Image via WikipediaEveryone's favorite blogger from USCHO is at it again. Here is the latest from Brian Sullivan, that first question that I asked, was someone hitting the Scotch while blogging? Seriously?While I can't speak for the other teams in our league but my favorite school has played a number of ECAC foes over the years.
But wait, there's more
The facts are also that it is surprisingly, even incredibly difficult to fill a 12-game non-conference schedule. AHA and Hockey East teams only have seven non-league slots each year. The WCHA and CCHA, six. While this may seem like a great opportunity to get nationwide exposure with games against far-flung foes, or to boost the ol' RPI in anticipation of the PairWise rankings, it's nowhere near that easy. For starters, the 14-point bucks - the real big game of the college hockey landscape - are limited in number: Boston College, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Miami, Boston University, Maine, Notre Dame and New Hampshire draw very well and make regular appearances in the NCAA tournament. (Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Ferris State, and Western Michigan are on that cusp, but don't yet have the long-term cachet.) Everybody wants them on their schedule.
But who do they want to play? Each other, of course. North Dakota has undeniably little incentive to play Colgate, Brown, or St. Lawrence, home or away... at least until the Raiders, Bears or Saints start becoming regular fixtures in the Sweet 16. Even the powerhouses of neighboring Hockey East frequently feel that they are better served by making Western road trips than by visiting or hosting local ECAC squads.
Hey Brian you might want to check out the schedules of UND, they have played a fair number of ECAC schools. Dean Blais scheduled ECAC schools during his tenure at UND as well.
1999-00 At Clarkson (x2)
2000-01 St. Lawrence(2x) At Princeton (x1)
2001-02 At St. Lawrence & Brown (1x)
2002-03 At Yale (1x) and Princeton (1x)
2003-2004 Yale (x2)
2005-06 Harvard(x2)
2006-07 At Dartmouth (x1) and (x1) St Lawrence
2008-09 Cornell (x2)
2008-09 AT Harvard (x2)
2009-10 At Cornell (x2)
2011-12 Harvard (2x)and Clarkson (1x) in Winnipeg.
