2017 NCAA Hockey - MOD # 135 - The Road to Chicago

[riverhawkey91]

Updated PWR really shows BC to be fragile. They can not afford to stumble in the HE tourney as their out of conference record isn't good.

http://www.uscho.com/rankings/pairwise-rankings/d-i-men/

Air Force playing in the Atlantic is ridiculous.

I think BC will probably have to win Hockey East to get into the NCAA tourney this year.

They've only got a home & home with UML left, and assuming they at best split, they'll probably be outside of the top 16 going into the conference tournaments. And with the winners getting auto-bids, there are always 3-4 teams that come from outside the top 16 to get into the tournament, so only 12 and up are really all that safe. If they don't win HE, I'm not sure they can get in unless they go through something impressive like Providence/UML and BU in the quarters/semis.

 

[Fenway]

I think BC will probably have to win Hockey East to get into the NCAA tourney this year.

They've only got a home & home with UML left, and assuming they at best split, they'll probably be outside of the top 16 going into the conference tournaments. And with the winners getting auto-bids, there are always 3-4 teams that come from outside the top 16 to get into the tournament, so only 12 and up are really all that safe. If they don't win HE, I'm not sure they can get in unless they go through something impressive like Providence/UML and BU in the quarters/semis.

Then looking ahead you have to wonder how the NCAA will tweak the regionals- where this year they are back in Manchester and Providence.

Harvard appears to be the #1 seed in the East BUT they don't sell tickets so I can see them being sent to Manchester along with Lowell. You just know Providence will be sent to the regional being hosted by Brown just like 2 years ago.

The other 2 regionals are in Cincinnati and Fargo, ND.

Obviously we need to see how the tournaments play out but this year the regional seeding looks like a horror show.

 

[riverhawkey91]

Then looking ahead you have to wonder how the NCAA will tweak the regionals- where this year they are back in Manchester and Providence.

Harvard appears to be the #1 seed in the East BUT they don't sell tickets so I can see them being sent to Manchester along with Lowell. You just know Providence will be sent to the regional being hosted by Brown just like 2 years ago.

The other 2 regionals are in Cincinnati and Fargo, ND.

Obviously we need to see how the tournaments play out but this year the regional seeding looks like a horror show.

I mostly agree with you; it'll be interesting to see if the top 4 stay the same, who ends up out here in Providence if they do indeed send Harvard to Manchester instead? Duluth would take the ND regional, so do they send Denver or Minny?

I like the idea of Lowell playing in Manchester (they, unlike Harvard, will draw a huge crowd only 45 mins from campus), and it makes a bit of sense rankings-wise too. You're definitely right about the committee getting Providence into that Regional especially if it's a non-eastern #1 seed like Minny, so that probably sends BU and ND out west. Right now I've got it somewhere around:

West: 1. UMD vs 4. Notre Dame, 2. Union vs 3. Penn St.
Midwest: 1. Denver vs 4. Air Force, 2. BU vs 3. Cornell
East: 1. Minny vs 4. North Dakota, 2. Western Michigan vs 3. Providence
Northeast: 1. Harvard vs 4. Ohio St., 2. UML vs 3. St. Cloud St.

That'll obviously change with conference tourneys and having to automatically include the WCHA winner, but I think it's a solid baseline.

 

[Fenway]

I mostly agree with you; it'll be interesting to see if the top 4 stay the same, who ends up out here in Providence if they do indeed send Harvard to Manchester instead? Duluth would take the ND regional, so do they send Denver or Minny?

I like the idea of Lowell playing in Manchester (they, unlike Harvard, will draw a huge crowd only 45 mins from campus), and it makes a bit of sense rankings-wise too. You're definitely right about the committee getting Providence into that Regional especially if it's a non-eastern #1 seed like Minny, so that probably sends BU and ND out west. Right now I've got it somewhere around:

West: 1. UMD vs 4. Notre Dame, 2. Union vs 3. Penn St.
Midwest: 1. Denver vs 4. Air Force, 2. BU vs 3. Cornell
East: 1. Minny vs 4. North Dakota, 2. Western Michigan vs 3. Providence
Northeast: 1. Harvard vs 4. Ohio St., 2. UML vs 3. St. Cloud St.

That'll obviously change with conference tourneys and having to automatically include the WCHA winner, but I think it's a solid baseline.

North Dakota is a cinch to play in Fargo as they are the host of that regional. That is the fatal flaw in the system. The other hosts are Brown, Miami (Ohio) and UNH.

I think at some point they are going to have to expand to a field of 24 with 8 teams getting a bye before the regionals. The current system just doesn't work anymore.

 

[Bruins1233]

I mostly agree with you; it'll be interesting to see if the top 4 stay the same, who ends up out here in Providence if they do indeed send Harvard to Manchester instead? Duluth would take the ND regional, so do they send Denver or Minny?

I like the idea of Lowell playing in Manchester (they, unlike Harvard, will draw a huge crowd only 45 mins from campus), and it makes a bit of sense rankings-wise too. You're definitely right about the committee getting Providence into that Regional especially if it's a non-eastern #1 seed like Minny, so that probably sends BU and ND out west. Right now I've got it somewhere around:

West: 1. UMD vs 4. Notre Dame, 2. Union vs 3. Penn St.
Midwest: 1. Denver vs 4. Air Force, 2. BU vs 3. Cornell
East: 1. Minny vs 4. North Dakota, 2. Western Michigan vs 3. Providence
Northeast: 1. Harvard vs 4. Ohio St., 2. UML vs 3. St. Cloud St.

That'll obviously change with conference tourneys and having to automatically include the WCHA winner, but I think it's a solid baseline.

As well as UMass Lowell having more community support (due to not being Boston) you have to remember the majority of UML alumni are from Northeastern Mass, while Harvard is evenly spread around the country. So for Harvard they would draw a similar crowd in Manchester and Cincinnati, meanwhile UML would draw a huge crowd in Boston or Manchester but as close as Albany, not so much.
Although in terms of Local Fanbase, UML is probably #2 in Hockey East, after UCONN which if they didn't play 45 minutes from Campus on Tuesday nights, would probably draw 8,000+.

Also Air force might not actually win Atlantic Hockey, one and one is a killer of giants in the final two rounds. Last year RIT won as a 5 seed.

 

[riverhawkey91]

North Dakota is a cinch to play in Fargo as they are the host of that regional. That is the fatal flaw in the system. The other hosts are Brown, Miami (Ohio) and UNH.

I think at some point they are going to have to expand to a field of 24 with 8 teams getting a bye before the regionals. The current system just doesn't work anymore.

Whoops not sure how I missed that. In that case (based solely on the current rankings) there really isn't a way to avoid a first-round NCHC matchup as they're both locks to be in that regional...though who knows where they both end up rankings-wise when it's all said and done. UMD could drop, giving Minnesota that regional and then it's no longer an issue...and ND isn't even a lock for the tourney at this point.

I don't think the current system is too bad if you view the middle 8 teams as somewhat interchangeable inside their seeds, which is mostly how the committee does it. There's generally a bit of a discrepancy between the PWC/RPI and the weekly poll rankings in that area anyways, so it doesn't really hurt to switch them around to have them fit better. Honestly the biggest issue is the fact that so many Hockey East teams make it and it's hard to avoid matching them up in the Regionals.

 

[HockeyMomx2]

I realize the majority of you don't care much for the women's game, however, yesterday my daughter played her final regular season game of her college career. She's always jokingly referred to herself as the 'Paul Bisonette' of women's ncaa hockey. I looked at her final stat line for her career. Equal amount of points as penalty minutes. She's not too far off in her self assessment. LMAO

 

[riverhawkey91]

As well as UMass Lowell having more community support (due to not being Boston) you have to remember the majority of UML alumni are from Northeastern Mass, while Harvard is evenly spread around the country. So for Harvard they would draw a similar crowd in Manchester and Cincinnati, meanwhile UML would draw a huge crowd in Boston or Manchester but as close as Albany, not so much.
Although in terms of Local Fanbase, UML is probably #2 in Hockey East, after UCONN which if they didn't play 45 minutes from Campus on Tuesday nights, would probably draw 8,000+.

Also Air force might not actually win Atlantic Hockey, one and one is a killer of giants in the final two rounds. Last year RIT won as a 5 seed.

Yeah there's still a lot that could happen. I was just going off of current rankings, and right now Air Force is on the bubble of making it in without even needing to win their conference. In reality them losing would probably just make things more convoluted since that's another team outside of the top 16 to get in, like having to include the WCHA winner. I mentioned it in the post you quoted, but I've always found anyone below 11th/12th in RPI/PCW is in serious danger of being left out of the NCAA tournament based on the teams needing to be added automatically every year.

As far as UML goes, you're definitely right to an extent. They'll do much better locally than abroad, and while Harvard also would, the difference is definitely much larger for UML. But don't sleep on them abroad. Albany last year might not have been great (I wasn't there so no idea), but I do know they did well in Bridgeport a few years ago, as well as the Frozen Four in Pitt the year after, so I think they're capable of doing well almost anywhere.

 

[ODAAT]

North Dakota is a cinch to play in Fargo as they are the host of that regional. That is the fatal flaw in the system. The other hosts are Brown, Miami (Ohio) and UNH.

I think at some point they are going to have to expand to a field of 24 with 8 teams getting a bye before the regionals. The current system just doesn't work anymore.

not terribly familiar with the NCAA system, do the hosts gain an automatic invite to the dance? Thx

 

[riverhawkey91]

not terribly familiar with the NCAA system, do the hosts gain an automatic invite to the dance? Thx

No, they still have to make it in on their own either through ranking or winning their conference. But if a host team does make it into the NCAA tournament, they're automatically placed in the regional they're hosting.

 

[Bruins1233]

not terribly familiar with the NCAA system, do the hosts gain an automatic invite to the dance? Thx

No, but if you do get in you go to your regional.
ex. I believe RPI hosted the Albany Regional last year but did not qualify, but if that had qualified they would have ended up in Albany.
The Women tournament works like the NHL where the top seed hosts I believe.

 

[riverhawkey91]

I realize the majority of you don't care much for the women's game, however, yesterday my daughter played her final regular season game of her college career. She's always jokingly referred to herself as the 'Paul Bisonette' of women's ncaa hockey. I looked at her final stat line for her career. Equal amount of points as penalty minutes. She's not too far off in her self assessment. LMAO

That's awesome, congrats to her and your family! Is there a need for enforcers in the woman's pro game like in the mens? She could make it big with a skillset like that.

I've always found at the lower levels the women's games can be a bit tough to watch (the mens can be as well), but at the highest levels (US/Canada in the Olympics) they're awesome. Some years the women's Olympic games have been more compelling and fun to watch than any of the men's games.

 

[HockeyMomx2]

That's awesome, congrats to her and your family! Is there a need for enforcers in the woman's pro game like in the mens? She could make it big with a skillset like that.

I've always found at the lower levels the women's games can be a bit tough to watch (the mens can be as well), but at the highest levels (US/Canada in the Olympics) they're awesome. Some years the women's Olympic games have been more compelling and fun to watch than any of the men's games.

Not so much enforcers as hall monitors. LOL She played with the boys through midgets, she can handle physical when it's needed. She was a big fish in a little pond through high school and then became the guppy in the ocean in college. She adjusted her game and did what she had to do to stay on the roster and not be scratched come game night. She embraced it and had a good time with it. Easier for girls to do I imagine, as there isn't much for them afterwards.

Yes, some games are tough to watch, playing anyone outside of the top 5 or 7 can get ugly quick. Lots of new teams cropping up too so some real ugly ones against those schools for all the top teams.

 

[Bruins1233]

This weekends matchups to watch
PC vs Massachusetts
ND vs BU
UML vs BC (Thurs/Fri)
UML is playing for the bye, probably needs at least 2 points because otherwise Providence will take it because against UMA they're probably good for at least 3 points.
BC is playing for pairwise, because I doubt BU will sweep ND leading to them taking the lead in HEA. BC probably needs a sweep, or 3 points, as 15/16 is not getting an at large bid, and 14 probably not, but that depends on conference champs.
UNH and Northeastern will be scoreboard watching to see who gets home ice, NU needs to win out, UNH needs NU to get 1 less point than them.

In Atlantic Hockey
Holy Cross can get the bye is they sweep Bentley, as Mercyherst only has 1 game left and has a 1 game lead. If RIT gets a point against Mercyherst, they clinch home ice for the first round.
If Air force beats Sacred Heart they win Atlantic Hockey, but Canisius hasn't lost since like December or something so they'll be a force in the Tournament.

Harvard will look to take ECAC Regular season championship, but Union must get 1 less point than them this weekend.
Quinnipiac/Yale is this weekend which is a pretty big game always.

 

[riverhawkey91]

This weekends matchups to watch
PC vs Massachusetts
ND vs BU
UML vs BC (Thurs/Fri)
UML is playing for the bye, probably needs at least 2 points because otherwise Providence will take it because against UMA they're probably good for at least 3 points.
BC is playing for pairwise, because I doubt BU will sweep ND leading to them taking the lead in HEA. BC probably needs a sweep, or 3 points, as 15/16 is not getting an at large bid, and 14 probably not, but that depends on conference champs.
UNH and Northeastern will be scoreboard watching to see who gets home ice, NU needs to win out, UNH needs NU to get 1 less point than them.

In Atlantic Hockey
Holy Cross can get the bye is they sweep Bentley, as Mercyherst only has 1 game left and has a 1 game lead. If RIT gets a point against Mercyherst, they clinch home ice for the first round.
If Air force beats Sacred Heart they win Atlantic Hockey, but Canisius hasn't lost since like December or something so they'll be a force in the Tournament.

Harvard will look to take ECAC Regular season championship, but Union must get 1 less point than them this weekend.
Quinnipiac/Yale is this weekend which is a pretty big game always.

If UML sweeps BC and BU/ND split, UML wins Hockey East. I'm holding out hope for that

 

[Bruins1233]

If UML sweeps BC and BU/ND split, UML wins Hockey East. I'm holding out hope for that

Would you know the Capacity of the Tsongas Center for Hockey, UML says its 6,003, but the record attendance is 7,649, and 1,646 (27.5% capacity) seems like an awful lot of SRO, considering the Polisseni Center at RIT holds 4,000 (with 1/4 bleachers) with 300 Standing Room.
Wikipedia says the Capacity is 6,496 which makes a little more sense but 1,150 SRO still seems like a lot.

 

[rkwittem]

Hard for me to care when my school is awful (Miami)

Been to a few games at UND. Just doesn't do it for me. Too many Toews sweaters around

 

[riverhawkey91]

Would you know the Capacity of the Tsongas Center for Hockey, UML says its 6,003, but the record attendance is 7,649, and 1,646 (27.5% capacity) seems like an awful lot of SRO, considering the Polisseni Center at RIT holds 4,000 (with 1/4 bleachers) with 300 Standing Room.
Wikipedia says the Capacity is 6,496 which makes a little more sense but 1,150 SRO still seems like a lot.

It's 6496. I believe the 6003 number was from before they redid everything and added the Lowell Bank Pavilion. I don't think 1150 SRO sounds like too much; when you consider all the standing space in the Pavilion, the Talon Club and then the walkway around the arena, it sounds about right for a record capacity. Not sure how often you go to games, but Friday night's game will definitely have a crowd on that level (end of season games are monsters sales-wise) if you want to see it in action.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

folks

I know this thread came up as a result of the Beanpot, BUT there are other teams besides the Boston schools in HE.

AS YOU KNOW, or may not be aware of, Connecticut IS joining us next season, replacing Notre Dame, Who is joining the BiG10.

Maine is still around, but we're at the bottom of the conference, right now, but never count them out.

 

[Fenway]

I know this thread came up as a result of the Beanpot, BUT there are other teams besides the Boston schools in HE.

AS YOU KNOW, or may not be aware of, Connecticut IS joining us next season, replacing Notre Dame, Who is joining the BiG10.

Maine is still around, but we're at the bottom of the conference, right now, but never count them out.

UConn is already part of Hockey East and HE has not yet announced a replacement for Notre Dame. It appears that either Holy Cross or Bentley will replace ND and Bentley which is now building an on campus rink is making a strong case.

 

[Terrier]

CHN caught up with ex-Bruin Blaine Lacher, whose NCAA record scoreless streak of 375:01 for Lake State was threatened by Atte Tolvanen of Northern Michigan, whose streak was stopped at 339:05.


http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2017/02/17_catching_up_with__blaine.php

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2017/02/20_the_lacher_story_behind_the.php

 

[ODAAT]

No, they still have to make it in on their own either through ranking or winning their conference. But if a host team does make it into the NCAA tournament, they're automatically placed in the regional they're hosting.

ah got it, thx

 

[ODAAT]

No, but if you do get in you go to your regional.
ex. I believe RPI hosted the Albany Regional last year but did not qualify, but if that had qualified they would have ended up in Albany.
The Women tournament works like the NHL where the top seed hosts I believe.

thanks

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I'm here to make sure NU gets the most attention.

We do love mediocrity around here.

But you have the coolest building.

 

[Bruins1233]

UConn is already part of Hockey East and HE has not yet announced a replacement for Notre Dame. It appears that either Holy Cross or Bentley will replace ND and Bentley which is now building an on campus rink is making a strong case.

I do not believe Bentley can be competitive in Hockey East, its a play up school, so it can not offer scholarships. Unless its grandfathered in like Merrimack.
I don't know when they passed the rule but RIT which elevated in 2006 can not offer scholarships.
Quinnipiac is a possibility but is pretty happy in the ECAC with Yale, although being with UCONN might not be the worst thing for them.
RPI might want in.
All together Holy Cross looks most likely, but they need a new rink on campus or play at the DCU Center because HE has a 4,000 capacity limit for arenas.