Hi everyone -
Well, League Championship weekend is finally here (and in the case of
the ECAC and WCHA, it's a loooong weekend indeed :-) There's a lot at
stake both East and West, so here's one man's thoughts as we count-down
for the games to start ....
* Can MSU, NoDak, Clarkson, and UNH overcome the "Curse of the Regular
Season Champions" that struck down all four RS champions last year ??
None of last year's RS Champions (MSU, Clarkson, NoDak, BU) advanced
to the Phinal Phour; the Spartans, Golden Knights, and Fighting Sioux
have a shot at redemption this year, while UNH knows first hand just
what awaits a complacent HE champion ....
In the East:
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* Can Princeton stage another Fantastic Finish and ride their big come-
back win vs. Cornell in the ECAC 1/4-Finals right through the 4/5
play-in game to the ECAC Championship as they did last year ?? Each
new triumph extends their school record for victories in a season,
but besting Colgate, SLU (Heffler) and Clarkson on consecutive nights
may be too much to ask. Still, they wrote the book :-)
* Can Clarkson likewise ride their hot streak of late far enough to
wrest an NC$$ bye berth away from UNH/Maine ?? They're all but
assured an E3 slot in the NC$$ Tournament regardless of this weekend's
results (other than perhaps their losing in the ECAC semi-finals, and
BC winning the HE Tournament) but if they can sweep this weekend
they'll displace one of either Maine/UNH right out of one of the two
coveted Eastern bye berths ....
* Can UNH muster the *one* win they need this weekend to lock up an
Eastern bye berth ?? As C. Craig and others have already mentioned,
UNH and Maine will earn the two Eastern bye berths should Clarkson
*NOT* win the ECAC Tournament Championship, but Maine must beat *PC*
in the HE final to displace UNH from a bye should Clarkson triumph in
Lake Placid. It's almost like a baseball pennant race; there'll be
lots of scoreboard watching in Boston and N. New York this weekend :-)
* Can BC earn themselves some late-season respect after a string of in-
consistent performances all year ?? Tough when they had to be, yet
woefully unfocused against a host of sub-0.500 teams they should have
beaten handily; which Eagle squad will show up this weekend ?? BC
(well, B. Gionta :-) took it to Maine once at Conte Forum, but it was
all Maine in their other two match-ups; will Darth Walsh devise yet
another way to frustrate the Eagle attack ?? Both teams are assured
of NC$$ bids, but both teams likewise need to make a statement before
the NC$$s begin next weekend - who'll rise to the challenge ??
* Paul Pooley has done it with PC before, and Wildcat fans have every
right to be nervous facing the Friars in the other HE semi-final.
Not many teams can brag about beating BU *five* times in one season,
but this PC team did it, and are a hungry/dangerous bunch heading into
Boston this weekend. Just like Minnesota, SCSU, Colgate, and RPI,
PC's NC$$ hopes depend on a sweep this weekend, as the Friars are the
lowest-ranked, still-active TUC. Don't doubt for a second that Pooley
won't hesitate to call on his seniors to remind his doubting under-
classmen what it takes to win a HE Tournament as the decided underdog.
And who was the last to do that ?? The 1996 PC Friars of course ....
In the West:
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* Can Minnesota or SCSU duplicate Princeton's feat last year and advance
to the NC$$ Tournament from the WCHA 4-5 play-in game ?? Neither one
will make it otherwise with sub-0.500 records, but the prize awaits
should either the Huskies or Gophers manage to ride their fine perfor-
mances in the WCHA 1/4-final round (sweeping the Badgers in Madison,
and outscoring UAA 5-0 in a 2-game sweep, respectively) for another
weekend ....
* Can defending NC$$ Champion Michigan rouse themselves from their late-
season funk and play their way into a berth in the Western Regional ??
A loss to OSU in the CCHA semi-final likely means their fate is out of
their hands; *IF* they bubble to the top they're all but assured a trip
to Worcester. But a trip to the CCHA championship game increases the
odds they'll stay in the West Regional, which may may/may not be such
a good thing. CC's Don Lucia has said in the past he almost *prefers*
shlepping out East for the NC$$ preliminary round; certainly his Tigers'
performance these past few seasons as E5 or E6 backs up that claim.
Western partisans have taken to derisively touting the Eastern Regional
as the "surest path to the Phinal Phour for our teams," but should UNH
and Maine join MSU and NoDak as bye teams this year, I'm not so sure.
* Can Denver play themselves into a Western Regional berth ?? A victory
over CC all but assures 3 WCHA teams in the Western Regional, just as
three HE teams look locked into Worcester as well. Much could change
depending on Tournament outcomes this weekend, but at this point it
looks like the 2nd-tier CCHA and ECAC representatives (i.e., whomever
makes the NC$$ Tournament other than Clarkson and MSU) will be travelling
the farthest next weekend ....
* With Michigan, Northern Michigan, and OSU all bubble teams right now, the
fight for the remaining CCHA guaranteed bid and any further CCHA at-large
bid(s) will be intense; both CCHA semi-finals have HUGE implications not
only for NC$$ seeding but the very make-up of the field. Both semi-final
losers may wind up on the outside looking in, so victory in these games
is very much a do or die situation for everyone save MSU. Every one of
the CCHA semi-finalists other than the Spartans seems to have under-
achieved so far this season; will this be the weekend when the Buckeyes
(or Wolverines or Wildcats) finally puts it all together ?? Stay tuned.
I *love* this time of year - nirvana for college hockey fans across the
nation. Good luck to *your* favorite team this weekend - let the games
begin !!
Cheers from Maryland - Jim
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