>>> Paul Gentile <[log in to unmask]> 07/30/97 12:06pm >>>
What kind of league shift do you think we'll see? HockeyEast
takes Vermont and ECAC takes in Niagara makes about the
most sense.
 
===
This year notwithstanding, the ECAC losing UVM will be a
blow to their league power index.
 
How about the ECAC Div 1 restructuring into a Premier
division and a 2nd division.
 
You'd take the top 7 teams and play a round robin schedule
and they play for the ECAC title and the NCAA bid.  The
remaining 7 play in the 2nd division.  Natural rivalries that are
between teams in separate divisions (Princeton - Yale) would
be played and count in the standings.
 
I'd see teams 1-5 make the playoffs with teams 6 & 7 playing
teams 2nd div teams 1 & 2 in a best 3 out of 5 (2 there 3
here) playoff to decide who moves up and who moves down
for the next season.
 
Let's see what we get for a mythical season
Premier                              2nd Div
Clarkson                          St. Lawrence
Cornell                             Colgate
UVM                                Dartmouth
RPI                                  Yale
Union                               Brown
Princeton                         Niagara
Harvard                            Canisus
 
(1-7 based on last year's standings.  I went blank on 7&8.  If I
goofed, sorry, but you get the drift.)
 
24 games in your division + 2 outside = 26
 
The final 5 @ the Pepsi would be like the WCHA final 5.  I'd
figure out a way to avoid that Thursday night - Friday
afternoon scenario, though.
 
Question: would the relegation playoffs make $?  Would
losing a weekend of playoffs be a blow to the school coffers?
What about 2nd Div teams 3-7?
 
Pipe dream, but the ECAC is getting too big with up to 14
teams in the league.
 
Joe
 
PS What's going on with Quinnipiac and the rest of the new
Div 1 league???????
 
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