Keith writes:
>>>         As a result of the UM game being moved up to what was
>>> originally an off weekend, the Falcons' on-ice practice sessions now
>>> will commence Monday, Oct. 9 instead of Monday, Oct. 2.
>>
>>Keith -
>>
>>       Am I confused?  A change in schedule for December moves the on-ice
>>practice date back a week and leaves only four ice sessions prior to the start
>>of the season?
>>
>>       1)  Why does December affect a change in October?
>>       2)  Why would anyone cut out a week of pre-season ice time?
>>
>>This just doesn't make sense to me.  Any insight?
>
>1)
>If you take an ENTIRE WEEK off during the regular season (no games,
>not even practices), then you can start practicing a week earlier.
>NCAA rule.
 
Some additional info that I hope will help clarify it for people...
 
The main rule that applied as of last year (I don't believe it has
changed this year and I do not have the manual here; this is from the
file in the archives I have been slowly working on) was:
 
+17.10.1 LENGTH OF PLAYING SEASON.  The length of an institution's
+playing season (traditional and nontraditional segments combined) in
+ice hockey shall be limited to the following:
+a) Divisions I and II - A maximum of 22 weeks. (Revised: 1/10/91 effective
+8/1/91)
 
From memory, the week is considered to be Sunday through Saturday
(could be Mon->Sun, but again, I do not have the manual here).  If
you play or practice even once during any such period, you have to
count it as a week.  BG was going to be off, I believe, from the
period of Nov 26->Dec 2, but they rescheduled the Michigan game to
Dec 2.  That means they had to take a different week off during the
season, and they probably could only take it at the start.  Thus they
begin practice a week later than they had originally planned.
 
It is interesting how different coaches decide to plan the weeks off.
Taking time at the start rather than the middle can mean a slow start.
But extra practice time at the beginning and a longer break in the
middle can mean a better start but a second half struggle.
 
It is also interesting to see how it affects certain teams.  Last
year, Maine's week off seemed to come at just the right time,
following the RPI Invitational, as All-HE goalie Blair Allison looked
absolutely tired at that tournament after a busy first semester that
saw Maine play 23 games by the end of the calendar year.  (Three in
Alaska, 2 in LA.  Between Oct 20 and Dec 30, no more than 6 days ever
went by between two consecutive Maine games, and that only happened 5
times - and Allison played every game.)  Still, Maine finished the
semester with just one loss, 17-1-5.
 
It seems to me that Walsh's strategy is to risk his team being tired
rather than out of tune.  I suspect he believes that not playing
enough hurts a team more than playing too much.  From what I have seen
in other cases, I think I would say this too.
 
Last season, Merrimack took time at the start of the season and chose
to begin practice after most other teams.  Like BG will do this year,
MC opened up with two games vs Canadian teams (both at Dalhousie).
And they had a slow first semester, starting off 1-8-2 before
rebounding to go 13-10-3 the rest of the way (13-6-3 in their next 22
before dropping their last 4, 3 nail-biters to BU).  And none of those
first 11 games were with Maine & BU.  MC's strong finish included 7
games against the two NCAA finalists with their 1-5-1 record being an
accomplishment, seeing how Maine & BU were a combined 63-12-9 last
season.
 
In 1993-94, Merrimack had instead taken a week around the holidays,
prior to a trip to DivII Alabama-Huntsville which saw them drop the
first game 7-5, a disappointing loss.  After the UAH trip, MC returned
home to go 1-6-1 in its next 8.  They had begun the year 4-0,
including a win at then-top 10 RPI.
 
So whether they took the time off at the beginning of the season or in
the middle, they suffered.  It was no surprise that Ron Anderson chose
to take the week at the start of last season, knowing what had
happened the year before.  But whether it was just a coincidence or
not, last season the period after the break was also a slow one for
the team.
 
I'm sure this also explains why some teams choose to play Canadian
schools even if they have a chance to play another US school.  Might
as well get your feet wet playing a game that won't affect you in the
conference standings or in NCAA selection.  But it might take longer
than a game or two to get your feet wet.  We'll have to see what
happens with Buddy's boys this October.
 
In the end, you have to take the time off sometime.  The challenge is
how to have your team prepared to play, every night, whether they have
been off or not.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93
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