My Question on CSTV: The Writers' Round Table

Here is a question I posed for the CSTV round table. The writers didn't go where I was hoping they would go, they kind of danced around the issue and didn't answer my question like I had hoped. No one is denying the fact; Miami and Michigan are good to decent teams, however, how battle tested are they? The strength of schedule of the CCHA isn't very impressive.

Miami will have played basically three teams in the top ten Michigan State University and Michigan (02-08-2008) and Notre Dame by the second week of February. The rest of their schedule is very week and almost laughable. Michigan has beaten Minnesota, Wisconsin and B.C. but Minnesota and Wisconsin are down this year so Michigan has to date played one team in the top ten. So I say again; what is so impressive about racking up a majority of your 21 wins against the likes of these teams. I will break it down for you using the KRACH Rankings, that's 4 wins against UNO #30, 2 wins against Canisus the #54, 3 wins against OSU #44, 2 wins against NMU #36, 1 win against Alaska #40, 2 wins against 32 Vermont, 1 win against BGSU #26 and 2 wins against Rensselaer #43. Include loses against #40 Alaska and #26 BGSU. Again; why are those 16 wins impressive?

Eric Grand Forks, ND: Are the Pundents giving the CCHA getting way too much credit? If you look at the Srenght of Schedule for two of the top teams in the CCHA; Michigan has played the 31st toughest schedule, while Miami has played the 28th toughest schedule. Why are these teams still impressive?
Paula Weston: The "pundents" giving the CCHA too much credit? Because the two best teams in the country are Miami and Michigan, and three of the four top 10 teams are CCHA teams?
Elliot Olshansky: I say it all the time...hockey games are played on sheets of ice, not sheets of paper, and having seen Michigan and Miami, these teams look like the No. 1 and No. 2 teams.
Paula Weston: It's not just the press that votes in the polls. I'd be willing to wager that many, many coaches around the country would say that Miami and Michigan are the top two teams in the nation right now.
Paula Weston: And while hockey games are played on sheets of ice and not paper, RinkRat, you would be out of work if people didn't want to see the endless banter about our sport.
Elliot Olshansky: Of course, I tend to like Miami a bit more than most, because I do still wonder about some of those Michigan freshmen hitting the wall.
Paula Weston: It's always foolish to underestimate Michigan. I think that may be the one true thing I've learned covering hockey these last dozen years.