Tuesday Links - Discipline and TV Schedule addition

Senkbeil, Parks punished for minors bit.ly/RQhQ4X
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) September 11, 2012

There might be four people that hasn't heard about this yet. As we know word travels fast in Grand Forks, ND. UND hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman, is reporting that two UND hockey players were cited for Minor in Possession. Unlike the "other school" to the south coach Hakstol deals swiftly with these types of matters swiftly before they get out of hand.

Two UND players have been punished for receiving minors in possession/consumption of alcohol.

Dan Senkbeil, who was cited for a minor and for failure to halt on Aug. 31, was suspended from all team activities for two weeks. He has not yet been cleared by coach Dave Hakstol to play in games. Senkbeil received his minor one week before turning 21.

Michael Parks was cited for a minor and his punishment is being handled internally. Parks is 20.

Apparently, the NDSU head football coach Craig Bohl is finally, going to start giving their players some sort of punishment - no matter how minor it might seem - Sophomore outside lineback Travis Beck will now be given a minor slap on the wrist after he recieved his second Minor in Possession of alcohol.

#NDSU HC Craig Bohl tells me Travis Beck will be disciplined internally by team for charge of MIP
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) September 11, 2012

NBCSN released it's 2012-13 college hockey schedule today and UND hockey fans will get to see at least two road games on the NBCSN.

Ice Breaker Tournament

Fri., Oct. 12 Notre Dame vs. #12 Maine 7 p.m.
Army vs. Nebraska TBD
Sat., Oct. 13 Final (Teams TBD) 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 Harvard at #13 Cornell 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 30 #1 Boston College at #11 Boston University 7:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at #8 Denver 10 p.m.
Dec. 1 #11 Boston University at #1 Boston College 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 7 Michigan State at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 4 Colorado College at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 11 #3 Union at Princeton 7:30 p.m.
Nebraska-Omaha at Denver 10 p.m.
Jan. 18 Harvard at Yale 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 25 Yale at #13 Cornell 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 Dartmouth at #3 Union 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 8 #6 North Dakota at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 #11 Boston University at #12 Maine 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 Yale at Quinnipiac 7:30 p.m.
#6 North Dakota at #8 Denver 10 p.m.
March 1 Wisconsin at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
March 8 #12 Maine at New Hampshire 7:30 p.m.

Hockey East Tournament

March 15 Quarterfinals 7 p.m.
March 22 Semifinals 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
March 23 Final 7 p.m.

Is B.U.’s hockey team an isolated incident or the norm?

This morning the popular discussion on twitter this morning – other than the President Obama’s speech – was the BU Hockey Task Force report that the Boston Globe had gotten their hands on. Let’s just put it this way – there were some interesting, chilling and puzzling revelations to come out of the that report. Some of the stuff that is in this Boston Globe newspaper isn’t very flattering and kind of sheds what I would call a negative light on the Boston University Hockey team.

After watching Penn State have the book thrown at them this summer for what the NCAA referred to as a lack of institutional control – I am beginning to see – albeit on a much smaller scale – what appears to be yet another big time high profile university, lacking some degree of institutional control.

What’s different this is that this sex scandal – if you want to call it that – was perpetrated by the hockey players instead of the coach and the victims were college co-eds instead of innocent minor children, under the age of 18. Neither of these types of incidents are excusable and or acceptable

On the keg party that took place at Agganis Arena – it appears that the head coach Jack Parker was aware of the arena party incident after initially denying that he knew about the incidents. Again, these kind of incidents don’t shed a very positive light on the Boston University hockey program. I could see how this appears to outsiders that Coach Parker has losing control of his hockey team and he has turned a blind eye to this behavior.

I also just don’t buy that argument that it’s happening everywhere and the other programs just haven’t been caught yet. There is no reason we have to excuse or pooh-pooh this bad behavior – or try to deflect the blame. It’s one thing to have student athletes partying – I get that – they’re in college and I would be willing to bet that 70 to 85 percent of college athletes probably have a drink at least once in a while.

It’s another thing to have an out of control raging party right on the campus in the locker room – I don't have a problem with a house party if you're of age, again, I get it, college kids drink alcohol both legally and illegally – a keg party at hockey arena with players and their dates having sex in a penalty box – that's unacceptable. I am not sure how anyone can excuse that either. That's right out of the penthouse form or a late night movie on Cinemax. I am going to say that some lines have been crossed in that instance.

What appears to be difference in this instance is  – instead of covering this up scandal and sweeping this under the rug – Boston University instead decided to address the issues that emerged. The difference in this case was that BU was more proactive and the University wants to right the ship before this gets anymore out of control, hence, having the NCAA getting involved and throwing the book at BU like they did against PSU.

Mary Carmichael, Boston Globe --- When Boston University released its report Wednesday on hockey players’ “culture of sexual entitlement,” it kept most of the investigation details — including accounts of sexual debauchery and wide-ranging allegations of academic trouble — confined to confidential subcommittee reports.

In the documents, which were obtained by the Globe on Thursday, were tales of a late-night 2009 NCAA championship party at Agganis Arena where dozens of guests drank from kegs in the locker room showers and took to the ice naked to shoot pucks.

“It was insane,” one former student who attended told the BU task force. “People were having sex in the penalty box.”

Campus police did not find out about the party, nor did BU administrators — until this year, when the task force started asking questions. During interviews with the task force, hockey coach Jack Parker also professed ignorance, at first saying he had never heard about the bash, but later acknowledging he knew of “a few guys drinking in the locker room.”

I am also wondering if BU and other colleges and University sports programs around the country have become an insular place where the athletes and coaching staffed become convinced of its own righteousness?

Boston University’s president Dr. Robert A. Brown has posted on his schools web page the hockey task force report and it’s available to people to peruse and study. This paragraph caught my eye and I wonder if this same thing is happening at other colleges and universities around the USA?

Of primary concern was the question of whether inherent aspects of the program’s culture and climate could have helped to foster the actions that led to the criminal charges. For those unfamiliar with Boston University athletic programs, the men’s hockey team, which has won a total of five national championships, has garnered substantial national recognition and is often among the top university ice hockey programs in the nation. Its visibility both on and off campus exceeds that of any other BU athletic program.

While I am concerned about the criminal behavior such as sexual assault that was addressed in this report – I am also concerned about athletes being given preferential treatment academically. I am also disappointed, that a University with the academic record of Boston University, would lower expectations and academic standards for BU hockey players and have another set of standards for regular students. If I was a student at BU that wasn't a hockey player, I would be disappointed with this revelation.

Academic performance data show that with some exceptions, the academic performance of the men’s ice hockey team falls below that of the undergraduate student body as a whole. Information provided by faculty regarding their classroom experiences with team members was highly variable. Some had very positive interactions with players and some had much less positive experiences. Historically, the players’ NCAA graduation rates have been high. The data and information, taken together, are interpreted to indicate that while there are not clear systemic problems, the academic performance of the men’s ice hockey team members should continue to be monitored to ensure that they meet university standards. The admissions data we examined indicates that a number of team members matriculated despite test scores and grade point averages that are considerably lower than the mean for students admitted to Boston University. [BU Hockey Task Force Report]

Again, kudos for Boston University addressing the problem before it got too far out of hand and ended up in the NCAA’s crosshairs, that speaks volumes for Boston University as opposed to one school I can think of out in Missoula, Montana who is now is in the middle of a major scandal on their campus because  school authorities and local law enforcement officials have been accused of doing too little to respond to claims of sexual assaults.

The NCAA, Department of Justice and Federal Law Enforcement agencies are now investigating this scandal. Nothing good can come out of this situation when you have this many agencies looking into scandal.

Lastly, I don’t think the BU Hockey situation is a norm for college hockey programs – that’s not to say that there isn’t issue that arises from time to time.

QMJHL having trouble with recruitment of American players

s/t Cam Charron, Buzzing The Net... s/t to Kathleen Lavoie, Le Soleil... Note the article is in French, so you have to use Google Translate to read the article. This is good news for Division I college hockey, I am also sure that the QMJHL isn’t going to get a lot of people to feel sorry for them.

Aiming to favour its smaller markets, the governors* voted in a new rule concerning "special arrangements" with players. This new rule, starting now, puts an annual limit of $10,000 on scholarships/bursaries allotted to Americans, for a maximum total of $40,000.

This amount is in addition to the one already outlined in the QMJHL's scholastic policy, which puts an annual limit of $5,000 on bursaries awarded to these student athletes, for a possible total of $60,000.

And yet, one year's tuition in colleges such as Boston University, Boston College or Cornell University can easily cost anywhere between $25,000 and $40,000, depending on the program. As such, it's not uncommon for an American player to be offered a full scholarship ranging from $100,000 to $150,000.

"The League's message is paradoxical", according to Jean Gagnon. "On the one hand, for the last year we have been forcing teams to draft two American players, but on the other, we're preventing teams from making competitive offers to these players."

If you’re a college hockey fan and one of your recruits is being perused by the QMJHL, this is good news.

I am not anti-CHL by any stretch of the imagination; I think that the CHL route is a good way to make the NHL if you’re one of the “top” blue chip hockey players. If you’re a late bloomer or a player that takes longer to develop the NCAA route is going to be a better path to take.

Let’s not kid ourselves, I do favor the NCAA Division I college hockey route... I have been around college hockey for a very long time and have seen some really good hockey players make the NHL from the NCAA route. All you have to do is watch the AHL or the NHL on a weekly basis to see that there are very talented players making their way to the AHL and or the NHL from the NCAA hockey ranks. This season’s AHL Calder Cup playoffs were a perfect example of this. This year's Stanley Cup playoffs also featured many former NCAA alumni.

I do also think that the NCAA is on par with the major junior route when it comes to players making the NHL. Contrary to some in the thump your chest with everything that is CHL Hockey - there is more than one route of the NHL and I don't think that any one fan base can claim that their route is better than another route. Finally, I also look at the revelations of this article as a positive for the NCAA route.

Is the NCHC lacking name-recognition?

Chris Peters of the United States of Hockey has this little blurb on his blog today – it’s worth a look. I sure there will be NCHC fans will take issue with some of the things that he said. Or not!

In all honesty, the league didn’t have to do terribly much to seemingly come out ahead on realignment. By just letting things play out and adding Notre Dame, largely due to the league thanks to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (seriously, that’s as hard to type as it is to say) lack of foresight and possibly arrogance, Hockey East took another significant step forward by attracting UConn.

Meanwhile the NCHC has very little name-recognition, and therefore a second-rate TV deal, a second-rate tournament venue, but a high level of on-ice competition. From a hockey standpoint, it’s a fantastic league, but that’s where it ends. That might be enough for you as a fan, but it’s not enough to lead me or anyone else to believe it’s going to be a great business long term.

The Big Ten Hockey Conference will have good exposure on the Big Ten Network, but it’s still merely a six-team league. Until a few more Big Ten schools step up for hockey, and there’s nothing to indicate that will happen anytime soon, the conference’s size doesn’t make for a lot of variety and excitement, though the rivalries should remain intense. Still, the exposure and brand recognition resonates with the casual fan.

First off, is Chris Right? For disclosure – Chris was not a big fan of the re-alignment that took place last summer, he isn’t alone there are a lot of people that weren’t fans of last summer's re-alignment plan as well. It's not like we had a choice in the matter, said schools pursued this venture without any input from the fans.

That being said, do you agree with what he said? Right now, I am more concerned with what NCHC fans think than the B1G fans. It's obvious that the B1G has name-recognition.

Does the new NCHC has very little name-recognition? In my opinion; no! I am also not so sure how you can say that there is little name recognition with the teams that make up the NCHC. Teams like UND, DU, C.C. UMD have all won NCAA titles and have storied histories.

Add to the mix up and coming teams like Miami University and Western Michigan from the soon to be defunct CCHA and UNO and SCSU and you have the making of a very well balanced hockey league. The NCHC brings to the table 16 NCAA titles, only the B1G will have more NCAA titles (20), so were not talking about a second rate bunch of pathetic cupcakes here. We already know the title counts of all three leagues involved.

Let's take a look at the financials. Historically, the NCHC teams have been successful on the ice as well as financially; if you look you will see that five of the future NCHC teams make about 3.2 million off of their Division I hockey programs as opposed to the reconfigured Hockey East which loses about $395,000 a year of their hockey programs. Only Denver and Western Michigan have lost money with their hockey programs.

I am not here to disrespect Hockey East or (Chris for that matter) because Hockey East is a very good hockey league and has piled up an impressive four NCAA titles during the 2000’s, however, it’s only been two teams that have won the NCAA titles during that time period ( BU and B.C.) – besides the three power schools currently in the Hockey East no other really stands out in that conference, except maybe the University of New Hampshire.

If anything I think that the two leagues are on equal footing as far as name recognition goes in college hockey.

I think historically speaking people are just as familiar with BU and B.C. as they are with DU, UND when it comes to college hockey.

Adding Notre Dame to the Hockey East was a good move but what exactly have they accomplished during their hockey existence? Yep! You will be able to watch your team play Notre Dame when they play their Hockey East foes, but the rest of the league is not going to benefit financially from that television deal.

Breaking it down further – outside of the power schools Boston College, Boston University, Maine and UNH who else in the current Hockey East stands out and packs fans in the stands? Maybe Notre Dame when they get to Hockey East in 2013-14.

Are University of Connecticut hockey fans going to suddenly realize that they have a college hockey team and fill the XL center when it’s 30 miles from their campus? This isn’t the UCONN Men’s or Women’s Basketball teams.

This is a very different animal, the UCONN Huskies hockey team with very little history that is currently a member of the AHA conference, that’s not to say that they can’t evolve into a power house hockey team. Let’s call UCONN a work in progress.

Here is the part that I do agree with Chris with. If the Target Center which is exclusively a Basketball venue doesn’t improve after the 100-150 million dollars improvements Target Center is going to be a second rate tournament venue. That’s really not debatable; the Target Center has its work cut out for it.

The central location of the Target Center does make it an attractive venue and the majority of the fans that have the most rabid fan bases are all driving distance away.

Finally, I am not so sure we can call the deal with CBS Sports a second-rate TV deal, before we even see how it turns out.

Besides the Notre Dame TV deal with NBC Sports Net, how is the rest of Hockey East doing when it comes to games being televised? I have watched a few of the games on NESN via my DirecTV Satellite Dish but I don’t see a lot of UMASS Lowell or Amherst games on the dish.

There are a lot of unknowns going forward – no one knows how this deal is going to shake out – I would say at least give the NCHC a chance before we bury them and kick dirt on a conference that hasn’t even played a collegiate hockey game as of yet.

I also think that it’s too early to declare winners and losers – with college athletics none of this stuff stays static – things change constantly. Who knows, maybe there are more moves in the re-alignment phase before the 2013-14 season kicks off.

Lastly, I know there are a lot of unhappy people with the NCHC Television deal, I gathered this by reading the reactions of the fans over on Brad Schlossman’s blog. Due to the size of UND’s fan base there are a lot of fans that live outside of the Midco.net foot print and watch UND hockey on DirecTV or FTA Satellite dishes. After the upcoming season, many of them are worried that they will no longer be able to watch all of UND’s home games. I too wonder if I need to re-subscribe to Midco.net myself?

In conclusion, there is also no reason to panic just yet because there is a whole year left to work out the details. As we get closer to the kickoff of the NCHC more details will emerge and we will get a better idea what is going to transpire. I also don't think that the NCHC will lack name-recognition.

Redwing77's NCAA Men's Hockey Bracket Picks Part One

I've decided to do something I haven't done all season long: A Pick'em. Sioux7 and Goon have done it. Maybe even Whistler has. But I haven't... Until now.

Ready the pitchforks and torches!

Northeast Regional:

In my opinion, this is the toughest bracket out there. In the bracket is Maine, BC, Air Force, and Minnesota Duluth.


Maine vs. UMD:

Maine is better than most people think. The problem is: They're not flashy. They're not especially fast as a team. Kindof like Vanilla Ice Cream. They are just solid all around and have a very deadly powerplay (#1 in the Nation). They key player is Spencer Abbott. He got injured after he fell feet first (it almost looked like he was hooked or interfered with) into the boards and left the game (no call.. made me think of WCHA officials). If he can't play then Maine may not necessarily be as dynamic as they would like.

Minnesota Duluth is a team built on grit and a flashy high end. Their top line is as good as anyone's. They are the returning champions so they have the bullseye on their jerseys.

The keys to this game is going to be special teams and blueline scoring. O'Neil from Maine got 2 goals and an assist in the defeat of BU and seems to be quite the sniper. If UMD can stay out of the penalty box though, I think they'll prevail.

My prediction: tUMD

BC vs. Air Force:

Air Force can surprise people but... they won't surprise BC.

My prediction: BC. I'm not even sure it will be close.

Regional Final: BC vs. tUMD. This will be a good game... and BC will win it despite having questionable goaltending (no matter what the NBC Sports homers say).

West Regional:

The West and Midwest Regionals are about equal in difficulty. If there is an edge in difficulty, it would be the West that holds the edge.

Minnesota vs. BU:

BU could win this game. They played extremely well vs. Maine... for a period or so. Then they started getting penalties and left their gameplan behind. Milan will not steal any games for BU. But BU's edge is in speed and defense. Their weakness, imo, is in discipline and special teams.

Minnesota is hurting after getting embarrassed in front of the home crowd (60% anyways). They're not that bad and they are well balanced. Like typical Lucia teams, Minnesota gets destroyed when they are forced to abandon their game plan. Their Team D has improved dramatically under Guentzel but there are still holes.

Prediction: Minnesota edges BU. This one is a good bet for OT.

UND vs. WMU:

WMU.... they're nobodies right Miami? Right Michigan? The problem is, if UND has that attitude, WMU will destroy the Sioux. They are healthy for the most part. They are playing above expectations. Some might say that they've exceeded expectations by simply making the NCAAs and winning the CCHA tourney. If that's the case, then WMU is playing bonus hockey and they can play more loose than UND because they don't have the weight of tradition riding on their shoulders like UND does.

UND... they've played amazing games since being unable to dress 18 skaters. They do have issues with giving up the first goal in the game.... stat monkeys will point out that they are 1 game below .500 when giving up the first goal this season (9-10-?). They also have the haters waiting in the wings. If they should lose vs. WMU (or heck, not make the Frozen Four), I'm sure there will be a fair smattering of "Fire Hakstol" commentary... not just from Red Lake Falls.

For me, it's hard to tell how far UND will go with the adversity they've faced thus far this year. The best I can do is to take the homer approach and stick with them to the end.

My prediction: Admittedly homer: UND wins in a squeaker.

Regional Final Matchup: Minnesota vs. UND. I'm not certain that Minnesota will make the same mistakes that they did in the Final Five. I also think that the ride will finally come to an end. Prediction: Minnesota wins in a heartbreaker and there will be a race between Minny trolls and the Haters to post the most flames at UND.

INCH Power Rankings

1. Minnesota
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Boston University
4. Union
5. UMass Lowell
6. Merrimack
7. Michigan
8. Ferris State
9. Boston College
10. Colorado College
11. Notre Dame
12. Maine
13. Denver
14. Cornell
15. North Dakota 
16. Colgate
17. Miami
18. Harvard
19. Michigan State
20. Western Michigan


Dropped out: Ohio State, Nebraska-Omaha
Bubble-licious: Air Force, Lake Superior State, Ohio State

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them amusing, especially ranking UNION in fourth place, if you look at the PairWise Rankings you will see that they are ranked 10^th, I think fourth is a big stretch.

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - Super Bowl Sunday (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings (2/2/12) (insidehockey.com)
• Goon's WCHA Power Rankings 1/29/2012 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

INCH Power Rankings.

1. Minnesota Duluth
2. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
4. Minnesota
5. Boston College
6. Merrimack
7. Colorado College
8. Union
9. Colgate
10. UMass Lowell
11. Boston University
12. Cornell
13. Western Michigan
14. Denver
15. Michigan
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. North Dakota 2 Is it another second-half surge for North Dakota? They've gone 7-1-1 in their last nine, since splitting a series with Bemidji State in November. 11-8-2 (7-7-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 3-1 (Winnipeg, MB). THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota.
18. Northeastern
19. Ferris State
20. Miami

Dropped out: Michigan State, Lake Superior State

Bubble-licious: Maine, Mercyhurst, Lake Superior State, Quinnipiac

Here is this week's INCH Power rankings. Every week I like to include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them interesting.

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - January 8 (insidehockey.com)
• INCH Power Rankings (mvn.com)

INCH Power Rankings

1. Minnesota Duluth
2. Minnesota
3. Merrimack
4. Boston College
5. Ohio State
6. Colgate
7. Notre Dame
8. Colorado College
9. Western Michigan
10. Union
11. Boston University
12. Ferris State
13. Cornell
14. Denver
15. UMass Lowell
16.Michigan State
17. Lake Superior State
18. Nebraska-Omaha
19. North Dakota
20. Northeastern
Dropped out: Yale, Providence
Bubble-licious: Air Force, Michigan Tech, Michigan, Providence

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them interesting. I don't see anything that sticks out in this week's power rankings. 

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 28 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them to be interesting and they make me scratch my head in disbelief. B.C. is pounded on Friday night and they come back to get the win on Saturday night but still are third in the power rankings.

1. Minnesota
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Boston College
4. Merrimack
5. Colorado College
6. Notre Dame
7. Ohio State
8. Colgate
9. Western Michigan
10. Union
11. Ferris State
12. Denver
13. Boston University
14. Cornell
15. Michigan State
16. UMass Lowell
17. Yale
18. Lake Superior State
19. Providence
20. North Dakota

Dropped out: Miami, Michigan Tech, Nebraska-Omaha

Bubble-licious: Air Force, Michigan Tech, Nebraska-Omaha

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 28 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)

The Big Red goal that wasn't

s/t to the BU Hockey Blog. This was the non-goal that others have been talking about from this past weekend of college hockey. It appears that the on ice officials made the correct call, the refs lost sight of the puck; the announcers said that the puck went into the netting behind the goal, ref blew the whistle and waved off the goal and the puck went into the net after the whistle.

I know that some Cornell hockey fans are going to be upset, but the right call was made in this situation. I am puzzled why the on iced officials took so long to make that call?

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are ussually good for a chuckle or two. I find this week's just as amusing as some of the other additions of the INCH Power Rankings. Really 4 ECAC teams in the top 20? 

1. Merrimack
2. Notre Dame
3. Boston College
4. Minnesota
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Colorado College
7. Ferris State
8. Ohio State
9. Union
10. Colgate
11. Denver
12. Yale
13. Western Michigan
14. Lake Superior State
15. Boston University
16. Miami
17. Cornell
18. Michigan State
19. Michigan Tech
20. Nebraska-Omaha

Dropped out: Michigan
Bubble-licious: Clarkson, UMass Lowell, Michigan

Related articles

• College Hockey Power Rankings: Merrimack Remains on Top (bleacherreport.com)
• You: College Hockey Power Rankings: Minnesota Claims Top Spot (bleacherreport.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)
• Series Preview: Sioux vs. Tigers (insidehockey.com)

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Ranking because I find them thought provoking and well interesting. My first question is, why is BU ranked only 20th after schooling B.C. yesterday? There are five teams from the ECAC in the power rankings. Alright!

1. Merrimack
2. Minnesota
3. Boston College
4. Colorado College
5. Yale
6. Ferris State
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan
9. Western Michigan
10. Minnesota Duluth
11. Denver
12. Union
13. Ohio State
14. Lake Superior State
15. Colgate
16. Michigan Tech
17. Providence
18. Cornell
19. Dartmouth
20. Boston University
Dropped out: Quinnipiac, Clarkson, Northern Michigan
Bubbelicious: Clarkson, UMass-Lowell, Nebraska-Omaha, New Hampshire, Quinnipiac

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)
• You: College Hockey Power Rankings: Minnesota Claims Top Spot (bleacherreport.com)
• Minnesota Duluth-Bemidji State Preview (insidehockey.com)
• Union cracks top 10 in national poll (timesunion.com)

INCH Power Rankings

Image via WikipediaAs always I include the INCH Power Rankings and I think you will find them amusing, Yale who has played two games against ECAC foes is ranked 5th. 6 ECAC teams in the two twenty power rankings.

Are we to glean from these rankings that the ECAC is the best conference in college hockey?

1. Boston College
2. Colorado College
3. Minnesota
4. Michigan
5. Yale
6. Merrimack
7. Union
8. Denver
9. Notre Dame
10. Western Michigan
11. Ferris State
12. Lake Superior State
13. Colgate
14. Boston University
15. Dartmouth
16. Quinnipiac
17. North Dakota
18. Michigan Tech
19. Clarkson
20. Northern Michigan
Dropped out: Miami
Bubble-licious: Harvard, Maine, Minnesota Duluth

A look at the numbers, UND has played ECAC teams.

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.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them interesting. I don't think you can rank a team like Yale in the top three when they haven't played a game yet. Also, I think Union is ranked a bit high.

1. Boston College
2. Colorado College
3. Yale
4. Michigan
5. Denver
6. Minnesota
7. Union
8. North Dakota
9. Miami
10. Merrimack
11. Notre Dame
12. Western Michigan
13. Boston University
14. Colgate
15. Dartmouth
16. Alaska Anchorage
17. RIT
18. Providence
19. Michigan Tech
20. Ferris State

Dropped out: Minnesota Duluth, New Hampshire, Maine, Alaska, Air Force
Bubble-licious: Alaska, Bowling Green, Lake Superior State, Quinnipiac

Some from Hockey East not embracing Fighting Irish Move.

I found this article in the Lowell Sun to be interesting and also a bit over the top, I guess not everyone is excited about having the Fighting Irish in Hockey East. I also agree with Mike Machnik because there will be more opportunities for non conference games with the formation of the Big Ten and NCHC conferences.

Chaz Scoggins; Lowell Sun --- If you're one of Hockey East's elite programs, like BC, Boston University, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, that shouldn't be much of a problem. Those schools have wanted to have the latitude to play more than seven non-league games for awhile now, and those are teams every other school in the country wants to play.

But if you're not one of the elite programs, if you're UMass Lowell, UMass Amherst, Providence, Merrimack, and Northeastern, trying to find 14 worthy non-league opponents is going to be a major headache.

Sure, those schools could schedule a flock of games against Atlantic Hockey teams like UConn, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. But scheduling and beating those teams only hurts you if you're trying to earn an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament.

The notorious pairwise rankings are a major factor in determining at least 12 of the 16 NCAA berths, and a big part of the pairwise formula is strength of schedule. It doesn't do the River Hawks much good if they win 25 games but nine or ten of those victories are against ACHA schools, while Vermont might have won only 21 games but had a handful of wins over perennial national powers like North Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The Numbers; Hakstol vs. Hockey East

This is an article that I submitted for Inside Hockey.

This past weekend the Fighting Sioux lost the championship game of the Ice Breaker Championship to the Boston College Eagles 6-2. While some of the Fighting Sioux faithful have panicked a bit after their team lost another game against the Boston College Eagles 6-2. Some have suggested with the Maine Black Bears coming to town this weekend, that it could be another long weekend for the Fighting Sioux. Looking at the numbers things aren’t really as bad as they seem.

Since Fighting Sioux head coach David Hakstol took over the coaching duties at the beginning of the 2004-05 season, the Fighting Sioux have a record of 11-12-4 against the Hockey East teams.   I think one could classify that as a respectable record against Hockey East teams since three of the last four NCAA titles have come out of Hockey East; Boston College 2008 and 2010, and Boston University 2009.

During that time period (2004-11), there are two teams that have the Fighting Sioux’s number,  coach Hakstol’s teams  have compiled a 1-4-1 record against the Boston College Eagles and a 2-4-0 record against the Maine Black Bears for a cumulative record 3-8-1.  Putting that record aside, Coach Hakstol teams have a 8-4-3 record against Merrimack College, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  For some reason those two Hockey East teams have coach Hakstol’s number. Fighting Sioux fans hope that their team’s fortunes change this weekend against the Black Bears.

Since becoming the head coach of the Fighting Sioux eight years ago coach Hakstol has a coaching record of 188-94-27 and a 113-64-19 record against the WCHA.  Coach Hakstol’s teams have been to the NCAA playoffs seven times and his teams have also qualified for the Frozen Four five times. During that same time period the Fighting Sioux have won two MacNaughton Cups and three Broadmoor Trophies.

In recent years (2004-2011) the Fighting Sioux have had “some” success against Hockey East teams albeit the Fighting Sioux have a losing record of 11-12-4 that has been compiled against some of the tougher teams of Hockey East.  The first two seasons that Hakstol coached for the Fighting Sioux he had a  7-2-3 record against Hockey East teams.

Here are the stats broken down by  year.

The Current season 2011-12 with the loss last Saturday night, the Fighting Sioux’s record against Hockey teams is 0-1 (Boston College 0-1-0) 11-12-4

During the 2010-11 season the Fighting Sioux went 0-2 against Hockey East teams (Maine 0-2-0) 11-11-4

During the 2009-10 season the Fighting Sioux went  2-0 against Hockey East teams (Merrimack College)  2-0)  11-9-4

During the 2008-09 season the Sioux went 0-3 against Hockey East teams (Boston University 0-1, UMass 0-1 and University of New Hampshire 0-1-0)   9-9-4

During the 2007-08 season the Fighting Sioux went 2-1-1 against Hockey East (University of New Hampshire  1-1-0, Boston College  0-1-1 and Northeastern University  1-0-0) 9-6-4

During the 2006-07 season the Fighting Sioux went 0-3-0 against Hockey East (Maine 0-2-0, Boston  College 0-1-0)  7-5-3

During the 2005-06 season the Fighting Sioux went 3-1-1 against Hockey East (Northeastern University 2-0, University of New Hampshire 1-0-1,  Boston College 0-1-0) 7-2-3

During the 2004-2005 season the Fighting Sioux went  4-1-2  (Maine 2-0-0, Boston College 1-1-1, Boston University, 1-0-0, Northeastern 0-0-1)  4-1-2

Here is the Fighting Sioux’s record against the individual Hockey East teams since the 2004-05 season.

Merrimack College  2-0-0

Boston College 1-4-1

Maine 2-4-0

Boston University 1-1-0

Northeastern University 3-0-1

New Hampshire  2-2-1