(I really couldn't think of an appropriate title, so I decided on Director.
[I thought Lord High Executioner might be a bit tacky.])
Anyway, I was going to wait until tomorrow to put my picks out, but then again
I'm really bored s**tless right now, so I figured, eh, what the hell? (Not
like anybody's life is going to depend on my picks anyway.)
Remember, these picks represent MY opinions only, and do not reflect those of
the various participants around Hockey-L who have so dutifully sent me their
picks (now up to 45) or the opinions of any of the strip clubs in Lansing
(thought it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the dancers what they thoughtabout the ECAC race, but I really don't think my wife would quite understand).
I'm not going to provide too detailed of an analysis of why I picked what I
picked, unlike what I did last year for the Postseason Contest (which I finishedrespectfully in the Top 20), except for the conference I know best, which is
the CCHA (unfortunately, it may also be the easiest conference to pick).
So, anyway, here goes:
Hockey East- Real tough to pick against BU to win the conference, so I won't,
or not to pick UMA last. It could be a really long season for the Minutemen.
In between, I like UNH to be the ultimate road warriors, Lowell to slip some
from last year's lofty perch, and Merrimack to show some improvement.
ECAC- Real tough to pick against Harvard here, but I'm going to. I like
Vermont to win it. Harvard a close second, followed by Clarkson and RPI.
The two Ivies, Yale and Dartmouth, bring up the rear and a mad scramble in
between.
WCHA- I would have stuck my neck out and gone with my tiebreaker team, SCSU,
but I thought better of it. Can't expect Minnesota to start as poorly as
they did last year, so they'll be my #1. CC close behind in second, with
UW third. Picking a last place team is tough, but I'll go with North Dakota.
Look for Denver to improve with the G man at the helm.
CCHA- Can break the teams up into three categories: the Contenders (3), the
Middle of the Roaders (4) and the Cellar Dwellars (3). The cellar dwellars
are UIC, ND, and OSU, and that's the order I'll predict they'll finish. The
middle of the roaders are a bit tougher. I expect Petrie to give BG some
quality goaltending this year, so let's give them 4th, with WMU, Miami, and
Ferris close behind. The contenders all have the ability to win the title
in almost any conference. UM was hurt big time by graduation and LSSU lost
one of the best in Blaine Lacher, but the system rolls on. Thus, as many would
have predicted, I'll go with my beloved Spartans to win the conference.
The tiebreaker- So, we've got Providence 8th in their league, Vermont 1st,
UIC 8th and SCSU 4th.
PC plays 24 conference games, so let's say they'll finish 5-16-3 (3
shootout losses) for 13 points
UVM plays 22 conference games, so let's go with 15-5-2 or 32 points
UIC plays 27 conference games, let's give them a 6-18-5 record for
17 points
SCSU plays 32 conference games, let's go with 16-12-4 or 36 points
Giving us a grand total of 13+32+17+36 or 96 points
So, my official entry:
Hockey-L Regular Season Prediction Contest
Name: G. M. Finniss
Team you mostly follow: Michigan State
E-mail address: [log in to unmask]
HOCKEY EAST ECAC
1. Boston University 1. Vermont
2. New Hampshire 2. Harvard
3. Northeastern 3. Clarkson
4. Maine 4. RPI
5. Mass Lowell 5. Brown
6. Merrimack 6. Union
7. Boston College 7. Cornell
8. Providence 8. Colgate
9. Mass Amherst 9. St. Lawrence
10. Princeton
11. Yale
12. Dartmouth
CCHA WCHA
1. Michigan State 1. Minnesota
2. Lake Superior State 2. Colorado College
3. Michigan 3. Wisconsin
4. Bowling Green 4. Saint Cloud State
Western Michigan 5. Northern Michigan
6. Miami 6. Denver
7. Ferris State 7. Alaska-Anchorage
8. Illinois-Chicago 8. Minnesota-Duluth
9. Notre Dame 9. Michigan Tech
10. Ohio State 10. North Dakota
Tiebreaker: Sum of conference points of Providence, Vermont, Illinois-
Chicago, and Saint Cloud State (as in 2 for a win, 1 for
a tie or shootout loss [HE only]): 96
_______________________________________________________________________________
For those of you still wishing to enter, remember that the polls will stay
open until TOMORROW, 14 October 1994 at 5:00 pm EDT. A summary of the picks
in the pool will be presented on Monday, 17 October 1994, including a break-
down of how many votes each team got for which place and the "Hockey-L con-
sensus" on how the conference races "should turn out." Updates to the stand-
ings will be provided each six weeks (roughly). The first will come during
Thanksgiving Week (or thereabouts) when there is a break in conference action.
Others are planned for Christmas and February 1.
G. M. Finniss
Michigan State University
WVU '87, UTenn '92, MSU who the hell knows when?
ONLY 2 DAYS UNTIL THE START OF THE SEASON (at least in Spartan Country...)
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