College hockey seems to be a financial wash for
most schools. The NCAA and league tourneys likely
keep some of the programs afloat. So, all this
indicates that college hockey can't really afford
to take a huge chance and start all this national
interleague scheduling...incurring heavy, heavy
travel expenses for programs who are just keeping
afloat. I think there is a strong need to keep
college hockey a much more feasible endeavor so
some of the Division 1 hopeful programs won't be
discouraged. With that said ... on to the recent
discussions of determining prominence amongst the
leagues as well as the issue of three-game home
ice series.
>>> Karen/Greg Ambrose <[log in to unmask]>
>>> All the NCAA records prove is that the top
teams in one league are stronger
>>> than the top teams in another. It does not
prove that the overall strength
>>> of a league, top to bottom, is better. The
only way to do that is to have
>>> some serious interconference play which, for
some reason, the WCHA and CCHA
>>> tend to avoid. Maybe Ferris State is better
than Providence but, if they
>>> never play each other, how will we know?
>>>
>>> Greg Ambrose
This is how I look at interleague results also.
HockeyEast has the best interleague record but can
we use that to claim national dominance? No, but
it is one of the few things we have to go on so we
do our best to use it in that way. Another thing
we have is NCAA tourney performance. HockeyEast
has had good results from BU and Maine and some
nice western-regional performance by Lowell. All
in all, HockeyEast does quite well with its NCAA
tourney bids ... but this is such a small
microcosm that it tends to be irrelevant. BC and
BU should help in this respect in the coming
tourney but I shudder to think what UNH is going
to do. Of course, I'd love to see Lowell make it
.. although they'd be out west again for sure ...
and Maine still has a decent bid which they would
likely perform quite well with ... given their
history. So, if Lowell or Maine ... or even
Merrimack win the HockeyEast championship ... then
the winner will make a great representative for
the league.
In a separate issue, its doesn't seem that
HockeyEast really has to implement the three game
home ice series. Some logistics would have to be
worked out when Maine is involved, but the other
series could all play home-away-home. Maybe Maine
would have to play home(thur)-home(fri)-away(sun)
or away(thur)-home(sat)-home(sun). Obviously, none
of the other leagues could likely swing this but
HockeyEast certainly could. Why not give the away
team at least one home game? Now, with attendance
the way it always is at quarterfinals, this might
stir up some extra interest. It doesn't seemm that
the home team fans want to see a game three nights
in a row ... which is a lot to ask for most fans
(not me! :) I am in favor of the three-game home
ice series for one reason, it does significantly
reward the top four teams ... but its also rewards
them all equally which doesn't suit me. For Lowell
to have to play three at Northeastern when the two
teams weren't that disparate doesn;t suit well
with me either. I'd love to see less teams make
the playoffs ... maybe allow #1 and #2 to get
quarterfinal byes...3 plays 6 and 4 plays 5 in
home and away series. This would also remove the
possible quandry that BC now finds themselves in
... one where they have to play a low-rated team
that can only hurt their own RPI. Not that I don;t
love what Merrimack is doing this year ... I
absolutely adore it!! But, I'm for making the
regular season much more important to the big
picture.
Ok, that was way more than I wanted to say ...
thanks for reading.
- Paul.
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