College Hockey:
EZ no more? Non-conference records make that argument for ECAC Hockey

By Brian Sullivan • ECAC Hockey Columnist • Jan. 20, 2011

It’s Thursday, Jan. 20. Do you know what that means? It means that with the exception of the Beanpot, ECAC Hockey is done with non-conference play for the 2010-11 season.

That makes this an excellent time to take a look at how the conference actually stacked up against “the big boys,” the leagues whose fans constantly, consistently and often confoundingly ridicule our pack as the “EZ-AC” … the wannabes of D-I men’s hockey.

So let’s filter all that noise, and see who’s beating whom this year.

By the dozen

As a league, ECAC Hockey went 49-33-15 in non-conference play against non-league competition. (That means the Clarkson-St. Lawrence game in Lake Placid, one of the Union-RPI games and the Colgate-Cornell game in Newark, among others — while irrelevant to the league standings — aren’t counted as true non-conference games here, either.)

20110109 IMG4860 EZ no more? Non conference records make that argument for ECAC Hockey

Mike Kramer and Princeton are 4-0 in non-conference play (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

The league played 59 of its 96 true non-con games against Hockey East, WCHA or CCHA opponents, going 22-27-10 in those games. Against the WCHA, our dozen went 8-8-4, 8-9-4 against Hockey East, and 6-10-2 versus the CCHA.

Against Atlantic Hockey and independent Alabama-Huntsville, the ECAC was 27-6-5, for which we can be mildly content.

Halving it your way

The top half of the league (Yale, Union, Princeton, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac and Clarkson, at the moment) were 30-15-4 in non-league play overall, 4-3-0 against Hockey East, 7-5-0 versus the WCHA and 4-5-0 against the CCHA.

The lower tier (again, as the charts read today) was 18-19-10 against non-ECAC’ers, 4-6-4 against Hockey East, 1-3-3 vs. the WCHA and 2-5-2 against the CCHA.

Breaking it down

The team-by-team figures, broken down by overall non-conference results, WCHA results, Hockey East (HEA) numbers, and the CCHA:

Yale: 4-1-0, 1-0-0 vs. WCHA, 1-0-0 vs. HEA
Union: 8-4-1, 2-1-0 vs. WCHA, 0-3-0 vs. CCHA
Princeton: 4-0-0, 2-0-0 vs. HEA, 1-0-0 vs. CCHA
Dartmouth: 2-1-1, 1-1-0 vs. HEA
Quinnipiac: 7-4-1, 3-1-0 vs. WCHA, 0-2-0 vs. HEA, 1-1-0 vs. CCHA
Clarkson: 5-5-1, 1-3-0 vs. WCHA, 2-1-0 vs. CCHA
Cornell: 1-4-1, 0-1-0 vs. WCHA, 0-2-0 vs. HEA
Rensselaer: 8-1-2, 0-1-1 vs. WCHA, 1-0-1 vs. HEA, 1-0-0 vs. CCHA
Brown: 1-1-3, 0-1-0 vs. WCHA, 1-0-3 vs. HEA
St. Lawrence: 4-3-4, 1-0-3 vs. WCHA, 2-0-0 vs. HEA, 1-3-2 vs. CCHA
Harvard: 1-3-0, 0-3-0 vs. HEA
Colgate: 3-7-0, 0-1-0 vs. HEA, 0-2-0 vs. CCHA

Conclusion?

Well, before I start my rambling opine, here are some other inter-league numbers: Hockey East — the ECAC’s primary regional competitor — went 5-9-1 against the WCHA and 2-5-3 against the CCHA. (ECAC Hockey was 8-8-4 and 6-10-2, respectively, to save you some scrolling.) HEA went only 9-4-4 against Atlantic/independent competition. (ECAC went 27-6-5 against those foes, for those of you with frosty relationships with your mice.)

The WCHA boasts solid records against all leagues, but guess who gave the westerners the most trouble? ECAC Hockey, baby. None of the other conferences are even close.

Really, all these numbers do is back up what I — and many of you, I presume — have proclaimed all along: ECAC Hockey probably isn’t better, as a whole, than the “Big Three,” but it’s not worse, either.

Yale beat Colorado College (5-1, no less) on Olympic ice in Colorado Springs. Union upended Minnesota in the Twin Cities. St. Lawrence beat, and Brown all but beat, New Hampshire on the Whittemore Center’s Olympic sheet, and Dartmouth beat ‘em at a (hardly) neutral venue last week. Quinnipiac swept high-flying Nebraska-Omaha and split at St. Cloud State … which Clarkson also beat.

To all you foreign interlopers, don’t misinterpret what I’m saying as a proclamation of dominance, or even a boast. Rather, I’d hope that the more rational majority of you will simply take a moment to recognize that — like it or not — this AC ain’t so EZ any more.

What’s a 1 worth?

While perusing the USCHO Fan Forum one day, I happened across a heated debate regarding the veracity of Yale’s No. 1 status in the USCHO poll. Obviously, Yale and ECAC fans defended the pick, while many “Big Three” fans derided Yale (and the Ivies, and ECAC Hockey) as a fraud.

Mr. Jonathan Falk (though I didn’t know that was his name at the time, of course) did some excellent research into the history of mid-season No. 1s, and how they fared the rest of the way. I contacted him to request elaboration, and he was kind enough to reply. I’d break it all down and paraphrase his response for you, but frankly, A, I’m not a stats major, so some of this stuff was a little bit over my head, and, B, he did a pretty awesome job explaining what I could understand already, so why take that away from him?

Follow this link to read his report. It should go without saying that history — like records — is made to be broken, but track records, tendencies and precedent are worth consideration, if nothing else.

Eyes on the prize

It’s early, but if the season ended today — and all league leaders won their conference tournaments — ECAC Hockey would place four teams in the NCAA tournament: Yale, Dartmouth, Union and RPI (updated PairWise rankings can be found here.)

Still a long ways to go, with a lot of intra-conference kneecapping yet to occur, but it’s nice to see. Unfortunately for our little utopian outcome, these four teams have yet to play five games against each other before all is said and done.

USCHO covers the ECAC all week long on the ECAC Blog, with weekend recaps on Monday, picks on Friday, and updates during the week.

The following is a self-policing forum for discussing views on this story. Comments that are derogatory, make personal attacks, are abusive, or contain profanity or racism will be removed at our discretion. USCHO.com is not responsible for comments posted by users. Please report any inappropriate or offensive comments by clicking the “Flag” link next to that comment in order to alert the moderator.

Please also keep “woofing,” taunting, and otherwise unsportsmanlike behavior to a minimum. Your posts will more than likely be deleted, and worse yet, you reflect badly on yourself, your favorite team and your conference.

LtPowers
“mildly content” with a 27–6–5 record over AHA and Alabama-Huntsville? Arrogant much?
- Arcticman
  I agree. This article is garbage.
  - AIM
    Arcticman…please feel free to move on if you don’t like it. I’m sure there is some place for you…comic strips?
Arcticman
Excuse me however your numbers are wrong. St. Lawrence had one win and one tie vs. Mich. Tech and 2 ties vs. Minnesota State, making them 1-0-3 vs. the WCHA where you had them at 2-0-0. Clarkson lost twice to UMD and once to UNO and beat St. Cloud State making them 1-3-0 vs. the WCHA for a combined record of 2-3-3 where you have the combined record for these two teams vs. the WCHA as 4-1-0. While I admire your effort in attempting to make the EZAC look better, please try to be factual in the future.
- ECACWriter
  SLU is 1-0-3 vs the WCHA, you say? Hm, where have I seen that before… “St. Lawrence: 4-3-4, 1–0–3 vs. WCHA,…” Clarkson is 1-3-0? You mean like, where I wrote, “Clarkson: 5–5–1, 1–3–0 vs. WCHA,…”
  I know that some of you like to shoot first and ask questions later, but that doesn’t really work in this context. Points for politeness, though.
Nyqi7799
“ECAC Hockey probably isn’t better, as a whole, than the “Big Three,” but it’s not worse, either.”
Are you kidding? Do you really think that with UND’s talent or UMD’s talent they would lose a single game in the EZAC? Seriously? How many players make it to the NHL from the conference? I don’t know the number but I would be shocked if it was even a fraction of what the WCHA or Hockey East send to the league. I’m not saying they are terrible but have Yale play the entire WCHA schedule and see how they would look right now. NO WAY they would be #1 in the country. So enjoy it while it lasts because they have about as much chance of winning the whole thing as a good high school team from Minnesota has.
- Arcticman
  At least the clown that wrote this article got the date right.
- Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
  Do you really think that with UND’s talent or UMD’s talent they would lose a single game in the EZAC?
  I do. UND lost to Cornell and Yale last year. And to Cornell the year before as well. I expect you’re going to come back and say that those UND teams weren’t your best.
  - Goalie Fan
    Not at all… As I recall the losses to the Big Red came at a time when they had an extremely talented goaltender and a team that was ranked nationally. I think Cornell beat us on a friday at home that year and in reasonably good fashion. Im not saying UND wouldnt lose a game in the EZAC, but I do like playing a schedule where not showing up for a game or two can leave significant damage to the rankings or even losing a chance at the Mcnaughten Cup.
    - http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
      UND played Cornell two years in a row and had a 2-2 record against them The Sioux lit up Schriven 7-3 the first night and lost 2-1 because the WCHA buffoon waved off a legit goal that should have counted, I believe it was Don Adams. In Cornell last season the Sioux were all over Cornell both games outshooting badly both night and their goalie Ben Schrivens was unbelievable the first night and they lost something like 2-1 the second night.
      - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
        Excuses, excuses. . . .
      - Goalie Fan
        Thanks 4 clearing that up for me;) couldnt remember!
      - BigRedNYC
        I looked at the box scores from last year and in the first game (Cornell 1-0) the shots were 28-15 in favor of ND. In the second game (UND 3-1 with an ENG) the shots were 26-16 in favor of ND. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say “badly outshot” seeing as how Cornell usually gives up shot totals in the low 20s (this year being a major exception). I was expecting to see something like 40-20. Anyway, my assessment at the time and the consensus on the forum here and eLynah was that UND clearly had the faster and more skilled players but that they didn’t dominate and weren’t “all over” Cornell. Most of their shots were from the sides and after Cornell’s defense was set up. There weren’t a lot of breakaways, odd man rushes, etc. Some people were even saying that the better team lost each game i.e. Cornell actually had better scoring chances on Saturday and couldn’t convert. And since we’re whining about the officiating, UND’s second goal (the game winner) should never have counted because the UND player committed an uncalled penalty to get the puck. As for the first game in North Dakota, Cornell is a defense oriented team. When they fall behind they try to press their luck and bad things usually happen. Last year’s NCAA game against UNH is a perfect example.
        Most of the UND fans we interacted with were really nice. And there were some nice comments on your forums after the series was over.
  - Nyqi7799
    I’m not going to say anything about last year because that wasn’t the question that I was asking. We whine, I think you meant to say we “WIN” like no other. As soon as the entire EZAC can say they have won as many titles as just UND (7 national titles) you can say what you want. And obviously UND could lose a game against anyone but if you had to bet on UND against any team in the EZAC if you put your money on the EZAC team you are just plain stupid.
    - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
      I’m not going to say anything about last year because that wasn’t the question that I was asking.
      But you’re going to bring up UND’s seven national titles because they’re relevant to the question. Think before you write.
      - Nyqi7799
        You’re the idiot that wanted to talk about the past. So there it is. One team in the WCHA has more titles than your entire conference. How can you honestly say that they are equal?
      - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
        I never said they were equal. You’re the one who said the Sioux could run through the ECAC undefeated. Recent history suggests that the Sioux have problems with the better ECAC teams. That’s why I brought up the recent past. I’d say that last years games have more meaning than national titles especially when you haven’t won one in 10 years. And if you’re so adamant that the past means nothing (and incites you into calling me an idiot) then turning around and citing the distant past makes you a hypocrite. And you already brought up the past when you asked about sending players to the NHL. Past success in that area has absolutely no relevance to the question of how UND would fare in the ECAC today.
        And by the way I don’t really care if you call me an idiot but when you resort to those tactics you weaken your credibility and your argument. And frankly, you’re an embarrassment to your school.
      - Anonymous
        Amen. WCHA dominates National Titles with 30… enough said.
      - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
        If the question were which league has won the most titles then you would be correct. But that wasn’t the question. But you still don’t get that do you?
        The Steelers have won more Super Bowls than the Jets. Does that mean I should bet on them on Sunday?
      - Anonymous
        If you can learn to read a comment box you would see that I wasn’t replying to your post. And a previous comment of yours talked about the past and NCAA titles. I would have to say that you are the hostile one.
      - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
        What difference does it make if you weren’t replying to my post? You guys keep bringing up titles as if they have any relevance to the present – which was the topic of the original article upon which all of these comments are based. Or to the assertion that UND could run the table in the ECAC. If you care to explain how they do then by all means do so. But you won’t. You’ll just keep repeating “Seven Titles! Seven Titles!”. And no, I’m not hostile. I’m not the one resorting to calling people idiot when I can’t come up with a relevant point.
      - http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
        I think it’s relevant that an EZAC team hasn’t won a national title since 1989.
        UND has won two since then 1997 and 2000…
      - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
        think it’s relevant that an EZAC team hasn’t won a national title since 1989.
        UND has won two since then 1997 and 2000…
        Relevant to what? This year’s rankings? The quality of the ECAC in 2010-2011? No, your past titles are not relevant – unless we were talking about the quality of the leagues over the last 20 years which we aren’t. Logic and reading comprehension aren’t your strong areas.
        And give it a rest with the whining about having to travel. Eastern teams go west every year and when we complain you WCHA guys tell is to shut up. Payback’s a bitch.
- ECACWriter
  Do I think UND would lose a game if they switched places with Yale, for example, and played an ECAC Hockey schedule? I wouldn’t bet against them in any single game, but then, it wouldn’t have stunned me if Yale had gone a perfect 22-0-0 in league play either. They’re both very good teams, but 22 games is a lot of opportunities to not show up.
  As far as draft picks go, they are 100 percent meaningless as a gauge of team success. You know who has a lot of draft picks? Colgate. You know who has none? Union. Zero. Yale has three, but they’re all freshmen and have combined for 14 games played between them (one’s played 12, another, 2, another hasn’t even suited up yet).
  Draft picks are great for marketing and recruiting, but they’re pretty meaningless unless you turn the projected talent into skill, smarts and work ethic.
  And finally: “enjoy it while it lasts because they have about as much chance of winning the whole thing as a good high school team from Minnesota has.” Do you know what happened at the end of the 1989 season? And that was way before the nation-wide parity that we are beginning to see now. RIT? Bemidji State? Holy Cross, anyone?
  - Nyqi7799
    Draft picks are 100% meaningless? How does that work? So you wouldn’t agree that the teams that have the most talent are more than likely going to perform better each night? I don’t think that it says everything about a program and how successful they will/won’t be but it sure has to be taken into account when talking about how much talent a team has or doesn’t. Again, just guessing at this but be honest. Have you ever played hockey at a high level? Did you play in high school or maybe juniors? I bet the answer is no.
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YJCYMXJ27RENTZL47JMYUP4ISU inuiyak
      lkjgihgk?SGMoj gfklPOAIIP(kk ” lg;lf:;lgbAsa dD{gfl’g g;L:LKAXZDg
      This is what you sound like to me… here’s some more for ya..
      ikdjg:KLJSGT”O L:SDOg j;ljih :) Chill the fook out.
    - derek
      draft picks are meaningless. you don’t get points in the standings or a bid to the tournament based on the number of draft picks on your team. if the team happens be good because of those players performing well that’s greats, but that’s not guaranteed by any means.
  - http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
    Yeah
    “As far as draft picks go, they are 100 percent meaningless as a gauge of team success.”
    Yeah good point, Jonathon Toews, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise were meaningless and didn’t help UND one bit… Rolls eyes.
    - ECACWriter
      You think LaPoint is better than Genoway, too? What have Bruneteau and Eidsness done to boost your PairWise rank this year?
      The point is that draft picks are great for boasting, but the NCAA doesn’t hand out trophies – or victories – for recruiting potential pros.
      - Tender
        So SO wrong……….. Eids is still the man and is graduating in three years instead of the four normal that most college players do. Draft picks do not matter i agree, just look at the gophers!
- http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
  I think UND would lose a couple of games but not many and I would imagine that UND, DU and UMD would be putting up just as many or more goals as Yale has, beating weak teams by big numbers isn’t hard or impressive…
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FD8
And this is from the guy that thought RPI would start the season 0-6…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YJCYMXJ27RENTZL47JMYUP4ISU inuiyak
I sure hope there’s another North Dakota/Yale matchup. I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s thumping.
- SiouxAlumDenver
  Since when is a 3-2 score a thumping? Might want to check the box score on that one. The first period was won by Yale, but the rest of the game they were on their heels and outplayed by the Sioux. If they meet again it will be in St. Paul…Sioux will roll if that happens. That is, if BC doesn’t hang 9 on them again first.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YJCYMXJ27RENTZL47JMYUP4ISU inuiyak
    You’re right, it wasn’t a thumping but still a statement of sorts. I’m so sick of hearing all the anti-Yale/ECAC venom year after year. Face it, Yale is good. Maybe not #1, but they’re at least a top five team. Put them in the WCHA and they’d be up there with DU and ND, no doubt. Why are so many of you Sioux fans so unsecure?
    - Nyqi7799
      inuiyak , do yourself a favoe and stop posting on this site you obviously know nothing about hockey. I doubt that Yale would be any better than 5th or 6th if they have to play a WCHA schedule. Right now they play a bunch of teams that couldn’t win the Minnesota high school hockey tournament so please don’t try and tell people that have played hockey their entire lives what talent is. I have seen your Yale team play a few games this year and they are a good team against the competition they have played but they play nobody. Why not put someone on the schedule that will be a power house team early to see if they can compete. The reason is simple they would never be #1 if they did and that is what they wanted. They are a good team but it takes more than good to be in the top half of the WCHA or Hockey East, you have to have very skilled players that will play at the next level and Yale doesn’t have that. If you can’t see if either you are blind or don’t know anything about hockey. Either way shut up.
    - SiouxAlumDenver
      I would argue that. Look at Nebraska Omaha, one of the top offenses in the country that was a solid CCHA contender. While they started out strong, once they got into the meat of the WCHA season, they faded fast. Yale would do the same. Not because Yale is soft, but because playing 2 games every week against the best in the country takes its toll. Omaha is finding that out. I have not been on the bandwagon saying Yale is a bad team, in fact I don’t think anyone thinks they are bad. The argument has been are they deserving of a #1 ranking? I would argue that they aren’t just simply for SOS. North Dakota and Denver have vastly more difficult schedules week in and week out. I would put Yale as the #4 team right now. No doubt Yale beating North Dakota opened some eyes, but North Dakota was coming off a stretch of 6 games in 10 days against the top of the WCHA. Then had to travel across the country and came out flat in the first period. Either way, Yale would not be a top 5 team in the WCHA, they don’t have the depth or goaltending to go through that. In the end, teams are measured by post season success, and Yale doesn’t have the history that BC, NoDak, Denver, Minnesota, Michigan have…
      - Anonymous
        UND played 9 games last March. End season matchup with Mich Tech, 3 game playoff vs. Minnesota then won the WCHA title against UMD, Denver, St. Cloud 3 of the top teams in the country! And came back from a fast strike by St. Cloud in the championship game.
        Yale played their ECAC 3 game playoff with Brown then beat UND in the NCAA tournament.
        Lets see here…. 9 games (7 very difficult opponents) versus 4 games. You get the picture.
      - YaleUNDfrozen4
        I bet you wish you had waited to post this gem until after this weekend. That “fast fading” team is making your Sioux look pretty stupid and we’re only through 2 periods so far… can’t wait to see what the next 4 periods have coming for you guys this weekend.
      - YaleUNDfrozen4
        By the way thanks for handing us the #1 spot for another week!
    - http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
      Since when is a win in the NCAA tourney a statement, it means nothing other than your team won one game against a team that had played 6 games in 9 days and was gassed, you won one period of hockey and then hung on by the skin of your teeth to win the game. You got lucky.
- Goalie Fan
  Ya what a thumping 3-2 moron! We also had played a 3 game series against rival Minnesota,which any1 who knows anything about hockey could tell you is the toughest played (i.e. mentally and physically) games of the year… Then we play three more games and WIN the Final five against arguably the best teams in the NCAA. That was all in one week and with out Chay Genoway… Then we battle a good team in Yale and lose by 1. So hmmmmmm Thumping I dought! So once Yale can say they have done that… I will quit talking crap to all you bulldogs fans that think your so called thumping of the Sioux was the greatest thing ever
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Edlovin69
I’ll give you some statistical advice to help you out…you should not COMPARE SUBGROUPS TO WHOLE GROUPS and convey the results back onto the whole group from which the subgroup came from. In other words, Yale, by far the ECAC’s best team did not play the likes of UND/Denver or WIsconsin. These programs not only show up every year at the top of the wcha, They have won 21 titles (national) for a reason. How many have these three schools combined for since 2000? ALSO and a big also is YOU ALWAYS NEED A SAMPLE SIZE MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN THE ‘NEXT TO NOTHING’ SAMPLE SIZE YOU ARE EMPLOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- bigred12
  jeez stop faking stats knowledge. he didn’t claim causation or statistical significance anywhere. he was just doing an apples to apples comparison. sample size is irrelevant.
  reread your textbook.
  - Anonymous
    He should also point out the ranks of the teams from the CCHA, HE, and WCHA because lets be honest winning games against the bottom half of the conferences is not showing that the ECAC can contend with the big 3. Good article in idea, but terrible misrepresentation of comparing one conference to another.
irishfan85
Since when does having a bunch of pro talent mean automatic success in college? Without looking it up, Duluth has won the majority of its games against Minnesota the past few years with far fewer NHL draft picks.
I’m a HE fan who thinks the WCHA is the best, but I don’t like the argument that NHL prospects means they are the best college players. There are tons of examples of great college players who led their teams to great things, but didn’t have the size or what not to make it to the NHL. The same thing applies for college football and hoops.
Mark
GO DUTCH!
The WCHA Grind
“The WCHA boasts solid records against all leagues, but guess who gave the westerners the most trouble? ECAC Hockey, baby. None of the other conferences are even close.”
To be fair to the other conferences, against the top 3 in the WCHA, HE played 8 games and went 3-3-2, while CCHA teams played 7 games and went 0-4-3. Meanwhile there were only 2 scheduled games in the ECAC against a top 3 WCHA team and they went 0-2.
Read what you want from this, but obviously it was a bit tougher sledding for the other conferences against the WCHA, so its a bit bold to solely use records across conferences. As a WCHA fan, I would love to see the top teams from the ECAC play the top teams in the WCHA more often, but it just doesn’t get scheduled for whatever reason.
- Goalie Fzn
  Cause it is a waste of time…. Watch how Harvard does @UND next year
  - http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
    I can see a couple of not so close games…
  - The WCHA Grind
    Point taken.
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Anonymous
UND is over-rated and their rube fans are living on yesteryears.
- Goalie Fan
  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahagahagahagahagahagaghagahaga Arent you just a Joker WOWOWOWOW overated ? this isnt a college football site bud! Im teering up laughing just reading that ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
- http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
  That’s a stupid comment!!! UND has played the toughest schedule to date while Yale has played well, a not so tough schedule.
- Anonymous
  I will admit we are bitter because we are losing our Fighting Sioux nickname (in case anyone doesn’t read college headlines…) but the fact of the matter is we have another, yes another, great team this year and we are ready for some long overdue payback with some teams that will be in NCAA tournament for sure this year. BC has had our number for awhile now, we are just hoping that changes. As for Yale, if we had beat Yale last year, Sioux fans wouldn’t be any more excited then if we had beat Alabama-Huntsville. Yale fans went ballistic when they finally knocked off a good team and have been bragging since (which I have no problem with) its the fact that credit earned is credit due and since this is the last season of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux our guys are out for nothing less than the NCAA title. Yale fans can be happy with another breeze of a season schedule and maybe an open round win again. :)
  - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
    Yale fans went ballistic when they finally knocked off a good team and have been bragging since
    Yawn. Yale fans weren’t bragging until you UND fans went ballistic over Yale’s ranking. In fact, most aren’t even bragging now. They are simply responding to your over the top attacks. In addition to all of your other problems you guys are revisionist historians.
- Nyqi7799
  Do you really believe that UND is over-rated? According to the stats (KRACH & PairWise) they have played the most difficult schedule in the country and have the second best winning percentage in the country only behind Yale’s winning percentage (and Yale has the 33rd ranked SOS). How can you say they are over-rated? Just jealous of the success of the program? I’d be happy to keep throwing out stats but I’m not sure that you would understand so I’ll just stop now.
guest
People should look at the stats a little closer. yes, the ECAC has beaten wcha and hockey east teams, but look at the teams they’ve beaten. Barely any of the teams that are beaten are even above .500. And these teams don’t play powerhouse teams every weekend. WCHA has about 6 or 7 ranked teams every year. Hockey East is a little less but you don’t see many ECAC teams rank EVER!
- ECACWriter
  So you’re saying – in part – that ECAC teams shouldn’t be highly regarded because they’re not highly ranked? Isn’t that a little redundant? What about the fact that all 12 teams were ranked at one point or another this year?
  - guest
    Has Yale even played a top 10 team yet this year? And if so, did they win? I doubt it. I am saying they aren’t bad but shouldn’t be 1. Just look at the teams they’ve played.
    - Guest
      Are you asking if they played a top 10 team in the actual week that they were in the top 10? Lots of teams have cycled in and out of the top 10 rankings, including RPI who they beat, but not while they were in the top 10. They will be playing them this weekend though, and while I really hope RPI wins because it is Freakout, if I had to put money on it I would probably go with Yale…
    - Guest
      An additional comment on this: “Has Yale even played a top 10 team yet this year? And if so, did they win? I doubt it.”
      It is a good example of how people outside the league are attacking Yale without even knowing what their schedule has been. I understand that anyone outside the ECAC doesn’t want to give credit to any top 10 teams that Yale has played that are in the ECAC and not one of the “better” conferences, but I think anyone wishing to attack Yale should at least know their facts first
  - Anonymous
    My question is do you enjoy your job? Do you get paid well to sit here and defend your EZAC against a bunch of radical college hockey fans? Last I checked writer’s are supposed to be unbiased towards team or conference and should stick to the cold hard facts… which apparently you have skewed throughout this entire article. Pretty sure if I had the will I could come up with a similar article for the WCHA and claim that we are Gods between the text.
    - ECACWriter
      I enjoy this job, which is – counter to radical opinion – NOT full-time, and NOT well-paid. I have a good full-time job, and this is something I do out of passion, not need. I am not here to argue with anyone, or preach from a soapbox for any particular cause other than that of college hockey itself. I don’t mind if UND or BC or Notre Dame win the national title; I simply prefer that the scenery change every now and again, and offer something resembling national parity, competition and a surprise every now and then.
- http://ndgoon.blogspot.com Goon
  Like we have said they have feasted on cup cakes and the weak sisters of the poor…
Anonymous
Traveling from one state to an adjacent one is one thing… traveling from Colorado to Alaska to Michigan is a whole different story.
- Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
  Last time I checked none of the states that hosted the West and Midwest regionals are adjacent to any of the ECAC or Hockey East states. But keep on whining. It really makes you look good.
  - Anonymous
    Once again… learn to read. Regular season travel was discussed… but to prove you wrong both ways….
    Northeast Regional Worcester Massachusetts
    Boston College vs. Alaska Fairbanks
    North Dakota vs. Yale
    Last I checked Massachusetts and Connecticut are connected…
    As for what I was saying:
    WCHA teams travel 7 states
    Minnesota
    North Dakota
    Michigan
    Wisconsin
    Colorado
    Alaska
    Nebraska
    If you want to say that the East Coast ECAC conference does more traveling than the WCHA or CCHA you are sadly mistaken.
    - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
      You have a serious reading comprehension problem. You guys have been whining about having to travel East for the NCAA regional. I said that when Eastern teams travel West (and often play the host on home ice) and complain you WCHA guys call us whiners. The fact that CT is adjacent to MA has nothing to do with what I said. I even explicitly said West and Midwest regionals. Did you not see that?
    - Sioux_Fans_Whine_Like_No_Other
      If you want to say that the East Coast ECAC conference does more traveling than the WCHA or CCHA you are sadly mistaken.
      And by the way, I never said anything remotely like that. Stop making stuff up.
John
Semanitcs aside; the ECAC is improving in the ability to play on a level sheet of ice with the other leagues. Continuing to support my alma mater, as I have for 47 years since I enrolled, I remain a loyal fan of Rensselaer.
george
Here is what has happened.
The US development team program + the improved quality of the USHL has had a major impact in college hockey and it is obvious this has benefited the ECAC more than it has the other 3 traditional power conferences.
Because of the increased numbers of pro prospects coming into college hockey, big traditional hockey powers are now more apt to lose their top players after 1 or 2 seasons.
The ECAC and to a lesser degree Atlantic Hockey have benefitted more from this than the power conferences. Even though they tend to get the 2nd tier players from the USHL, these players are on average much better than what they were getting 10 years ago in these conferences. And unlike the UNDs of the world, they get to ride their players for a full 4 years. Hockey is not like basketball. You can be competitive with inferior talent across the board, as long as the talents gap is not too great.
The ECAC trend is here to stay – the next few years will confirm it. And barring too sharp an increase in serious D1 entrants (like Penn State), you will see that Atlantic Hockey will begin to improve their records against other conferences as well.
Porterc2133
This article is a joke. Of corse they are going to have winning records against the other confrences your best teams play the other confrences worst teams while the other confrences play there good teams against other good teams
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Gopher Fan02
Ranking should be all about SOS and record Yale has the record, but doesn’t have SOS. The top ranked team in the Pairwise shouldn’t have an asterisk on there name for having there ranking adjusted for lack of schedule strenght.
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