In regards to Clarkson's (and most likely other team's) scheduling of non-league opponents, the majority of the schedule is hammered out a year in advance. So it is kind of hard to predict which team is going to be good next year. Clarkson and Saint Lawrence have had rotating agreements with Northeastern, Lowell, BC, BU, UNH and the Syracuse and Dexter Tournaments. BU pulled out this year while BC came up here. BU went to play RPI and another ECAC, missing two of the top four ECAC teams. It looks like BU opted for an easier schedule. As for Concordia, I'm pretty sure that Clarkson has played them every other (at least) for a long while, 9 years or more. Since Concordia is a Canadian team, and doesn't figure into TCHCR or the NC#^ seeding, what's the big deal? The two schools have established a series and it shouldn't be dropped just because Concordia isn't good enough for some people. Is there going to be more declarations of schedule padding when Clarkson plays the SIT because Ohio State and Army are going to be there? Actually, I don't think Clarkson has any say in who gets invited to that (or the Dexter) tournament. Who does? The host team? I do believe that strength of schedule is important, but teams should not go searching around for the best teams to play, especiallywhen a repertoire has been established. Also, what will the lower teams do when no one schedules a game against them, and how does one expect them to have any motivation to improve? Too bad Clarkson can't take the three worst teams in Div I and go to Hawaii and have a tournament just like Georgetown does in basket- ball. :-) Mike Zak Clarkson '87, '91, '92