In the "Excuses Are Like (you know what) -- Everybody's Got One" Department,
I have this to offer:
 
The ECAC should give serious consideration to the NC$$ venues when it picks a
site for its tournament.  Olympic-sized ice is wonderful for the aesthetics
of the game, (I would loved to have seen Tech at Placid), but it does
nothing to prepare your teams for playing tournament hockey on 200x85
ice the following weekend.  The extra 7.5 feet on each side produces
the same effect on the game as college rules do compared to the pros --
namely the lack of two-line offsides and the extra four feet behind the
goal line.  The game is simply faster and more wide open.
 
BTW, I know of only 6 Olympic-sized rinks in the Northeast -- 2 @ Placid,
2 @ UMass, Amherst, (the beautiful new Mullin Center), 1 @ Albany
Airport, and 1 @ Cromwell, CT.  (My kids tell me that the practice rink at
Umass is very hot, has soft ice, strange bounces off the boards, and
inadequate locker facilities for rentals.  I presume that'll get
straightened out.)
 
For those years that the NC$$ East regional is NOT played at Placid or UMass,
(most), I think the ECAC should consider the Knick or the Hartford Civic
Center. Both are centrally located, and both would do well with a local draw.
Hartford has an NHL tenant, so perhaps they would have the edge in
preparation.  I'm told by those who have skated on it that the Hartford
ice is super.
 
 
--  Dick Tuthill,  Clarkson '67
    Ardent Fan of UConn Husky Hockey (19-6-2 in 92/93!!!)
    Congrats to Bruce Marshall on building the UConn program!!