It was the NCAA who pushed the exemptions back, not Maine.  The NCAA's
rationale is that because the appeal is pushing so late into the season, and
since Maine had their schedule set already.  Maine scheduled 35 games before
they were banned, and the appeal was originally supposed to be over in
Novemember/December.
 
That begs the question, would the NCAA do that if that meant Maine would
have to schedule nine less games the following season to comply?  Perhaps
they would, why should they (NCAA) care?
 
Another possible option is to simply sit out the Hockey East tournament, and
save five games on your schedule.  That seems drastic and forfeiting a game
would be easier to me.
 
As Mike points out, forfeiting a game opens a new can of worms, but should
the appeal fail, and should Maine clarify that they must schedule for the
nine games next year, then forfeiting a contest this season is the best
solution IMHO.
 
For those who may not understand exactly what we are talking about here.
The NCAA allows member institutions in Division I hockey to schedule 34
games, with several "exemptions".  Those exemptions are too numerous to
list, but include games against Canadian teams, trips to Alaska, and most
importantly the conference (Hockey East and NCAA playoffs).
 
Also at issue is the fact that Maine is locked into 24 games already with
the Hockey East schedule.  If Maine had to take nine games off their
schedule (to make sure they can play in both the Hockey East (5 games max)
and the NCAA (4 games max) that would only allow them a schedule of 25 games
next season.  In other words, only ONE non-conference game outside of the
Hockey East games.  That would mean no holiday tournaments, including the
Governor's Cup and J.C. Penney Classic, unless Hockey East sanctioned any of
those games to be league contests, which I'd imagine is unlikely.
 
I find it hard to believe that after all that has gone on, that Maine would
be so casual as to not take the time to fully go over the rules and options
prior to allowing this team to play 35 games and handcuff their team next year.
 
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Deron Treadwell ([log in to unmask])