Why Are There 16 Teams in the Tournament?

[watchmaker49]

I believe that all conferences use a best of 3, all in the home of the higher seed, for the first round of their tournaments. Pretty much every year there are teams that pull off the upsets, like Michigan Tech this year. For a national tournament you would think that the teams would be even more closely matched than the top and bottom of most conferences. 8 vs 9, 7 vs 10, 6 vs 11 and 5 vs 12 would almost always be pretty close matchups. The main advantage is that the best teams would advance more often than the current situation.

Football is always a 1 game situation. College hockey almost always plays a 2 game series. So a best 2 out of 3 is as good a fit for college hockey as a 1 and done. All levels of pro hockey use a multiple game playoff system.

Better than the old total goal playoff system. I still think it should be dropped to 8 teams though.

[buckysieve]

They need to keep neutral sites. A team should never play in their home arena in the NCAA's.

[ksixpack]

They need to keep neutral sites. A team should never play in their home arena in the NCAA's.

would you be willing to go one further...a team should never play in their home town in the NCAA's? ...................I didn't think so..........

[Goon]

They need to keep neutral sites. A team should never play in their home arena in the NCAA's.

That is disingenuous because the Xcel Energy Center is about 7 miles from the campus of UMN.

[sagard]

None of these suggestions are ground breaking. The tourney was eight teams for much of the '80s with the quarter final best of three series at the higher seeded team's rink. Similarly when the tourney expanded to 12 teams the tourney still featured best of three series in both the first round as well as the quarter finals. A famous series from that time period included AA (the original Holy Cross) as an independent stunning BC in two games out in Chestnut Hill.

At some point it was believed that single games were good enough and that home ice regionals weren't fair. I thought the six team regionals with two teams surviving was an awesome format. Yeah teams hated losing to Michigan at Yost or Grand Rapids. Those Michigan teams were pretty good though and I believe CC finally beat them in '05.

I'd love to see a two site regional format again, but best of three home ice series would be cool as well for the first two rounds.

[Goon]

I am not for cutting teams from the NCAA tourney, if anything I am for expanding it.

[Dolphinswin]

I think its BS that the gophers get a number 2 seed and are always in the west region. Hell we might as well have played the games at the mariucci, its like a damn home game for them. UMD got screwed and should have gotten a better seed, they were higher in the pairwise than the gophers. No doubt the NCAA will put the rodents in the west for revenue purposes but I think its crap. Hell they even had the "M" for minnesota on the ice.

[Vegas_Sioux]

Every host school's logo was on the ice it just is more pronounced since the gooph troop made it. Maybe JBSU or Mankato could host at the x and then we don't have to worry about the gophers staying home.

[buckysieve]

I think its BS that the gophers get a number 2 seed and are always in the west region. Hell we might as well have played the games at the mariucci, its like a damn home game for them. UMD got screwed and should have gotten a better seed, they were higher in the pairwise than the gophers. No doubt the NCAA will put the rodents in the west for revenue purposes but I think its crap. Hell they even had the "M" for minnesota on the ice.

Calling it a home game for the Gophers is ridiculous. Thousands of Sioux fans were there making a ton of noise and you guys also had the last change. And the Sioux have actually played more games in that arena than the Gophers have over the last few years so you guys should feel very comfortable there. Stop whining.

[Siouxperfan7]

Calling it a home game for the Gophers is ridiculous. Thousands of Sioux fans were there making a ton of noise and you guys also had the last change. And the Sioux have actually played more games in that arena than the Gophers have over the last few years so you guys should feel very comfortable there. Stop whining.

Not complaining here. Gophers played great on Sunday and deserve to be in the Frozen 4. Not making excuses for our loss. But saying that the Gophers don't have an advantage playing a regional in St Paul over anyone else who was there is rediculous!! True UND has played more games there recently, but the X is less than 10 miles from Minnesota's campus. Gophers get to practice in their own rink, sleep in their own beds, they have 70% of the fans in the building cheering for them. That is why it is an advantage. Lucia can say all sorts of things about it not being hoe ice advantage....but sorry it is.

[Goon]

Calling it a home game for the Gophers is ridiculous.

Really! The University of Minnesota is 8.1 miles away from the Xcel Energy Center and to say it's not a home game for the Gophers is "ridiculous" and dishonest.

[buckysieve]

Not complaining here. Gophers played great on Sunday and deserve to be in the Frozen 4. Not making excuses for our loss. But saying that the Gophers don't have an advantage playing a regional in St Paul over anyone else who was there is rediculous!! True UND has played more games there recently, but the X is less than 10 miles from Minnesota's campus. Gophers get to practice in their own rink, sleep in their own beds, they have 70% of the fans in the building cheering for them. That is why it is an advantage. Lucia can say all sorts of things about it not being hoe ice advantage....but sorry it is.

Lucia said its a home crowd advantage for the Gophers which it is, I don't deny that. But its not a home ice advantge and there's a huge difference.

[Goon]

Lucia said its a home crowd advantage for the Gophers which it is, I don't deny that. But its not a home ice advantge and there's a huge difference.

Really! I would have loved to see Gopher fan howl if they had to attend another regional in the REA.

[siouxforce19]

Lucia said its a home crowd advantage for the Gophers which it is, I don't deny that. But its not a home ice advantge and there's a huge difference.

I'm sorry, but i think that is off base. I was at regionals this weekend and the advantages were all tilted in one direction. I don't see much difference between home crowd and home ice. It's all the same to me.

[buckysieve]

Really! I would have loved to see Gopher fan howl if they had to attend another regional in the REA.

You didnt play at Mariucci this past weekend, you played at the X so Im not sure why you bring up that comparison of the Gophers playing at the Ralph.

[NDHockey]

buckysieve is right. Home crowd advantage is obvious. But home ice? We've played more games at Xcel in recent years than the Gophers have and it is the same size rink we play on all year. Other than travel, it really isn't as much of a home ice advantage as some people play it up to be. Even the travel variable is overrated given teams show up ahead of time and usually have a full day to relax and get their bearings.

[GFG]

Not complaining here. Gophers played great on Sunday and deserve to be in the Frozen 4. Not making excuses for our loss. But saying that the Gophers don't have an advantage playing a regional in St Paul over anyone else who was there is rediculous!! True UND has played more games there recently, but the X is less than 10 miles from Minnesota's campus. Gophers get to practice in their own rink, sleep in their own beds, they have 70% of the fans in the building cheering for them. That is why it is an advantage. Lucia can say all sorts of things about it not being hoe ice advantage....but sorry it is.

They don't sleep in their own beds. For the Final Five and regionals they're put in a hotel by the X just like every other team. I don't know if the hockey team does it, but I do know the Gopher football team stays at a hotel every weekend they have a game, even if they have a home game. I'm guessing it's a thing to "Keep the players together."

I think its BS that the gophers get a number 2 seed and are always in the west region. Hell we might as well have played the games at the mariucci, its like a damn home game for them. UMD got screwed and should have gotten a better seed, they were higher in the pairwise than the gophers. No doubt the NCAA will put the rodents in the west for revenue purposes but I think its crap. Hell they even had the "M" for minnesota on the ice.

They don't always get put in the west region. The last time Minnesota made it to the NCAA tournament we played in Worcester, MASSACHUSETTS. You would be complaining more if it was on Mariucci because it's olympic sized ice, which is exactly why regionals are neutral sites now. Many coaches, including Dean Blais, used to get really mad to have to play in a regional that was hosted from a school with olympic sized ice. In fact, the year UND lost to Ferris State the regional was at Mariucci and Blais had a giant uproar in the Grand Forks Herald about how it's unfair because it's olympic size ice and yada, yada, yada. UMD should have beaten Denver at the Final Five if they wanted to be in St. Paul. Minnesota was put in St. Paul because they were hosting that regional. Same reason UND was put in Grand Forks for the West Regional the year Minnesota lost to Holy Cross. In both instances if they weren't a host school they probably would have been shipped out east. Maybe you should tell UND officials to smarten up and host a regional at the X so they know where they will be, this would likely result in Minnesota being shipped elsewhere too. Tell Mankato, Duluth, or SCSU to host a regional at the X. I believe schools bid to host regionals, and very few put bids in. Which is why Minnesota hosts so many regionals. Seems they host them every two years. Somebody can correct me on that if I'm wrong, though.

Sorry to the rest of you on here.

[ksixpack]

This is a fact...UND was on the road for 7 of the last 11 days and MN 0 of those 11 days...UND played 5 games in those 11 days and MN 3 games...records during that time were 4-1 for UND and 2-1 for MN with both teams only losses by 3 goals to each other. Those are facts that cannot be disputed by anyone. Did UND look fatigued compared to MN on Sunday? I thought so. If the roles were reversed would MN have won on Sunday...I very much doubt it...

[Goon]

You didnt play at Mariucci this past weekend, you played at the X so Im not sure why you bring up that comparison of the Gophers playing at the Ralph.

If I have to explain it to you, then I have over estimated you in the past.

[buckysieve]

If I have to explain it to you, then I have over estimated you in the past.

Actually, you're the one not understanding. You apparently dont understand the difference between home ice advantage and home crowd advantage.

I was arguing that the Gophers playing at the X isn't as big of an advantge as Sioux fans think it is because its not our home rink. Then you reply by saying, how would Gopher fans react if we had to play at the Ralph?

Again Goon, you did not play at Mariucci this past weekend so asking how Gopher fans would feel if we had to play in your home arena makes zero sense.

[Johnny Five]

The game was played between the lines between the players. I don't think the location decided the outcome.

[chopper 1]

Plus the Gophers play home games on an olympic size sheet. Last time I checked the X was NHL sized. Which one of the two teams plays home games on an NHL sized rink? Advantage UND at the X.

[ksixpack]

Plus the Gophers play home games on an olympic size sheet. Last time I checked the X was NHL sized. Which one of the two teams plays home games on an NHL sized rink? Advantage UND at the X.

If you believe this to be a big advantage then it would also be a big advantage for UND in recruiting against MN because UND plays on an NHL rink, correct? Still going to go with that thought?....

[Nodaker]

You apparently dont understand the difference between home ice advantage and home crowd advantage.

Saying there is a difference between home ice and home crowd is like saying there is a difference between a tax and a fee.

If there is no advantage to playing in the X for minny then why do they bid for the regionals all the time?

[buckysieve]

Saying there is a difference between home ice and home crowd is like saying there is a difference between a tax and a fee.

If there is no advantage to playing in the X for minny than why do they bid for the regionals all the time?

There IS an advantage for the Gophers playing before a pro Gopher crowd at the X. I won't deny that and never have. But its not nearly the advantage they would have of playing at Mariucci. Thats the difference between home ice advantage and home crowd advantage. To me they are very different.