> st losing to two top teams this past weekend in the ECAC tournament.  A season i
> sn't decided on one game which is what the committee seems to have done as Brown
>  upset Harvard.  RPI had a great season this year beating HARVARD, CLARKSON, St.
>  Lawerence twice, Brown, and tieing the number 2 team in the east regional BU.
> Comparing that to Brown I do no
> t see as many big wins as RPI had which is a major reason why RPI should be in a
> nd not Brown.  Also Brown came in fourth in the conference behind RPI who ended
> up a solid second in the conference with more overall wins as RPI ended up the y
> ear with 20 wins and 11 loses and Brown ended up wining only 17 games and also l
> osing 11 with conference records of 15-6-1 and 13-7-2 respectively.  Brown is a
> quality team but a team that had one big win this year and it is a disgrace that
>  the selection committee only t
> ook this into account and not a look at what the two teams did throughout the wh
> ole season.
>
 
I'm an RPI season ticket holder and I understand the frustration, but let's
give the Bears some credit.....they had more than one big win.  I can think of
three that I'm sure weighted heavily on the committee: vs. Harvard (big playoff
win); vs. Lake Superior State (I'm sure this had a tremendous impact); and this
is important (vs. RPI).  The latter was the league opener, but that just goes
to show that those seemingly unimportant early season games can be very impor-
tant in the end.
 
Bottom line: RPI probably could have clinched a berth even before the semis
by winning the Princeton season finale and/or the by sweeping the Colgate
series....they didn't do it.  When you are on the bubble these games are
important and I can't find too much sympathy for teams that don't take
advantage of the opportunity.
 
By the way....living around here we got to hear interminable whining from
the PC folks when they weren't chosen for the basketball tournament.  Can
you imagine listening to people complain "Sure we finished fifth (or some-
thing like that) in our league, but we deserve to be in ahead of (insert
name of small time basketball school here)."  Let's face it, if you don't
win your league or establish an indisputable position for inclusion in the
tournament you really can't blame anyone but yourself.
 
Let's hope Neil Little plans on staying.....because the rest of the team
returns virtually intact.  Getting a defenseman with a little more lateral
mobility than the departing Al Kummu (the only senior on the team) would be
a big help (I'd gladly trade a 6-6 230 model for a 6-2 200 model that moves
a little better).  Has anyone heard how Buddy is doing on the recruiting trail?
Because of the scholarship cuts I don't suppose he has a scholarship to give.
 -
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Jon Greene
[log in to unmask]
Data General Corp., Westboro, MA
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