> Date:         Tue, 23 Mar 1999 18:17:20 -0500
> From: Rich Shelley <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:      Misguided priorities?
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> The analysis and insight that various posters provide at this time of
> the season  is really helpful in understanding the whole selection and
> seeding process. After reading all of what's been discussed the past
> couple of days, though, it seems inconsistent that the tournament
> committee is a 'slave to the numbers' when selecting the field, but then
> downplays that when it comes to seeding, to the point of devaluing what
> all the teams have accomplished over a 30-40 game season.
 
actually, it does not.  The seeding rules are reasonably explicit.
unless the clarkson rule holds, the top two teams in the region get the
byes.  Normally, this is one team from each of the leagues.  Every once in
a while, a league is down and both byes go to the same league.  That would
have happened this year, but for the clarkson rule.
 
> Some observations to illustrate the point:
>
> 1- Automatic bids/byes -- Presumably this is a case of escalating
> rewards (RS champ=bid, tourn. champ=bid, both=bye). But (and please
> understand, I'm not advocating or attacking any particular team, just
> using this year as an example) such a formula can lead to bumping a team
> out of a very advantageous spot that was earned over the course of an
> entire season.
 
so you'd argue that the SECOND team in hockey east get a bye instead of
the top team in the ECAC.
 
>                Realistically, it's virtually impossible for the RS champ
> not to be in the field of 12 anyway (I know, the MAAC scenario, but
> since this has been thoroughly discussed already, let's take it as a
> given that they're not in the mix), so there's really no reason to
> assign an automatic bid.
 
actually, it happened a couple of times.  The latest was when Colorado
College won the regular season WCHA and ended up going against the last
team in the league in the playoffs.  The series went 3 games and the Tech
goalie made over 150 saves and CC had 3 or 4 goals disallowed, and they
finished 13th in the RPI calculation and went nowhere.  That led to the so
called CC rule.  I believe similar happened to harvard.
 
>                          A bid to the conference tournament champs?
> Well, it allows for the 'wild card' element that everyone seems to
> enjoy. But the automatic bye potentially has far too much impact. My
> opinion -- seed by the numbers.
 
They do.  They keep the 3-6 and 4-5 pairs for the preliminary round
they try to do 3 v 2 and 1 v 4 unless it produces a second round matchup
 
> 2- Intra-conference match-ups -- so what? The tournament is about 12
> teams competing to find out who's=A0#1, not about how many new or
> different opponents each can play. I expect that any of the teams would
> rather be given credit for their season's performance by an appropriate
> seed, than be concerned with who a future opponent might be. First round
> match-ups can almost always be controlled by swapping 5&6 in each
> region. As far as 2nd rounds go, after watching BU-UNH in Albany last
> year, I don't see why this is considered a problem; that was arguably
> the best game of the 4 ( a little of that good old 'familiarity breeds
> contempt' intensity spices up any game!). My opinion -- again, seed by
> the numbers.
 
 
I guess there is disagreement.  In the WCHA teams can play 4 times during
the year, up to 3 more times in the WCHA tournament and an 8th time during
a holiday tournament.  The SHOULD NOT HAVE TO MEET AGAIN in the regionals
 
> 3- Swapping regions -- certainly a good method for adding variety and
> serving to avoid 1st round intra-conference match-ups. But why not have
> a set formula: 3&4 stay put, 5&6 move. This gives value to the season
> accomplishments of each team without  making the regional format too
> parochial.
 
Actually, i've advocated that the top two teams in a league stay local and
the rest go to the other region.
>
> I guess what I'm saying is, let the 12 teams' play on the ice -- both
> during the season and during the tournament -- determine who's #1,
> without being influenced by any other agendas, be they  attendance or
> intra-conference play or anything else.
>
> In any event, Worcester"s gonna be great!
>
> Rich
>
>
> "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand."
>                                                     --   Homer Simpson
>
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>
 
 
 
         charlie shub   University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
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(719) 262-3492      (fax) 262-3369          http://www.cs.uccs.edu/~cdash
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
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