An early look at 2019-2020

[BMac]

That's crazy to think about. This team with a #1 seed.

But also, those are a lot of results to flip. Any three individually, sure. But that many...

[Scersk '97]

QU, like us, loses three big-minute senior D.

Make that three seniors and one junior: Rafferty jumped.

If they lose Shortridge as well, we might have a situation on our hands hee-ah.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Good breakdown of yesterday, just a bit rosy for me.   As I said elsewhere, I wish the OOC schedule were stronger.  How do we not play HE teams, except BU every other year.  No NCHC.  Rarely Big 10.  And when we do, it's Merrimack or Michigan State, and not stronger teams.  We should drop the Atlantic hockey teams and avoid WCHA.  Losses to top teams are better that beating Niagara.  We pay for that in PWR and, more important, not being ready in the tournament.  Providence isn't that good that we should've been so stymied.  Other than perhaps the team was finally just plain spent.  But hat doesn't explain past years. No problem losing to demonstrably better teams, but Providence is not 4-0 better than us.  Frustrates the hell out me, all the NC$$ losses-UNH, Ferris, Bemidji--those are games you need to win.  Wisconsin makes my head hurt, but that was Wisconsin, no shame there

It's demonstrably untrue that losing to top teams is better than beating Niagara. Entirely false. There is no magic formula. Win games, that's it.

If Cornell didn't have a crazy home tie to QU, a crazy home OT loss to Colgate and RPI, a crazy tie at Brown, and two bad home losses to Michigan State - they'd have been a No. 1 seed.

And this year, at least in two regions, being a #1 seed didn't get you a patsy. There's parity.

But the ones playing next weekend are a bit above the rest, at least this time of year.

Remember we were missing three key players, when going into the finals at LP we were almost back to full strength. This takes its toll as others have to play harder.

Looking ahead, we're losing some great senior leadership and esp. three strong defensemen. But we've a strong class coming in, one that's larger than what we're losing. If there's one position I'd trust Shaffer to bring along, it's D. If the incoming frosh can develop the way the current sophomores have, we should more than reload.

We can shoulda, woulda, coulda all we want.  Our record was not appreciably different than any other team in the middle of the pairwise.  Sure if we won a couple of the games that we tied, we'd have been higher, but of course, if we won those games, we would have deserved to be higher.

As to match-ups for next year, we know there's MSU in Lansing, NMU at Lynah, BU at the Garden (I believe), and then the Vegas tournament.  Anybody know who's in that tournament next year besides us?

[Trotsky]

Much as in the NHL, seeds are less important than in the other sports.  Just get on the dance card.

Here are the regional seeds of the national champions since we went to 4 regionals in 2003:



03 1 Minnesota
04 2 Denver
05 1 Denver
06 1 Wisconsin
07 3 Michigan State
08 2 BC
09 1 BU
10 1 BC
11 3 Minn-Duluth
12 1 BC
13 4 Yale
14 1 Union
15 4 Providence
16 1 North Dakota
17 1 Denver
18 3 Minn-Duluth

1 9
2 2
3 3
4 2

[Chris '03]

Much as in the NHL, seeds are less important than in the other sports.  Just get on the dance card.

Here are the regional seeds of the national champions since we went to 4 regionals in 2003:



03 1 Minnesota
04 2 Denver
05 1 Denver
06 1 Wisconsin
07 3 Michigan State
08 2 BC
09 1 BU
10 1 BC
11 3 Minn-Duluth
12 1 BC
13 4 Yale
14 1 Union
15 4 Providence
16 1 North Dakota
17 1 Denver
18 3 Minn-Duluth

1 9
2 2
3 3
4 2

In the same period for men's basketball:
1 10
2 2
3 3
7 1

[Scersk '97]

As to match-ups for next year, we know there's MSU in Lansing, NMU at Lynah, BU at the Garden (I believe), and then the Vegas tournament.  Anybody know who's in that tournament next year besides us?

I think both Northern Michigan and BU are going to be in rebuilding mode next year, but those games at Munn are going to be tough.  Let's hope the Vegas field is good.

[Trotsky]

We also seem to be moving towards greater parity over time.

Mean champion seed, 16-team period:

Years 01-08: 1.50
Years 09-16: 2.25

Consider that a completely random result would be 2.50

In 2003 the bottom teams by RPICH were: Findlay, AIC, Iona, Air Force, UConn (in their 5th year as a D-1 program), Princeton, and Fairfield.  This year they were: Canisius, Merrimack, Holy Cross, Ferris State, UAH, St. Lawrence, and UAA.  The bottom tier of the NC$$ is clearly much stronger now, and I think that's true commensurately throughout the entire breadth of college hockey.

[Beeeej]

I know those were home and homes, that was my point, though I may have been less than clear.  I still don't get the lack of HE teams.

How would I do it?  Now, it's my job?  How I would do it is irrelevant, aside from the fact that I'm not in that business, that's for the program to figure out.  My job is to drive 8 hours round trip in the rain (well the rain was only about 5 hours) to see lousy hockey.  

However they managed to get it done the previous times sounds like a good template.  Other Ivies manage it, we've managed it, so why can't it be done?

I didn't say it was your job, either, but you're asking for a better OOC schedule seemingly without much conception of what's involved. If you think there's something Coach Schafer hasn't tried, I'd love to hear it, that's all. If not, all you're basically saying is, "I wish things were better." You're certainly entitled to that feeling, and I even understand and relate to it.

As Trotsky is fond of saying, I'd also like a pony.

[Trotsky]

As Trotsky is fond of saying, I'd also like a pony.

My quote is actually "I'd also like a redhead."

[nshapiro]

As Trotsky is fond of saying, I'd also like a pony.

My quote is actually "I'd also like a redhead."

They are over-rated

[Trotsky]

As Trotsky is fond of saying, I'd also like a pony.

My quote is actually "I'd also like a redhead."

They are over-rated

Shun the non-believer.  Shun.  Shuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

[adamw]

That's crazy to think about. This team with a #1 seed.

But also, those are a lot of results to flip. Any three individually, sure. But that many...

I think it only would've taken a couple of flips. You can play with the tools on CHN to find out.

[adamw]

Good breakdown of yesterday, just a bit rosy for me.   As I said elsewhere, I wish the OOC schedule were stronger.  How do we not play HE teams, except BU every other year.  No NCHC.  Rarely Big 10.  And when we do, it's Merrimack or Michigan State, and not stronger teams.  We should drop the Atlantic hockey teams and avoid WCHA.  Losses to top teams are better that beating Niagara.  We pay for that in PWR and, more important, not being ready in the tournament.  Providence isn't that good that we should've been so stymied.  Other than perhaps the team was finally just plain spent.  But hat doesn't explain past years. No problem losing to demonstrably better teams, but Providence is not 4-0 better than us.  Frustrates the hell out me, all the NC$$ losses-UNH, Ferris, Bemidji--those are games you need to win.  Wisconsin makes my head hurt, but that was Wisconsin, no shame there

It's demonstrably untrue that losing to top teams is better than beating Niagara. Entirely false. There is no magic formula. Win games, that's it.

If Cornell didn't have a crazy home tie to QU, a crazy home OT loss to Colgate and RPI, a crazy tie at Brown, and two bad home losses to Michigan State - they'd have been a No. 1 seed.

And this year, at least in two regions, being a #1 seed didn't get you a patsy. There's parity.

But the ones playing next weekend are a bit above the rest, at least this time of year.

Remember we were missing three key players, when going into the finals at LP we were almost back to full strength. This takes its toll as others have to play harder.

Looking ahead, we're losing some great senior leadership and esp. three strong defensemen. But we've a strong class coming in, one that's larger than what we're losing. If there's one position I'd trust Shaffer to bring along, it's D. If the incoming frosh can develop the way the current sophomores have, we should more than reload.

We can shoulda, woulda, coulda all we want.  Our record was not appreciably different than any other team in the middle of the pairwise.  Sure if we won a couple of the games that we tied, we'd have been higher, but of course, if we won those games, we would have deserved to be higher.

My point in making that remark, was to demonstrate that winning a few more games that slipped away - against bottom-rung teams - would've moved Cornell up considerably. It was to counterpoint the assertion that Cornell needs to schedule top-run teams, and lose to them, and that that will somehow improve their Pairwise. That was my only point there.

[ugarte]

We can shoulda, woulda, coulda all we want.  Our record was not appreciably different than any other team in the middle of the pairwise.  Sure if we won a couple of the games that we tied, we'd have been higher, but of course, if we won those games, we would have deserved to be higher.

As di bubbe volt gehat beytsim volt zi gevain mayn zaidah

Every team has some results they think should have been different. If we had won all those crazy games, it would have been because we were the kind of team that didn't put itself in the position to lose a lot of crazy games. But I also take adamw's point.

[Trotsky]

I think both Northern Michigan and BU are going to be in rebuilding mode next year

Over the weekend BU lost their fifth early departure to the pros.  From a team that went 16-18-4.  They're fucked.