At first, it seems like a travesty that WCHA first-place Colorado
College did not get an NCAA bid. But let's look at it a little closer.
Recall the WCHA league standings:
Team Record Pts Win% in Lg
1. Colorado College 18-9-5 41 .641
2. Minnesota 18-10-4 40 .625
3. Wisconsin 19-12-1 39 .609
Look at how close the race was! I mean, if CC loses that OT game at
Denver in the final weekend, instead of winning it, they finish 3rd.
But they won, so they got to take home the trophy "second only to the
Stanley Cup" as I've heard it called. Congrats to CC.
But admit it, their league record is not that good for a first-place
team. Michigan compiled a 24-5-1 record in the league (.817), Harvard
16-2-4 (.864) and BU 19-4-1 (.813). Those three first-place teams were
basically locks in the NCAA--not because they won their league--because
they compiled a good record doing it.
CC's record in the league is worse than the CCHA's #2 LSSU (.667) and
#3 MSU (.650) and barely ahead of #4 WMU (.633). The other league's 2nd
and 3rd place teams stack up similarly.
And the two CCHA teams that beat out CC, WMU & MSU, just barely
finished out of 2nd place.
But if you simplify it and say WCHA #1 CC should be in ahead of #4
WMU or #4 Northeastern, then you are being too simplistic.
The committee looked at many other things: strength of schedule,
non-conference games, last 20, etc. When you look at the big picture,
then CC was out.
For those who think CC should be in over Wisconsin, consider the two
teams performance against other league teams at the end of the year.
CC, 18-9-5 + 1-2 = 19-11-5, .614; UW, 19-12-1 + 3-1 = 22-13-1, .625.
UW has the better record. Again, CC had a "1 game lead" going into the
play-offs. They lost it when they did not advance past the first
round. And this is a far cry from Michigan, who had a 5-game lead.
I think CC being left out is a shame, but not a travesty. But the
argument that since Colorado finished 1 point ahead of Minnesota, then
they should get an NCAA bid, does not wash with me. If you want to
argue that Colorado had a better record than Northeastern (4 more wins
and 1 fewer loss), then I will listen. If you want to argue that CC had
a tougher schedule than WMU (almost identical records), then I will
listen. If you want to argue that CC had a better record against teams
under consideration than MSU, I will listen.
But don't whine about a few points in the WCHA standings.
Keith
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