The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-13-2017 11:10 AM)Bronc33 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 11:02 AM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:42 AM)Bronc33 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:30 AM)brovol Wrote:  I suspect that KB is looking more at the personality and philosophies of the candidates than she is at the résumé. I think with fleck, and with blashill she liked what they said and how they said it, more than anything. Those were her two best hires. Brian Murray was the resume, but his resume was so overwhelming she couldn't say no.

I think Andy Murray was her best hire. Blash had a harder job to do (turn around a bottom feeeder) but it's equally hard to build off of previous momentum sometimes. Murray won the CCHA in his first year and is building a very solid team in the hardest conference in the country. If she would have whiffed on that hire, we wouldn't have been invited to the NCHC, and would have ended up in the WCHA, or worse (maybe would have looked at getting rid of the program).

That's why this hire is so important. We have to do what we can to hire a coach that will keep us nationally relevant and build off of what we did this year. We can't blow it up and start over.

Murray is a good hire. We're all frustrated and puzzled as to why his Hockey smarts-which are impressive-haven't turned into wins on the ice faster. But let's face it, we're in the TOUGHEST Hockey conference in the nation. We have some stiff competition in UND, SCSU and MinnDul. Those programs are solid, seasoned and deep. This season we seem to have finally found our stride, let's see what happens.

but his hockey smarts did turn into wins fast. He won the CCHA his first year, and his first 3 years he had 19 wins or more. That had only happened once in the history of WMU hockey, in the mid 80s.

Granted this is small sample size, but...in Murray's first year, here's how we competed against teams in their current leagues:

WCHA: 14-3-3
B1G: 3-4
NCHC: 2-6
Hockey East: 2-1-1
ECAC: 0-0-2

Bottom line. We beat up on teams that had lesser talent than us. We needed 3-4 years of solid recruiting to reach the level where we had adequate skill and talent to compete on a nightly basis against our peers in the NCHC.

Yes the CCHA was an elite conference. But it was also very top heavy. The old WCHA (comprised of many of our NCHC opponents) was top to bottom the best league most years. It was on a different level than the CCHA in terms of facilities, fan bases, recruiting, coaching and skill.

For a football comparison, Utah went 21-3 in their last 3 years in the Mtn West. Their first 3 years in the PAC 12? 9-18. Since then, they're 16-11.

(01-13-2017 11:29 AM)broncos24 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 11:10 AM)Bronc33 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 11:02 AM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:42 AM)Bronc33 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:30 AM)brovol Wrote:  I suspect that KB is looking more at the personality and philosophies of the candidates than she is at the résumé. I think with fleck, and with blashill she liked what they said and how they said it, more than anything. Those were her two best hires. Brian Murray was the resume, but his resume was so overwhelming she couldn't say no.

I think Andy Murray was her best hire. Blash had a harder job to do (turn around a bottom feeeder) but it's equally hard to build off of previous momentum sometimes. Murray won the CCHA in his first year and is building a very solid team in the hardest conference in the country. If she would have whiffed on that hire, we wouldn't have been invited to the NCHC, and would have ended up in the WCHA, or worse (maybe would have looked at getting rid of the program).

That's why this hire is so important. We have to do what we can to hire a coach that will keep us nationally relevant and build off of what we did this year. We can't blow it up and start over.

Murray is a good hire. We're all frustrated and puzzled as to why his Hockey smarts-which are impressive-haven't turned into wins on the ice faster. But let's face it, we're in the TOUGHEST Hockey conference in the nation. We have some stiff competition in UND, SCSU and MinnDul. Those programs are solid, seasoned and deep. This season we seem to have finally found our stride, let's see what happens.

but his hockey smarts did turn into wins fast. He won the CCHA his first year, and his first 3 years he had 19 wins or more. That had only happened once in the history of WMU hockey, in the mid 80s.

Granted this is small sample size, but...in Murray's first year, here's how we competed against teams in their current leagues:

WCHA: 14-3-3
B1G: 3-4
NCHC: 2-6
Hockey East: 2-1-1
ECAC: 0-0-2

Bottom line. We beat up on teams that had lesser talent than us. We needed 3-4 years of solid recruiting to reach the level where we had adequate skill and talent to compete on a nightly basis against our peers in the NCHC.

Yes the CCHA was an elite conference. But it was also very top heavy. The old WCHA (comprised of many of our NCHC opponents) was top to bottom the best league most years. It was on a different level than the CCHA in terms of facilities, fan bases, recruiting, coaching and skill.

For a football comparison, Utah went 21-3 in their last 3 years in the Mtn West. Their first 3 years in the PAC 12? 9-18. Since then, they're 16-11.

Yes, I completely agree. Now we have the talent thanks to Murray and staff's recruiting, we are competing in the NCHC as well. He was saying Murray's hockey smarts didn't translate into wins right away, I was disagreeing. He only started losing when we got into the NCHC and were facing superior talent. With our current roster so young, it looks like we'll keep getting better from here on out.

(01-13-2017 11:02 AM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:42 AM)Bronc33 Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 09:30 AM)brovol Wrote:  I suspect that KB is looking more at the personality and philosophies of the candidates than she is at the résumé. I think with fleck, and with blashill she liked what they said and how they said it, more than anything. Those were her two best hires. Brian Murray was the resume, but his resume was so overwhelming she couldn't say no.

I think Andy Murray was her best hire. Blash had a harder job to do (turn around a bottom feeeder) but it's equally hard to build off of previous momentum sometimes. Murray won the CCHA in his first year and is building a very solid team in the hardest conference in the country. If she would have whiffed on that hire, we wouldn't have been invited to the NCHC, and would have ended up in the WCHA, or worse (maybe would have looked at getting rid of the program).

That's why this hire is so important. We have to do what we can to hire a coach that will keep us nationally relevant and build off of what we did this year. We can't blow it up and start over.

Murray is a good hire. We're all frustrated and puzzled as to why his Hockey smarts-which are impressive-haven't turned into wins on the ice faster. But let's face it, we're in the TOUGHEST Hockey conference in the nation. We have some stiff competition in UND, SCSU and MinnDul. Those programs are solid, seasoned and deep. This season we seem to have finally found our stride, let's see what happens.

I agree.

I am learning not to be critical of WMU in the NCHC if I don't want the WMU hockey Mafia sending Guido to bust my thumbs, so I will just say it is nice that we have enough hockey enthusiasm to turn this football thread into a hockey thread. After the last few years I was worried it may be lost.

(01-13-2017 04:51 PM)brovol Wrote:  I am learning not to be critical of WMU in the NCHC if I don't want the WMU hockey Mafia sending Guido to bust my thumbs, so I will just say it is nice that we have enough hockey enthusiasm to turn this football thread into a hockey thread. After the last few years I was worried it may be lost.

Ha Sonny the goalie might mess you up big time!

I don't know who TPaul is, but I think he makes a lot of stuff up and puts it out there because it creates the attention he wants. Just because someone tweets something doesn't make it true.

Quote:Just because someone tweets something doesn't make it true.

Yes it does.

(01-13-2017 05:06 PM)texasbronco1 Wrote:  I don't know who TPaul is, but I think he makes a lot of stuff up and puts it out there because it creates the attention he wants. Just because someone tweets something doesn't make it true.

Tony Paul his stuff is run in the Detroit New seems to have good sources. if I'm not mistaken I think he is on their staff

(01-13-2017 05:54 PM)goldsworth Wrote:  Tony Paul from the Detroit New seems to have good sources.

I don't know who Tony Paul is either and why Detroit NEWS is all of a sudden so interested in us -

but, his last article said he has a "solid source."

Most reputable news reporters don't print something until they have a second source, i.e. "confirmed."

(01-13-2017 05:59 PM)MajorHoople Wrote:  

(01-13-2017 05:54 PM)goldsworth Wrote:  Tony Paul from the Detroit New seems to have good sources.

I don't know who Tony Paul is either and why Detroit NEWS is all of a sudden so interested in us -

but, his last article said he has a "solid source."

Most reputable news reporters don't print something until they have a second source, i.e. "confirmed."

Come on Major everyone has been interested in us when the Fleck show was in town
WMU has gotten more coverage than they ever have in, the Detroit newspapers.
As I have mentioned before WMU was a novelty because of our former head coach and we were a story.

Tony Paul is a great reported who does great stuff on anything he is assigned to. Does a great job with the Tigers.