At 11:22 PM -0500 9/2/96, Howard Stein wrote:
> This points out the real benefit of having a JV squad, in that younger
> players would have a place to play, and the team could afford to recruit
> extra players each year.  I don't know how many schools have JV squads,
> though (Cornell dropped theirs a few years ago).
 
There certainly aren't many schools left with JV teams, especially at the
DivI level.  Many people are surprised to find out that Merrimack still has
one, given that they probably spend less on hockey than many other schools.
One of the reasons I have heard for why they continue JV is that there is a
significant number of players who will pay their way to school even if it
is to play JV - at least, enough to make it still worth having a team.  It
provides opportunities for them to play, and the school attracts a few more
students.
 
At the same time, the JV team does play an important role in development at
Merrimack, as Howard suggests.  It has not been unusual for players to
start their careers on JV and wind up making a significant contribution to
the varsity by the time they graduate.  And players who are with the
varsity but just miss making the game roster still have an opportunity to
play in organized games.
 
In the late 1980s, I know that among the Eastern schools with JV were
Merrimack, Northeastern, BU, Brown, Harvard, and Lowell.  Merrimack and
Harvard may be the only schools from that list that still have it.
 
A related note, this summer I spent some time going through microfilm of
the local paper back to the 1950s to put together a complete listing of
season by season Merrimack results for the 1996-97 hockey media guide.  I
was surprised to find that several decades ago, the paper covered not only
the Merrimack JV but also the Merrimack freshmen, with scores and
occasional stories.  Today JV doesn't get even a mention.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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