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John Haeussler wrote... >Greenie <[log in to unmask]> writes... >>My question is: Of the coaches out there in Div 1 hockey, who puts stock in >>the polls? For years Jack Parker has claimed he cares nothing about the >>polls, except at the end of the year when the polls are a source of seeding >>the tournmament. If so, wouldn't the week-to-week standing be important >>also? > >I *assume* that several people jumped on this privately, but >since I haven't seen anything on Hockey-L...the polls are NOT >a source of seeding for any tournament that I'm aware of. The >only rating of any relevance is the NCAA's Rating Percentage >Index (RPI), and its role has been downplayed for 1995-96. >The RPI is based solely on games versus other NCAA Division >I tourney eligible teams and is a linear combination of winning >percentage, opponents winning percentage and opponents >opponents winning percentage. Skim the Hockey-L archives >and you'll find more than you ever wanted to know/read about >the RPI. :-) True, the RPI is closely examined when the tournament seedings are made. But isn't the tournament commitee made up of coaches and athletic directors (I know Parker sits on the tournament-seeding committee)? If so, wouldn't the "Coache's Poll" definitely have something to say about a team's chances at getting a better spot in the tournament? Sure, if a team is in the top 4 or even top 8 you've really got nothing to worry about, even if you lose your conference tournament... but what about the teams on the fringe? I remember a few years ago (sorry, I'm a little foggy on the exact teams here) when a team from the WCHA/CCHA side of the bracket (Wisconsin?) was given the #6 East seed normally used for a ECAC/HE team (Umass-Lowell, I believe?). I remember there was considerable controversy regarding this selection, as the "West" team had a slightly better record, while the "East" team was considered to have a tougher schedule, never mind that the "West" team was given an "East" spot. I don't want to spurn a discussion about this event (I'm sure most of you remember exactly which teams were involved, all the circumstances, etc)... but do you all think that a better standing in the polls would have helped squeeze that "East" selection in? HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.