UVM had an extra advantage over Quinnipiac. They had several more years to
plan for a move to Hockey East than QU had to plan for a move to ECACHL.
Since it is generally acknowledged that HEA is a higher level than ECACHL,
UVM has had several more seasons to recruit with a promise of moving to a
higher visibility league (for those whose goal are to move on to pro
hockey). QU may have had the intent to try for the ECAC but it wasn't until
recently that they could count on it.
Considering UVM's recent history and their marked improvement last year, I
think we've already seen part of the boost they've gotten from good
recruiting and that part of the recruitment success may be due to the
promise of moving to Hockey East.

It will be tough to gauge the success of UVM's move vs. Quinnipiac's since
HEA is traditionally a league of haves vs. have-nots with BU, BC, UNH and
Maine being in the upper echelon and Northeastern, UMass-Amherst,
UMass-Lowell and Merrimack being in the bottom (this does, of course, vary
from year to year) as opposed to the ECACHL where there is seldom a huge
difference in points in the league. Usually there are one or two teams that
are out in front (like Cornell or Harvard), a few teams residing near the
cellar (we won't mention any names here) and the rest of the pack within
several points of one another. A few key wins by Quinnipiac could make the
difference between 10th and 4th place. That may not be the case for UVM in
Hockey East

On 10/7/05, Steven Rockey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >Does anyone wish to wager against my bet that UVM will finish the 2005-06
> >season at least two rankings higher in HE than does Quinnipiac in ECAC?
> >
> >Thom Davis
> >UNH '71' Go Wildcats!!
>
> Thom,
>
> Not really. UVM finished 4th in the ECAC and was 8 - 8 - 1 out of
> conference.
>
> Their record was almost identical to Maine who finished 4th in HE. I
> really can not prognosticate for HE but UVM did not loose too much to
> graduation and return excellent goaltending. A couple of the recruits look
> interesting. They seem like they could finish in the middle of the league.
>
> However, we will have to see this unfold on the ice. Who knows maybe
> Quinnipiac will be in the middle of the ECAC at he end of the
> season. Quinnipiac lost a lot more to graduation than UVM and I think that
> will be a big factor.
>
> --Steve
>