Does John or anyone out there know how the CCHA plans to handle the playoffs
after next season?  We can't force UAF to play the play-in game every year but,
OTOH, I wouldn't want to have them finish 10th sometime and force a team to fly
up there to play one midweek game and then have to return for a weekend series
back in the 48.  I suggest that they drop either the last 1 or 3 teams from the
playoffs.  I would prefer only having 8 teams in the tourney as it would avoid
a Final Five situation, which I feel unfairly hampers the 4 seed.  No matter
how many are dropped, however, it would allow them to avoid the problems that
plagued HE last season with the Maine forfeit situation.  If HE had dropped
their last team then Maine wouldn't have been eliglible for the playoffs.
    Congratulations to Denver on picking up Gwoz.  Miami's gonna miss him quite
a bit.  Quality coaches (trained by Ron Mason, no less) that can build programs
are certainly in short supply.
    I'm glad to see the one-ref system return in the league.  I supported the
two-ref system when it first came out thinking that it would reduce the number
of missed penalties.  However, after seeing it in action I have to admit that
it creates a bigger problem, lack of consistency.  Both refs seem to have their
own ideas about how a game should be called and the players never know what
will and will not be called.  This may not be a problem out east where they
don't generally play as physical a game, but in the west it is extremely
important.  Referees have great control over how a game is played, based on
what they call penalties, and having two of them muddles the issue.  This is
the most likely reason that the CCHA decided to ditch it.  Hopefully, the NC$$
will follow suit shortly.
    As for the CCHA not picking up the shoot-out, I'm not surprised.  Since HE
is going to experiment with it there is no reason for any other league to do
likewise.  If it is a resounding success the other leagues will pick it up, if
it goes down in flames they won't.  No reason to test something if someone else
is willing to do it for you.
    I hope Lacher does well in Boston.  LSSU will surely miss him but the rest
of the league won't.  This definitely improves the Spartans chances of a title
next season.  As for who managed to break the news to Hockey-L, I think that we
have to give that to Eric Robinson, who announced last week that he had signed
with an agent.
                                           --Steve Moerland
                                             MSU '92, UK '95