On Nov 2, 21:46, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>Some new food for thought and new grist for discussion. Having watched the
>rapid rise of the MAAC teams from mid-level D3 programs I am convinced
that
>the future of the conference is excellent. I see a day in the not too
>distant future when the MAAC and ECAC will be in parity.
Yes, well, there are plenty of ECAC denigrators out there who will argue
that parity with The Academic League is not much of an achievement (1/2
smirk). But all seriousness aside, while several of the MAAC teams have
made substantial improvements from their D3 days, and the addition of a
long-standing D1 team like Army may rank as something of a coup for the
league, the MAAC still has quite a ways to go to shed its "weak sister"
status. Since the league's formation in 1998, no active MAAC member has
defeated a team from the four "established" conferences (ECAC, Hockey East,
CCHA, or WCHA), and even when you throw in the MAAC's record against the
CHA and independents, it still doesn't look all that great:
2000-2001 1999-2000 1998-1999
W-L-T GF GA W-L-T GF GA W-L-T GF GA
ECAC 0-5 5 22 0-5 8 26 -----
Hockey East 0-3 5 16 0-5 14 38 -----
CCHA ----- 0-1 2 5 -----
WCHA ----- ----- -----
CHA 3-5 19 31 9-18-4 74 120 -----
Indep ----- ----- 3-12-2 37 81
TOTALS 3-13 29 69 9-29-4 98 189 3-12-2 37 81
Overall: 15-54-6 (0.240), 164 GF, 339 GA
In all fairness, it should be noted that only 16 of the above games were at
the home rink of the MAAC team. The MAAC record in those games was 5-11.
Which is not to say the MAAC doesn't have a chance against the rest of D1
hockey. Canisius opened some eyes last February when they posted a 2-1 win
over NCAA-bound Niagara in a game that might serve as a blueprint for other
MAAC hopefuls: the Griffs held Niagara to an 0 of 6 performance on the
power play, had a lucky bounce (their second goal trickled in off a
defender's skate while the Purple Eagles' netminder was out of position),
and got an insanely great performance from their goaltender Sean Weaver,
who stopped 58 shots. The MAAC may have a few surprises in store for the
other conferences this year (Clarkson needed a late goal to get past
Mercyhurst a couple weeks ago), but IMHO true "on any given night" parity
with the Big Four is probably several years away.
>The MAAC's plus of real
>scholarships (non-need) ; a full slate of games and NCAA berth all bode
>well.
On that note, maybe the MAAC could hasten the journey to full-fledged
we-can-skate-with-anybody D1 status if they upped their scholarships to the
NCAA limit of 18. Currently, MAAC teams are restricted to 11. And the
NCAA berth will be perceived as a slot taken away from a more deserving
team until the MAAC "earns" it by beating a tourney opponent. The autobid
for independent teams wasn't looked on too kindly at first, but then
Merrimack dumped Northeastern and almost shocked eventual champ Lake
Superior in 1988, and barely-above-.500 Alaska-Anchorage beat BC two
straight in the first round a few years later.
>Given the Ivys recent decision to have spring football- I wonder if the
>ECAC will go to the full NCAA schedule and whether the ECAC feels any
>pressure from the MAAC.
Full NCAA schedule for the ECAC -- not without something like expansion to
force the issue. It took what, ten years for the league to nudge the
(non-Ivy) limit from 30 to 32. And expansion certainly doesn't look like
it's going to happen for a while, if ever.
>Probably the biggest
>hurdle for the MAAC is abysmal rinks in the conference only one team has a
>real 1st class on campus facility.
Good point. Even with scholarships, several of the MAAC teams are likely
to have a lot of trouble attracting talented players with the dismal (by D1
standards) rinks they play in. It'll be interesting to see if some of
these schools demonstrate a "commitment" to D1 hockey by upgrading their
facilities.
I'll be interested to see where Army finishes in the league this year; it
might say a lot about the strength of the MAAC versus the established
conferences. Army's last go-around with a D1 conference was with the ECAC
in 1981-91 (an affiliate for the first five seasons), and the Cadets never
finished higher than tenth and never went to the playoffs. I suspect if
Army re-joined the ECAC, the results would be similar, although Army was
always able to give most ECAC teams a tough game (especially Cornell,
ARGH!) In the pre-season poll, the MAAC coaches picked Army fourth, barely
ahead of Connecticut, Sacred Heart, and Canisius. I might put them
slightly lower, but that's probably about right.
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
strictly those of:
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95 DJF 5/27/94
LET'S GO RED!! JCF 12/2/97
"Frog's legs? I can never order them. I keep wondering, what do they do
with the rest of the frog?... Oh, they're doing something with them. You
never see it on the menu, 'Frog Torso.'"
-- George Carlin
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