I agree with those commending the selection committee on a fine choice
this year. It makes even more sense if you look at the seeds by pairs. To
wit:
#1 seed: CC, BU
No surprise here.
#2 seed: Michigan, Vermont
Not really a surprise with Vermont getting the east 2 bye, from what we
have heard. But was anyone else amazed at what the eastern teams did to
avoid getting the bye? :-)
#3 seed: Minnesota, LSSU
Clearly the next highest in the rankings. Who goes where? To avoid
conference matchups, LSSU goes east. Also, this could be seen as
"punishment" on Minn for having a rough February. Good call -- Lake State
deserves the easier path.
#4 seed: Mass-Lowell, Western Michigan
Again, the two highest remaining seeds (not counting Maine). Who goes
where? Again, to avoid conference match-ups, WMU east, UML west. After
1994, it might sting for UML fans to go west again, but they managed to
play well then, and I don't see why they can't do it again. They get an
easier path this way, if you ask me.
#5 seed: Michigan State, Clarkson
Okay, according to the PWR, Michigan St. is tied with UML. Not that it
matters in a 4-5 game who is seeded higher. State stays home, Clarkson
stays east.
#6 seed: Providence, Cornell
The two lowest ranked teams. Providence has the lower ranking, and so
deserves the tougher path, so they go west. Cornell, with their large fan
base, stays east.
Actually, before anyone jumps on me about it, it looks as though there is
a discrepancy here. According to the final PWR, located at
http://www.math.umn.edu/~urton/chockey/articles/pwr.html
it could have been (depending on tie-breaker)
#4 seed: Michigan State, Western Michigan
Michigan State stays home, Western Michigan goes east. Easy call.
#5 seed: Mass Lowell, Clarkson
Mass Lowell deserves the easiest path, which is in the east. Clarkson,
with the bigger fan support, stays home. This also has the advantage of
avoiding a match-up with UML and BU if UML wins. Makes sense either way.
With Lowell and State tied, either could be 4-5, since they still play
each other. By being bumped west, they deserve the higher seed (and
presumably last change on the ice that goes with it).
On Mon, 18 Mar 1996, Robin Lock wrote:
> Would Lowell really prefer to swap places with Cornell and face LSSU in
> the first round and then BU? IMHO, that's the toughest route to the Cincy.
Right sentiment, wrong facts. Lowell, I would think, has to be pretty
happy with their draw. As it is, they face a slumping Michigan State and
post-season dud Colorado College.
If they had stayed east, they would have played Western Michigan and
then BU (who has beaten them twice, soundly, in their last two meetings).
If they switched with Cornell, they have to play LSSU, and if they beat
them, Vermont.
If I were them, I would be pretty happy with what they got.
By the way, if any bracket contained both Lake State and BU, as Robin
suggests, it *would* be the toughest route to Cinci. But no path goes
that way. For my money, the Providence-Minnesota-Michigan bracket is the
toughest.
The only fault I can find with the choices the selection committee has
made was in the selection of Vermont as the #2 bye in the east.
Especially with Vermont splitting the weekend (and losing to sub-.500
Harvard!), UML losing twice, Clarkson losing twice, and underdogs
Providence and Cornell, with no shot at the bye, winning two games each.
Looks bad, guys. I was all ready to give Vermont the bye if they won
their tournament after gaining the regular season title...
But there were at least two teams that performed well enough to deserve
it more. So what if these teams happen to be in the west? The only
justification I can see for this is that Vermont will almost guarantee
attendance on the second day of games in Albany.
-Lee-nerd
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"It is not written in the stars that I will always understand what is
going on - a truism that I often find damnably annoying."
-Robert Heinlein
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