Some discussion has been going on concerning the fact that if the seedings were calculated today, BU would carry the #1 seed over Maine. As a biased BU fan, I would like to add my 2 cents. First off, Maine had been very impressive this season, blowing away all preseason predictions. After Saturday, does Maine deserve to be ranked #1? I don't know. Michigan and BU plead strong cases. Maine has the best shot at winning Hockey East, but BU is very close. Since they play the same # of teams the same # of times, the conference battle (assuming they stay close) will be basically a wash. At least for comparing the strengths of the two teams. Seeing this, we must look at the non-conference play. Strength of schedule is important for the RPICH and I agree that it is an important factor. BU has had a much tougher schedule than Maine. While BU is playing above average teams like Minnesota, W.Michigan, RPI, Harvard, and Vermont; Maine is playing 3 at Alaska-Fairbanks and hosting 2 against St. Cloud, two below-average teams. (no flames intended) Maine is winning those games, but so is BU, against more impressive teams. Even though Maine has only 2 losses, they have *6* ties. Maine has the same number of "non-wins" as BU. How different is a tie from a one goal loss? Well, that is another whole discussion. Anyway, BU seems to have been more impressive (undefeated) in non-conference play. As for head to head, when the RPICH is close, this becomes more of an important factor. Maine is 2-0-2 against BU, with the two wins coming by only one goal. One of the games (at Maine) the win was assured as BU (I mean Maine) had a huge lead and BU closed the gap to one with only 9 (I think) seconds remaining. The other (Freezeout) could have gone either way as Maine won in OT after coming back from a deficit. It is worth noting that for the past few years BU has started slowly (not really an excuse). The BU-Maine series was over early in the season. The two teams could be different at the end of the season. I wonder if Shawn Walsh (and other coaches) have any say in scheduling? I am not knocking Maine. They are an excellent team and definitely one of the top 3 in the NC$$. I just think that there are valid reasons why BU could (and maybe should) have a higher seeding than Maine at this point of the season. Brian Gentry BU'95 GO TERRIERS! BRING THE BEANPOT HOME!