goalies

[zg88]

Thanks to Cam McCormick's "off night" last night (he allowed 3 goals in a tie game), the Big Red's David LeNeveu is -- at least for the moment -- the NUMBER ONE GOALIE IN THE NATION!  (The margin is as close as it gets -- 1.45 to 1.46).

Let's hope he can hang on to that distinction in the wake of tonight's action!  Congrats, Lenny!  B-]

(Incidentally, Michigan State's Ryan Miller posted his nation-leading 7th(!!) shut-out this season with a 39-save blanking of Notre Dame last night.  He now has an incredible 25 SO's in his career -- and he's only a junior...)

[jtwcornell91]

It's relatively easy to demonstrate that a team hasn't clinched a playoff berth.  Tim provided a specific example of a combination of results that would have put Cornell in 11th after the tiebreakers.

Of course Cornell has clinched the playoffs now.

[Adam Ganderson]

I hope I'm asking this question on behalf of the others who don't know but don't have the guts to ask.  But if I'm just stupid, please humor me anyway?  

How have we already secured a playoff berth for next season, and what does that mean?  Does good performance this season mean that even if we're 11th or 12th next season we'll still get to be in playoffs?  That just doesn't sound right...

[Jordan 04]

ECAC is moving to a new playoff format next year.

All 12 teams qualify for the playoffs.

"Under the new format, all 12 teams will qualify for the playoffs and the top four finishers will earn a bye past the first round. Teams five through eight will host a first-round series against the bottom four teams.

The winners of those series will then be reseeded to travel to the bye teams in the quarterfinals, resulting in a four-team bracket at Lake Placid."

[jason]

A) All 12 teams in the playoffs is bush league.
B) Are the quarterfinals still best of 3?

[Greg Berge]

The first two rounds (bottom 8; reseeded top are supposed to be best of three.  It would make sense for revenue -- but that's a *lot* of games potentially (a bottom 4 team could play up to 8 ECAC playoff games alone).

All 12 making it is bogus, but it's better than the PIG (5/4 play in game on Thursday at Placid).  This also means that the top 8 teams will host playoff series each year, which is good for spreading playoff interest among fans.

[Greg Berge]

The other great thing about the new format, for we old fogies, is that it returns the emphasis on finishing in the top 4 slots.  There's something elegant about the rewards being distributed in discrete quantities by third of league: Bye; Home; Away.  The things to shoot for are simpler, hence better defined and more substantial.

[jtwcornell91]

Now if we added Mercyhurst, Niagara, Quinnipiac and UConn, and let 12 teams out of 16 in, there would be four four-team blocks.  Of course it wouldn't be long before they tried to let all 16 teams in. ::rolleyes::

[Al DeFlorio]

Agree that dividing into thirds makes great sense:  Home, Away, Goodbye.;-)

[zg88]

Amen, Al!

[Jim Hyla]

Getting back to goalies, if the weekend results continue, I predict Underhill for the playoffs.

[Jordan 04]

I think it's been clear for a number of weeks now that if Schafer ever decided to go to one for the stretch run or playoffs it would be Underhill.

LeNeveu would have to do something pretty damn special to unseat a senior goaltender who's top 5 in the nation.  Come to think of it, #1 in the nation is "pretty damn special," but obviously Underhill has by no means lost his right to the home stretch and playoffs.

[cbuckser]

Mike Schafer has stated publicly that he has decided to go with one goaltender in the playoffs; he just hasn't revealed to the press which one he'll choose.