[ Mankato State goes Div. I, joins the WCHA, and ralphs up the scheduling ]
 
G. M. writes:
>Actually, the problem has pretty much already been solved for you, if you
>take a look at what the CCHA has done with 11 teams where one is based in
>Alaska.  Now, I realize that the distances involved in the WCHA are much
>larger than those in the CCHA, but cutting back from playing each conference
>opponent 4 times (with 2 exceptions per year) down to 3 each would free up
>at least 2 more games for non-conference opponents (more if you have to go
>to Alaska for 3).
 
Sounds good, but if I were a betting man (which, OK, I am), I would not bet
on the WCHA doing this.  They had a chance to do something similar when
Alaska-Anchorage joined the league a couple years ago, but they stuck with
the 32-game league schedule, with each team playing seven opponents four
times (28 games) and the other two twice (4 games).
 
My guess would be that if, in fact, Mankato does join the WCHA, the league
will stick with the 32-game schedule, altering it so that each team will
play four games against six opponents (24 games), and two games against the
remaining four opponents (8 games).  Which will make the schedule even more
unbalanced than it already is.  Imagine the effect on league standings if
one team has to play the toughest three or four opponents four times in a
season, and another team lucks out and only has to play those same teams
twice.
 
This is, of course, assuming that the NC$$ doesn't do something like drop
the limit on games from 34 to 30 in the meantime (1/2 :-)
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!
Rebuild the Tradition                                           DJF  5/27/94
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