sagard

It only hurts DU. RPI and PWR are much more based on winning percentage than strength of schedule. But yeah it sets DU back at least a decade in my opinion, may be more.

I disagree with some of this. PWR is not accurate enough to warrant strict adherence. Use strict PWR to define the 16 teams that make the tourney. Then use it again to define the top eight seeds. The priority should be to not play anyone from your conference until the Frozen Four. Upsets happen and if a #1 and #3 or #2 and #4 seed end up playing each other in a regional final and they are from the same conference, I can live with that. I'd love to see the first two rounds at the higher seeds rink. Then do the Frozen Four.

Mich State or UW with all their Big Ten money will come calling. Mich State worries me. If they hired Gwoz the BT would become very strong. UW is middling along with Eaves, but he's shown capable of putting together a decent team.

It is easy to explain. Probability. As a top four seed in the 12 team tourney your chances were: 50% x 50% x 50% = 12.5% likely to be the champ in a given season. Now you are: 50% x 50% x 50% x 50% = 6.25% likely to be the champ in a given season. Also the Sioux haven't had many breaks in regional seeding. Look at the Sioux run in '97. Beat a weak Cornell to make Frozen Four, whip CC who was third in the WCHA at best, then smoke BU whom you had destroyed earlier in the same season. Not having to play Mich or the Gophers was huge. Look at the Gophers run in '02. Beat a weak CC team to make the Frozen Four. Come home to Xcel to beat Mich and Maine. Caught both UND and BC in down years. Mich knocked off a great DU team in the regional. Yes there have been some easy paths, but far less likely. Explaining BC's awesomeness is far harder than the Sioux/Gophers futility since '03.

This will set DU back a lot. I'd bet they are bottom half most years in your new league.

Forgot about that one. Mich 4-3 over Mercyhurst in 2001. Same year the Gophers got screwed out east vs. Maine. Oh well, payback was sweet.

Recruiting these "NHL" types of players keeps you good/great every year. It doesn't promise you anything. You have at least a dozen teams like DU, UMD, UNO, SCSU, CC, all of the ECAC, Ferris, Western Mich, Lowell, Maine, etc... who are all trying to build towards having a great season every once in a while. Teams like UND/BC/Mich/Minn and to a slightly lesser extent MichSt/UW/Miami/BU are always going to have talent. Some years it will click and you'll get more chances to play in the NCAAs. This gives you more chances to win the titles. But clearly in any single year, the best of the other groups can play and sometimes school the super powers. This didn't show itself the first time when HC beat the Gophers, it was starting to become evident as Niagara beat UNH in '00, then Wayne St. gave CC all it could handle in '03, Mercyhurst almost clipped BC one of those years as well. HC beat the Gophers and now it is fairly common place with Bemidji and RIT making the Frozen Four. The announcers over sell the draft pick numbers on TV. While certainly an indicator of some talent, it doesn't tell the whole story. In the long run, I'll take the talent. Some years it will work out. Some years you have to settle for 25-10.

I'd say Eaves and whoever is at MichSt. are now officially on notice. Assuming this is true.

Guys Yale isn't that great. They were good enough to win yesterday, but that is it. Maintain pressure on them and it will be 5-2 Sioux.

This UND team isn't super hard nosed. They have tons of super highend skill though with Kristo, Knight, Rocco.

GPL is down.

I think your off. Gophers weren't lazy, they just aren't that great. First line has struggled 5 vs. 5 for quite a while. PP didn't click and that was the difference. Wilcox overplayed the disaster of a Marshall turnover. He needs to get a piece of the centering pass if he is going to over commit that far.

Marshall hero last year, goat today. Hockey can be cruel.

Yale showing better legs again. Best goalie wins.

Now we have a chance!

Gophs aren't that good. Hoping for OT.

Amazing. Throw it on net.

Exactly. This one looks done. This ain't BSU we are trying to come back on. I'm not sure the Yale goalie has even had a tough stop.

Better opponents. Opponents willing to play harder.

Gophs PP too reliant on beauty, no one even trying to go to the net.

Yikes. Gophs can't score much lately, not looking good

Thousands of good seats available.

Yale seems to have better legs through one.

Gophers haven't had an easy time with anyone. This will be decided late in the third. The Sioux on the other hand will get invincible goaltending and behind five Rocco/Kristo goals will win 5-0.

Not a coincidence. Since 2005 all WCHA Frozen Four a distinct pattern has emerged. 2006 - Gophs/UND slated to play in Regional Final. 2007 - Gophs/UND play in Regional Final. 2008 - UW/DU/UND stuffed into Madison Regional. 2009 - DU/UMD slated to play in West Regional. 2010 - UW/SCSU play in Regional Final. 2011 - UND/DU play in Regional Final. 2012 - UM/UND play in Regional Final. It's a joke, but it's not just the WCHA. They have pitted all the conferences against themselves in regionals when given the opportunity. Rather than understanding that 2005 was a fluke, they have over compensated to prevent it from happening again. Everything was still cool in '99 when HE placed three in the Frozen Four.