I'm jumping into this discussion late, as usual, but I had a thought or two on
the idea of splitting the WCHA into divisions... specifically, what to do with
the MacNaughton Cup, which now goes to the WCHA's regular-season champ.  Be-
cause of the unbalanced schedule that a split into divisions would require,
it has been suggested that the MacNaughton Cup go to the regular-season champ
of whatever division Michigan Tech is in.  An easy solution, I guess, but the
MacNaughton Cup has a lot of history behind it, and it seems unfair to deprive
half the teams in the WCHA the opportunity to win it.
 
So here's a thought.  Hold on to your hats, this gets a little convoluted.
 
Split the WCHA into two divisions, as previously proposed.  Assuming Mankato
and Nebraska-Omaha join the league, each division would have six teams.  Have
the top five in each division make the playoffs.  Then in the first round
of the playoffs (a best-of-three series), the #2 team in each division hosts
the #5 team from the other division, while #3 hosts #4.  So the pairings would
be, for divisions A and B:
 
     5B at 2A                    5A at 2B
     4B at 3A                    4A at 3B
 
The two division winners each receive a bye in the first round... but that same
weekend, they meet each other in a winner-take-all game for the MacNaughton
Cup.  This means that, in theory, each of them would be facing a tougher oppo-
nent that weekend than any of the other playoff teams, but it would only be one
game as opposed to two or three.
 
Anyway, after the first weekend, the WCHA would be left with a Final Six,
similar to what the CCHA had a few years ago.  The first round survivors
(minus the division winners) could play each other the following Thursday,
with the survivors going on to face the more-rested division winners the
following night in the semifinals.
 
Well, it's some sort of idea, anyway...
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  DJF  5/27/94
"I thought I was a procrastinator 'til I met Winnie... Winnie got a birthmark
 when he was eight."
-- Steven Wright
 
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