Charles Wilrycx writes:
 
>So humor me and tell how those Bears of mine are not on skid row,
>and that instead Bruno is still in that pre-season
>touchy feely stage.
 
Too soon to tell where the Bears fortunes lie this season - I thought
that Brown overacheived a little bit last year, so it would make
sense that this year might also be tough. Until last season, a second
line of underclass forwards always seemed to come on and add depth;
when Ross-Chauvette-Hanley were the big guns, it was Jones-Kaban-Fabbro.
The following year, it was Mulhern-Trach-Jardine. Now Brown has gone
a season-and-a-half without someone stepping up to add a second
scoring threat. Maybe Adrian Smith, Marty Clapton and another youngster
can get it going yet, but it could be too late. There is still enough
talent on defense and for a good first power play unit to get the Bears
into 5th place (or higher - you never know in the ECAC), but postseason
success will be tough unless some forwards get it going.
 
>PLEASE explain to me why Dartmouth Yale and Princeton
>continually sputter from season to season.
 
I think that Harvard & Cornell have inherent advantages over their
Ivy rivals; both have long winning traditions, for one thing, plus
proximity to deep pools of talent (Boston & Ontario, respectively).
The Big Red suffered a bit under McCutcheon, but should (and are)
rapidly move back up under Schaefer. Harvard has the Beanpot and
Cornell has a range of academic options that is overwhelming (in
a good way). The long winning traditions bring alumni and fan
support, and that, in turn, puts pressure on the administrations
at the respective schools to give the hockey programs some help.
 
Dartmouth, Yale & Brown (in that order) have had their moments under
the hockey sun -- building a consistent winner has eluded them all,
although Brown may get there yet. The Brian Morris years in Hanover
were a nightmare, as I understand, and the coaching shuffle that
preceded Demment's arrival hasn't helped the Big Green climb out
of the hole. Tim Taylor has gotten a lot out of a little with the
Eli over the years, but I don't think they were ever on the verge
of becoming a real rival to Harvard or Cornell except for the Randy
Wood-Bob Kudelski-Bob Logan years (84-87).
 
Princeton has almost always lagged behind. The easy excuse was
geography - no local talent pool, not the first choice for homesick
New Englanders & Canadians. On the flip side, the Tigers have also
had a string of bad coaches dating back to the mid 60s. Don Cahoon
started moving the program forward, but the jury is still out.
 
The bottom line, IMO, is that the pool of bright, talented hockey
players has not grown since Canadians started coming to the Ivys
in the early 60s. Meanwhile, the cost of education has risen at a
rate far ahead of inflation. Thus, the value of a scholarship to
another school has risen. The number of Division I programs has
also increased in recent years, as has the number of pro options to
entice a junior aged hockey player -- further reducing the talent
pool. On the other hand, I think the talent may be more evenly
distributed among the six schools than at any time in the last
10-15 years, helping the intra-Ivy competition to be better and
allowing all of the teams to challenge the middle of the ECAC pack.
The North American perception of the ECAC being the weakest
conference has certainly affected the non-Ivy schools and helped
keep the Ivys nearer their peers.
 
Sadly, the glory days of Ivy athletics in the revenue-producing
sports are long past. The hockey and basketball league & playoff
formats give the Ivys a chance to gain some national recognition,
thankfully, unlike football. It is fortunate that long-time non-league
rivals in both basketball & hockey have continued to schedule games
against Ivy competition and also helped exposure. It may be hard
for an Ivy fan to settle for continued mediocrity with occasional
moments of grandeur, but many people still enjoy the watching the
game in any event. It is kind of like puppy love - it may only mean
something to the puppies, but it's still fun. The Ivy crowd can
still get its thrill of victory through the non-revenue producing
sports like squash, lacrosse, crew, etc.
 
One possible avenue for hope is the aggressive sports marketing
undertaken by Penn. If the other schools ever decide to follow
suit (alone or as a group), then it would make sense to do more
for the hockey programs in the way of funding or administrative
support.
 
Geoff Howell
Drop the Puck Magazine
 
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