Breakdown

Not that kind of breakdown.

New analysis on TBRW?, giving the W-L-T for all sorts of different categories of games.

[www.spiritone.com]

BTW, can I get an official ruling as to whether the minigame in 88 actually counted as (blech) a full game?

Cool. We're 32-6-6 in Lynah the last 3 years. That's what I like to see.

Does any other school have a better home record than us in that time span?

Also noteworthy that Cornell's NC record since Schafer came on board is 25-22-5, including NCAA Tourney appearances.

> ...can I get an official ruling as to whether the minigame in 88 actually counted as (blech) a full game?

As much as I hate to say this, I'm pretty sure that the wicked retahhhded "mini-game" (all 10 minutes of it?!?!) did indeed count as a full game. Rrrrggghh... stoopid ECAC...

Dammit... I'm too young... What's this mini-game?

Through most of the 80's, the Quarterfinals were a "best of two" series, with two games without overtime. If the teams split, a 10 minute minigame would immediately follow the second game. If the minigame was still tied, then the minigame would go to overtime.

In 1988 Cornell finished #3 and Clarkson finished #6. Clarkson won the opener 4-3, Cornell won game two 4-2, but Clarkson won the goddamn minigame 1-0.

BTW, since the minigame apparently does count as an official game for ECAC records, that means Cornell has played exactly 100 ECAC playoff games in their history: [www.spiritone.com] (not updated for the minigame yet). Eyeballing it, their record appears to be 67-29-4.

That's one of the stupidest idea I've ever heard. Best of two? Geniuses...

At least the minigame is marginally better, IMO, than the 2 game total goals series. Yes, let's play one six period game spread over two days. I know it's the academic league and they didn't want to risk class time by having a possible third game on Sunday, but then why not just have single elimination?

That was tried in 1992.

I've never really understood why college hockey playoffs begin with a series in the opening round then go to a single elimination tournament. Most sports tournaments, if they mix formats like this, have the series in the later rounds (or longer series in the later rounds). I guess it all goes back to money. More teams hosting series = more money for the teams. Anyone else have a better explanation?

I'm with you, Graham. If you can lose a semi or a final, (or, one last time, a PIG) in one game, why not a quarter/quint?

The single game quarterfinal format worked fine for many, many years in the ECAC (on Tuesday night, no less), until some ECAC genius came up with the "best-two-out-of-two-plus-minigame" and then "first-to-three-points" formats.

It probably does go to money. I can't think of any other reason. The money argument also makes sense when you consider the coming expansion of the ECAC playoffs, so that the top eight teams host series.

At least the important games are played at neutral sites. In basketball, with the advent of ESPN's "Championship Week" where they televise every conference's final, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader" tells some small conferences to play the championship game well after the rest of the tournament, and on a home court to guarantee a charged atmosphere.

Pardon my squeakball diatribe, but I was reminded of it as I listen to the Princeton/Yale playoff game...

No argument that playoff formats, like most things, are driven by money, but there is another rationale for making the first round a series. It cuts down on flukes and upsets by forcing a team that hasn't proven anything in the RS to win twice. This rewards the favorites, and also strengthens the league position by advancing more top seeds.

It's no accident that the while the QF actually did go back to a single game for one year in 1992, they immediately moved it back to a series when the #1 seed (Harvard) lost to the #10 RS finisher (RPI).

Making the late rounds single elimination has mostly to do with the practicalities of location and timinng.

They play the opening series at a host school. The locations are not predetermined, but once the locations are set, everyone travels/hosts for a full weekend.

The final 4/5 is played at a predetermined location at a predetermined time. And it is designed to last a single weekend, just like the QF series (and every weekend pairing throughout the season). The later rounds couldn't be made into 3-game series without adding another week to the playoffs and another round at host sites.