College Hockey:Selection Sunday
I’ve been covering college hockey for USCHO since 2006. Since I live in Colorado and cover Denver and Colorado College, I’ve become very familiar with both the WCHA and its rabid fanbase. Since the all-WCHA Frozen Four in 2005, fans of the league have enjoyed pumping out conspiracy theories about how the NCAA is determined, at all costs, to avoid having too-heavy a WCHA representation in the men’s tournament.
Boys, let me tell you, you ain’t got nothing on the girls.
How else to view today’s selection and placement of teams for the final eight in the NCAA tournament. No. 1 Wisconsin, riding a 24-game unbeaten streak and winner of a dramatic overtime game with No. 3 Minnesota, one of the hottest teams in the country, draws defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth in the first round. Should they win that, they will most likely face Minnesota in the semis, barring an unlikely not-by-seed-but-by-paper upset of the Gophers by Boston College.
On the other side, No. 2 Cornell draws No. 8 Dartmouth in the first round. No disrespect to the Big Green, who were the only ECAC team to beat Cornell this season, but Dartmouth is not in the same league as Minnesota-Duluth, and has an RPI that is .300 lower than the Bulldogs.
The last bracket features Mercyhurst and Boston University, two teams that have struggled of late. The Terriers lost in the Hockey East tournament to Northeastern and have gone a pedestrian 4-4-1 since the beginning of February. Mercyhurst has only lost two games since January, but they were to Cornell and Wisconsin, and they didn’t look good in winning the CHA tournament.
Several things are at work in this tournament field that probably makes all the WCHA coaches upset. First of all, the NCAA only seeds the top four squads. The rest of the teams are placed by geography, so that the NCAA doesn’t have to pony up funds to fly teams all over the country for what they view as a money-losing tournament, and to hell with bracket integrity.
More important however, is the flawed nature of the PairWise when it comes to women’s hockey. For all the griping about the PairWise when it comes to men’s hockey, there are usually some out-of-conference games between top teams that can form a basis for comparison. For instance, Boston College played two against Denver and one against Notre Dame this year, North Dakota played two against Notre Dame, Boston University played Notre Dame and Wisconsin, Michigan played Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and Miami played New Hampshire and St. Cloud.
Contrast that to the women’s game. Cornell played two games against Mercyhurst and none against WCHA or Hockey East squads. Boston University played North Dakota, and Mercyhurst, to its credit, played Wisconsin (and lost 7-4). Boston College played no WCHA squads, picking off ECAC teams for its out-of-conference schedule.
To get a better PairWise, top eastern squads need to start playing games against the WCHA. It would create a far more accurate base of comparison than what is currently in place.
I don’t think you can watch the intensity of the Wisconsin-Minnesota WCHA final and doubt that when it comes to the top squads in the conference, the WCHA is stronger in the women’s game. It is also deeper. In addition to the big three of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Minnesota-Duluth (the only teams ever to win an NCAA championship), there are teams like North Dakota and Bemidji State who can threaten the top squads, and would probably have a shot at a championship in any other division. Ohio State won only eight WCHA games, but went 6-0 against the CHA.
Looking at the tournament, I see several things at play. Mercyhurst is the host. They finished fourth in the PairWise, but were not seeded, and instead get to play BU, a team they likely can beat and advance to the Frozen Four, with a likely shot at the final. If they had been seeded fourth, they would have had to go through Wisconsin to get to the final, a far more daunting proposition than Cornell, whom they have beaten this year.
If the committee had simply gone by the PairWise, Wisconsin would play Dartmouth, Cornell would play Minnesota-Duluth, Boston University would play Minnesota, and Mercyhurst would play Boston College, with, if seedings held, semis of Wisconsin-Mercyhurst and BU-Cornell. That tournament seems a far more accurate representation of the women’s game as it is now than what the tournament actually is.



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.
Pingback: Selection Sunday - USCHO
Pingback: Johnson discusses NCAA field, looks ahead to Minnesota Duluth - University of Wisconsin Badgers
Pingback: Getting The Right Running Shoes | Solar Kits
Pingback: Selection Sunday :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online | FIND BEST EDUCATION INFORMATION
Pingback: Easy Way to Learn Arabic Language
Pingback: Johnson questions NCAA tourney bracket - UW Badger Herald
Pingback: Baggot: Seedings deliver slap shot to UW women’s hockey team - Madison.com
Pingback: How To Get Repeat Visitors To Your Site | Home Based Business Jobs Without ....
Pingback: Ultimately, The Very best Way To Get rid of Weight | Solar Kits
Pingback: Jury selection almost finished in Marni Yang trial | Swedish Furniture
Pingback: Fashion Yourself With the Hottest Combat boots | Solar Kits
Pingback: want to watch the afl tv « Blog Today
Pingback: sports live online tv « Amy-Rose
Pingback: Which Game Console Should You Buy? Playstation 3 or Xbox 360? | PlayStation
Pingback: Advantage of Buying Games Online Over Store » Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition
Pingback: facebook123
Pingback: Wednesday Women: Tournament previews :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online
Pingback: edu backlinks
Pingback: buy edu links
Pingback: does penis advantage work
Pingback: penis advantage scam
Pingback: cheap edu backlinks
Pingback: host gator coupon
Pingback: win a free ipad
Pingback: best led tvs
Pingback: penis advantage reviews
Pingback: quality backlinks
Pingback: xbox 360 giveaway
Pingback: best portable dvd player
Pingback: buy edu links
Pingback: hostgator discount
Pingback: get a free ipad
Pingback: best led tvs
Pingback: high quality backlinks
Pingback: cheap edu backlinks
Pingback: hostgator 1 cent coupon
Pingback: free ipads
Pingback: does penis advantage work
Pingback: backlinks services
Pingback: mike geary
Pingback: does penis advantage work
Pingback: portable dvd player for car
Pingback: cheap edu backlinks
Pingback: get a free ipad
Pingback: best 60 led tv
Pingback: penis advantage scam
Pingback: http://chaw.org/index.php/member/5422
Pingback: edu backlinks
Pingback: hostgator review
Pingback: free ipad
Pingback: penis advantage scam
Pingback: free xbox 360
Pingback: portable car dvd player
Pingback: mike geary
Pingback: http://altitudepartners.co.uk/index.php/member/58496
Pingback: Alyson Haaland
Pingback: penis advantage reviews
Pingback: the truth about abs review
Pingback: www.bumperstickerquotes.org
Pingback: penisadvantage
Pingback: how to get edu backlinks
Pingback: led televisions
Pingback: penisadvantage
Pingback: backlink service
Pingback: xbox giveaway
Pingback: cheap portable dvd player
Pingback: truth about six pack abs
Pingback: penis advantage review
Pingback: Jc Ubertini
Pingback: cheap edu backlinks
Pingback: hostgator discount
Pingback: how to get a free ipad
Pingback: penis advantage
Pingback: free xbox
Pingback: penisadvantage
Pingback: Neomi Pinnell
Pingback: Cody Shappell
Pingback: Verlie Chism
Pingback: Nick Kayser
Pingback: Aretha Knightly
Pingback: Adrienne Sinning
Pingback: Michal Liukko
Pingback: Lindsay Stollar
Pingback: Hiroko Prestidge
Pingback: Kareem Henton
Pingback: Johnathan Gadwah
Pingback: Deloras Oderkirk
Pingback: Darin Wathen
Pingback: Celestine Gasse
Pingback: Brendon Karwowski
Pingback: Phil Yochem
Pingback: Marcus Botdorf
Pingback: Randell Cudney
Pingback: Everett Schoening
Pingback: Willard Jaquess
Pingback: Lela Shamas
Pingback: Beverley Waldrep
Pingback: Gene Rought
Pingback: Lyla Diepenbrock
Pingback: Lee Jargas
Pingback: Aldo Eitel
Pingback: Toby Plant
Pingback: Cedrick Gorius
Pingback: Lucile Prospal
Pingback: Cheryll Estel
Pingback: Ignacia Toolsiram
Pingback: Edda Turbyfill
Pingback: Maryjo Tobon
Pingback: Jung Azatyan
Pingback: Shane Perham
Pingback: Rocky Gasquet
Pingback: Sherman Anadio
Pingback: Maya Roehrman
Pingback: Parker Shellenberger
Pingback: Cameron Riedesel
Pingback: Gina Dumay
Pingback: Tilda Zelman
Pingback: Leroy Cosio
Pingback: Bradley Mikez
Pingback: Gretta Mach
Pingback: Nathanial Warrick
Pingback: Marcos Tassin
Pingback: Elliot Artibee
Pingback: Roseanna Venner
Pingback: Herma Heckers
Pingback: Johnathon Marer
Pingback: Rosy Spancake
Pingback: Jasper Damiano
Pingback: Hobert Dentel
Pingback: Mervin Jackola
Pingback: Bryan Ladick
Pingback: Tena Mega
Pingback: Shaneka Turner
Pingback: Aleta Alconcel
Pingback: Leonard Palumbo
Pingback: Vanesa Kraeger
Pingback: Garfield Febbo
Pingback: Fausto Benford
Pingback: Celena Wurdeman
Pingback: Lawrence Jonah
Pingback: Trinity Casal
Pingback: Heriberto Washler
Pingback: Cristen Duda
Pingback: Gracia Shemanski
Pingback: Hilario Peraha
Pingback: Doria Dunsmore
Pingback: Willis Sheats
Pingback: Rogelio Romito
Pingback: Caleb Seamster
Pingback: Eve Hawley
Pingback: Loni Begen
Pingback: Heath Paules
Pingback: Valentin Rolison
Pingback: Bert Agnew
Pingback: Bill Anyan
Pingback: Cathleen Pod
Pingback: Cecil Shau
Pingback: Jacquelin Bocskor
Pingback: Ileen Depaulis
Pingback: Huey Dittrich
Pingback: Fausto Benford
Pingback: Jeffery Wyatt
Pingback: Celena Wurdeman
Pingback: Oscar Yannantuono
Pingback: Liberty Gibler
Pingback: Jessika Windfield
Pingback: Melaine Kahan
Pingback: Cole Bahl
Pingback: Kurt Fedder
Pingback: Katelyn Shirah
Pingback: Bernadine Shore
Pingback: Shaquana Savich
Pingback: Keely Greenbaum
Pingback: Alec Batliner
Pingback: Toccara Whitenack
Pingback: Kathrin Watts
Pingback: Bibi Alterio
Pingback: Latesha Josiah
Pingback: Alonso Connoly
Pingback: Brittny Auyeung
Pingback: Chara Neske
Pingback: Bernadette Pedrin
Pingback: Rachelle Molin