Opponents News 2: Hockey's the Reason for the Season

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

marty

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

Who else is whistling right now?

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Which includes former Cornell assistant Brent Brekke.

Didn’t Brekke, one of the Miami assistant coaches, used to be at Cornell?

margolism
Didn’t Brekke, one of the Miami assistant coaches, used to be at Cornell?

Yes. That's why we commented. And then there's the whistle.

BU leading PC 1-0, 18 min. left in the 3rd. We like this. Screw BU later.

Beeeej
BU leading PC 1-0, 18 min. left in the 3rd. We like this. Screw BU later.

By "later," do you mean "next week"?

BearLover

Beeeej
BU leading PC 1-0, 18 min. left in the 3rd. We like this. Screw BU later.

By "later," do you mean "next week"?

That is exactly what I mean.

Well, if Princeton wins, it may not be next week. We might get Michigan Tech instead.

11 of 15 games this weekend were won by the lower seed team. Wow.

KenP
11 of 15 games this weekend were won by the lower seed team. Wow.

I don't think the NCAA's are going to be any easier. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Princeton wins a game or two.

Swampy

KenP
11 of 15 games this weekend were won by the lower seed team. Wow.

I don't think the NCAA's are going to be any easier. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Princeton wins a game or two.

Five words: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (a.k.a. the University of Meatball with Cheese). Anything can happen.

can princeton keep winning games with almost no puck control though? i mean really they got 3 goals against us without really even having the puck and then one long breakout pass. its not like they played lock down D either game even though they held teams to low goal totals.

upprdeck
can princeton keep winning games with almost no puck control though? i mean really they got 3 goals against us without really even having the puck and then one long breakout pass. its not like they played lock down D either game even though they held teams to low goal totals.

I don't think their game is lock down D. I don't think they're good enough for that. I think they block the lanes and jam up in front of the goal when necessary. They seemed to give us many opportunities to take slap shots from a distance but kept us under wraps up close. I also think we made things easier on them by (1) not getting slap shots off quicker and (2) having guys try to puck handle past 2 to 4 Princeton skaters.

i dont think cornell gets more that 2-300 tickets for this.. Allentown will be tough to get too. does cornell even have a pt system?

Based on trends, won’t be until 2028 that Princeton wins another ECAC title.

Jeff Hopkins '82

Swampy

KenP
11 of 15 games this weekend were won by the lower seed team. Wow.

I don't think the NCAA's are going to be any easier. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Princeton wins a game or two.

Five words: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (a.k.a. the University of Meatball with Cheese). Anything can happen.

I know we played them in lacrosse in recent years. Huh?

RichH

Jeff Hopkins '82

Swampy

KenP
11 of 15 games this weekend were won by the lower seed team. Wow.

I don't think the NCAA's are going to be any easier. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Princeton wins a game or two.

Five words: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (a.k.a. the University of Meatball with Cheese). Anything can happen.

I know we played them in lacrosse in recent years. Huh?

They just upset UVa in the NCAA Basketball tourney -A 16 seed beating a 1 seed.

CHN just tweeted that Donato’s signed a 2-year contract with the Bruins.

scoop85
CHN just tweeted that Donato’s signed a 2-year contract with the Bruins.

They gave him an A?

article on donato signing

[www.bostonglobe.com]

scoop85
CHN just tweeted that Donato’s signed a 2-year contract with the Bruins.

Given that Riley Nash is already on the team, this probably lowers the team's average IQ.

Swampy

scoop85
CHN just tweeted that Donato’s signed a 2-year contract with the Bruins.

Given that Riley Nash is already on the team, this probably lowers the team's average IQ.

welp here come another 5000 posts about statistical analysis

Donato scores in NHL debut for Bruins [nhl.nbcsports.com]

jeff '84
Donato scores in NHL debut for Bruins [nhl.nbcsports.com]

That was a sweet goal. Plus he managed to avoid having to wear #41 or 95 or some weird number- they gave him 17

abmarks
Plus he managed to avoid having to wear #41 or 95 or some weird number- they gave him 17

That is important. Players should not wear numbers outside of {2 ... 29}. Retired numbers should expire after, say, 25 years.

Trotsky

abmarks
Plus he managed to avoid having to wear #41 or 95 or some weird number- they gave him 17

That is important. Players should not wear numbers outside of {2 ... 29}. Retired numbers should expire after, say, 25 years.

While I file the permits for the parade I’m having in your honor for this, I’d like to hear the rest of your manifesto.

RichH

Trotsky

abmarks
Plus he managed to avoid having to wear #41 or 95 or some weird number- they gave him 17

That is important. Players should not wear numbers outside of {2 ... 29}. Retired numbers should expire after, say, 25 years.

While I file the permits for the parade I’m having in your honor for this, I’d like to hear the rest of your manifesto.

The rest is incoherent rambling about Kathryn 2.0.

RichH

Trotsky

abmarks
Plus he managed to avoid having to wear #41 or 95 or some weird number- they gave him 17

That is important. Players should not wear numbers outside of {2 ... 29}. Retired numbers should expire after, say, 25 years.

While I file the permits for the parade I’m having in your honor for this, I’d like to hear the rest of your manifesto.

I'll allow Jagr to wear #68, since it's for a wonderful reason. Beyond that, I agree with you.

Jeff Hopkins '82
I'll allow Jagr to wear #68, since it's for a wonderful reason.

Absolutely. Rusko do prdele.

Trotsky

Jeff Hopkins '82
I'll allow Jagr to wear #68, since it's for a wonderful reason.

Absolutely. Rusko do prdele.

Completely agree.

Generally I let the pros be pros, but in the case of colleges, every time some college kid wears #77, he's saying the back of the jersey is more important than the name on the front.

Donato is looking like he really might be something special. He has the lone goal so far in the 3rd period of Bruins v. Blues tonight on NBC Sports. This after a goal and 2 assists in his first game. They just showed a stat that Ryan is the first Bruin with 4 points in their first two games since 1980.

ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

[nypost.com]

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Well, now, you have to sympathize with the guy. If he stopped going to classes, he might wind up with an A-minus or something.

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

marty

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

That they let in 4 to Princeton?

Trotsky

marty

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

That they let in 4 to Princeton?

(1) Unlucky Bounce + Fluke (2) Breakaway (3) Defense Breakdown (4) ENG

One goal was on the D. the breakway we had tremendous pressure and were taking pot shots and the puck just deflected into the perfect spot for a breakaway. the bounce was a bad bounce off the boards, a lucky kick off the Attacker skate, then 2 deflections off the Cornell D for an own goal.. Even the empty netter we controlled the puck for almost the 4 min we pulled the goalie and had tons of chances.

KenP

Trotsky

marty

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

That they let in 4 to Princeton?

(1) Unlucky Bounce + Fluke (2) Breakaway (3) Defense Breakdown (4) ENG

Didn't they score 4 in game 1 also?

ugarte

KenP

Trotsky

marty

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

That they let in 4 to Princeton?

(1) Unlucky Bounce + Fluke (2) Breakaway (3) Defense Breakdown (4) ENG

Didn't they score 4 in game 1 also?

And your point is?

ugarte

KenP

Trotsky

marty

Trotsky

cth95
ESPN's NHL Power Rankings states that Donato is still taking classes at Harvard while he is playing for the Bruins.

Says more about Harvard classes than Donato.

But nothing we didn't already know.

Says something about our D too!

That they let in 4 to Princeton?

(1) Unlucky Bounce + Fluke (2) Breakaway (3) Defense Breakdown (4) ENG

Didn't they score 4 in game 1 also?

Yes, but we scored 5.

Not related to any team nearby, but Don Lucia steps down as Minnesota coach. Minnesota hasn't been the same team since their Frozen Four appearance a few years ago.


[www.twincities.com]

upprdeck
One goal was on the D. the breakway we had tremendous pressure and were taking pot shots and the puck just deflected into the perfect spot for a breakaway. the bounce was a bad bounce off the boards, a lucky kick off the Attacker skate, then 2 deflections off the Cornell D for an own goal.. Even the empty netter we controlled the puck for almost the 4 min we pulled the goalie and had tons of chances.

I don't think the third goal was even a defensive breakdown. I remember McCrea giving Veronneau a bit too much space while skating back in transition but I wouldn't necessarily call it a "breakdown"

BearLover

upprdeck
One goal was on the D. the breakway we had tremendous pressure and were taking pot shots and the puck just deflected into the perfect spot for a breakaway. the bounce was a bad bounce off the boards, a lucky kick off the Attacker skate, then 2 deflections off the Cornell D for an own goal.. Even the empty netter we controlled the puck for almost the 4 min we pulled the goalie and had tons of chances.

I don't think the third goal was even a defensive breakdown. I remember McCrea giving Veronneau a bit too much space while skating back in transition but I wouldn't necessarily call it a "breakdown"

My original comment was responding to statement that our D was weak because they gave up 4 goals. He left his guy wide open. IMO blame goes to the defense for that one. The other three goals were not attributable to them.

KenP

BearLover

upprdeck
One goal was on the D. the breakway we had tremendous pressure and were taking pot shots and the puck just deflected into the perfect spot for a breakaway. the bounce was a bad bounce off the boards, a lucky kick off the Attacker skate, then 2 deflections off the Cornell D for an own goal.. Even the empty netter we controlled the puck for almost the 4 min we pulled the goalie and had tons of chances.

I don't think the third goal was even a defensive breakdown. I remember McCrea giving Veronneau a bit too much space while skating back in transition but I wouldn't necessarily call it a "breakdown"

My original comment was responding to statement that our D was weak because they gave up 4 goals. He left his guy wide open. IMO blame goes to the defense for that one. The other three goals were not attributable to them.

They just showed a replay on TV and you're right. Wow, that was way more space than I remembered. The best non-Donato scorer in the league left wide open.

Lots of ECAC signings.

Brown: McArdle and Lafferty
Colgate: Panowyk
Harvard: Donato (early), Madsen, Sherman, and Horton
Princeton: Robinson and Halford
Quinnipiac: MacMaster, McKernan and the immortal Bo Pieper
RPI: Prapavessis, Wilson, and Liljergren
SLU: Lough
Union: Scarfo and Brassard
Yale: Hitchcock and Larkin

Trotsky
Lots of ECAC signings.

Brown: McArdle and Lafferty
Colgate: Panowyk
Harvard: Donato (early), Madsen, Sherman, and Horton
Princeton: Robinson and Halford
Quinnipiac: MacMaster, McKernan and the immortal Bo Pieper
RPI: Prapavessis, Wilson, and Liljergren
SLU: Lough
Union: Scarfo and Brassard
Yale: Hitchcock and Larkin

What does bold font indicate?

BearLover

Trotsky
Lots of ECAC signings.

Brown: McArdle and Lafferty
Colgate: Panowyk
Harvard: Donato (early), Madsen, Sherman, and Horton
Princeton: Robinson and Halford
Quinnipiac: MacMaster, McKernan and the immortal Bo Pieper
RPI: Prapavessis, Wilson, and Liljergren
SLU: Lough
Union: Scarfo and Brassard
Yale: Hitchcock and Larkin

What does bold font indicate?

Guys I am really glad to see leave. Either Cornell killers or very, very talented players.

No one has left Cornell because it is a great school.

Is this the thread where Trotsky wants to know which players are leaving early for his standings predictions? RPI has seven such players, three who are going to greener pastures and four who have been cut. Nothing is official yet but there has been a lot of discussion on USCHO. Eight if you count a goalie who played less than three minutes and will stay in school.

Trotsky

BearLover

Trotsky
Lots of ECAC signings.

Brown: McArdle and Lafferty
Colgate: Panowyk
Harvard: Donato (early), Madsen, Sherman, and Horton
Princeton: Robinson and Halford
Quinnipiac: MacMaster, McKernan and the immortal Bo Pieper
RPI: Prapavessis, Wilson, and Liljergren
SLU: Lough
Union: Scarfo and Brassard
Yale: Hitchcock and Larkin

What does bold font indicate?

Guys I am really glad to see leave. Either Cornell killers or very, very talented players.

So Donato is the only non-senior?

Jim Hyla
So Donato is the only non-senior?

So far, yes.

ursusminor
Is this the thread where Trotsky wants to know which players are leaving early for his standings predictions? RPI has seven such players, three who are going to greener pastures and four who have been cut. Nothing is official yet but there has been a lot of discussion on USCHO. Eight if you count a goalie who played less than three minutes and will stay in school.

Nope, that's Early Departures. We don't need a thread for signings because USCHO tracks it now, but we will need to track transfers and, inevitably, Harvard cheating suspensions.

Denver got destroyed.

Rempal signed with LA. He's leaving 2 years early.

[www.uscho.com]

A surprising departure for one of Clarkson's top freshmen.

And with Rempal's expected departure that was previously announced, Clarkson is losing some of its best firepower.

scoop85
A surprising departure for one of Clarkson's top freshmen.

And with Rempal's expected departure that was previously announced, Clarkson is losing some of its best firepower.

Wow! We're pretty much the pre-season #1 by default now.

Angello is gone.. so hope the new kids are good.

Bret Brekke is one of two finalists for the head coaching position at UAF:

[www.newsminer.com]

marty

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

Brekke is reportedly the new coach at Alaska. Would a road trip be exempt from Ivy game limit?

Chris '03

marty

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

Brekke is reportedly the new coach at Alaska. Would a road trip be exempt from Ivy game limit?

I'd go, mos def. And not just because I have a friend up there (although that helps).

Chris '03

marty

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

Brekke is reportedly the new coach at Alaska. Would a road trip be exempt from Ivy game limit?

Time for a home and home series!

Chris '03

marty

BearLover
Also, Miami has decided to fire its assistant coaches and also some of its players.

Brent Brekke!

Brekke is reportedly the new coach at Alaska. Would a road trip be exempt from Ivy game limit?

More recent reports are that he turned it down. CHN's story is still live at the original link, but is "unpublished" from the main site.

espn 104.5 in Albany is running a commercial for tomorrow's local show with Roger Wyland that they will speak with Rick Bennett about the prospect of him joining the NY Rangers. I will post what they have to say if I happen to listen to it but I probably won't be able to.

jts15
espn 104.5 in Albany is running a commercial for tomorrow's local show with Roger Wyland that they will speak with Rick Bennett about the prospect of him joining the NY Rangers. I will post what they have to say if I happen to listen to it but I probably won't be able to.

The second most despicable person in the western hemisphere? The Rangers wouldn't stoop that low, would they?

jts15
espn 104.5 in Albany is running a commercial for tomorrow's local show with Roger Wyland that they will speak with Rick Bennett about the prospect of him joining the NY Rangers. I will post what they have to say if I happen to listen to it but I probably won't be able to.

You can listen to the stream here.

marty

jts15
espn 104.5 in Albany is running a commercial for tomorrow's local show with Roger Wyland that they will speak with Rick Bennett about the prospect of him joining the NY Rangers. I will post what they have to say if I happen to listen to it but I probably won't be able to.

You can listen to the stream here.

Bad news. The big jerk didn't even get a call from the Rangers per interview. We're stuck with his oafish blathering in the ECAC.

marty

marty

jts15
espn 104.5 in Albany is running a commercial for tomorrow's local show with Roger Wyland that they will speak with Rick Bennett about the prospect of him joining the NY Rangers. I will post what they have to say if I happen to listen to it but I probably won't be able to.

You can listen to the stream here.

Bad news. The big jerk didn't even get a call from the Rangers per interview. We're stuck with his oafish blathering in the ECAC.

As long as Pecknold is with us Bennett is still not the worst.

Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

I wish we'd go back to 8. Hitherto I assumed it would never happen because C.R.E.A.M. but given this maybe it's possible.

There's been greater mobility in the conference which refutes the rationale for playoff expansion: that perennial second-division teams never get a chance to host the playoffs.

Top 4 finishes since 2006:

9 Cor
8 Uni
6 Hvd
6 Yal
5 Cgt
5 SLU
4 Qpc
3 Clk
3 Drt
2 Prn
1 RPI
0 Brn

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

You say it's strange to increase the importance of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standing, but it seems strange because you're looking at it in terms of the current format being the status quo ante. What was strange to me - downright absurd - was expanding the field to twelve teams in the first place, thus drastically decreasing the importance of the regular season for all twelve teams. Of course programs naturally still want to jockey for home ice and other advantages of finishing higher, but if they wanted, they could literally sit and spin on the ice and do nothing for 29-32 games and still make the conference playoffs. Even fifteen years later I think that's moronic. Reducing to 8 teams wouldn't decrease the importance of the regular season to the top four teams, it would simply change the palette of advantages gained by finishing near the top.

During the thirteen years of two different 10-team playoff formats, every time Cornell hosted the quarters (or "quints" ), even without the advantage of being a bye team hosting a non-bye team, they won. It's a small sample size, but 10 for 12 isn't much bigger.

Beeeej
Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four.

Certainly my right honourable friend will recall that we were without the services of Ryan Vesce, captain and second in points that season, for games two and three, and that he was "not 100%" in any way for game one.

Not an excuse, though.

Scersk '97

Beeeej
Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four.

Certainly my right honourable friend will recall that we were without the services of Ryan Vesce, captain and second in points that season, for games two and three, and that he was "not 100%" in any way for game one.

Not an excuse, though.

I couldn't forget if I wanted to. But even that is a strong argument that a bye isn't everything it's cracked up to be - we couldn't get our captain healthy and keep him healthy with two weeks off.

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

jtwcornell91

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

Yeah I guess I'm assuming home ice isn't a significant advantage. If that's true, then changing to an 8-team format shifts the big incentive from the top 4 to the bottom 4. With that said, the current reward for a top-4 finish of home ice + week off to rest your players + no chance of being upset in the fist round might just be too good to the point of being unfair.

BearLover

jtwcornell91

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

Yeah I guess I'm assuming home ice isn't a significant advantage. If that's true, then changing to an 8-team format shifts the big incentive from the top 4 to the bottom 4. With that said, the current reward for a top-4 finish of home ice + week off to rest your players + no chance of being upset in the fist round might just be too good to the point of being unfair.

The critical point that goes right over your head is that teams that finish ninth through twelfth in a twelve-team league have no business being in a post-season tournament, just like teams that finish fifth through seventh don't play in the Ivy lacrosse tournament and teams that finish fifth through eighth don't play in the Ivy basketball tournament.

Al DeFlorio

BearLover

jtwcornell91

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

Yeah I guess I'm assuming home ice isn't a significant advantage. If that's true, then changing to an 8-team format shifts the big incentive from the top 4 to the bottom 4. With that said, the current reward for a top-4 finish of home ice + week off to rest your players + no chance of being upset in the fist round might just be too good to the point of being unfair.

The critical point that goes right over your head is that teams that finish ninth through twelfth in a twelve-team league have no business being in a post-season tournament, just like teams that finish fifth through seventh don't play in the Ivy lacrosse tournament and teams that finish fifth through eighth don't play in the Ivy basketball tournament.

I know it's en vogue to trash me on here, but there are other "critical points" to consider, such as rewarding teams for having great regular seasons.

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

BearLover

jtwcornell91

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

Yeah I guess I'm assuming home ice isn't a significant advantage. If that's true, then changing to an 8-team format shifts the big incentive from the top 4 to the bottom 4. With that said, the current reward for a top-4 finish of home ice + week off to rest your players + no chance of being upset in the fist round might just be too good to the point of being unfair.

The critical point that goes right over your head is that teams that finish ninth through twelfth in a twelve-team league have no business being in a post-season tournament, just like teams that finish fifth through seventh don't play in the Ivy lacrosse tournament and teams that finish fifth through eighth don't play in the Ivy basketball tournament.

I know it's en vogue to trash me on here, but there are other "critical points" to consider, such as rewarding teams for having great regular seasons.

They would be rewarded by playing the fifth through eighth seeds, likely the teams they would have been playing in the current format anyway. Letting teams with three or four wins in 22 regular-season games play for the league's tournament championship is ridiculous.

Al DeFlorio

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

BearLover

jtwcornell91

BearLover

Beeeej

BearLover

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla
Hockey East ADs Vote to Change Playoff Format

"The league's athletic directors, meeting at the annual Coaches' Convention in Naples, Fla., voted this week to eliminate the first round of the Hockey East playoffs, meaning that the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament and the bottom three teams will be eliminated."

Smart move. Maybe the ECAC will take note.

Why smart? Shouldn't we have some sort of real reward for the top four finishers (a bye)? Under this proposed new system, the only reward is an easier pairing.

Why, just because that's how it's been since the ECAC tourney went from 10 teams to 12 in 2003? Home ice and an easier pairing is already pretty fantastic, and even the bye isn't a guarantee of anything - witness 2004, #2 Cornell gets a bye then promptly donkeys off a best-of-three against #9 Clarkson just a year after making the Frozen Four. And while it's not as shocking an upset, in 2007 #4 Cornell also gets a bye then drops two straight at home to #5 Quinnipiac.

Not because it's how things have been, but because it rewards teams who finish highly in the conference. It's strange to eliminate four teams from the playoffs, thereby increasing the important of the regular season for those at the bottom of the standings, while decreasing the importance for those at the top. Selfishly, this would also hurt Cornell.

Re: byes not being a guarantee of anything, that's true (as it should be), but those two instances you cited are the only two from the 12 times Cornell has earned a bye in the current playoff format that it did not win the quarterfinals.

I find this whole argument a bit odd, because and eight-team format would still have a reward for finishing in the top four: home ice in the quarterfinals.

Actually, it's been pointed out that the "old" (non-final-five) 10-team format had a benefit for each pair of spots in the standings: finishing 10th got you in the playoffs, finishing 8th got you home ice in the Tuesday night preliminary game, finishing 6th let you avoid the prelim and go straight to the quarterfinals, finishing 4th got you home ice in the quarters, and finishing 2nd got you a quarterfinal series against a team that had played an extra game Tuesday night. As it turns out, that last advantage came with the disadvantage that the top two finishers didn't know which opponent to prepare for until Wednesday, so the coaches apparently didn't like the format.

Yeah I guess I'm assuming home ice isn't a significant advantage. If that's true, then changing to an 8-team format shifts the big incentive from the top 4 to the bottom 4. With that said, the current reward for a top-4 finish of home ice + week off to rest your players + no chance of being upset in the fist round might just be too good to the point of being unfair.

The critical point that goes right over your head is that teams that finish ninth through twelfth in a twelve-team league have no business being in a post-season tournament, just like teams that finish fifth through seventh don't play in the Ivy lacrosse tournament and teams that finish fifth through eighth don't play in the Ivy basketball tournament.

I know it's en vogue to trash me on here, but there are other "critical points" to consider, such as rewarding teams for having great regular seasons.

They would be rewarded by playing the fifth through eighth seeds, likely the teams they would have been playing in the current format anyway. Letting teams with three or four wins in 22 regular-season games play for the league's tournament championship is ridiculous.

I know this is an internet message board, but let's try to ease up on asserting long-held opinions as absolute incontrovertible truth here. Beyond finances and scheduling logistics there isn't really any hard and fast reason for a playoff field to cut off at any particular number of teams, and of course finances and scheduling logistics have basically nothing to do with determining which team is better (except in so far as they act as barriers to doing so - for example, we can't make every playoff series best of 15).

You're free to think a 12 team playoff in a 12 team league is absurd - and FWIW I also find it silly - but it really doesn't matter. The league could go to 10 of 12 and have a 4 team best 2-of-3 play-in (like today, but with the RS taking out the bottom two). Or it could just go to top 4 plays in Placid with no on-campus series. Or it could go to the old-school Ivy League Lax model and just make the RS the only thing that matters (assuming the NCAA would still allow that auto-bid). All of these are just as valid as the current tournament format, and all of them have their good points and their bad points from the perspective of league accolades, league representation in the NCAA tournament, and finding the best team.

If you ask me, and of course nobody did, I think keeping the current scheduling format but shortening it to 10 teams would be just fine. It generates more gate revenue for most teams, it has the "every 2 spot" reward structure JTW pointed out upthread, and it eliminates the "next opponent" uncertainty for the QF bye teams. It gives the kind of RS rewards BearLover is prioritizing while allowing the "playoffs should be restricted" purists to feel a little better about things.

It was 8 when we were a 17-team league. By that ratio it would be 6. Three on-campus best-of-threes. Three winners advance to Placid, the bottom two play the first night, the winner plays the RS champs the next night. Now every slot starts to be really, really important.

ESPNU crawler says Quinn leaving BU for Rangers.

Oliver Wahlstrom, who was a Harvard commit and is almost certain to go in the top-10 in this year's NHL draft, has flipped to BC. Harvard still has an excellent class coming in, but losing Wahlstrom takes a bit of the luster off that class.

scoop85
Oliver Wahlstrom, who was a Harvard commit and is almost certain to go in the top-10 in this year's NHL draft, has flipped to BC. Harvard still has an excellent class coming in, but losing Wahlstrom takes a bit of the luster off that class.

Good news for his future wife that Oliver will not be playing hockey at Harvard.

French Rage

scoop85
Oliver Wahlstrom, who was a Harvard commit and is almost certain to go in the top-10 in this year's NHL draft, has flipped to BC. Harvard still has an excellent class coming in, but losing Wahlstrom takes a bit of the luster off that class.

Good news for his future wife that Oliver will not be playing hockey at Harvard.

Preppy!

scoop85
Oliver Wahlstrom, who was a Harvard commit and is almost certain to go in the top-10 in this year's NHL draft, has flipped to BC. Harvard still has an excellent class coming in, but losing Wahlstrom takes a bit of the luster off that class.

In a Boston Globe article today, Wahlstrom says it came down to Michigan or BC. He apparently lived for awhile in Boston and said he feels he's a Boston kid.

Boston not being Cambridge. Even if Bright-Landry Center is in Boston proper.

billhoward
Boston not being Cambridge. Even if Bright-Landry Center is in Boston proper.

Bright-Landry Center is in the Independently Consolidated Shithole of Allston.

Our government making us safe and helping our economy again:

Phil Roy Leaves Clarkson After Work Visa Denied by U.S. Government

Jim Hyla
Our government making us safe and helping our economy again:

Phil Roy Leaves Clarkson After Work Visa Denied by U.S. Government

The shit-show that seems to have no end in sight.

+1 Jim & scoop. Sad

This isn't NCAA related, but I just saw a guy in the audience (not far from the Capitals net ) wearing a Cornell shirt/jersey during the Cup celebrations. Which one of you was it?

scoop85

Jim Hyla
Our government making us safe and helping our economy again:

Phil Roy Leaves Clarkson After Work Visa Denied by U.S. Government

The shit-show that seems to have no end in sight.

If you're registered to vote, there is an end in sight .

Jim Hyla

scoop85

Jim Hyla
Our government making us safe and helping our economy again:

Phil Roy Leaves Clarkson After Work Visa Denied by U.S. Government

The shit-show that seems to have no end in sight.

If you're registered to vote, there is an end in sight .

Because certainly nothing could go wrong with that, right?

Beeeej

Jim Hyla

scoop85

Jim Hyla
Our government making us safe and helping our economy again:

Phil Roy Leaves Clarkson After Work Visa Denied by U.S. Government

The shit-show that seems to have no end in sight.

If you're registered to vote, there is an end in sight .

Because certainly nothing could go wrong with that, right?

Da.

Shit show fer sher.......+10