As Greg pointed out, Vermont's lead over Clarkson in the PWR
is anything but rock-solid.  (Note that with UNH's loss to Maine,
Clarkson has already moved past UNH into line for the second bye in
the East!)  In detail, looking at the top of the up-to-date PWR
<http://uscollegehockey.com/pwr/pwr.cgi>:
 
Rk Team                GP  W- L- T  Win%  Rk     RPI  Rk  PWR
 1 Michigan            32 27- 2- 3 0.8906  1 | 0.6258  1 | 21
 2 Vermont             28 18- 7- 3 0.6964  7 | 0.5978  2 | 20
 3 North Dakota        32 22- 8- 2 0.7188  3 | 0.5864  5 | 19
 4 Clarkson            28 20- 8- 0 0.7143  4 | 0.5892  4 | 18
 
        We see that the only differences between Vermont's and
Clarkson's comparisons are: Vermont beats North Dakota, North Dakota
beats Clarkson, Vermont beats Clarkson.  Examining those individual
comparisons from <http://uscollegehockey.com/pwr/comparisons.txt>:
 
    North Dakota        vs Vermont
RPI      0.5864  0           0.5978  1
L20    14- 4- 2  1         12- 5- 3  0
TUC    12- 6- 2  1         10- 6- 2  0
H2H              0                   0
COP     4- 2- 2  0          2- 1- 0  1
============================================
PTS              2                   2
 
(Vermont wins based on higher RPI)
 
    Clarkson            vs North Dakota
RPI      0.5892  1           0.5864  0
L20    15- 5- 0  0         14- 4- 2  0
TUC     9- 6- 0  0         12- 6- 2  1
H2H              0                   0
COP     1- 2- 0  0          3- 0- 1  1
============================================
PTS              1                   2
 
    Clarkson            vs Vermont
RPI      0.5892  0           0.5978  1
L20    15- 5- 0  1         12- 5- 3  0
TUC     8- 5- 0  0          9- 5- 2  1
H2H              1                   1
COP    15- 5- 0  1         13- 5- 3  0
============================================
PTS              3                   3
 
(Vermont wins based on higher RPI)
 
        Those are all one criterion away from going the other way,
since Vermont's are decided on the basis of RPI and the NoDak only
beats Clarkson by one criterion; if that were tied, Clarkson would
win.  Noting that Clarkson and NoDak are currently tied in last 20, an
edge in that would give Clarkson the comparison.  Clarkson has at
least six games left, eight if they sweep a playoff series, and they
are 11-1 in their last 12, while NoDak is 8-4, so it's likely that the
Knights will end up with a better last 20 record than the Sioux.  And
as Greg said, a win over Vermont in the playoffs would tip the scales
in *that* comparison.
                                        John Whelan, Cornell '91
                                        <[log in to unmask]>
        <http://www.cc.utah.edu/~jtw16960/jshock.html>
 
Cornell Men's Ice Hockey: 1996-7 Ivy League Champions
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