>>> Michael Farrell <[log in to unmask]> 06/19/97 12:32pm >>> <snip> I think the NCAA should loook into extending their schedule and making the college hockey season consist of 60-70 or so games, to be played on a rotating schedule like Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Monday, Wednesday,Friday or college hockey will continue to lose the top kids to the OHL and WHL- === I must respectfully disagree. Part of the reason an athelete goes to college is to get an education (at least I hope so). If colleges were to play a 60-70 game schedule, they would not have time for class. We're talking an NHL like schedule here. Would I like to see 40 games, just on weekends - you bet. Part of the benefit to playing "weekend hockey" is the paractice time the team spends Monday - Thursday. The 8 hrs+ that the team is on the ice will give them an opportunity to improve skills, work on specialty teams that would not happen if you're on the bus going from campus to campus. The local NHL team has a full time *SKATING* instructor that teaches the players just out from Jr how to skate properly. If the players had spent more time practicing and less time playing, maybe their skating skills would not need improvement. I'm amazed that the roundball players can squeeze the same number of games as hockey players in a two month less leason and get an education. I looked at Wake Forest's schedule last year. It *averaged* one game every 3 days. There was *no* time, IMHO, for the student athletes to get the student side down. The 60-70 game schedule is what Jr's are for. The highly skilled player who is a #1 pick will, most likely, play Jr. The middle of the pack kid will pick betwen Tier II Jr A and college. Now if we went back to a draft age of 21...... Joe HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.