The format for selecting all-tournament teams varies from
place to place - usually, the media do the voting and the
host Sports Information Director or publicist does the
tabulating. During an in-season tournament, the opportunity
for bizarre results is at its highest. Consider a tourney
like last year's Dexter Shoe Classic, where Maine competed
against Acadia, Princeton and Colgate. The ratio of Black
Bears media to visiting media was probably 4-1, but I don't
think that was taken into account when ballots were distributed.
 
On the other hand, consider the ECAC tournament - an end-of-season,
regional affair. Ballots were given to one media person representing
each of the four teams. I assume that other ballots went to
(theoretically) neutral tournament officials and media. The more
neutral observers who vote, the more likely the balloting
won't be skewed.
 
Timing may come into play - the media for the
teams involved in a consolation game may not be present when the
balloting takes place.
 
The bottom line is that all-tournament voting is never perfect,
but that the SIDs and publicists who manage it can put some
controls into effect to try and make it as fair as possible.
 
Geoff Howell
Drop the Puck Magazine
 
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