Dave Carroll writes:
 
>Worst of all (from my biased spot (:') is that
>UMass's HE presence will clobber BU's strength of schedule
>for the rankings.
 
Not necessarily. UMass could go 0-24 in Hockey East play and
it would not affect BU's schedule strength at all.
 
What *does* matter to BU is what UMass does in non-conference play.
UMass could schedule non-tournament teams (Canisius, RIT, Alberta,
et al) so that no matter how bad they are, it won't hurt BU.
 
Or they could schedule some powerhouses and go for the huge upset.
"Winless-in-league-play UMass beats undefeated-in-the-CCHA
Michigan State in the GLI" would be a funny headline. And it would
boost BU's schedule immensely!
 
What is the worst that UMass can do for BU's schedule strength? Play
a team like Air Force and give them their only wins of the season. Ouch.
 
If you understand the system, you can take advantage of it so bringing
a new team along won't be so painful.
 
Keith