Below is the fourth and final article from The Wolverine print magazine's 2014-15 hockey preview, detailing player and coaches' views of the first year of competition in the Big Ten Hockey Conference.
B1G Hockey Conference 2013-14
From the March, 2011, initial announcement of the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference right up to the start of actual play in the 2013-14 season, the anticipation of the new conference was matched by the questions about how it was really going to play out.
Certainly, the announcement of the new conference threw the college hockey world a twist that would play out in the formation of two new conferences (Big Ten, National Collegiate), serious change to one (WCHA) and the demise of another (CCHA).
With a year's history to draw on now, it should have been no surprise that the effects of the Big Ten Hockey Conference's inaugural campaign were a major topic of discussion at the 2014-15 preseason media day.
Responses in the media day analysis were overwhelming positive with several reasons cited as beneficial for the six conference members: Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Among the benefits were changes in scheduling, competition level, the freshness of a new beginning and the chance to compete against like schools.
With the freedom to schedule more non-conference games due to the smaller conference size, teams also had the added benefit of having the Big Ten schedule compacted into the last half of their dates of play.
Regarding the non-conference scheduling, Minnesota coach Don Lucia said, "I think the value is getting an opportunity to play teams from other conferences. That gives you a gauge of where you're at as a team and as a conference come the end of the year. I look at the (non-conference) teams we're playing. We've got St. Cloud State and UMD out the NCHC this upcoming season. We've got Northeastern and Boston College, Notre Dame, Merrimack and possibly Lowell out of Hockey East.
"I think that gives you a good gauge of where you're at heading into conference play and if not only we as a team can do well, but as a conference you can do well. It just drives your own indexes up for RPI come the end of the year. The better everybody does in the Big Ten, the better it is for the other members."
From a player's standpoint, the competition level felt considerably higher.
"Every game is competitive with all really good players and really good teams," Michigan captain Andrew Coop pointed out. " I love the change."
"The CCHA was a good league," continued Copp. "There were some really good teams. Going into the Big Ten meant being able to have that non-conference schedule with Boston College, Boston University, UMass - Lowell and New Hampshire last year. Going to Michigan Tech is going to be really cool this year. With the schedule flexibility, there are so many teams that you'd never be able to with the larger conference schedule of the CCHA.
"It's fun to see different rinks and different areas. In the Big Ten, you get up easily for every game. You're at Minnesota and Wisconsin. How can you not get up for those games? Michigan State and Ohio State are obviously big games for Michigan any year."
The overall feel of newness to the whole process was perceived as a benefit as well.
Lucia said, "Maybe for me because it was my 15th year at Minnesota, but it felt like I had a new job."
Rivalries were heightened and that meant increased fan interest due to familiar names on the visitor halves of scoreboards.
"I think, for our fans, they identified with the fact that Penn State was coming to town. Ohio State and Michigan State, too because of the recognition factor," Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said. "In Penn State, they quantify that with Big Ten basketball, football, whatever, and they come out. I thought it was great for our student on campus. Our attendance spiked up because of that fact."
The opportunity to play schools that were similar in brand and constitution was a benefit for Michigan coach Red Berenson.
"You know, the one thing I've always said, and this was years ago, is that I like to play like schools and I think our fans do, too," said Berenson. "I mean, they'd rather come to a game, and no offense to some of the nearby schools, but they'd much rather see us play a Big Ten school or an Ivy League school. Whether or not that's just the attitude of the fans or our university, but they love those games rather than play maybe some of the schools that we played in the past. The fans love it. They're the biggest benefactors and our players. They go into a Wisconsin and a Minnesota every year now.
"This is serious college hockey, as good as it gets, and it's where we'd like to be. I think that's the main benefit."
B1G Hockey Conference 2013-14
From the March, 2011, initial announcement of the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference right up to the start of actual play in the 2013-14 season, the anticipation of the new conference was matched by the questions about how it was really going to play out.
Certainly, the announcement of the new conference threw the college hockey world a twist that would play out in the formation of two new conferences (Big Ten, National Collegiate), serious change to one (WCHA) and the demise of another (CCHA).
With a year's history to draw on now, it should have been no surprise that the effects of the Big Ten Hockey Conference's inaugural campaign were a major topic of discussion at the 2014-15 preseason media day.
Responses in the media day analysis were overwhelming positive with several reasons cited as beneficial for the six conference members: Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Among the benefits were changes in scheduling, competition level, the freshness of a new beginning and the chance to compete against like schools.
With the freedom to schedule more non-conference games due to the smaller conference size, teams also had the added benefit of having the Big Ten schedule compacted into the last half of their dates of play.
Regarding the non-conference scheduling, Minnesota coach Don Lucia said, "I think the value is getting an opportunity to play teams from other conferences. That gives you a gauge of where you're at as a team and as a conference come the end of the year. I look at the (non-conference) teams we're playing. We've got St. Cloud State and UMD out the NCHC this upcoming season. We've got Northeastern and Boston College, Notre Dame, Merrimack and possibly Lowell out of Hockey East.
"I think that gives you a good gauge of where you're at heading into conference play and if not only we as a team can do well, but as a conference you can do well. It just drives your own indexes up for RPI come the end of the year. The better everybody does in the Big Ten, the better it is for the other members."
From a player's standpoint, the competition level felt considerably higher.
"Every game is competitive with all really good players and really good teams," Michigan captain Andrew Coop pointed out. " I love the change."
"The CCHA was a good league," continued Copp. "There were some really good teams. Going into the Big Ten meant being able to have that non-conference schedule with Boston College, Boston University, UMass - Lowell and New Hampshire last year. Going to Michigan Tech is going to be really cool this year. With the schedule flexibility, there are so many teams that you'd never be able to with the larger conference schedule of the CCHA.
"It's fun to see different rinks and different areas. In the Big Ten, you get up easily for every game. You're at Minnesota and Wisconsin. How can you not get up for those games? Michigan State and Ohio State are obviously big games for Michigan any year."
The overall feel of newness to the whole process was perceived as a benefit as well.
Lucia said, "Maybe for me because it was my 15th year at Minnesota, but it felt like I had a new job."
Rivalries were heightened and that meant increased fan interest due to familiar names on the visitor halves of scoreboards.
"I think, for our fans, they identified with the fact that Penn State was coming to town. Ohio State and Michigan State, too because of the recognition factor," Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said. "In Penn State, they quantify that with Big Ten basketball, football, whatever, and they come out. I thought it was great for our student on campus. Our attendance spiked up because of that fact."
The opportunity to play schools that were similar in brand and constitution was a benefit for Michigan coach Red Berenson.
"You know, the one thing I've always said, and this was years ago, is that I like to play like schools and I think our fans do, too," said Berenson. "I mean, they'd rather come to a game, and no offense to some of the nearby schools, but they'd much rather see us play a Big Ten school or an Ivy League school. Whether or not that's just the attitude of the fans or our university, but they love those games rather than play maybe some of the schools that we played in the past. The fans love it. They're the biggest benefactors and our players. They go into a Wisconsin and a Minnesota every year now.
"This is serious college hockey, as good as it gets, and it's where we'd like to be. I think that's the main benefit."
