I have to say, I am surprised that no North Dakota fans, or for that matter, WCHA/CCHA fans, commented on the lack of respect shown for North Dakota in the build-up to the UNH@Maine game last night. I suppose that most of the guilty media outlets are eastern based, and were not seen/heard by the majority of the western fans, although I thought Fox was broadcasting the game to some markets out west.
 
Anyway, FoxSports New England was the prime (although far from only) offender. Throughout the pregame and the game itself the announcers continuously referred to the game as a "battle for first place in Hockey East and probably the nation as well." I also heard at least two radio stations (one NH, one Vt) refer to the game as a fight for "first place in the nation." I'm a little unsure as to how a game between the #2 and #3 teams becomes a battle for the #1 spot when it is already known at game time that the current #1 team has swept its weekend series. (I notice the votes for #1 in the USCHO poll remain 27 for NoDak and 3 for Maine; they didn't pick up a single first place vote.)
 
I suppose this is just a case of provincialism; the eastern media outlets tend to concentrate more on eastern teams, and western outlets on western. On the other hand, it's rare to find a similar situation happening in college football or basketball. If a broadcaster gets the ranking of a team wrong in one of those sports, they are quickly corrected by a partner. Even as a UNH fan, I found myself annoyed at the constant reminder that the game was for first place national ranking; since I knew that wasn't true, it seemed to be needless hype for a game that turned out to be one of the most exciting so far this season.
 
George Downing
UNH '92
 
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