Momentum

Cornell Chronicle reports on a study by Vince Mihalek '13 and Kevin M. Kniffin, a postdoc in AEM, looking at all WCHA games over a six year period. Remember that the WHCA travel format is two games between the same teams in the same rink each weekend. Mihalek and Kniffen claim that this offers a clean situation to compare whether the "momentum" of winning the first game carries over to an increased chance of winning the second game, and whether the effect depends on the margin of victory the first night. There is no discussion about what other variables they controlled for or other details, but we will be able to read the whole paper in the March issue of "Economics Letters".