Before I get to my main topic, I just wish to say that Dartmouth is one of only *two* DivI league teams that will have ended the 1994-95 season with a win and a winning streak. Second, many people on this list are complaining because 40 of 42 league teams (including UAF) make their respective league playoffs. After reading how this is not fair to the top teams, the fans, etc.., I wonder if any of you have really thought this through? First, and I think this is very important, this is not the pros. This young men (and women) are at school to gain an education, not just to play a sport. How would you feel playing for UMass Amherst or Ohio State and knowing in January there was no realistic chance of making the playoffs? What if you are a fan of those teams? Would you like knowing your team was going to be sitting home in March? It is still very unlikely that UMA or OSU will win their league tournament, but they know they have a chance to do so and to make the NCAA tournament. That is why the leagues most likely assign the automatic NCAA bid to the league tournament champion and not the regular season champion. Even the bottom teams still have something to play for during the season and playoffs. Back in 1966 Michigan State won the NCAA tournament as a huge underdog. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 9-11-0 record and a sixth place conference finish. I assume that the won their league championship, because they were in the NCAA tournament (when only four teams were involved). They won, beating BU, 2-1, in the semifinals and Clarkson, 6-1, in the final. And last year Michigan Tech made a strong run for the WCHA tournament title after finishing last in the regular season. Second, not having the bottom teams making the playoffs could actually end up hurting each league. Many of the bottom teams have been their for many years as they try to rebuild (or build period, like UMass Amherst). As hard as it is for this teams to recruit now, how much harder would it be if recruited players knew that there was almost no chance of making the league playoffs and NCAAs for some, or all, of their years to the school? Yes, I mentioned they players are in school for an education, which school would you prefer to go to? A school that could win a league and NCAA title, or a school that has little chance of even making the playoffs? As a fan, I do not like every team in the leagues making the playoffs. I would like all the leagues to only have the top eight teams in the playoffs. It would appear to make the regular season more important, but is that really true? Actually the ECAC and Hockey East do make the winner of the regular season (top 2 teams in the ECAC) get a better deal than the WCHA and CCHA league winners. They play a team which is coming off a mid-week game they had to win to be able to play the top team in their league. As mentioned in another post, Clarkson and Brown (and Maine in Hockey East) have a better deal than the 3-4 ECAC teams and 2-4 Hockey East teams. Maybe the WCHA and CCHA should change their league formats so that the bottom teams must play the extra game first, instead of having the middle of the league teams play an extra game in the middle of the tournament. It makes more sense to me for Notre Dame to play Ferris State and Illinois-Chicago to play Western Michigan at the same time UAF plays OSU in the CCHA. The three winners would then go on to place the 1 thru 3 place teams. The WCHA could have Alaska Anchorage play at the seveth place team and Northern Michigan at the eighth place team with the winners go on to play the top two teams. By the way, back in the old ECAC days the players and fans of the teams not in the playoffs had to go to the Boston Garden to watch the games, since the tournament was not on TV. Sean Pickett Go BU Terriers, 1994 Hockey East Champions! BU Hockey Page: http://www.tiac.net/users/spickett/hockey.html [log in to unmask]