Richard Vehlow writes:
>I think that the top two teams from each division should go on to the NCAA
>playoffs as a rule. All divisions would then get an equal crack at glory.
 
Then you are saying that strength of schedule should never matter, thus teams
should schedule the easiest teams they can.  Do you really believe this and
that these teams should be rewarded?
 
What about last season?  Four HE teams (Maine, BU, BC, PC) made the NC**
tourney while just two ECAC teams (Clarkson, Cornell) did.  Do you think a
mistake was made and that BU (the third place HE team) really was NOT far
better than the third best ECAC team?  Or even that PC was not better than
the third best ECAC team?
 
Your statement about teams in one conference being equal to teams in other
conferences by standings just isn't usually true.  It would be nice if it
was, but it's not.  Last year, even the 5th best HE team, UNH, was
considered by many to be at least among the top 15 teams in the country
with a record of 22-11-2.  Had they defeated Providence in the HE quarter-
finals, UNH might have made the NC** tourney.
 
>I heard something about last year's UNH coach passing away at the beginning of
>the 1990-91 season. Could someone tell me more about this?
 
Yes, Bob Kullen passed away just over a year ago, November 3rd to be exact,
at the age of 41.  He had been named HE and New England Coach of the Year for
leading UNH to a 17-17-5 record in 1989-90, its best record since joining HE.
The news came while the team was preparing for a game at Air Force; they
elected to play in his honor and won the game.  Kullen had been the recipient
of a heart transplant several years earlier.  On January 17, 1991, just over
two months after Kullen's death, HE athletic directors voted to name the
Coach of the Year Award in honor of Bob Kullen, and fittingly, the first
recipient was Kullen's former assistant and current UNH Head Coach, Dick Umile.
 
 
- mike