Jayson writes:
>Indications are that Mount Allison has a good hockey team. Better than
>average when one thinks about Canadian colleges.
 
I don't know how they'll be this coming season, but Mount Allison finished
last in the MacAdam Division of the AUAA in 92-93 with a 6-19-1 record,
giving up an average of almost six goals a game.
 
Some of the best Canadian schools appear to be Ottawa, Dalhousie, Acadia,
New Brunswick, Toronto, and Alberta.  Alberta played Michigan this season
and gave them a tough series, it seemed.  UNH will play Acadia, the
defending CIAU champion, in an exhibition in October and then travel for a
pair at Dalhousie.  New Brunswick was thrashed twice by Maine last year.
I saw Ottawa play an exhibition at Merrimack early last year and they lost
9-1, but it was their third game against a HE school in three days.
 
Ralph writes:
>>It is surprising that Hockey-L gets
>>no reports on Canadian College teams, which I assume would be allowed
>>under the charter.  There was a very recent post to the effect that it
>>is surprising that Canadian Schools are not better than they are.
 
The charter does allow talk on Canadian teams, but there does not seem to
be much interest out there.  The most you'll usually see comes when a
Canadian team faces a US team.  And the only time I saw any talk on CIAU
teams on rec.sport.hockey came during the Canadian national championships,
when the Acadia fans came out of the woodwork. :-)
 
I'm not familiar enough with Canadian university teams to know why they
aren't better than they are, but I can suggest a few possible reasons.
It doesn't seem as if the Canadian schools either have the resources that
American schools do or else they just do not put as much money into hockey.
And the best Canadian players who opt for college want to come to the US
where (as some have said) they perceive the education and the level of play
to be better.  Very few players go from Canadian schools to the pros.
 
If you ever get to see a roster for a Canadian university, most of the
players tend to be in their mid-20s or even older.  The eligibility rules
are nowhere near as strict as they are in the NC$$, and I believe most of
the players are ones who either have no more NC$$ eligibility or don't have
much of a chance of making it in the pros anymore, so they tend to be there
primarily for school and they take advantage of the chance to play hockey
at the same time.
 
I don't think Canadian schools offer scholarships, which could lead you to
think that that is a reason why so many players go to the US to play, but
then again I think secondary education in Canada is virtually free to all
citizens - if not completely free (discounting what you pay in taxes to
support it).  Maybe someone who knows more can post.
 
BTW, I noticed in THN this week that Stan Fischler wrote (take it for what
it's worth) that the NHL was very interested in changing the touch icing
rule so that icing would be automatic once the puck crosses the goal line.
The current NHL rule has been in place since 1937.  Fischler said the
change could be put in place as early as this fall, and that it is prompted
by several injuries that may or may not be attributed to the current icing
policy.  That would bring the NHL even closer to college.
 
In the same issue, Mike Brophy predicts that the Sharks will take Kariya
second this weekend.  Kariya is rated 5th by the CSB among North American
players.  There is a picture of seven of the top rated players, and all
have their junior uniforms on - except Kariya, who had to wear his Team
Canada jersey by NC$$ rules.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
alternate address days: [log in to unmask]             *HMN*  11/13/93
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)