I went back and found the weekend sports sections which fortunately were
not yet lining the bottom of the guinea pigs' cage.
 
The current proposal is to allow the non-Ivy ECAC schools two extra games
next season.  Thus moving the limit from the current 30 to 32 (which is
still 2 below the NCAA limit of 34 - not counting Alaska, Hawaii, or games
played outdoors when the moon is full).  There was no mention of a change
for the Ivies from their current self-imposed limit of 27. Union was also
said to voluntarily opt to adhere to the Ivy guidelines. The following quote
was attributed to Joe Bertanga - ECAC Hockey executive
 
"The potential gap in games doesn't concern Ivy coaches because their teams
will benefit from the proposal anyway.  The NCAA Tournament's selection
criteria takes into consideration not only a team's opponents' record, but the
record of teams a team's opponent plays.  So Ivy League teams like Harvard and
Yale stand to gain by playing league opponents that have bulked up their
schedules."
 
Assuming the proposal goes through as easily as Bertagna seems to expect, the
big question  would seem to be:
 
Who are the "high calibre" teams to provide the new "bulk" in the ECAC
schedules who still have slots left to schedule?
 
Any ideas?
 
Robin Lock
St. Lawrence University
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