Humble Pie a la Mode

by Redwing77

The season is over and the outcome wasn't what we wanted, but that's not what is humbling to me.  I remember back in 2005 when all four Frozen Four teams were from the same conference.  WCHA fans crowed about how awesome the WCHA was and, well, the WCHA won the NC that year.  But was that truly great?

In college football the only people who were overjoyed by the Alabama vs. LSU National Championship game was the teams who were playing and their fans... and ESPN.  It might have been the lowest rated championship football contest in terms of TV ratings in the TV era.

All season long, NCHC fans crowed about how amazing the conference is.  And I put up with it.  After all, my team is in the NCHC and the NCHC did dominate over the season.  Certainly they deserved respect.

But then on USCHO I read an altogether astonishing statement:  "The NCHC is the SEC of college hockey."

Wait... What?

The NCHC is NOT the SEC of college hockey.  The SEC of college hockey doesn't exist anymore.  I'd argue the last time the SEC of college hockey existed was back when North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan were in the same conference along with Notre Dame and Michigan State.  Yeah.  The SEC of college hockey broke up in 1981.

This year the NCHC had 6 teams make the NCAA Playoffs.  Two made the Frozen Four.  It is certainly a great accomplishment.  In the end, however, Hockey East prevailed.  Hockey East has been around longer than the NCHC, even if the teams in the NCHC have storied histories.

I think we need to take a step back a little bit.  We are a strong conference with great teams and super competition.  However, we are 0-2 in National Championships as a conference.  In fact, as a conference, we've yet to get a team to the National Championship game.

Calling the NCHC the "SEC of college hockey" makes me chafe.  We do not want to be the SEC of college hockey.  I want the NCHC to be a dominant force, sure, but a respected one by all.  The SEC does not seem to hold much respect by those outside of ESPN and the fanbases of SEC teams.