Talk about making a statement going into the playoffs.
 
BU -- to face Merrimack in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs -- didn't
just beat Merrimack. They drubbed them.
 
In Drury's (and others') final regular-season game at Walter Brown, and
likely second-to-last game on the BU campus, the Terriers scored nine
goals, and allowed only one.
 
If there is a team more ready than BU for its conference playoffs and for
the national tournament, just go ahead and give them the trophy. Neither
North Dakota nor Michigan State were able to carry a victory into the
playoffs, dropping their final regular-season games.
 
Heading into the playoffs, BU is now tied for the most wins (27) with North
Dakota and Michigan State, and has arguably the best record in the nation:
 
BU      27-5-2
MSU     27-5-5
NoDak   27-6-1
 
As long as BU enjoys success in the HEA playoffs (reaching the final), they
should have no problem snatching the #1 eastern seed. Will the pollsters
see it that way on Tuesday? Given they granted a big goose egg in
first-place votes to the Terriers last week, I'd say its doubtful.
 
However, as Adam Wodon pointed out, the polls pretty closely resemble the
PWR, and the following statistics show that it's not all a bunch of hooey.
 
Using a modified Parker Schedule (which means you only count games since
the Beanpot, so let's say the last 10 games), here's how the top 5 look:
 
BU      9-1-0
MSU     7-2-1
NoDak   8-2-0
Mich    7-3-0
UNH     5-5-0
 
 
So here's the big question for the peanut gallery... if the tournament
committee looks at the PWR "and nothing else" as some have said, then
playoff results have little to do with seeding and byes -- they only help
determine who gets the automatic bids. Given that...
 
What is the "worst" the top teams could finish and still receive a bye?
 
In the East, I'm guessing that BU could lose in the finals and still gain a
bye. UNH could lose in the finals and still get a bye -- but only if
neither Clarkson or Yale made the ECAC finals. So what happens if UNH beats
BU, and Yale beats Clarskson for their league championships? Going strictly
by the PWR, BU should get a bye -- and so should UNH, ahead of Clarkson by
1 slot in the PWR. But man, would this tick off the ECAC. Would the
committee let this happen?
 
In the West, it looks like Michigan has creeped right up to the top again.
North Dakota should be able to lose the WCHA final and still gain a bye,
but what about Michigan State? Losing the CCHA final to Michigan seems like
it would cost them the bye.
 
Now what about the rest of the seedings? As usual, the WCHA & CCHA occupy 9
of the top 15 slots (5 for the WCHA) with 6 left over for the East (4 from
HEA). If Northeastern makes it to the HEA finals -- they'll most likely
have to defeat BU in the process -- HEA should end up with 4 teams. When
was the last time that happened?
 
What about the ECAC squads -- what kind of upset would it take to eliminate
Clarkson from the tournament? Would a first-round loss be enough? Clarkson
currently sits in 6th in the PWR; would that loss knock them down that many
places?
 
 
Questions, questions, questions... I do love March!
 
 
 
 
greenie
S P O O N  ! !
(go BU)
 
Since BU dropped football, does that mean Silber fumbled?
Real grass at Nickerson for the *real* football! Yippee!
 
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