About Niagara (and College Hockey America)
Coming from a small conference, the Niagara University hockey team believes it builds its reputation on its nonconference schedule.
So far this season the Purple Eagles of the College Hockey America conference have faced two nationally ranked teams in No. 14 Clarkson and No. 5 Michigan, and travel to Orono to face the University of Maine in a two-game series that begins Friday at Alfond Arena.
"It helps us in our recruiting," Niagara Coach Dave Burkholder said. "We promise 20 league games in the CHA and we have the luxury of at least 14 non-conference games."
But the flip side is that so many nonconference opponents are a necessity for Niagara and its College Hockey America counterparts (Bemidji (Minn.) State, Robert Morris (Pa.) and Alabama-Huntsville), as the nine-year-old conference has shrunk over the past two years.
Two years ago, Air Force left the conference to join Atlantic Hockey and the NCAA granted the conference a waiver to allow the conference to have an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
But after Wayne State dropped its hockey program after last season, there is still uncertainty surrounding the CHA, according to the College Hockey News Web site.
The conference, which has often been on the brink of extinction -- and never moreso than following the folding of Wayne State's program after last season -- has received approval from the NCAA Championships and Competition Cabinet for an automatic bid to this year's NCAA tournament.
Typically, a conference must have six member schools in order to qualify for an automatic bid, according to NCAA by-laws. A rule was passed recently that allowed the CHA to qualify with only five -- but the departure of Wayne State dropped the CHA's membership to four.
Nonetheless, a waiver has been granted to the league, and will be reviewed on a year-to-year basis.
"It's a big concern to college hockey coaches," Maine Coach Tim Whitehead said. "The reason we were able to get a 16-team NCAA tournament was because of the emergence of CHA and Atlantic Hockey. We don't want to lose those teams, and I don't think we will. But more importantly, you don't want to lose any programs because they represent opportunities for coaches and for players. It's already a relatively small sport, in terms of number of teams competing. Any time you lose a team like Wayne State, it's not a good thing."
Still, Whitehead looks at the overall growth of the sport, including player participation and geographic growth as a boon for college hockey.
"We're not panicked about the loss of some teams because we can see a future for other teams," he said.
Posted at 02:33 PM
E-mail this entry to a friend
Subscribe