that D-I hockey doesn't benifit LU is most players looking to go pro in hockey (well, right now there is no NHL, but saying there will be next year), don't play D-I hockey anyway, they skip college and play junior hockey and then try to get on some minor league team and work their way up.
My end statement: D-II hockey is still real hockey...it's just non-scholarship hockey, and there's nothing wrong with that...it evens the playing field, and most of the schools that LU beats up on are much larger than us. At one time all collegiate sports were really club sports.
LU just seems to attract a lot of Canadians that are willing to pay to go to school, and that's to our advantage in D-II. It would be fun to see Liberty successful in a rink on campus in D-II hockey, it wouldn't be a waste of money because it would be a way to get the community involved in comming to see LU games.
And by the way, LU has beaten Michigan's club team. So one could make the argument that if LU went D-I and spent the money, they could be a major player there as well...I just don't see many benefits for doing so.
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Post by jimflamesfan on Dec 18, 2004 17:12:07 GMT -5
Um...I didn't realize there were 2 pages here, I guess you guys covered everthing I said above.
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Post by PAmedic on Dec 20, 2004 8:07:56 GMT -5
and I'm not the one who said they couldn't compete at D1A/scholarship/ "real"/what ever you call it/hockey - I am very much in support of those guys!
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Post by PAmedic on Jan 19, 2005 12:23:22 GMT -5
How is the season progressing for these guys? The ACHA website hasn't posted the last period rankings yet (thru Jan 31) but we are still listed #1 in our region. And the LU "admissions" page STILL claims there is an Ice Hockey arena in the works (under new facilities).
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Post by eddantes on Jan 20, 2005 11:35:04 GMT -5
Two random notes: Canadians like LU because Liberty makes them pay an equal sum for tuition in Canadian dollars (which is like getting an immediate 33 percent scholarship).
Yeah, a lot of our programs would be successful if we funded them like basketball. But the problem is MONEY, specifically, we don't have any. I'd imagine that basketball (men + women's combined) is our revenue for the sports programs, and thus should be funded (keep in mind that no D-IAA football team makes money).
If you want a hockey team, you should really consider scrapping a lot of our other sports. With every scholarship going to a male sport has to be made up elsewhere (which is why we have a women's tennis team).
I dunno, 17 Division I sports is too much.
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Post by V88 on Jan 20, 2005 18:23:00 GMT -5
The comment about LU not having money to support hockey is correct. I heard something about Navy going D-1 in hockey and as far as I know, they would be the closest school if LU went D-1. I think the travel expense would be too much for the atheltic program right now. I'm not against hockey, if the school could support the program that would be great. I just think they should focus on improving football, continue to build basketball and get serious about finding a conference that would help attract better recruits.
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Post by jimflamesfan on Jan 20, 2005 18:41:53 GMT -5
I don't want LU to go div I in hockey.
We've discussed that most of the big schools play club hockey anyway. I'd just like to see a rink on campus so that it would be easier to go to the games and possibly involve the community more (and it would be a lot easier for the players to practice). It seemed that a while back someone gave the school money to build the rink, but now it seems that they are deciding that they want some third party to run it...and it seems to not be discussed anymore.
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Post by PAmedic on Feb 10, 2005 23:43:01 GMT -5
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Post by PAmedic on Feb 17, 2005 10:04:45 GMT -5
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Post by Sly Fox on Feb 17, 2005 10:27:20 GMT -5
Actually, my read of the article indicates they are going to build the rink and they are counting on a new AD to pay the bills. Either way, it appears the good folks at Hobby Lobby have done more for our athletic program than any of our higher profile donors like Art Williams & the DeMoss Foundation.
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