On Sun, 10 Mar 1996, John R. Nash wrote:
 
>         Now that the WCHA goes into an off-week before the tournament
> selections, it's time for the pundits to look at the league's chances in
> the tourney.  No matter how I look at it, it seems to me that the WCHA will
> only get two bids this year -- CC and MN.
 
This is dead on. With Bowling Green moving on to the Joe, it virtually
eliminates Denver, the WCHA 3rd place team and seeming lock a month ago.
 
>         How did this situation come about?  As I see it, the WCHA this year
> was the Big Two (CC and MN), the Middle Six, and the Bottom Two (UAA and
> NMU).
 
In fact, except for the Gopher's February swoon, it was all but
impossible for a team in the bottom eight to beat either the Gophers or
the Tigers during the regular season. Prior to February, the record of
the bottom eight against the top two was 37-3-4. The season ended with
the two a combined 44-8-4 against the rest of the league.
 
This disparity made the league top heavy, and that combined with the
fading Denver University (who made an early exit from the playoffs) leaves
you with only two teams.
 
>         As for the Big Two in the NCAA's, I am concerned at how they will
> fare...  CC has explosive offense and strong goaltending, but they are
> showing their traditional tournament-time letdown.  If they regain their
> form for the tourney, however, they will contend for the title.  The
> Gophers, on the other hand, always play well in the playoffs (until the
> end, that is :-).
 
Don't count the Tigers out too early. They have only lost four games all
year, and all four of those were one goal games.
 
Minnesota has the experience, but they have to be questioning themselves
after the late season skid (2-6 in Feb).
 
The biggest fear, I think, has to come not from lack of teamwork, choke
factor, or even difficult opponents, but the extra week layoff. In any
regular season, I would give both the Gophers and the Tigers excellent
chances for Cinci, but the double whammy of not facing a team above .500
in the playoffs and the extra week layoff will hurt both of them,
taking the extra edge off their play -- the extra edge that you need in
the NCAAs.
 
Actually, with the first rounds over in all the conferences (MSU 3-1 over
Ferris, Harvard 8-4 over StLaw) we can reasonably pick the field of 12:
 
Automatic bid:
Minnesota
 
Courtesy bids:
Vermont
Boston University
Colorado College
Lake State
Michigan
 
At large:
Clarkson
Cornell
Mass Lowell
Western Michigan
Michigan State
Bowling Green
 
Remaining Monkey Wrench:
Harvard
 
With the loss to Harvard, St. Lawrence has almost certainly eliminated
themselves from the tournament. Harvard's only hope lies in winning the
ECAC Tournament, getting by Vermont and the winner of Clarkson/Cornell.
Very tough.
 
So by conference:
HE     2
ECAC   3
CCHA   5
WCHA   2
 
 
 
                                -Lee-nerd
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"It is not written in the stars that I will always understand what is
going on - a truism that I often find damnably annoying."
                                -Robert Heinlein
 
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