To add some statistical fuel to the offense vs. defense fire ... Using the CHODR ratings from the end of the 1995-96 season, we can compute a correlation (actually a rank correlation) between Winning Percentage and the Offensive and Defensive ratings. The results are: Winning Pct. vs. CHODR Offense rating r = 0.87 Winning Pct. vs. CHODR Defense rating r = 0.80 Winning Pct. vs. CHODR Overall rating r = 0.94 So, if we can't have both a strong offense and defense, it appears that a strong offense is slightly more likely to give a good winning pct. BTW, the (rank) correlation between CHODR offensive and defensive ratings is r=0.66, probably mostly a reflection of overall stronger talent vs. weaker talent. Robin Lock [log in to unmask] HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.