I enjoyed your comments. I think they were well thought out and
insightful.
Watching MSU play this weekend was a lot of fun, and the games were much
closer than the score indicates. I can see MSU playing Michigan two more
times this year...the CCHA finals, and in the tourney (unless MSU or
Michigan get shipped out east)
derek
----------
> From: Roger Spurgeon <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: CCHA Final Standings Prediction
> Date: Monday, February 23, 1998 1:35 PM
>
> Just thought I'd take a look at the CCHA and how things might look going
> into the playoffs. I didn't have stat-man John H proofread for me, so I
> hope I didn't mess up the numbers too much ;-) .
>
> CCHA Current Standings (from web.ccha.com ):
> Game Poss Possible
> Pl Team Pts Left Pts Opponents Final Standing
> 1 MSU 40 4 48 LSSU, FSU, LSSU, NMU 1,2
> 2 Mich 39 4 47 FSU, LSSU, BGSU, ND 1,2
> 3 OSU 31 4 39 MU, BG, FSU, FSU 3,4,5,6,7
> 4 NMU 31 3 37 ND, ND, MSU 3,4,5,6,7
> 5 Miami 30 3 36 OSU, BGSU, BGSU 3,4,5,6,7,8
> 6 LSSU 28 3 34 MSU, UM, MSU 3,4,5,6,7,8
> 7 FSU 25 4 33 UM, MSU, OSU, OSU 3,4,5,6,7,8
> 8 ND 24 3 30 NMU, NMU, UM 5,6,7,8
> 9 WMU 17 3 23 UAF, UAF, UAF 9,10,11
> 10 UAF 14 3 20 WMU, WMU, WMU 9,10,11
> 11 BGSU 13 4 21 MU, OSU, UM, MU 9,10,11
>
> Comments (in order of current standing):
> 1. Michigan State
> The Spartans have four tough games ahead of them, but they control their
> own destiny. Four wins = CCHA championship. The Spartan defense stifled
> the Wolverines all weekend long, and with Alban in net to handle the few
> chances that get through, I look for the Spartans to win all four.
>
> 2. Michigan
> If MSU somehow loses one of it's last four, Michigan can regain the
number
> one spot in the standings--but Michigan needs to win all four of its
games
> to even have a shot. Ferris has played Michigan tough (Michigan won 3-2
in
> OT and tied 3-3 at Van Andel) this season so I look at Ferris to be
> Michigan's toughest game, but you can't count out any of the other three.
> Bowling Green is playing tough and is looking to salvage anything they
can.
> Michigan should pull off all 4 wins and finish 2nd in the CCHA.
>
> 3. Ohio State
> Since Michigan wins the tie-breaker, the Buckeyes can finish no better
than
> 3rd. But then, you have to give the Buckeyes credit for putting a
> fantastic season together. Even if they lose to Miami this weekend, the
> Buckeyes can still secure the #3 spot with wins in their remaining 3,
> especially since they win the tie-breaker over Northern Michigan. I
didn't
> think I'd ever say this, but look for the Buckeyes to pull in the final
> gate with a tight grip on their #3 spot.
>
> 4. Northern Michigan
> Northern faces off twice against a tough Notre Dame squad and finishes
the
> season against the Spartans. I've already picked the Spartans to win
that
> game, and the Wildcats are fresh from a 3-4 loss to the Irish. If the
> Wildcats split the series, they will finish the season with 33 points and
> 5th place.
>
> 5. Miami
> Miami has a tough game against OSU and two "easy" (on paper) games with
> Bowling Green, but once again I'm not sure that you can count the Falcons
> out just yet. They are struggling to save face right now, but it won't
be
> enough to stop Miami. I like the RedHawks to win out which would give
them
> home ice against the Wildcats.
>
> 6. Lake Superior
> The Lakers have probably the toughest remaining schedule: two games
against
> the Spartans and one against the Wolverines. Both the Spartans and
> Wolverines need to win and the Lakers could stay right where they are,
even
> without a win. No one in their right mind wants to play the Lakers come
> playoff time, and perhaps the Lakers would love a matchup with Ohio
State:
> the Lakers are 2-1 against the Buckeyes this year.
>
> 7. Ferris State
> With all four remaining games against the top three teams in the league,
> the Bulldogs don't have it much better than the Lakers. I look for
Ferris
> to give Michigan and the Spartans a tough game, but will lose both. The
> Buckeyes should win the other two games to keep their #3 spot, which will
> drop the Bulldogs to 8th place and a dreaded series against the Spartans.
>
> 8. Notre Dame
> I give the Irish one win out of two against the Wildcats. That should
move
> them up one spot and give them a visit to Ann Arbor for the first round.
>
> 9. Western Michigan
> 10. Alaska-Fairbanks
> 11. Bowling Green
> It must be tough to go into the last few weekends of the season knowing
> that you can't make the playoffs. Western and Alaska play each other to
> finish the season, and the Nanooks need all three if they want to pass
the
> Broncos and finish in the 9th spot. Unfortunately, I don't see it
> happening. The Nanook in me says that UAF will take 2 out of the 3. The
> Falcons have 4 tough games against Miami (2), Ohio State and Michigan,
and
> even Shawn Timm won't be able to get them out of the cellar.
>
> So, here's how (I think) it'll end up:
> pts
> 1. Michigan State 48
> 2. Michigan 47
> 3. Ohio State 37
> 4. Miami 36
> 5. Northern Michigan 33
> 6. Lake Superior 28
> 7. Notre Dame 26
> 8. Ferris State 25
> 9. Western Michigan 19
> 10. Alaska-Fairbanks 18
> 11. Bowling Grees 13
>
> Drop the Puck,
> Roger
> UMich
>
> (These opinions are my own...)
>
> // Roger L. Spurgeon [log in to unmask]
> // Assistant Director / Technology Coordinator
> // Univ. of Mich. Dept. of Recreational Sports
>
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