Cornell in Pairwise and KRACH

marty

I wouldn't mind playing at Mariucci myself but I can barely skate around the damn rink after I lace up the skates.

Yeah, yeah. Neither can I.

You know what I mean.

Cornell only moved from #12 to #11 at INCH with the sweep this weekend. Beating Yale will go a long way to convince the college hockey world that their slump is over.

Also, BU dropped to #2 after tying Northeastern twice (2-2, 1-1). BU took a lot of penalties in the second tie (41 PIM). To compensate, Matt Gilroy scored a SHG. Notre Dame is now #1 at INCH following a sweep of host Nebraska Omaha (13-15-7). I don't think Notre Dame is a better team than BU.

With UMass in and Dartmouth out of the top 25, Cornell's TUC is 5-4. A win over Yale could give them a favorable TUC comparison with Vermont, Northeastern and Denver. However, UMass is playing BU this weekend and may need a split to remain in the top 25.

Hard to believe that [disclaimer]if [/disclaimer] the season ended today the ECAC would get 4 (four) spots in the NCAA's. And we don't even get an ECAC-ECAC first round switchout!

And the brackets:
(Manchester)
1-BU vs. 16- Atlantic H
8- Cornell vs. 9- New Hampshire

(Grand Rapids)
2- Notre Dame vs. 15- CHA
7- Northeastern vs. 10- Miami

(Minneapolis)
3- Michigan vs. 14- St. Lawrence
6- Princeton vs. 13- Minnesota-Duluth

(Bridgeport)
4- Denver vs. 12- Yale
5- Vermont vs. 11- North Dakota

Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

sah67
Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

Having 4 Ivies getting votes (and 3 in the top 11) would have been unthinkable early in the decade.

RichH

sah67
Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

Having 4 Ivies getting votes (and 3 in the top 11) would have been unthinkable early in the decade.

Can the Ivy teams' recent general success in the ECAC be traced to anything? Have the last couple of years actually been unusual per the history of the league? Has the balance of recruitment incentives changed (i.e., do the Ivies' financial aid packages rival athletic scholarships at the other schools)?

RichH

sah67
Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

Having 4 Ivies getting votes (and 3 in the top 11) would have been unthinkable early in the decade.

I suspect it's still "unthinkable" to anyone from the world of western college hockey.

Al DeFlorio

RichH

sah67
Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

Having 4 Ivies getting votes (and 3 in the top 11) would have been unthinkable early in the decade.

I suspect it's still "unthinkable" to anyone from the world of western college hockey.

Overheard at Engelstad:

"Cornell's ranked pretty high."
"Yeah, but they play, like, Bemidji. And Harvard."
"Harvard? Do they even have a team?"

Punchline: UND played at Harvard the following week.

imafrshmn

RichH

sah67
Our four-point weekend over the Capital District squads is good enough for a one-spot bump from #11 to #10:

[www.uscho.com]

Having 4 Ivies getting votes (and 3 in the top 11) would have been unthinkable early in the decade.

Can the Ivy teams' recent general success in the ECAC be traced to anything? Have the last couple of years actually been unusual per the history of the league? Has the balance of recruitment incentives changed (i.e., do the Ivies' financial aid packages rival athletic scholarships at the other schools)?

Well, there are two Ivies with established pedigrees on the National level: Cornell and Harvard. The inclusion of either of those two figures to be "business as usual."

That leaves the success of Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth to be the new developments. What's happening that's different? Frankly, at 13-11-3, we can't really call Dartmouth's season as being all that remarkable or even that good. The fact that they're getting votes is probably due to voting-by-standings. You get past the first couple teams in any conference, and you really get to mediocre meat quickly. It's really a year for parity nationwide.

Yale and Princeton, however are a different story. The one thing I think of that's common is that they both have coaches who are just getting their first fully self-recruited rosters in. Gadowsky is in his 5th season, so this is really his first year where all four classes are his own recruits. And as we know, Princeton was quite good last season. Allain is finishing his 3rd season at Yale, and it looks like he's reaping the fruits of his own recruiting: 7 of Yale's top 10 in points are Freshmen or Sophomores. Let's not forget that Allain is apparently good enough to have been an ass't coach on the last US Olympic Team.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to draw any institutional recruitment/acceptance/financial policy shift conclusions at those two schools. But I'd say that the coaching moves a few years back had something to do with this recent success.

Brown has about one standout season each decade. Other than that, it's excrement as usual.

RichH
I'm not knowledgeable enough to draw any institutional recruitment/acceptance/financial policy shift conclusions at those two schools.

Princeton and Harvard have significantly enriched their aid programs in recent years, as Noel and Schafer continue to point out to alumni donors in hockey and athletics publications. Yale likely has as well, but I just don't recall reading anything specifically about it.

Note the date on this from the Stanford Daily: [daily.stanford.edu]

Al DeFlorio

RichH
I'm not knowledgeable enough to draw any institutional recruitment/acceptance/financial policy shift conclusions at those two schools.

Princeton and Harvard have significantly enriched their aid programs in recent years, as Noel and Schafer continue to point out to alumni donors in hockey and athletics publications. Yale likely has as well, but I just don't recall reading anything specifically about it.

Note the date on this from the Stanford Daily: [daily.stanford.edu]

Unfortunately it won't open for me. They say temp unavailable.

Jim Hyla

Al DeFlorio

RichH
I'm not knowledgeable enough to draw any institutional recruitment/acceptance/financial policy shift conclusions at those two schools.

Princeton and Harvard have significantly enriched their aid programs in recent years, as Noel and Schafer continue to point out to alumni donors in hockey and athletics publications. Yale likely has as well, but I just don't recall reading anything specifically about it.

Note the date on this from the Stanford Daily: [daily.stanford.edu]

Unfortunately it won't open for me. They say temp unavailable.

I had to try twice to get it to open. Just opened for me again now.

The two major polls disagree more than usual this week:

USCHO Rankings (USA today in parentheses):

1 Boston University (2)
2 Notre Dame (1)
3 Michigan (3)
4 Northeastern (4)
5 Denver (5)
6 Princeton (6)
7 Miami (9)
8 North Dakota (7)
9 Vermont (8)
10 Cornell (11)
11 Yale (12)
12 New Hampshire (10)
13 Colorado College (13)
14 Minnesota-Duluth (14)
15 Ohio State (15)

Some of the disparity probably reflects different interpretations of (a) recent inconsistent play and (b) expectations about recovery from late season injuries.

One important difference in the polls is BU and Notre Dame. First place votes were:

USA Today

ND (18) BU (16)

USCHO

BU (31) ND (19)

BU was unable to defeat Northeastern last weekend and had to settle for two ties. Notre Dame defeated Nebraska-Omaha (#30 rpi) twice (4-3 OT, 1-0). Throughout the season they have had a much easier schedule (SOS. 1 vs 27). Their pairwise comparison:

BU/ND

rpi: 0.597/0.583
TUC: 0.738*/0.546
COP: 0.750/0.600

This weekend BU plays 2 games against UMass (#25), while ND plays 2 against Michigan St. (#35).

All things considered, I think Cornell would be better off in a bracket without BU in March.

*No other team in the NCAA has a TUC winning percentage above 0.600

lynah80
T
All things considered, I think Cornell would be better off in a bracket without BU in March.

No question. Although, my impression is that Northeastern plays a somewhat similar style to Cornell's, and the Huskies pretty much held their own this past weekend against BU. Bottom line, however, I think BU is a much tougher team than Notre Dame.

I'm still just hopin' we beat Yale on Friday. I'll start worrying about brackets on March 22, when I'm sure we'll be in one of 'em.

Al DeFlorio
I'm still just hopin' we beat Yale on Friday. I'll start worrying about brackets on March 22, when I'm sure we'll be in one of 'em.

Yeah, I just can't switch into NCAA mode until the winners skate in Albany, particularly this year when the ECAC Finals should be fascinating. Yale, Princeton and Cornell are about equal as tri-favorites. St. Lawrence is on fire. Harvard's always tough (in conference play, though if we dressed as Merrimack we'd be sure to beat them). Dartmouth is an unknown.

Frankly, who cares about the NCAAs right now? The real meat of the Cornell season is here right now.

Trotsky
Harvard's always tough (in conference play, though if we dressed as Merrimack we'd be sure to beat them).

Maybe we can. Do they wear pink and black?

Story from 2004 said Stanford aid packages were better thant the Ivies'. No wonder, Stanford as of this past summer had $2 million in endowment per student, Prince has $1.6M, Yale and Harvard just over $1M, and Cornell Penn Brown Columnbia around $500K each. (Since has shrunk owing to the market.) So the richer Ivy schools can give more aid than the less rich and that helps Princeton, Harvard, Yale,

Athletic scholarship money isn't as much as some people think. Recall last year's NYT story on athletic aid. Even at a big time sports program eg Duke lax, only a couple get full rides and a let get half, quarter, eighth, or none. But it sounds as if Cornell on need based aid gives less than other schools to students in the some condition.

Lax doesnt give many full rides just because they offer so few scholies compared to the roster size.

upperdeck
Lax doesnt give many full rides just because they offer so few scholies compared to the roster size.

What? You mean lax doesn't get two scholrships per roster spot just like every oth....er, I mean, like football does?

Trotsky

Al DeFlorio
I'm still just hopin' we beat Yale on Friday. I'll start worrying about brackets on March 22, when I'm sure we'll be in one of 'em.

Yeah, I just can't switch into NCAA mode until the winners skate in Albany, particularly this year when the ECAC Finals should be fascinating. Yale, Princeton and Cornell are about equal as tri-favorites. St. Lawrence is on fire. Harvard's always tough (in conference play, though if we dressed as Merrimack we'd be sure to beat them). Dartmouth is an unknown.

Frankly, who cares about the NCAAs right now? The real meat of the Cornell season is here right now.

Okay. I agree.

Cornell sits at 10 this minute, Yale at 8, Princeton 12, and SLU 15 and last team out.


If it all ended this second, Cornell would likely be a 3 in NH vs. UNH with Denver and OSU probably.

In Bridgeport, you'd get a fun one:
BU/AHA
Yale/NoDak

How did Minnesota go from #18 last night in PWR to #13 and in the tournament tonight????

Chris 02
How did Minnesota go from #18 last night in PWR to #13 and in the tournament tonight????

Edit: To make a long story short it is because Alaska-Anchorage is now a TUC.


Minnesota picked up three comparisons last night. They flipped their comparison with Vermont from 1-2 to 2-1 because record against TUC swung in their favor. Vermont dropped a game to UNH and Alaska-Anchorage became a TUC which added a win and a tie to Minnesota.

Minnesota flipped their comparison with St. Lawrence also because of TUC. The comparison had been tied 1-1 and TUC was a draw with both teams having a .500 record. St. Lawrence has the higher RPI. Alaska moving into TUC status gives Minnesota a higher winning percentage against TUC by adding a win and a tie. And RIT had been a TUC but dropped out after last night which takes away a win from St. Lawrence. Minnesota currently wins the comparison 2-1.

Minnesota also flipped the comparison with Minnesota-Duluth from 1-3 to 3-0. RPI and TUC which had been in Duluth's favor swung to Minnesota. Alaska-Anchorage is again the culprit for TUC because Duluth went 0-3-1 against AA including being swept this weekend. Common Opponents went from Duluth's favor to being a draw as Minnesota won last night and Duluth lost.

how else will the ncaa justify letting them play in the west regional at mariucci if they don't make the tournament?

If Cornell sweeps next weekend and does well in Albany, they could be a #2 seed. It would be helpful if either UMass or Union moved into the top 25.

RPI as of 3/8/09

24) 0.5123 Alaska-Anchorage (14-15-5)
25) 0.5119 Alaska (15-13-6)
26) 0.5104 RIT (21-11-2)
27) 0.5094 Northern Michigan (16-15-5)
28) 0.5034 Massachusetts (15-18-3)
29) 0.5024 Union (18-15-3)

Next week:

Alaska-Anchorage vs. Denver
Alaska-Fairbanks vs. Ohio St.
Northern Michigan vs. Miami
UMass vs. Northeastern
Union vs. Princeton

lynah80
It would be helpful if either UMass or Union moved into the top 25.

The only way I could get Union into the Top 25 is for them to win four straight.

[www.slack.net]

nyc94

lynah80
It would be helpful if either UMass or Union moved into the top 25.

The only way I could get Union into the Top 25 is for them to win four straight.

[www.slack.net]

Okay, bad idea.

While I would obviously prefer for Cornell to win the next four (or eight) games, if we were to posit that Cornell does not win in Albany, what would it take for four ECAC schools to make the tournament (i.e., CU and Yale and Princeton get at-large bids, another ECAC school wins the tournament)? Bonus points if there's a set of results that has Denver and UND as the only two WCHA schools; extra-special bonus points if there's a way to push SLU up into at-large territory and get five ECAC schools in.

JTW, is your playoff script almost done?

Josh '99
JTW, is your playoff script almost done?

It should be ready to roll as soon as the quarterfinals (and the WZHA quintafinals) are done.

nyc94

Chris 02
How did Minnesota go from #18 last night in PWR to #13 and in the tournament tonight????

Edit: To make a long story short it is because Alaska-Anchorage is now a TUC.

Doesn't this mean that the posted rankings are wrong? Anchorage is 14-15-5, which means they aren't a TUC because you need to have a .500 record to be a TUC this year. See this link, as posted earlier in this thread by lynah80: [www.collegehockeynews.com]

CHN
The only other change to this year's bracket from last is that a team must have a .500 record or better to qualify. The "rule" was implemented last summer by the committee, in the aftermath of Wisconsin qualifying with an at-large bid despite being sub-.500.

Now I suppose UAA could be considered a TUC for comparison purposes because of their >.500 RPI and just not allowed to qualify, but that seems pretty bizarre. It's much more reasonable to drop UAA, which ought to drop the Goofers back out of the field.

KeithK

CHN
The only other change to this year's bracket from last is that a team must have a .500 record or better to qualify. The "rule" was implemented last summer by the committee, in the aftermath of Wisconsin qualifying with an at-large bid despite being sub-.500.

Now I suppose UAA could be considered a TUC for comparison purposes because of their >.500 RPI and just not allowed to qualify, but that seems pretty bizarre. It's much more reasonable to drop UAA, which ought to drop the Goofers back out of the field.

Considering them a TUC for comparison purposes because their RPI is in the top 25 (the TUC definition was changed from RPI>.500 to RPI in top 25 a couple of years ago) is akin to what was done with RIT in their probationary years, and presumably to what they'd do if Mainesomeone were excluded from the NCAAs for disciplinary reasons.

jtwcornell91

KeithK

CHN
The only other change to this year's bracket from last is that a team must have a .500 record or better to qualify. The "rule" was implemented last summer by the committee, in the aftermath of Wisconsin qualifying with an at-large bid despite being sub-.500.

Now I suppose UAA could be considered a TUC for comparison purposes because of their >.500 RPI and just not allowed to qualify, but that seems pretty bizarre. It's much more reasonable to drop UAA, which ought to drop the Goofers back out of the field.

Considering them a TUC for comparison purposes because their RPI is in the top 25 (the TUC definition was changed from RPI>.500 to RPI in top 25 a couple of years ago) is akin to what was done with RIT in their probationary years, and presumably to what they'd do if Mainesomeone were excluded from the NCAAs for disciplinary reasons.

I don't think it's really analogous to a team in probationary period or on suspension. But you may well be right. Unless someone has a statement form the NCAA that covers this it's just guesswork.

Hopefully Denver's likely sweep of UAA next weekend will make this question moot.

I think the ECAC will be lucky if it gets three teams in. I don't see a scenario where we'll get more than that. Let's assume the top four seeds advance to Albany (because if they don't they'll drop too far down in the PW after their two losses in the quarters(maybe not Yale)).

If the seeding plays out and Yale beats us then I think we make it in with Yale. PU would be on the bubble. The question is how far will PU drop by losing to us in the semis? They're already at number 12 in the PW. I say they don't make it.

And if Yale beats PU in the finals I'm afraid we could find ourselves in the same position albeit slightly better since we're at number 10 in the PW as of today. We'd have to hope CC and OSU share a similar fate and don't have a strong showing in their tourneys.

I think SLU has to run the table or they're toast.

The only way we could get three teams in IMO would be for SLU to beat us in the finals. It would be SLU, us, and Yale.

Let's just win it, get a two-seed, and get ready to board the bus to Minny because you just know that's where they'd stick us. And guess who we'd probably draw in the first round...on their home ice????

Germ

Let's just win it, get a two-seed, and get ready to board the bus to Minny because you just know that's where they'd stick us. And guess who we'd probably draw in the first round...on their home ice????

I'd rather go to Minnesota than Manchester.

Germ
Let's just win it, get a two-seed, and get ready to board the bus to Minny because you just know that's where they'd stick us. And guess who we'd probably draw in the first round...on their home ice????

Right now we have a better chance of being at Minny than Minny does.Let's go St. Cloud St.. If we get a 2 seed, can they get a 3 and face us first, very doubtful.

Germ
I think the ECAC will be lucky if it gets three teams in. I don't see a scenario where we'll get more than that.

Realistically speaking you're right and three would be a pretty good outcome all in all, but it's still fun to try to come up with scenarios yielding unlikely and amusing results.

Josh '99

Germ
I think the ECAC will be lucky if it gets three teams in. I don't see a scenario where we'll get more than that.

Realistically speaking you're right and three would be a pretty good outcome all in all, but it's still fun to try to come up with scenarios yielding unlikely and amusing results.

If things break right, Air Force could be in line for an at-large bid.

Germ
I think SLU has to run the table or they're toast.

I would have agreed until I started playing around with possibilities. Assuming the top four seeds advance, if St. Lawrence can't win the tournament the best scenario for them is to beat Princeton in the consolation game. It flips the comparison with Princeton and they swap places in the PWR. Princeton becomes the bubble team. There's one catch: Princeton needs to lose a game to Union this weekend while St. Lawrence needs to sweep.

Beating Cornell in the consolation game doesn't help because they can't flip that comparison on their own. St. Lawrence and Princeton have similar RPI so if they play again the winner takes RPI (currently in Princeton's favor) as well as Head to Head (currently tied 1-1).

nyc94
Beating Cornell in the consolation game doesn't help...

You said that right.

jtwcornell91

Josh '99
JTW, is your playoff script almost done?

It should be ready to roll as soon as the quarterfinals (and the WZHA quintafinals) are done.

If you can't wait until then you can plug in your own predictions:
[www.slack.net]

Make sure you check the button for "Specify Results". Paste in today's games (listed below) beneath the scores for the games already played and change the score to reflect your picks. I just made this list very quickly so I apologize if there are any errors.

20090313 NM 0 Mm 0 NC
20090313 NO 0 Nt 0 NC
20090313 OS 0 Ak 0 NC
20090313 WM 0 Mi 0 NC
20090313 Qn 0 SL 0 NC
20090313 Un 0 Pn 0 NC
20090313 RP 0 Cr 0 NC
20090313 Bn 0 Ya 0 NC
20090313 BC 0 NH 0 NC
20090313 MA 0 NE 0 NC
20090313 ML 0 Vt 0 NC
20090313 Me 0 BU 0 NC
20090313 Ar 0 Mh 0 NC
20090313 SH 0 AF 0 NC
20090313 Ca 0 By 0 NC
20090313 HC 0 RT 0 NC
20090313 Mk 0 Wi 0 NC
20090313 SC 0 Mn 0 NC
20090313 AA 0 DU 0 NC
20090313 MT 0 ND 0 NC
20090313 MD 0 CC 0 NC
20090313 RM 2 Ni 1 NC
20090313 AH 0 BS 0 NC

The entire schedule is the same for Saturday with the exception of the last two games on the above list which are the CHA semifinals (Robert Morris has already defeated Niagara today - thus dropping Cornell one spot to 11). Rearrange the teams to get Saturday's consolation and championship games. Add games for Sunday if you think a series is going three games.

Down to 12 in pairwise.

Not going to NCAAs if we don't win this series.

ebilmes
Down to 12 in pairwise.

Not going to NCAAs if we don't win this series.

Don't deserve to go to NCAAs if they lose this series.

lynah80
It would be helpful if either UMass or Union moved into the top 25.

UMass beat Northeastern 2-1 last night. A win tonight would make them 25 in the PWR. Cornell would pick up the comparison with Northeastern but not move up in the standings (currently 12). And despite the fact that another UMass win would knock Alaska-Anchorage out the top 25 (as would another Denver win), Minnesota stays on Cornell's heels as they would also pick up the comparison with Northeastern. Minnesota picked up the comparison with Ohio State last night because Alaska-Fairbanks beat Ohio State last night.

nyc94

lynah80
It would be helpful if either UMass or Union moved into the top 25.

UMass beat Northeastern 2-1 last night. A win tonight would make them 25 in the PWR. Cornell would pick up the comparison with Northeastern but not move up in the standings (currently 12). And despite the fact that another UMass win would knock Alaska-Anchorage out the top 25 (as would another Denver win), Minnesota stays on Cornell's heels as they would also pick up the comparison with Northeastern. Minnesota picked up the comparison with Ohio State last night because Alaska-Fairbanks beat Ohio State last night.

Cornell really needs a W tonight and tomorrow!

Umass about to lose tonight.. down 3-1 5 minutes left

Maine beats BU 6-3. Game 3 tomorrow.

NU scores on the PP to go up 3-1 with about 4 minutes left, thus it looks like a game 3 for that series too.

Goofers up 2-0 on SCSU, 13 minutes left in the 3rd.

Rita
Maine beats BU 6-3. Game 3 tomorrow.

NU scores on the PP to go up 3-1 with about 4 minutes left, thus it looks like a game 3 for that series too.

The sweeps by BC (over UNH) and Mass-Lowell (Vermont) will help Cornell a lot.

For Vermont, Cornell needs a TUC > 0.452 and an rpi > 0.551. They can do that in Albany. (Vermont wins out in COP)

For UNH, Cornell can pull ahead in COP with another win over Rennselaer. They should also come out ahead in TUC and rpi with even one win in Albany (let's hope for 2).

Miami lost tonight, so they will play N. Michigan again tomorrow. Cornell has the edge in COP, but Miami has TUC and a very slight edge in rpi. Let's hope for the best.

I think winning the ECAC is priority #1 for Cornell, but things look encouraging for a #2 seed in the tournament as well.

lynah80
The sweeps by BC (over UNH) and Mass-Lowell (Vermont) will help Cornell a lot.

For Vermont, Cornell needs a TUC > 0.452 and an rpi > 0.551. They can do that in Albany. (Vermont wins out in COP)

For UNH, Cornell can pull ahead in COP with another win over Rennselaer. They should also come out ahead in TUC and rpi with even one win in Albany (let's hope for 2).

Miami lost tonight, so they will play N. Michigan again tomorrow. Cornell has the edge in COP, but Miami has TUC and a very slight edge in rpi. Let's hope for the best.

I think winning the ECAC is priority #1 for Cornell, but things look encouraging for a #2 seed in the tournament as well.

On the other hand, the UML and BC wins make it more likely that the Hockey East tournament and autobid will go to a team current below us in PWR. If we win out in the ECAC tournament, then it's all good, but if we go 0-1 or 1-2 these results are a big negative. Similarly, there are several teams in the WCHA currently below us who could pass us with an autobid, and might pass us anyway if they win out and we don't.

jkahn

lynah80
The sweeps by BC (over UNH) and Mass-Lowell (Vermont) will help Cornell a lot.

For Vermont, Cornell needs a TUC > 0.452 and an rpi > 0.551. They can do that in Albany. (Vermont wins out in COP)

For UNH, Cornell can pull ahead in COP with another win over Rennselaer. They should also come out ahead in TUC and rpi with even one win in Albany (let's hope for 2).

Miami lost tonight, so they will play N. Michigan again tomorrow. Cornell has the edge in COP, but Miami has TUC and a very slight edge in rpi. Let's hope for the best.

I think winning the ECAC is priority #1 for Cornell, but things look encouraging for a #2 seed in the tournament as well.

On the other hand, the UML and BC wins make it more likely that the Hockey East tournament and autobid will go to a team current below us in PWR. If we win out in the ECAC tournament, then it's all good, but if we go 0-1 or 1-2 these results are a big negative. Similarly, there are several teams in the WCHA currently below us who could pass us with an autobid, and might pass us anyway if they win out and we don't.

For Hockey East, I think it's very likely that either Northeastern or BU will win the playoffs. I guess we will see how things go tomorrow.

BU defeats Maine 6-2.

Princeton 3 v. Union 1 is now final.

Miami might have just played itself out of the tournament by losing to Northern Michigan. They drop to 15 and give a bump to teams on the bubble.

Canisus 2 @ Bentley 4

Umass 2 @ Northeastern 3 in OT.

I'm not sure what PWR implications Ohio State @ Alaska-Fairbanks have, but I think you can listen on-line from

[ksua.uaf.edu]

Game starts at 11:30 pm EDT.

Ok, if I interpreted CHN's grid correctly, with respect to OSU, we are tied with the comparisons (1-1) and ranked ahead of them (10 v. 12t). With AK, we have the comparisons 1-0, and AK is ranked 25.

So, we would like Alaska to win, correct?

New Hampshire, Cornell, Princeton, and Minnesota are currently the projected #3 seeds. With New Hampshire and Minnesota locked in as regional hosts that would mean either Cornell or Princeton would be sent to Bridgeport to face Yale (currently a #2) in the first round.

nyc94
New Hampshire, Cornell, Princeton, and Minnesota are currently the projected #3 seeds. With New Hampshire and Minnesota locked in as regional hosts that would mean either Cornell or Princeton would be sent to Bridgeport to face Yale (currently a #2) in the first round.

But avoiding first round match-ups between teams from the same conference is supposed to be a high priority.

David Harding

nyc94
New Hampshire, Cornell, Princeton, and Minnesota are currently the projected #3 seeds. With New Hampshire and Minnesota locked in as regional hosts that would mean either Cornell or Princeton would be sent to Bridgeport to face Yale (currently a #2) in the first round.

But avoiding first round match-ups between teams from the same conference is supposed to be a high priority.

I thought seed or "band" integrity came first.

nyc94

David Harding

nyc94
New Hampshire, Cornell, Princeton, and Minnesota are currently the projected #3 seeds. With New Hampshire and Minnesota locked in as regional hosts that would mean either Cornell or Princeton would be sent to Bridgeport to face Yale (currently a #2) in the first round.

But avoiding first round match-ups between teams from the same conference is supposed to be a high priority.

I thought seed or "band" integrity came first.

I'd be very surprised if they kept a Yale/Princeton or Yale/Cornell matchup in the first round. If things were to stay the way they are you might see Yale moved to either Minnesota or New Hampshire, thus avoiding the issue.

Anyway, there's still too much hockey left for me to worry about how the brackets will work out. It's very unlikely the rankings will look exactly like this next Sunday. Just get me in the top 14 (or 13, 12, whatever).

KeithK
I'd be very surprised if they kept a Yale/Princeton or Yale/Cornell matchup in the first round. If things were to stay the way they are you might see Yale moved to either Minnesota or New Hampshire, thus avoiding the issue.

Yale's a host at Bridgeport. They're not going anywhere but Bridgeport.

KeithK

nyc94

David Harding

nyc94
New Hampshire, Cornell, Princeton, and Minnesota are currently the projected #3 seeds. With New Hampshire and Minnesota locked in as regional hosts that would mean either Cornell or Princeton would be sent to Bridgeport to face Yale (currently a #2) in the first round.

But avoiding first round match-ups between teams from the same conference is supposed to be a high priority.

I thought seed or "band" integrity came first.

I'd be very surprised if they kept a Yale/Princeton or Yale/Cornell matchup in the first round. If things were to stay the way they are you might see Yale moved to either Minnesota or New Hampshire, thus avoiding the issue.

Anyway, there's still too much hockey left for me to worry about how the brackets will work out. It's very unlikely the rankings will look exactly like this next Sunday. Just get me in the top 14 (or 13, 12, whatever).

I thought Yale has to play at Bridgeport if they're in the tourney at all.

Beeeej

KeithK
I'd be very surprised if they kept a Yale/Princeton or Yale/Cornell matchup in the first round. If things were to stay the way they are you might see Yale moved to either Minnesota or New Hampshire, thus avoiding the issue.

Yale's a host at Bridgeport. They're not going anywhere but Bridgeport.

OK, forgot that. I still think they would scrap bracket integrity to avoid first round matchups.

Alaska 1 v. OSU 0. final.

the Nanooks scored with about 56 seconds left in the 3rd period.

They will play Michigan in the CCHA semis.

Rita
Alaska 1 v. OSU 0. final.

the Nanooks scored with about 56 seconds left in the 3rd period.

They will play Michigan in the CCHA semis.

I read it was a very strange looking goal.

That moves Miami to 14t with SLU, and OSU down to 16. BC is now 17, but with only 7 PW comparisons won, vs. 11 for SLU.

We could have a great crowd in Bridgeport. For students, one of the closest possible regional venues to Ithaca (further than Albany or Rochester, sure, but still not very far). For alumni, there are a zillion of us in NYC. I think Cornell would have a better shot as a 4 there against, say, BU, than as a 3 in Minnesota in a rubber game against the Sioux.

Cornell looks like a #3 seed. It will be difficult for them to become a #2. If they win the conference, they will win their comparison with UNH, but possibly not with Vermont. Neither of those two will be playing next weekend.

Edit: Using the Pairwise predictor at CHN, I found a number of scenarios where Cornell could be a #2 seed. They require Cornell to win twice in Albany and N. Dakota to lose in the WCHA semifinal. However, the predictor does not include consolation games. It's here:

[www.collegehockeynews.com]

Flyers1037 pointed out that the consolation games show up after the first set of winners is entered.

Sportscenter thinks that Cornell is in saying: "Cornell hockey should also make the NCAA Hockey Tournament" after talking about the Men's Bball seeding.

I haven't tried working a lot of combinations but I would bet that it's in our best interest for the top seeds in the CCHA, WCHA and HEA to advance next Friday. That is, Michigan, both ND's, Denver, BU and Northeastern. That would ensure no AQ's from lower ranked teams, thus maximizing the likelihood of us getting a bid if we don't win the title in Albany.

After next weekend, Cornell will reach the 10 team minimum for TUC, hopefully at 6-5 with non head-to-head teams. Four teams in the top 25 will not reach the 10 team limit this year: Yale, Princeton, RIT and Air Force.

Beeeej

KeithK
I'd be very surprised if they kept a Yale/Princeton or Yale/Cornell matchup in the first round. If things were to stay the way they are you might see Yale moved to either Minnesota or New Hampshire, thus avoiding the issue.

Yale's a host at Bridgeport. They're not going anywhere but Bridgeport.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a scenario where Cornell will be sent to Bridgeport. Yale looks like they will be a 2 or 3 seed, blocking Cornell from that venue.

KeithK

Beeeej
Yale's a host at Bridgeport. They're not going anywhere but Bridgeport.

OK, forgot that. I still think they would scrap bracket integrity to avoid first round matchups.

Haven't they (and their listed seeding criteria) explicitly said otherwise? I thought no-intra-conference games was a 'nice to have if possible', but band seeding was a 'have to have'.

If things stay as is, due to hosts, Yale is in Bridgeport as a #2, Minn is in Minn as the #3, and UNH in NH as the #3. The remaining 3s are Cornell & Princeton, with the only two slots being Bridgeport & Grand Rapids, so there would *need* to be an intra-conference matchup with Yale.

Seeing as Yale is 7 & Cornell is currently 10, at this very moment, the natural 7-10 matchup would likely see Cornell sent to Bridgeport, but of course that detail could easily change.

CU just needs to make sure they do no worse then split next week. if they lose 2 its almost impossible for them to get in even with all the favs winning.

grizzdan24
Sportscenter thinks that Cornell is in saying: "Cornell hockey should also make the NCAA Hockey Tournament" after talking about the Men's Bball seeding.

I suspect that got in because the Bristol intern writing the copy was passingly acquainted with ECAC hockey, not because of any serious analysis.

lynah80
Cornell looks like a #3 seed. It will be difficult for them to become a #2. If they win the conference, they will win their comparison with UNH, but possibly not with Vermont. Neither of those two will be playing next weekend.

Edit: Using the Pairwise predictor at CHN, I found a number of scenarios where Cornell could be a #2 seed. They require Cornell to win twice in Albany and N. Dakota to lose in the WCHA semifinal. However, the predictor does not include consolation games. It's here:

[www.collegehockeynews.com]

The consolation games show up on the far left side of the script (before the semifinal matches), I found it on my second try after it told me that consolation games weren't included in the "final" PWR.

grizzdan24
Sportscenter thinks that Cornell is in saying: "Cornell hockey should also make the NCAA Hockey Tournament" after talking about the Men's Bball seeding.

I noticed that too. Granted John Buccigross is one of the few SC people that know what a hockey puck looks like, they still really don't get they NC$$ hockey selection process. AUUGGGHHH.

DeltaOne81
Haven't they (and their listed seeding criteria) explicitly said otherwise? I thought no-intra-conference games was a 'nice to have if possible', but band seeding was a 'have to have'.

If things stay as is, due to hosts, Yale is in Bridgeport as a #2, Minn is in Minn as the #3, and UNH in NH as the #3. The remaining 3s are Cornell & Princeton, with the only two slots being Bridgeport & Grand Rapids, so there would *need* to be an intra-conference matchup with Yale.

Well - no-intra-conference games remains an equally sacrosanct policy ... however, in your scenario, the two concepts would clash in an "immovable object meets unstoppable force" kind of situation. This happened last year when Denver and Wisconsin had to play in the first round in Madison.

So Yes, in your scenario, some ECAC team would have to play Yale. I think this will shake out, however.

adamw

DeltaOne81
Haven't they (and their listed seeding criteria) explicitly said otherwise? I thought no-intra-conference games was a 'nice to have if possible', but band seeding was a 'have to have'.

If things stay as is, due to hosts, Yale is in Bridgeport as a #2, Minn is in Minn as the #3, and UNH in NH as the #3. The remaining 3s are Cornell & Princeton, with the only two slots being Bridgeport & Grand Rapids, so there would *need* to be an intra-conference matchup with Yale.

Well - no-intra-conference games remains an equally sacrosanct policy ... however, in your scenario, the two concepts would clash in an "immovable object meets unstoppable force" kind of situation. This happened last year when Denver and Wisconsin had to play in the first round in Madison.

So Yes, in your scenario, some ECAC team would have to play Yale. I think this will shake out, however.

And wasn't last year's scenario further complicated by the fact that the WHCA had 5 teams in the tourney and with CC and Wisconsin hosting.

Well the one good thing out of last year's tourney was the "Wisconsin rule" where a team has to have a .500 or better record to get an at large bid.

Flyers1037

lynah80
Cornell looks like a #3 seed. It will be difficult for them to become a #2. If they win the conference, they will win their comparison with UNH, but possibly not with Vermont. Neither of those two will be playing next weekend.

Edit: Using the Pairwise predictor at CHN, I found a number of scenarios where Cornell could be a #2 seed. They require Cornell to win twice in Albany and N. Dakota to lose in the WCHA semifinal. However, the predictor does not include consolation games. It's here:

[www.collegehockeynews.com]

The consolation games show up on the far left side of the script (before the semifinal matches), I found it on my second try after it told me that consolation games weren't included in the "final" PWR.

Thank you.