What is the status of Mankato State's attempts to step up to Div. I? I was under the impression that they had a new rink and wanted to join the CCHA. Also, I'd appreciate the insights of my esteemed Hockey-L colleagues on this one. I had a wonderful discussion with a coworker who played hockey (plus basketball and, believe it or not, football) here at UAF, then known as *the* University of Alaska, back in the early 50's. Seems that they did a lot of traveling as there was not an abundance of opponents locally. Hmm, this sounds vaguely familiar... At any rate, we are both season ticket holders and get to see a lot of Nanook hockey. In our discussion, he echoed my sentiments that it seems as if conference affiliation is putting more and more of a squeeze on schools to reduce non-conference games. For instance, our friends down at UAA play only two non-WCHA games a year, with those two being a home-and-home series with us at the beginning of the season. They made us something of an ultimatum that it was opening weekend or never, as they have no flexibility within their conference schedule. I recall a similar discussion not long ago stemming from the 34 game limit, etc. And while this may not be the best time to take shots at conference games (what with these playoffs and all...) I thought I'd check your collective barometer readings on the subject. Here's my idea: Instead of playing each conference team 3 or 4 times per season (CCHA, WHCA and I'm not too sure abouth the eastern schools) why not play a season schedule like the football, or better yet basketball teams? They play up to 40% of their games out of the conference. IMHO, fewer conference games means more intense conference games. More non-conference games can help establish new regional rivalries. The Big 8 basketball and football teams come to mind. Even though the Huskers and Sooners only play football once a year and basketball twice a year, their meetings are always instense and exciting for fans and players alike. At the same time the OU/Texas game has been a fan favorite for years but would not be possible under a more restrictive Big 8 schedule. AS for scheduling, I personally think there is not much validity in the 11th commandment which states "Thou shalt play each conference opponent in both home and away games each season." As next season will show for UAF, alternate year home/away series is perfectly acceptable. Here's the $64,000 question: What do you folks think? Would you like to see more conference games or more non-conference games? Some might argue that the ECAC or the CCHA is too big to allow for non-conference scheduling. As with the SEC, who wants a conference so big one team can't make the rounds in a signle season? One idea might be to revive the fifth conference idea again, with a realignment to allow for 8-school conferences. Hey, its a lot easier for tournament scheduling... Enough already! So as to reserve bandwith for tourney discussions, you are encouraged to respond directly. I'll tabulate the concensus of opinion and report back to the list. Oh, one more thing. I am absolutely *thrilled* with UAF's full entry into the CCHA, as well as UAA's affiliation with the WCHA. These are great selling points for both programs and Alaska hockey from the top down to the little guys. Do not mistake my musings for dissatisfaction with conference affilation on the whole... Mark Sonnier UAF '90, '96