BobW wrote, in part..
>Just curious. Why does Maine present a problem?

   Since Edward wrote that on Hockey-L, he won't see your ME-Hockey
   reply ...  so I'll give it a shot...

Home-and-home with Maine is a problem because after a Friday night game
both teams must travel 240+ miles and get ready for their next game
(probably against each other).  It's do-able, but might lead to more
tired players .. and maybe a missed game-day skate.

I think it could be travel expense neutral (travel every weekend, not
every other weekend), but might lead to an occasional weather cancellation.

cheers, wayne

>Moller Edward N wrote:
>>What do you mean by "type of school" fit?  How does UVM fit better in HEA
>>than Merrimack does, and for that matter why would Merrimack fit better in
>>ECAC?  How much different a school is Merrimack than Providence?  To take it
>>several steps further, do you think Colorado College is not a good fit for
>>the WCHA, based on the "type of school" it is?
>>
>>What I see happening in the long term is that Hockey East will ultimately
>>become a 12-team conference, with UVM, UConn, and eventually Rhode Island
>>coming on board.  Then you'll have all six New England state universities in
>>the league.  URI has a new arena and has talked about upgrading their
>>program for a while, while UConn needs to upgrade its facility.  12 teams is
>>the max, with each team playing each other twice home and home (Maine
>>presents a problem).  A 9-team 24-game schedule thus becomes a 12-team
>>22-game schedule.  The freeing up of two games presents additional
>>non-conference opportunities.
>>
>>That's just my opinion.  I could be wrong.
...