Dave Berger

NCHC 2014-15 Season Preview and Predictions Discuss. Dave

The origins of the USCHO Championship Belt: link And yes, I'm Sioux18 on USCHO. Can't believe it's been around that long... Dave

Downtown Horns at El Roco tonight (Friday, October 10th) beginning around 9:30 p.m. There, now you've all got post-game plans. Dave

Weekend Preview: UND vs. Bemidji State Discuss. Dave

Now that we're finished ranking the twenty teams with at least one national championship, what are your thoughts on the programs most likely to break through and claim their first NCAA title? Dave

Thanks for the edit; I'll get it corrected. And I was saying that UND had the shortest title drought of any in the top five (top two droughts are listed for each program): Boston University: 23 (1948-1971), 17 (1978-1995) Boston College: 52 (1949-2001), 7 (2001-2008) Minnesota: 26 (1948-1974), 23 (1979-2002) North Dakota: 17 (1963-1980), 14 (2000-2014) Michigan: 32 (1964-1996), 16 (1998-2014) Dave

The one you've all been waiting for: 20 Storied Programs: #5 through #1 Discuss. Dave

I feel like we need to have a contest to name this as-yet-untitled masterpiece. What say you all? (Suggestions for Jim's stage name/rapper alter ego also accepted) Dave

Here's the latest installment: 20 Storied Programs: #10 through #6 Discuss. Dave

Twenty Storied Programs: #15 through #11 Discuss. Dave

That is a really great point. I hadn't considered how that impacted tournament appearances. Certainly makes sense when you see the consecutive appearances streaks that programs go on these days. I'm also remembering the fact that the selection process was far less transparent back then. Dave

The thing that tipped the scale against Yale (for me) is that they went from 1952 to 1998 without an appearance in the national tournament. That's a big deal for me. It's a little more difficult to compare Colgate to RIT, since they don't play in the same league (and I feel like that needs to be somewhat of a factor, considering we're comparing league titles), but I'll give it a shot: Colgate Raiders: National Championships: 0 Frozen Four Appearances: 1 (1990, 2nd place) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (most recent, 2005) Conference Playoff Titles: 1 (1990) Regular Season Conference Titles: 3 (most recent, 2006) With NCAA tournament appearances in 1981, 1990, 2000, and 2005, the Raiders have managed to avoid falling off the college hockey landscape for long stretches. RIT Tigers National Championships: 0 Frozen Four Appearances: 1 (2010, 3rd place) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (2010) Conference Playoff Titles: 1 (2010) Regular Season Conference Titles: 4 (most recent, 2011) Yes, the Tigers have four regular season titles in Atlantic Hockey, but they've only managed to parlay that into one NCAA bid. They caught lightning in a bottle and advanced to the 2010 Frozen Four, but with only one tournament appearance all-time, I don't see how I could put them ahead of Colgate. I'm assuming you would also have Colgate ahead of RIT but we disagree on Yale/Union? That's ok, that's what keeps things interesting until October. Dave

I'd have Colgate higher. The Raiders have been relevant at various times over the past four decades, with a national runner-up finish to Wisconsin in 1990. I understand why you're having me compare these two (lots of history vs. a team with only 9 Division I seasons but some recent success), but Colgate has what Yale didn't have for me: an appearance in the NCAA's at least every decade or so for the past 35 years. Dave

That's the strange thing about this list.. There are definitely tiers: Tier 1: the one-title teams: Bowling Green, Harvard, Minnesota-Duluth. Northern Michigan, Union, Yale Tier 2: the middle grounders: Colorado College, Cornell, Lake Superior State, Maine, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Rensselaer Tier 3: the elite: Boston College, Boston University, Denver, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin And to think, we used to have four of those elite teams in one conference.... *sigh* Dave

I hear what you're saying, and it's very well stated. What I said above is that Yale has had 67 seasons (1948-2014) in the NCAA Division I era to amass those victories and accomplishments, while Union has had 23 seasons (1991-2014). That factored into the equation for me. Should it have? I'm not sure. But I didn't mean to say that Union's accomplishments outweighed Yale's "in a vacuum". I ranked them ahead of Yale because they've done it in one third of the time. Others will point to Yale's history and tradition as more important, and that's the fun of it. When I made my list, it was very close, and if I do this next year, they might flip back again. With that being said, the whole point of these lists is for us to discuss (and disagree) and learn more about this great sport in the process. Dave

Aw, you stole my thunder! That was going to take us through May... Dave

I've added Hobey Baker winners and notable former players for each of the five teams in today's article. Hobey Baker finalists and All-Americans might take a bit more digging, but I'll see what I can do. Or if someone else wants to crunch those numbers for the 20 teams under consideration, that would be alright, too. Dave

What I'm going for with these rankings is some balance between historical accomplishments and current state of the program. When it came down to Yale vs. Union, I just felt like Union's accomplishments in 23 seasons at the Division I level outweigh what the Yale Bulldogs have been able to do since 1895. Yale was an independent until 1961, but they have been competing for NCAA championships since the trophy was first awarded in 1948. As I said in today's article, Yale only had two seasons of note (1951-52 and 1997-98) before this recent stretch. History and longevity mean something, but I give the slight edge to Union since they've been to two Frozen Fours in the past three seasons, while Yale's only other appearance came in 1952. Dave

Great idea, I'll go back in and edit the list later today. Special section for Hobey winners, plus other notable alums. Dave

Since Union became the 20th men's team in the history of NCAA Division I ice hockey to win a national title, I thought I would go back and look at all twenty teams to hang the ultimate banner. I've ranked them all, and we begin today with #20 through #16... 20 Storied Programs: #20 through #16 Discuss. Dave

Got this tweet this afternoon: The NCHC ‏@TheNCHC 8h @DBergerHockey @Fenton_JC This week we'll announce the conference schedule! Dave

It's been more than 40 years.... December 14th and 15th, 1973. North Dakota sweeps by scores of 7-3 and 7-2. And considering we only won ten games that season (10-23-1), that's pretty impressive. And those are the only two games between Lake Superior State and UND in the history of the programs. Dave

IIRC, the coaches/teams wanted more freedom for out-of-conference games and holiday tournaments. Playing everyone in the NCHC four times meant only room for six non-league games; this way gives the programs ten. I'm not saying I necessarily agree, but that's the way they went. Dave

Does he have listed which are home and which are away? Dave

Does anyone remember which non-conference opponents are on the list for 2014-15? Dave