Dustin

Based on the records now that appears to be the case. Twins need to take advantage.

#6 Sewell had another nice string of serves. Overall just better play, but nothing stood out in set 3. UND 25-17 to take the match.

Erin (Joki) Green is watching as a spectator.

Set 2 was plagued by some mistakes and sloppy play, but UND prevailed 25-23. #4 Norris had the best spike of the set, though had errors too. #6 Sewell had the best serves, though she had an error her next time up. Good fight in the squad; they’re chasing balls all over.

At the game vs. MSUM. UND wins first set 25-14(?). (Not sure of the score because the scorekeeper reset to 0 so quickly). I’ll write more on the actual play after full match assessment.

That tells me that Tupac believes he has a starting setter for next season. On the surface, this part is concerning. Perhaps he's on top of their fundamentals and things are coming along. Otherwise, he would have had to address this.

Good point.

Totally agree. He gave an example of Qpac playing SCSU in the Eastern. I told him that that's only 2 teams fan bases - there's still 6 more teams. Plus better venues in better cities. And twice as much hockey.

Schlossman doesn't think my idea will solve attendance issues.

Shouldn't this spot be all covered with daisies?

Thinking about my idea some more, to help even more with attendance, you could still have a school host a regional, and if that school's team makes the tourney it would assure their placement in that regional. This would be helpful to make sure Denver plays in Denver, Michigan plays in Detroit, Minnesota plays in St. Paul, or BU/BC plays in Boston. Obviously other schools would be interested in hosting as well. I could see UND wanting to host in both St. Paul and Denver. Having host schools may result is seeds being switched (much like seeds are switched to avoid inter-conference match-ups) if the two host schools would otherwise be on the same side of the bracket (and thus the same regional).

Exactly. Plus if you put them in the right cities (like the ones I've been mentioning - St. Paul, Denver, Detroit, Boston), think of how many fanbases live in or close to those cities, so travel is much less of an issue than trying to decide if you want to go to Allentown or Fort Wayne.

I hadn't thought that each regional could have games on each day, but it works.

Haha. I am emailing Schlossman, though. (Unless one of you knows he checks this site??)

I think the idea would be looked upon favorably by all. For players, as long as make the tournament, you get to play in an NHL arena. For fans, the locations are much more palatable than recent regional sites. Plus, you'd get to see twice as many games in one spot. With 8 teams coming instead of 4, chances are one (or more, or several) of the 8 teams has/have large followings that will vastly improve attendance and atmosphere. For small schools, it would still be a neutral site. Think of this scenario: UND, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are all on the same side of the bracket and are placed at a super regional in St. Paul. Could college hockey really get any better than that?

Essentially, yes. Then, instead of going to a Frozen Four in one of those places, you'd get a warm weather locale for that.

No. It would be just located in the west (or east). It would still follow standard tournament seeding. My bracket shows that. (Although the first numbers of the double-digit seeds got cut off by the scanner)

The East and West could take turns who gets the 1-16 / 8-9 / 4-13 / 5-12 and 2-15 / 7-10 / 3-14 / 6-11 sides of the bracket. I think the super regionals could alternate between those four cities (St. Paul, Denver, Detroit, Boston) since they probably are the most traditional hockey cities in the United States. Then, as a reward for making the Frozen Four, that could be in a warm weather NHL city. I think I've got it all figured out.

I drew up my idea in bracket form. College Hockey playoff.pdf

I don't follow college baseball - How does a super regional work? For hockey, would 8 teams play at one regional, and 8 teams at another? I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't mind the single game format, I think it creates extra excitement, urgency, and ultimately heartbreak. Those are the reasons we follow sports, right? Could the super regionals be done at NHL arenas in hockey hotbeds? Say, a West Regional (not to be solely western geographical teams) in St. Paul or Denver and an East Regional in Boston or Detroit. Then the Frozen Four in a warm weather NHL arena like Tampa, Las Vegas, etc.?

Right now I draw the line at more than 4 natties and less than 4 natties (presently there is no school with exactly 4). I put UMD in the second tier with schools that have won multiple titles (so not a one and done) but not in the upper echelon of programs that have at least a ring for every finger on one hand. Other schools in this tier include Michigan St., LSSU, Maine, Cornell, Michigan Tech, Colorado College, and RPI. Now, UMD is on the best upward trajectory of any of those schools, and would be at least one, probably two, titles away from being added to the list of elite, depending on when it happens and how many more the other schools have accumulated.

If I were to rate the elite college hockey programs, it would go as follows: 1. North Dakota (based on all the info presented earlier, plus numerous regular season and post-season conference championships) 2. Minnesota (bests #3 Wisconsin based on their conference resume, something that Wisconsin lacks, and more title game appearances) 3. Wisconsin (not nearly as streaky as #2 Minnesota with the natties, but trails in conference hardware and title game appearances) 4. Denver (very streaky with the natties with a long gap, but is tied for the most natties, and has decent conference hardware) 5. Boston University (very comparable to #6 BC, but has never gone through a super long drought) 6. Boston College (very comparable to #5 BU, but with a very super long title drought) 7. Michigan (really only one era of dominance, and that was when only a few teams even made the NCAA tournament. Very long title droughts, longest is 32 years, current is 25 years. The only reason they're even in the elite club is their (now tied) record number of championships) I'd be curious to know how your list differs, if it does...

Updated: Denver - 12 championship games (9 titles), avg=5.9 years between championship game appearances, 31 year title game gap, 35 year title gap Michigan - 12 championship games (9 titles), avg=6.2 years between championship game appearances, 19 year title game gap, 32 year title gap North Dakota - 13 championship games (8 titles), avg=5.6 years between championship game appearances, 11 year title game gap, 17 year title gap Wisconsin - 9 championship games (6 titles), avg=6.3 years between championship game appearances, 14 year title game gap, 17 year title gap (current streak) Minnesota - 12 championship games (5 titles), avg=6.2 years between championship game appearances, 13 year title game gap, 23 year title gap Boston College - 10 championship games (5 titles), avg=7.4 years between championship game appearances, 23 year title game gap, 52 year title gap UMD - Doesn't count in my opinion, as they are not one of the elite programs throughout the history of the NCAA tournament, but a program not mentioned above... Boston University - 11 championship games (5 titles), avg=6.7 years between championship game appearances, 17 year title game gap, 17 year title gap I guess where I'm going with all this, North Dakota has been the most consistent college hockey program throughout the history of the NCAA tournament. Most championship games played (13 appearances). Shortest average time between title game appearances (5.6 years). Shortest gap between title game appearances (11 years). Tied for shortest title gap (17 years). Not a decade has gone by without UND playing in a championship game. Only one decade resulted in no championships (1970s). No other program can boast that level of consistency.

I see you are correct. I will update accordingly.

I went even more in depth and took into account the times that teams played in the championship game, but ultimately lost (NCAA runner-up): Denver - 12 championship games (9 titles), avg=5.9 years between championship game appearances, 31 year title game gap, 35 year title gap Michigan - 12 championship games (9 titles), avg=6.2 years between championship game appearances, 19 year title game gap, 32 year title gap North Dakota - 13 championship games (8 titles), avg=5.6 years between championship game appearances, 11 year title game gap, 17 year title gap Wisconsin - 9 championship games (6 titles), avg=6.3 years between championship game appearances, 14 year title game gap, 17 year title gap (current streak) Minnesota - 13 championship games (5 titles), avg=6.2 years between championship game appearances, 13 year title game gap, 23 year title gap Boston College - 10 championship games (5 titles), avg=7.4 years between championship game appearances, 23 year title game gap, 52 year title gap UMD - Doesn't count in my opinion, as they are not one of the elite programs throughout the history of the NCAA tournament, but a program not mentioned above... Boston University - 11 championship games (5 titles), avg=6.7 years between championship game appearances, 17 year title game gap, 17 year title gap I guess where I'm going with all this, North Dakota has been the most consistent college hockey program throughout the history of the NCAA tournament. Tied for most championship games played (13 appearances). Shortest average time between title game appearances (5.6 years). Shortest gap in title game appearances (11 years). Tied for shortest title gap (17 years). Not a decade has gone by without UND playing in a championship game. Only one decade resulted in no championships (1970s). No other program can boast that level of consistency.