This was very interesting, and I thank Mike for taking the time to
type it in.  It did raise a few questions, though, all related -
questions I have occasionally wondered about.  Maybe some Western
hockey historians can help.
 
* What was the reason behind the mass exodus of 4 WCHA schools to the
CCHA after the 1980-81 season?  Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan
Tech, and Notre Dame all bolted to leave the WCHA with 6 teams and
increasing the CCHA's total to 11.  Was there anything behind this
besides geographical considerations?
 
* From 1977-80, each year, 3 West teams received bids to the NC$$ DivI
Tournament, and the CCHA playoff champ was allowed to play in a "West
Quarterfinal" game against, I believe, the lower seeded of the two
WCHA teams that received bids.  1978 was the only time that the CCHA
team (Bowling Green) hosted that game.
 
But in 1981, the tourney expanded to 8 teams - 4 West, 4 East.  Did
each of the three conferences then receive one automatic bid?
 
In 1980, Northern Michigan won the CCHA playoffs and then went all the
way to the NC$$ Championship Game before losing to North Dakota.  That
was the farthest a CCHA team had ever gone.  Did this signal the true
arrival of the CCHA as a nationally respected conference, and was the
performance of NMU on behalf of the CCHA a reason for the DivI tourney
expansion to 8 teams?
 
How about that mass exodus from the WCHA - did it help that the
conference the teams were to go to (CCHA) was now getting an automatic
bid?  Or did the conference get the bid only after the new teams
joined?
 
* After 1980-81, the CCHA contained all three of the DivI Upper
Peninsula teams - LSSU, MTU, and NMU.  But after 1983-84, MTU returned
to the WCHA, and NMU went along too.  What led them to do this after
only three seasons in the CCHA?  Did MTU's desire to be back with its
longtime WCHA rivals play a role?  And why did NMU go too - close ties
with MTU?
 
As with any good history lesson, answers only lead to more questions. :-)
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93
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