HOCKEY EAST SCHEDULE - NONLEAGUE GAMES
I have a tentative copy of the 1992-93 HE schedule.  Here are the nonleague
games each team will play next season.  Remember that the league schedule is
being expanded to 24 games next year.  Some teams have games in Alaska, so
adding their league and nonleague games may give you a total > 34.
 
BC (12): Army, @ Alaska-Anchorage (2), @ Vermont, Clarkson, St Lawrence,
 @ Badger Showdown (2, w/ BU/Wis/???), @ Harvard, @ Yale, Beanpot (2, w/
 BU/NU/Har).
BU (10): Colgate, RPI, Harvard, @ Princeton, @ Dartmouth, @ Badger Showdown
 (2, w/ BC/Wis/???), @ Army, Beanpot (2, w/ BC/NU/Har).
Maine (11): Team Canada (2 EXH), @ UAF tourney (2, w/ BG/Yale/UAF), UNH,
 @ Freezeout (2, w/???/???/???), @ Cleveland Tourney (2, w/ BG/OSU/ND),
 Dexter Classic (2, vs Mia, vs LSSU/Brown), Clarkson (2).
UMass-Lowell (11): Ottawa (EXH), @ Colgate, Air Force (2), @ St Lawrence,
 @ Clarkson, Union, Vermont, @ RPI Invitational (2, w/ RPI/PC/I forget),
 @ Alaska-Anchorage (2).
Merrimack (10): @ Western Michigan (2), Alabama-Huntsville (2), @ Dartmouth,
 RPI, @ Air Force (2), Union, Vermont.
New Hampshire (10): Ottawa (EXH), @ Vermont, @ St Lawrence, @ Clarkson,
 Air Force (2), Brown, @ Maine, Auld Lang Syne Classic (2, w/ Dart/Verm/???),
 RPI.
Northeastern: nonleague games not on tentative schedule.
Providence (10): @ RPI, @ Vermont, @ Cornell, @ Brown, @ RPI Invitational
 (2, w/ UMass-Lowell/RPI/I forget), Air Force (2), St Lawrence (2).
 
The weekend of Jan 15-16, 1993, Clarkson plays 2 at Maine and SLU plays 2
at Providence.
 
HOCKEY EAST TO CHANGE QUARTERFINALS?
A new proposal has been put forth regarding the quarterfinals format.  This
is a takeoff on the ECAC's old 2 game/minigame format.  It's still a best of
two games (total points), but unlike the old ECAC q-finals, the two full
games would be played just like regular season games with a 5-min ot if
necessary in each game, and if the game ends in a tie after that, it's a tie.
If the series ends in a tie (1-1-0 or 0-0-2), then sudden death ot would be
played to decide the series.  (No minigame.)
 
I like this idea; the sudden death for the series concept is an exciting one
and would even happen if the deciding game of a series went into ot - it
would be sudden death for the (game and) series anyway.  The only way I see
it possibly not remaining true to the regular season format is if a team
loses the first game and is tied in ot of the second but might pull its goalie
to try to win the 2nd game and even up the series.  The strange situation of
a couple of years ago in the ECAC where RPI was tied late in the third period
but had to pull its goalie to try to win and tie the series with Harvard at
1-1-0 is eliminated.
 
A possible alteration to this is to make both games sudden death ot
like the CCHA/WCHA's best-of-three.  But if the 2nd game goes into a
long overtime session and then the series ends up tied, you ask the players
to play again to decide the series.  That is probably too much physically
and emotionally.
 
HE should be deciding soon what to do; other options include the best-of-three
and even remaining with single elimination, although there is a lot of support
for getting rid of single elimination in the q-finals.  I tend to think the
new format I've outlined above will be adopted since the league likes to try
innovative things (not to mention changing its format almost every year). :-)
We'll see...
 
 
- mike (who said I wasn't thinking hockey?)
 
PS thanks to HE asst. commish Nonni Daly for the tentative schedule and the
 details on the proposed new format.