Running College Hockey Thread

Didn't Joe Juneau go to RPI?

 

As did Adam Oates, as previously mentioned. I think Juneau only was there for a year or two before the '92 Olympics, though I could be wrong.

 

And your Beanpot champion is ... BU, 2-1 winners in overtime against BC. Good physical game.

 

Beanpot U. does it again.

 

Go BU! Go BU!
Down the ice to score anew
We'll fight for our alma mater
On to sure victory! (BC sucks!)

 

Damn it all to hell. I missed the game. 24, YOU SUCK!

Sounds like it was a good one.

 

Definitely so. John Curry, BU's goalie, is the real deal. Cory Schneider, BC's goalie, isn't too shabby in net, either.

 

Three of the six conferences (Atlantic Hockey, CCHA, ECAC) have their post-season brackets set...

Highlights:
- RIT won Atlantic Hockey in its first season in D1, but is ineligible for the post-season tourney and the NCAA...
- Further proof that College Hockey America is dead: playing its tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, when the closest school is Bemidji State - a mere eight hour drive away...
- Cornell backed its way into a bye for the ECAC tournament, getting fourth seed despite dropping its two games last weekend, only because Quinnipiac did the exact same thing. Not exactly playing well in the clutch... interestingly, if Quinnipiac wins its first-round series this weekend, they play at Cornell in the quarters.
- Not sure I like the WCHA's "Final Five" format, because I don't know if I like two teams having to play one extra game that final weekend. It makes more sense to me to give some byes and equalize the final weekend.
- No matter how much I may dislike the WCHA's format, it sure beats the hell out of Hockey East's leaving two teams out of the tournament altogether.

And finally, college hockey "experts" proclaim there to be four major leagues and two minor ones (Atlantic Hockey & CHA). I tend to think there's a three-tier system, with WCHA, CCHA and Hockey East on the top level (proof? look where their tournaments are being held: Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston), one mid-level league (ECAC, playing in Albany, NY - decent, but not on the same tier) and two low-level ones (Atlantic Hockey in Rochester, CHA in Des Moines). ECAC will be a one-bid league if Clarkson wins the tournament; tied for the biggest conference in size, yet getting the same number as the minor leagues... sounds like a mid-major to me.

- Oh, and the NCAA tournament's too big anyway. 16-team tournament for a 59-team sport? Would it be that way if the sport didn't generate the revenue it does for the NCAA? Not a chance in hell.... To make the comparable assessment, that'd be about a 90-team NCAA tournament for men's basketball....

 

Yes, because nothing says excitement like watching the better Boston team and the better of the two Northern teams beat the holy fuck out of Merrimack and Northeastern every year. Hell, why even bother with the regular season?

The math might be right, but of the 339 Division 1 teams, there aren't more than 100 with any real quality. Even that's a stretch. Of the 59 in college hockey, at least 40 are decent, and it's usually more than that every year. So, Hockey East needs to expand its tournament, but the national tournament needs to shrink?

 

When did Quinnipiac join the ECAC?

Atlantic Hockey is a sham. Bentley's home rink must be the worst in the country for a scholarship hockey program. They barely can schedule ice time, since they're fighting off about seven high schools to use that place.

And I was a tad young to remember the Hockeyfest days at the Garden, when the ECAC and Hockey East tournaments were held simultaneously the first few years after Hockey East split off. Would be far preferable to the ECAC's situation now, though.

 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming tournaments, but I'm really looking forward to seeing some Denver/Colorado College hockey on Friday!