Dave writes:
>Maybe some folks out there who understand the fine points
>of whata particular division is could explain further, but it seems
>to me that Plattsburgh State, RIT, Babson, Wisconsin-Stevens Point,
> and some of the better Div.III programs are as close to our Phinal
>Phour as the patsies the hoopsters set up in their first round. How
>well have any of the Div.III schools done in games against Div.I?
 
I saw some stats last year that had D-III teams with something
like a .240 winning percentage against "true" Division I teams
(i.e. teams eligible for the D-I tournament) in the past 3-4 years.
In the 70s and early
80's, things were different with the then D-II schools like
Merrimack, RIT, Lowell and Elmira having some success against
D-I schools. But I think that the calliber of D-I hockey has improved
to the point where it doesn't make much sense any more to
schedule D-III vs. D-I games. Plattsburgh, the dominant D-III
team in the east, lost to Army and was hammered by Colgate
last year. RIT got blown out (8-0) by RPI two years ago. I doubt
they'll get resheduled, even though the two teams have played
some very competitive hockey over the years (RIT beat RPI in 1987).
I think that now the talent gap is too large.
 
>I know Union got beaten up last year, but hey, they used to get
>killed by RIT...
 
Well, not exactly. The series record between the two teams is indeed
12-2-2 RIT, but that includes 5 overtime games. I personally have
been at almost all of the games, and they were all close (10 of the
16 meetings have been in the post-season).  Union was fairly
successful in their D-II/III days, winning a couple of ECAC West
championships and making the NCAA D-II finals in 1984.
 
Chris Lerch
Xerox
RIT '84 & '91