INCH hangs up the skates

It was announced yesterday that Inside College Hockey is no longer going to be posting on a regular basis. What are your thoughts on that? Good or bad?

October 21, 2012 This feels a bit like a sudden-death loss, but those of us close to the site have known it to be inevitable for some time now – it’s time for Inside College Hockey to hang up the skates.

Essentially, real life has caught up with us. Family, jobs, and other responsibilities haveencroached – not on our affinity for college hockey – but on our ability to consistently generate Power Rankings, First Shifts, conference notebooks, INCH Podcasts, Napkins, Hobey Trackers and all the other elements that we’ve consistently produced. It's not fairto our loyal readers, and all of those participants that make college hockey great, to give them anything less than our best efforts.

I am sad; I think that INCH had done a good job promoting college hockey from a humorous and at times “snarky” perspective. Who is going to rile up the various fan bases?

I don’t know what I am going to use to fill the void? I listen to the INCH podcasts on my walks with my dog Dakota and now I am going to have to look for another show to fill that void, there are not a lot of podcasts that touch on college hockey from a national level.

INCH Power Rankings

1. Boston College
2. Union
3. Minnesota
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Michigan
6. Miami
7. Boston University
8. North Dakota - By sweeping Bemidji State, North Dakota earned its 10th straight berth in the WCHA Final Five. Only Minnesota, which qualified for the Final Five 11 straight years from 1999 to 2009, has a longer streak. 22-12-3 LAST WEEK: W vs. Bemidji State, 4-1; W vs. Bemidji State, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, Minn.)
9. Denver
10. Ferris State
11. Cornell
12. Maine
13. Western Michigan
14. UMass Lowell
15. Harvard
16. Colgate
17. Merrimack
18. Michigan State
19. Air Force
20. St. Cloud State

Dropped out: Colorado College, Notre Dame
Bubble-licious: Colorado College, Niagara

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings, because I find them highly amusing if at times down right silly. This week the boy’s from INCH didn’t disappoint me.

This week’s power ranking include this head scratchier, they have EZAC regular season champ UNION in second place of their power rankings. In what universe is Union a top ten team; they haven’t beaten anyone of national significance and UNION managed to lose twice to the last place team in the ECAC.

How are the Sioux supposed to act?

I am puzzled on how the Sioux are supposed to act when they win a conference trophy? Are they supposed to over celebrate? Dance around the arena, possibly go to the lobby of the Xcel Energy Center and sing their school song? The boys at INCH took issue with UND as well. From what I can tell is that the Fighting Sioux aren't satisfied with being the league regular season and post season champs, the Fighting Sioux want more, they want another trophy. Some programs might look at winning a Conference Trophy as successful season but I think for this team anything less than going to the Frozen Four will be seen as being unsuccessful season.

Without a Peer --- Let there be no doubt as to which team in this matchup has the pressure on them. Anything short of the national championship for North Dakota, especially given their dismissive demeanors after winning the MacNaughton and the Broadmoor, will be a failure. The Engineers, while they surely are going to go for the win, are merely happy to still be playing. That alone, or even combined with the elements above, isn't going to suddenly make RPI favorites, but there's something to be said for the freedom that comes with using house money.

They said what? Picture included

This was in the INCH first shift. Apparently the boys at INCH are not impressed with the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team not touching/picking up the Broadmoor trophy.

Here at INCH, we get mildly perturbed when teams refuse to take possession of championship trophies — such as North Dakota after winning the Broadmoor Trophy Saturday — based on some absurd hockey superstition stating that the only touchable hardware is handed out following the final game of the season. Nonsense! Winning a league championship is an impressive achievement and should be embraced, especially in the WCHA. We often hear how great the WCHA is and how difficult it is to win in that league. To turn around and act like it’s not that big a deal is inconsistent, at best.

Personally, I know why some teams do this, the last time the Sioux won the MacNaughton Cup they touched the cup and lost their next two games at the Final Five and then lost their first round game of the NCAA tourney to UNH. This season the Fighting Sioux didn't touch the MacNaughton Cup and they won the Broadmoor, some teams just don't touch the trophy. Just for the Record Sidney Crosby touched the league trophy and they cup. It seems that not touching is working for them so far.



photo by Corrie Block



They said what?

Here is the INCH first shift... I found this though provoking because traditionally hockey teams sitting at the top of the standing are going to score more of their goals against lesser opponents, on the flip side of that argument I believe that it’s only obvious that playes like Frattin would score less goals against the upper echelon of teams.

This question came in to our weekly chat at ESPN.com on Friday:

Ryan (Sheboygan, WI) — Do you think about strength of schedule when casting your Hobey votes? A player like Matt Frattin has all of his points against TUCs while the players from Miami have racked up points against an easier schedule.

Frattin’s performance against a strong schedule has been a popular discussion point from the North Dakota contingent, and prior to this past weekend’s series against Michigan Tech it was a correct note since all of North Dakota’s games came against Teams Under Consideration as determined by the NCAA Tournament selection criteria. Two things about that got us thinking—first, a TUC is a pretty broad category, since more than half of the nation’s teams fall under that umbrella. Second, just how good was Frattin against the truly elite teams?

We looked at three categories and here are the numbers. We’re not here to draw conclusions, just to present the data.

•Frattin against the second-to-seventh place teams in the WCHA (Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, Colorado College, Wisconsin): 15 games played, 10 points, 0.66 points per game

•Frattin against the eighth-to-12th place teams in the WCHA (Alaska Anchorage, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Minnesota State, Michigan Tech): 15 games played, 31 points, 2.07 points per game

•Frattin against non-league teams (Alaska, Maine, Notre Dame, Robert Morris): 7 games played, 8 points, 1.14 points per game

Matt Frattin makes the INCH Hobey Tracker

Nice to see Matt Frattin get some recognition from the College Hockey pundits. So props to the boys at INCH for putting Frattin in their Hobey Tracker…

MATT FRATTIN
North Dakota | Sr. | Forward
To Date: 35 GP, 27-15–42

The Skinny: The Matt Frattin goal machine keeps turning on the red light and potted three more this past weekend in a sweep of Bemidji State that helped North Dakota clinch the MacNaughton Cup. Frattin is tied for second nationally with 27 goals on the year, and has been particularly hot down the stretch. He’s scored seven goals in North Dakota’s last seven games, and the Sioux are 6-0-1 in that span. Frattin is the leading scorer on one of the nation’s top teams, and among a talented group of forwards, there’s no doubt that he’s the guy you’ve got to keep the closest eye on to slow down North Dakota.

INCH Power Rankings - 2/27/2011

As always I post the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look, this week we are to believe that Union is the 3rd best team in college hockey, I don't think so...
1. North Dakota — Matt Frattin scored his 25th, 26th, and 27th goals of the season in the Fighting Sioux's sweep of Bemidji State. In the last 10 seasons, the only NoDak players with more goals in a single season are Bryan Lundbohm (32 in 2000-01), Brandon Bochenski (35 in 2002-03), and Ryan Duncan (31 in 2006-07). 24-8-3 (19-6-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bemidji State, 5-2; W vs. Bemidji State, 5-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Yale
5. Miami
6. New Hampshire
7. Merrimack
8. Michigan
9. Denver
10. Notre Dame
11. Minnesota Duluth
12. Nebraska-Omaha
13. Boston University
14. Western Michigan
15. Rensselaer
16. Minnesota
17. Wisconsin
18. Maine
19. Colorado College
20. Dartmouth
Dropped out: Cornell, RIT, Robert Morris
Bubble-licious: RIT, Air Force, Cornell

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are interesting to look at. Sometimes they provide good cannon fodder. I took the liberty of correcting their post for UND, the Sioux are on the dreaded bye week and play the big slow lumbering team from UAA next weekend.
1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. Denver
4. North Dakota 1 Senior defenseman Chay Genoway was hurt in Friday's loss at Colorado College and didn't play Saturday; his replacement, sophomore Joe Gleason, scored his first career goal in Saturday's 6-0 rout. 19-8-2 (14-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Colorado College, 4-2; W at Colorado College, 6-0. THIS WEEK: OFF Next Weekend vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. New Hampshire
7. Rensselaer
8. Union
9. Michigan
10. Merrimack
11. Wisconsin
12. Notre Dame
13. Miami
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Dartmouth
17. Princeton
18. Maine
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. Colorado College
Dropped out: Ohio State
Bubble-licious: Minnesota, Niagara, RIT, Robert Morris

INCH Chat dominated by UND fans...

Check out the latest INCH chat it was dominated by UND fans.

Terry F. ((Les Grandes Forches))
Gotta ask the question you don't want to hear, if the Sioux sweep the gophers this weekend, do they finally earn the tag of "better than Yale"?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:05 PM)

That's a question we'd love to hear, and I'll answer by saying that it probably won't change our minds that much. We evaluate teams after each weekend. North Dakota is playing at home against a .500 team. Union, second-best to Yale in ECAC Hockey, recently won at Minnesota. We keep an eye on all results, North Dakota and Yale are pretty even, and Yale has a decent test this weekend in a home-and-home against Brown. We'll see.
__________________________
Curt (Minnesota)

What are your guys expectations of the biggest rivalry in college hockey for this weekends series between Gophers and Sioux?
Mike Eidelbes (2:06 PM)

Minnesota has played pretty well at times this season, but they haven't been at North Dakota's level. It'll certainly be the most hostile environment the Gophers have seen to date. In order for them to get out of Grand Forks with any points, I think they'll have to get a huge performance from goalie Kent Patterson on one or both nights.
__________________________
K-Unit (UND)

Out of all of college hockey's areas, which team do you think is the toughest area to play at? Also, which fans do you think are the craziest about their team? ~GO SIOUX
Mike Eidelbes (2:11 PM)

If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to bait me. Each league has its toughest place to play--Cornell, Michigan, and, certainly, North Dakota. Maine might be tops on that list, however. Orono is impossible to get to and once you get there, you've got all those fans literally hanging over the ice making your life miserable. Ask the Fighting Sioux how that trip back in October went for them.
__________________________
Stat (Atlanta)

Will Matt Frattin's off ice issues of season's past make hobey baker voters look past him (like they did to former Nodak standout Brandon Bochenski) or will the fact that he leads the country in goals while playing the nations toughest schedule be enough to garner support? Also, Go Sioux, stomp the rodents!
Joe Gladziszewski (2:19 PM)

Man, good to see such excitement about North Dakota before the fans' favorite series of the year. Frattin's case is an interesting one. Some voters consider past indiscretions more highly than other voters. There's no doubt that Frattin has taken positive steps and is having a great season. Hobey or not, that should be applauded.
__________________________
cliffy (Grand Forks, ND)

I feel that the ECAC writers and fans are little sensitive when fans of other leagues question Yale and if they are a legit team. I would be willing to be that UND head coach Dave Hakstol would love to have a home and home series with Yale... The Sioux have traveled out east almost every season.
Joe Gladziszewski (2:32 PM)

I'm a longtime follower and writer on ECAC Hockey, and I don't know if it's over-sensitivity (funny, this coming from Grand Forks) but the dismissal of Yale by North Dakota fans doesn't add up. North Dakota has played home-and-home series with top teams in ECAC Hockey in the last two years, and both were splits against Cornell. Yale knocked North Dakota out of the NCAAs last year, and this year's Yale team is better. You'd think after those types of results, Sioux fans would maybe realize that there's some good hockey out here.

INCH Power Rankings

As always for a good laugh I include the INCH power rankings… Since the Yale Bulldogs don't play till January 2nd the Bulldogs will be at the top of the rankings until after the first of the New Year... Then when Yale resumes play they have a cupcake schedule the rest of the way and they really don’t play anyone except Holy Cross outside of their conference.
1. Yale
2. New Hampshire
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Boston College
6. Maine
7. Nebraska-Omaha
8. Union
9. Michigan
10. Miami
11. Denver
13. Boston University
14. Wisconsin
15. Notre Dame
16. Alaska
17. Merrimack
18. Robert Morris
19. Ferris State
20. Clarkson
Dropped out: Dartmouth
Bubble-licious: Colorado College, Minnesota, Niagara, Princeton

INCH Power Rankings

As always for a good laugh I included the INCH Power Rankings. OK! This is a little much, so now we have the team that has played one of the weakest SOS in the country in the top 20 at 21.1915 and now after they finally beat a team in the top 15 we should believe that they are one of the best team in college hockey? Right... What would their record be if they played the teams in the WCHA, CCHA or Hockey East?

1. Yale
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Maine
4. North Dakota
5. New Hampshire
6. Boston College
7. Nebraska-Omaha
8. Boston University
9. Union
10. Miami
11. Michigan
12. Denver
13. Notre Dame
14. Alaska
15. Rensselaer
16. Wisconsin
17. Merrimack
18. Ferris State
19. Dartmouth
20. Robert Morris
Dropped out: Minnesota, Western Michigan
Bubble-licious: Niagara, Northern Michigan, Princeton

INCH Power Rankings

For a good laugh I included the INCH Power Rankings as they come out each week. In looking at the ranking, there really isn't a lot of movement from last week's rankings and the national ranking will probably mirror these rankings. I am still not convinced that Yale is a top five team, when an ECAC team wins a title then I will be convinced.
1. Minnesota Duluth
2. Boston University
3. Yale
4. Nebraska-Omaha
5. Maine
6. North Dakota — Sophomore forward Danny Kristo has been scuffling so far this season, but picked an opportune time to net his first goal of the year, potting the eventual game-winner in the Fighting Sioux’s 6-5 win at Nebraska-Omaha Friday. 8-5-1 (7-3-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Nebraska-Omaha, 6-5; L at Nebraska-Omaha, 1-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame
7. New Hampshire
8. Miami
9. Michigan
10. Union
11. Notre Dame
12. Boston College
13. Denver
14. Alaska
15. Wisconsin
16. Rensselaer
17. Merrimack
18. Minnesota
19. Ferris State
20. Western Michigan
Dropped out: Robert Morris, Michigan State, Providence
Bubble-licious: Brown, Niagara, Robert Morris

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for your reading enjoyement.

INCH Power Rankings
[11/14/2010]
1. Minnesota Duluth
2. Boston University
3. Maine
4. Nebraska-Omaha
5. Yale
6. North Dakota - Prior to this past weekend, the Fighting Sioux had only swept Wisconsin on one prior occasion in the 12-year history of the Kohl Center. 7-4-1 (6-2-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 1-0; W at Wisconsin, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha
7. New Hampshire
8. Miami
9. Michigan
10. Union
11. Notre Dame
12. Alaska
13. Boston College
15. Denver
15. Wisconsin
16. Western Michigan
17. Rensselaer
18. Robert Morris
19. Michigan State
20. Providence
Dropped out: Ferris State

Bubble-licious: Merrimack, Niagara, Dartmouth, Princeton

INCH Power Rankings

INCH Power Rankings
[November 7, 2010]
1. Boston University
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Maine
4. Yale
5. Miami
6. Michigan
7. Union
8. North Dakota - The Fighting Sioux are in the middle of a six-week stretch of games against teams currently in the INCH Power Rankings — they've already faced Maine, DU, and UMD and have Wisconsin, UNO, and Notre Dame up next.
5-4-1 (4-2-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4-2; L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin
9. New Hampshire
10. Boston College
11. Nebraska-Omaha
12. Wisconsin
13. Notre Dame
14. Alaska
15. Michigan State
16. Denver
17. Western Michigan
18. Rensselaer
19. Robert Morris
20. Ferris State

Analysis - I think these rankings are a little off, UMD stays in second place after being dominated by the Fighting Sioux on Friday night and then the Sioux lose a close one on Saturday night. This is the same game that Sioux just miss winning in the waning seconds of regulation.

Two other things that don't pass the smell test are Boston College in 10th, Boston College is a better team than 10th. Also, you can't tell me that Union is the 7th ranked team in the nation.

Sioux second in INCH Power Rankings

The boys from INCH are doing their power rankings again and the WCHA didn't fair that well this weekend and it shows in the rankings.

1. Boston College
2. North Dakota 1 The Sioux welcomed Bemidji State to the WCHA and even let them have the puck every so often, to the tune of 36 shots in two games. 3-0-1 (2-0-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Bemidji State, 5-2; W at Bemidji State, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine...
3. Michigan
4. Miami
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Yale
7. Alaska
8. New Hampshire
9. Boston University
10. Union
11. Denver
12. Michigan State
13. Maine
14. Notre Dame
15. Wisconsin
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Rensselaer
18. Cornell
19. St. Cloud State
20. Robert Morris
Dropped out: Minnesota, RIT

Bubble-licious: Colgate, Colorado College, Michigan Tech

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for something to talk about. The only ranking that really matters is the Pairwise Rankins. The head scratcher is Union is sitting at 18th in the power rankings and they have them ranked 8th.

1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. Boston College
5. North Dakota 1 The favorite to win WCHA Rookie of the Year honors, forward Danny Kristo had a goal and two assists in the Fighting Sioux's series win against Minnesota to extend his current point streak to a season-high 10 games. 22-12-5 LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota, 6-0; L vs. Minnesota, 4-2; W vs. Minnesota, 4-1 (WCHA First Round Series). THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth (WCHA Final Five)
6. Cornell
7. St. Cloud State
8. Union
9. Ferris State
10. Yale
11. Northern Michigan
12. Bemidji State
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Michigan State
15. Alaska
16. New Hampshire
17. RIT
18. Michigan
19. St. Lawrence
20. Boston University

Dropped out: Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, UMass Lowell

Bubble-licious: Maine, Vermont

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for those looking for a good laugh on Monday Morning.

1. Denver
2. North Dakota 2 The Fighting Sioux have scored a total of 41 goals in their eight wins and two ties—including nine against Ohio State and Miami last weekend—but have just five goals in their four losses.
8-4-2 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 4-1; T vs. Miami, 5-5- ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth
3. Miami
4. Quinnipiac
5. Cornell
6. Bemidji State
7. Colorado College
8. UMass Lowell
9. Massachusetts
10. Yale
11. Michigan State
12. Alaska
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Boston College
15. Wisconsin
16. Notre Dame
17. Vermont
18. Ferris State
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. St. Cloud State

Dropped out: Colgate

Bubble-licious: Colgate, RIT, Union

INCH Power Rankings

Here is the latest power rankings from INCH.
INCH Power Rankings
March 15, 2009
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Michigan
4. North Dakota Big weekend for the Lamoureux family: the Fighting Sioux's Mario scored in his team's 5-1 against Michigan Tech Friday; Air Force's Jacques had three goals and an assist in the Falcons' series win against Sacred Heart; and twins Jocelyne and Monique helped Minnesota to a return trip to the women's Frozen Four in a 4-3 win over Boston College.
5. Denver
7. Yale
8. Princeton
9. Vermont
10. Miami
11. Cornell
12. St. Lawrence
13. Minnesota
14. New Hampshire
15. Boston College
16. Ohio State
17. Wisconsin
18. UMass Lowell
19. Minnesota Duluth
20. Alaska

Dropped out: Colorado College, St. Cloud State, Air Force

Bubble-licious: Northern Michigan, Air Force, RIT, Bemidji State

Wow who would have thought the UND Fighting Sioux would have moved up so high in the INCH Power Rankings. That being said rankings and polls are nice but one game can end your season and send your team home.