On Oct 29, 16:55, Wayne T. Smith wrote:
>If I read the USCollegeHockey.com schedule for Niagara correctly,
>Niagara is scheduled for 39 games this season.  How is it they are
>able to play so many when the NCAA D-I maximum that I recall is only
>34?
 
As Ben Flickinger already mentioned, Niagara's first game against Brock was an
exhibition, and their next two (in Anchorage at the Johnson Nissan Classic)
were exempted for being played in Alaska, bringing the "games that count" total
for Niagara down to 36.
 
It looks like the other two exemptions come from the ECAC/Crowne Plaza Faceoff
games.  The announcement of this tournament last May contained the following
paragraph (from the ECAC site at hockey.ecac.com):
 
"The ECAC has applied to the NCAA for exempted event status that will allow
these four teams to play two additional games over the NCAA limit of 34. The
NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet will review the proposal
during its July meeting."
 
Either the exemption was granted, or Niagara and two other Faceoff participants
are in trouble.  Boston University has 37 games scheduled; they also played in
Anchorage, which would still leave them one over the 34-game limit if the ECAC
tournament was not exempted.  Rensselaer has 34 games scheduled, which is OK by
the NCAA but is two over the ECAC's self-imposed limit of 32.  The fourth
Faceoff participant, Quinnipiac, is still under the wire with or without the
exemption, as they have just 33 games scheduled.
 
I believe this makes Rensselaer the first team in ECAC history to schedule more
regular-season games than the league's self-imposed limit.  I recall hearing
that some years ago, back when the ECAC limit was 30 games, there was a team
(it may even have been Rensselaer) that wanted to schedule a couple games in
Alaska, which would have been exempted under NCAA rules but would have put them
two over the ECAC's limit (still less than the NCAA's 34).  Even though the
games were exempted under NCAA rules, the team had to apply for some sort of
waiver from the ECAC to schedule the two extra games, and they were turned
down.  I can't speak for the truth of this story, but at any rate, it's good to
see the ECAC bending a bit and allowing a league member to go a couple games
past their self-imposed limit -- even if it's just for the ECAC's own
"pre-season" tournament.
 
--
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Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95                                             DJF  5/27/94
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  JCF  12/2/97
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