Karl Schmidt posted the following queries about Army & Air Force: - If they get into the playoffs, it must be through the good graces of the selection committee alone, right? - Has either of these teams ever made the playoffs, or won a chapionship? The NCAA had an automatic bid for independent teams for a couple of seasons - Merrimack, not yet in Hockey East, wound up losing to Lake Superior in the quarterfinals of 1988, after upsetting Northeastern in the first round. St. Cloud, I believe, was the independent rep in 1989 - and the bid was discontinued shortly thereafter because Army & Air Force were the only independent schools remaining in Division I. The Cadets, however, do have a long history in the ECAC. They were an inaugral member in 1961-62, finished fifth and lost to Boston College in the first round of the league tournament. Army also appeared in the ECAC tournament in 1963-64, losing to St. Lawrence, 3-2. Army dropped to Division II status in 1973-74 and subsequently made appearences in the ECAC Division II tournament in '74-'78, '80. Army moved back up to Division I in 1984-85 and remained there until declaring independent status again in 1991 (to be replaced in the ECAC by Union). Since returning to the ranks of the independent, Army has not been impressive against league-affiliated Division I teams. The Cadets defeated Union in 1992, but did not win another game against a league-affiliated team until this season when they topped RPI early in the year. This was probably the best team Army has iced since becoming an independent, going 20-13-1 against all competition. Geoff Howell The Trenton Times Drop the Puck