I don't think the WCHA has any special obligation to solve the ECAC's
scheduling problems.  Like the CCHA, the WCHA plays a 28-game league
schedule.  I don't expect to see that number drop, in either league.

-- Erik

> Thinking about the ECAC without Vermont, I see three possibilities about how
> they could make it work.
>
> 1.  Find a 12th team.  Keep present home and home.  Obviously the preferred
> option, but it does limit out of conference games (although at present, more
> out-of-conference games is not an ECAC problem as the league schedule is the
> fewest of the four big conferences.  More out of conference games would require
> other conferences (WCHA especially) to reduce their league games, which is
> doubtful).
>
> 2.  Go with 11 teams and two game sets each weekend.  In my opinion this is a
> very poor option.  It means you would have a very unbalance schedule in terms
> of who you play at home, and who you play away.  (Imagine this year, with the
> teams so close, home ice could have come down to who drew Princeton on the
> road and Colgate at home vs a team that had the reverse.  There is no doubt that
> one scenario would be much more beneficial.)  The WCHA has had the unbalanced
> schedule come in to play a couple times in the past, and they only do it for
> two teams, not the entire league.  In addition, imagine not seeing a
> SLU-Clarkson, Harvard-Cornell, RPI-Union, Harvard-Brown, at your home barn.  That would
> stink for fans.  Some have suggested using non-conference games for the
> return match, but that just undermines the idea of more non-conference games vs.
> other conferences.  Overall this is a bad option.
>
> 3.  11 teams, home and home.  This would be based on a 20 game league season
> where everyone plays home and away one game.  The present travel partners
> would need to be modified a bit into revolving partners, but it would just require
> a little organization by the league office (then again, that may be asking
> way too much).  Teams would still make some of the same roadtrips (SLU-Clarkson)
> but would take advantage of the closeness of other teams to mix and match
> weekends i.e. Dartmouth can be paired with Harvard, Yale, Brown or even the
> capital district teams.  None of those trips is impossibly long, although you might
> see a few Sunday afternoon games needed.  Similarly, Yale-Brown-Princeton,
> Harvard-Brown-Yale, Colgate-Union-RPI(-Cornell) could be possible pairings.  The
> trick would be to avoid having a road team play a rested home team the second
> night, which could probably be avoided.  Many ECAC teams already do these
> type of split weekends due to exams and the Beanpot, which generally has Harvard
> about 6 games further into the conference schedule by mid January.  It would
> take planning, but it could be done.
>     To apply this idea, either you try to keep all 11 teams in action each
> week (Friday SLU @ Brown, Clk @ H, Dart @ Yale, Cor @ RPI  col @ Union, Team X @
> Princeton non-league.  Saturday Cor @ Union, Col @ RPI, D @ P,  Clk @ Brn,
> SLU @ Y,  H off ), or you have one team off, with the other 10 playing two game
> sets, say for example (D-H at Cor-Col, Y-Union at SLU-Clk, P-B home and home,
> RPI off).  Given the close travel distances, it can be made to work either way
> or a combination of both.  The trickiest part of this idea is when one team
> visits the North Country alone (as must happen once in this scenario).  But
> pairing this team with a non-league opponent probably could be planned.
> Certainly this would be more fair than the very unbalanced plan.
>
> Just my ramblings,
>
>
> William Sangrey
> Cornell '87&'94
> Let's Go RED!!!
>