Future of NCHC Playoffs

[nodak651]

They probably aren't going to change anything. Fenton just wants to make sure that what they are doing currently is the best way to go about it. It's what any good commissioner would do.

[Frozen4sioux]

Devils advocate here...why would the NCHC want to partner up with the conference that led to the demise of the WCHA as we knew it? I'd prefer to see the NCHC join forces with the new WCHA for a Thursday-Saturday hockey bonanza at the Excel every other year and Target Center for the other years.

FYP

[Goon]

I recently interviewed the NCHC Commish.

[johndahl]

I don't think we'll see any change for next year, and hopefully it will remain the best four teams until the NCHC expands to 10 or more teams. The third place game is a bit of an oddity, and was dropped from the WCHA tournament after they had enough teams to have the Thursday play-in game between 4 and 5; I suspect the NCHC will eventually go down that road as well, while the big six are stuck having the few "haves" push around the few "have nots" every year.

[franchise]

I like the 3rd place game so it guarantees that your team plays twice.

[hky]

I like the current set up. The top 4 teams EARNED home ice - nice for those teams and their fans. There are advantages to having an 8 team league. No need to have a Thursday "play-in game". And no need to bring everyone to the Cities like the Little 6.

[keikla]

Exactly. I like that you have to earn your way to the tournament. I don't want all 8 teams there. And if you just have the bottom 4 play series with 6 teams going to the tournament, then you have an off week for your top 4 teams. We all saw how well that off week worked for St. Cloud prior to the regionals...

[MafiaMan]

I don't think we'll see any change for next year, and hopefully it will remain the best four teams until the NCHC expands to 10 or more teams. The third place game is a bit of an oddity, and was dropped from the WCHA tournament after they had enough teams to have the Thursday play-in game between 4 and 5; I suspect the NCHC will eventually go down that road as well, while the big six are stuck having the few "haves" push around the few "have nots" every year.

What teams would you like to see added thru expansion? Are you thinking that poaching the WCHA for teams like Minnesota State and Ferris State would be a good idea?

Personally, I think the NCHC is a little heavy on former WCHA teams and would have liked to see a little more former CCHA flavor added when the recipe for a new conference was put together.

[keikla]

What teams would you like to see added thru expansion? Are you thinking that poaching the WCHA for teams like Minnesota State and Ferris State would be a good idea?

Personally, I think the NCHC is a little heavy on former WCHA teams and would have liked to see a little more former CCHA flavor added when the recipe for a new conference was put together.

It may sound weird, but I want Mankato to stay in the new WCHA for their own good. After years of being pummeled in an impossibly difficult conference, they deserve to be on/near the top. I'm afraid pulling them into the NCHC would just push them back down.

[MafiaMan]

And if you just have the bottom 4 play series with 6 teams going to the tournament, then you have an off week for your top 4 teams. We all saw how well that off week worked for St. Cloud prior to the regionals...

On the flip-side, that off-week worked out quite well for Denver in 2005...

[Goon]

What teams would you like to see added thru expansion? Are you thinking that poaching the WCHA for teams like Minnesota State and Ferris State would be a good idea?

Personally, I think the NCHC is a little heavy on former WCHA teams and would have liked to see a little more former CCHA flavor added when the recipe for a new conference was put together.

Remember, "like-minded".....

[nodakvindy]

What teams would you like to see added thru expansion? Are you thinking that poaching the WCHA for teams like Minnesota State and Ferris State would be a good idea?

Personally, I think the NCHC is a little heavy on former WCHA teams and would have liked to see a little more former CCHA flavor added when the recipe for a new conference was put together.

Agree with this. I actually would have taken Huntsville over St. Cloud, as it would have given more legitimacy to the league's name, it would be a nice trip in the winter time and it would have given the conference a cellar dwellar. The parity of the NCHC is going to be a problem come NCAA tourney time every year unless the league is lights out in non-conference play.

I'm not sure I actually want to see expansion, but if it comes I think it will be in a way that cuts travel for Miami and Western. I'd guess MAC-mate Bowling Green will eventually move over, If that happened I would probably make a run at Air Force for the 10th team. I'd then split into Divisions (26 game schedule, 4 games vs Division foes, 2 versus opposite division)

West

UND-DU-CC-UNO-AFA

East

UMD-SCSU-Miami-WMU-BGSU

NCHC playoff would provide Division Champs byes to the Target Center, while first round would have the twos vs the fives and the threes vs the fours. Frozen faceoff would then have Thursday quarters of 2E-3W (winner facing 1W) and 2W-3E (winner facing 1E)

[Blackheart]

What teams would you like to see added thru expansion? Are you thinking that poaching the WCHA for teams like Minnesota State and Ferris State would be a good idea?

Personally, I think the NCHC is a little heavy on former WCHA teams and would have liked to see a little more former CCHA flavor added when the recipe for a new conference was put together.

You only want Mankato back so you can justify your trip down to Mett...I mean the Midwest Wireless Center...

[nodak651]

NO MORE WCHA SCHOOLS!

Maybe BG or AF

We should be patient and wait for an Iowa State or Oklahoma and try to pull ND back west at the same time. Could wait 10+ years with the current set up. No reason to water down the conference.

[SiouxScore]

If the NCHC were to add a couple schools the first one I would want would be Mankato. They have been a program that has been getting better and looking ahead they should be solid for at the very least the next few years and would definitely not be a doormat of the league. I'm sure the other school would probably need to be closer to Miami and Western Michigan just to help them out a little with travel and I really wouldn't care who it is from over there.

[southpaw]

The tough thing about AF is that they would struggle to compete due to recruiting difficulties. It's less noticeable in Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons play some of their best hockey of the year vs DU and CC and have won several of those games recently. However, those results are unsustainable over the season. AF would go from perennial top 4 in AH to bottom four in NCHC.

[SiouxScore]

Agree with this. I actually would have taken Huntsville over St. Cloud, as it would have given more legitimacy to the league's name, it would be a nice trip in the winter time and it would have given the conference a cellar dwellar. The parity of the NCHC is going to be a problem come NCAA tourney time every year unless the league is lights out in non-conference play.

I'm not sure I actually want to see expansion, but if it comes I think it will be in a way that cuts travel for Miami and Western. I'd guess MAC-mate Bowling Green will eventually move over, If that happened I would probably make a run at Air Force for the 10th team. I'd then split into Divisions (26 game schedule, 4 games vs Division foes, 2 versus opposite division)

West

UND-DU-CC-UNO-AFA

East

UMD-SCSU-Miami-WMU-BGSU

NCHC playoff would provide Division Champs byes to the Target Center, while first round would have the twos vs the fives and the threes vs the fours. Frozen faceoff would then have Thursday quarters of 2E-3W (winner facing 1W) and 2W-3E (winner facing 1E)

No offense but I would really hate everything about this and hope it never happens. Huntsville would be the last team that I would want in the NCHC and splitting the NCHC into divisions when you only have 10 teams would be horrible and unnecessary.

[keikla]

No offense but I would really hate everything about this and hope it never happens. Huntsville would be the last team that I would want in the NCHC and splitting the NCHC into divisions when you only have 10 teams would be horrible and unnecessary.

Definitely no Huntsville. The NCHC was created after the Big Ten announcement because UND, DU, etc. needed to be in a conference in which schools have a dedication to putting hockey first. I'm thrilled that Huntsville was able to revive its program, but that hockey program isn't even close to the same level as the NCHC, financially or athletically.

[MafiaMan]

If the NCHC were to add a couple schools the first one I would want would be Mankato. They have been a program that has been getting better and looking ahead they should be solid for at the very least the next few years and would definitely not be a doormat of the league. I'm sure the other school would probably need to be closer to Miami and Western Michigan just to help them out a little with travel and I really wouldn't care who it is from over there.

I don't think the importance of Miami and Western Michigan can be overlooked in the NCHC and I'm sure traditional rivals Ferris State and Bowling Green would love to see those schools in the WCHA. The NCHC shouldn't just be WCHA West.

[SiouxScore]

I don't think the importance of Miami and Western Michigan can be overlooked in the NCHC and I'm sure traditional rivals Ferris State and Bowling Green would love to see those schools in the WCHA. The NCHC shouldn't just be WCHA West.

I get what you're saying and I'm sure those two could impact it a little but I doubt teams like CC and Denver would be real happy with bringing in two more teams that far east. I think ideally if they are gonna add two you add one like Bowling Green for Miami and Western Michigan and then you add one that could actually compete and at least be middle of the pack in the league like Mankato.

[nodak651]

I get what you're saying and I'm sure those two could impact it a little but I doubt teams like CC and Denver would be real happy with bringing in two more teams that far east. I think ideally if they are gonna add two you add one like Bowling Green for Miami and Western Michigan and then you add one that could actually compete and at least be middle of the pack in the league like Mankato.

I really don't see the benefit of adding Mankato. I acknowledge that it's a great program, but we already have two Minnesota teams. If we were to expand it should either be a d1 school, or a school that is in geographical proximity to Miami and Western Michigan. Planning for future opportunities, Mankato does nothing to make a start up FBS-type school want to join our conference.

Additionally, I would a assume that Mankato is important for the stability of the WCHA, and what is good for the stability of the WCHA is good for us.

[MafiaMan]

I get what you're saying and I'm sure those two could impact it a little but I doubt teams like CC and Denver would be real happy with bringing in two more teams that far east. I think ideally if they are gonna add two you add one like Bowling Green for Miami and Western Michigan and then you add one that could actually compete and at least be middle of the pack in the league like Mankato.

Oxford OH and Kalamazoo MI replaced Minneapolis and Madison on the travel schedule for the Colorado schools. Relatively short bus rides to Sault Ste Marie, Bowling Green, South Bend, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and Big Rapids for Miami and Western Michigan have been replaced by trips to Grand Forks, Duluth, Omaha, St Cloud, and Colorado. That's a huge jump in travel expenses for those two schools.

[I Ranger]

NCHC playoff would provide Division Champs byes to the Target Center, while first round would have the twos vs the fives and the threes vs the fours. Frozen faceoff would then have Thursday quarters of 2E-3W (winner facing 1W) and 2W-3E (winner facing 1E)

Ideas like this would never pass because even the top schools would be against this because they would lose 2-3 games per year (if they finished 1st). College hockey is all about games which is why the Alaska schools get teams up to their tourney's because those are exempt games meaning teams that play up there can get 2 more games on their schedule. I don't think any coach would want a bye into the conference tourney for winning the league they would rather have the additional games.

[MafiaMan]

Ideas like this would never pass because even the top schools would be against this because they would lose 2-3 games per year (if they finished 1st). College hockey is all about games which is why the Alaska schools get teams up to their tourney's because those are exempt games meaning teams that play up there can get 2 more games on their schedule. I don't think any coach would want a bye into the conference tourney for winning the league they would rather have the additional games.

I agree. On one hand, some of us (myself included) are arguing for the NCAA tournament to go back to top-seed-playing-in-their-own-rink format and now all of a sudden the argument is popping up for LESS home games so we can have more teams and more games in a "neutral-ice" setting? Count me out.

[Walsh Hall]

The problem is one school is so important to the success of the tournament. If the tournament doesn't include UND they are screwed. UMD and St. Cloud would bring some fans, but nothing compared to UND. This year would have been an unmitigated disaster if UND didn't beat CC in game 3.

I'm such they realize that major problem and would like to find a way to ensure UND is involved in the tournament each year. At least in the WCHA it would have been unlikely to have both UND and U of M TC miss.

If a joint tournament could be held with the WCHA or B10 that would make for an incredible weekend of hockey.