> I really think this is an opportunity for the WCHA to strengthen it's  
> out-of-league schedule and would personally like to see games  
> scheduled regularly with Hockey East again. Back when the two leagues  
> had an interlocking schedule, it was a most exciting time and HE  
> looked forward to matching wits with the WCHA. Very, very enjoyable  
> for the fans and I'm fairly sure the players liked it also. I know we  
> can't get back to that kind of schedule, but if games could be  
> scheduled on a regular basis between the two leagues, I think it  
> would be great for college hockey in general and give us so much more  
> to talk about when playoff time starts to come around.

Assuming a 22-game regular season schedule (2 games per league
opponent), compared to the current 28-game regular season schedule, that
requires 72 more non-conference games. I don't think that 72 more games
are out there to be scheduled.

For most (all?) WCHA schools, scheduling most HE teams is not attractive
to the fans ("who the hell is lowell?"), and thus reduced ticket
sales/revenue. That is the last thing schools want. They are already
unhappy about the potential lost revenue of adding two schools that no
one has heard of, and having to split league revenue 12 ways instead of 10.

> On Jun 29, 2009, at 12:28 AM, Sara M. Fagan wrote:
> 
> > Why are 2 games per team too few?  The ECAC plays each other team 2  
> > times (home and away).  They then have openings to play teams in  
> > other leagues.  I really like the ECAC setup.  It is a balanced  
> > schedule.  I find it very fair.

The ECAC schools are not quite as close to each other as HE (where most
of the rinks are within a slapshot of each other), but travel in the
WCHA make the 2-game series the only practical choice.

   --david