Tim writes:
>The St. Lawrence Plaindealer reported today that SLU head coach
>Joe Marsh will replace Cornell AD Laing Kennedy on the NC$$
>Ice Hockey Committee.  They also noted that it is some consolation
>for the 1991 snub of SLU in favor of Cornell for the tournament.
              ^^^^
Presumably, this last line is some sort of editorial comment by the
Plaindealer, because it shows a lack of understanding of the NC$$ tour-
nament selection process.  Yes, the Saints beat Cornell in the ECAC
semis that year, but except for the automatic bid given to the tournament
winner, postseason results are not given any more weight than regular-
season results.  Somewhere, I have an analysis I posted the last time this
came up, but basically, the NCAA uses four criteria in selecting teams for
the tournament:  head-to-head competition between teams, record among
common opponents, strength of schedule, and record against teams "under
consideration" for a bid (actually, Division I record gets thrown in there
somewhere too).  Cornell and St. Lawrence were very close in the first three
categories, but the Big Red had a somewhat better record against teams
"under consideration" (and I keep putting that in quotes because I'm not
sure exactly how the NC$$ defines that) than the Saints did.  So Cornell
got the bid fair and square.
 
Pardon the strong reaction, but I'm getting a little tired of hearing about
how the Saints were "robbed" that year.  Anyway, congrats to Coach Marsh.
Incidentally, Kennedy was the chairman of the tournament selection com-
mittee -- any word on who the new chairman will be?
--
Bill Fenwick                        |  Send your HOCKEY-L poll responses to:
Cornell '86 and probably '94        |  [log in to unmask]
LET'S GO RED!!
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