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College Hockey:
Finally

By Jayson Moy • Senior Writer •

Finally we have a bracket and finally I nailed the bracket on the money.

But, this one was relatively easy to gather from all the information out there.

I think the committee walked into the room and five minutes later they were finished.

I have no complaints at all.  The process worked exactly like the manual described, exactly like how the selection process was put out there.

Fans can complain that the system is broken, that teams got jobbed, that some don’t deserve this or that, but in the end, given the rules that were put in place, the procedure that was put in place and the guidelines as to how to construct the tournament bracket, the committee did it to the exact letter of those rules, procedures and guidelines.

Kudos to them, kudos to the fans for understanding the process and getting it right, and thanks to all my frenemies out there that also predicted the same brackets.

It goes to show you that the system, even if you think it’s broken, works.

The system that is put out there works so well that someone like me, who now lives in Singapore, and has seen a total of four hockey games this season, can look at the numbers and determine the exact field of the NCAA Tournament.  I don’t even have to be in the country to predict the tournament field, that’s how well the procedure is laid out and how it should be followed to determine the field.

See you at the Regionals!

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  • Alecd521

    I’ll be in Bridgeport all weekend. Should be a good atmoshpere and hopefully some good games. Being a college hockey fan in NYC, I look forward to these regionals every year. My one time to go check out games. I was in Bridgeport 2 years ago when AFA took out Yale. We’ll see what happens this time. Looking forward to seeing Duluth and Union as well, two programs I haven’t seen before. 3 of the top 4 power plays in the nation. Should be a great time.

    • k-man

      You must have left the building before Vermont took out Yale two years ago………

      • Alecd521

        Not sleeping. Just getting old and losing my memory already. Pretty bad mistake. I stand humbly corrected. At least I got the Yale losing part right. :)

    • Falcons Rock

      Air Force beat Michigan. Must have been sleeping.

    • Clar0522

      I agree should be some excellent games. This is certainly a great opportunity for Yale to prove its ranking. Air Force and Union are unknowns to me. Based off of common opponents between Union and UMD, that should be a VERY close game. Right now I foresee Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs for the right to go to the X but Air Force and Union seem MORE than capable of knocking off their respective dogs. Can’t wait for this weekend!

      • TruthHurts

        FYI – Air Force beat Yale this season

        • Clar0522

          Thanks, I actually did know that. Hence my comment “Air Force and Union seem MORE than capable of knocking off their respective dogs.” Air Force came back from 3 goals down in the third period in their own building. I don’t see the same result happening this time but crazier things have happened!

  • Bklein09

    I think this worked out really well.

    I’m sure some will complain about BC heading West. But if all the West teams stayed West and all the East teams East, it would be a pretty boring tourney IMO.

    I do think we should get rid of individual schools hosting regionals. Because then we could try to have each regional consist of 3-4 teams from different conferences with the one seeds being as close to home as possible.

    I like Michigan’s draw here, and I’m excited to take on BC if we can get past UNO. Neither game will be easy. But I’d rather play BC than UND or even Miami right now. Plus you gotta beat the best to be the best and the East coast has dominated as of late.

    Let’s do it boys!

    Go Blue!!!

    • Joe C

      The issue is that the better Hockey East team is taking a plane, the second place and third place Hockey east teams each take an hour long bus ride and are surrounded by fans.

      Merrimack earned the right to say close to home. BC definitely earned that one. UNH should fly west but cannot due to the current setup.

      Miami also earned the right to be close to home, but instead they go to Manchester. Two number one seeds were moved to accomodate a fourth seeds host. The two and three seeds travel if they must because they did not execute on the ice.

      • BCFanatic

        Exactly. There is no excuse for penalizing TWO number one seeds to meet some lesser criterion. The number ones should ALWAYS play at home…that should ALWAYS trump enay other rule.

      • earn it

        The only teams that can say they truly earned the right to play close to home are the top two overall seeds. If three of the top four come from one region of the country than obviously the lowest seed has to travel. Everyone else (seeds 5-16) should just be happy to be anywhere.

  • DU_Fan

    These brackets are a perfect example of why we need to get rid of the selection committee and get some hard and fast rules for the regionals. The system “DOES NOT WORK”, JASON. As predicted, ND and DU will meet, assuming the games play out, in a regional so both can never meet in the Frozen Four. I am not complaining, just stating a fact. How would BC and Merrimack fans feel if they were both sent to Manchester or Bridgeport? If you say they wouldn’t complain, you are simply lying. I am tired of hearing about the “attendance factor”. Anyone that has purchased tickets for Regionals or Frozen Four, know that except for a minor amount of seats reserved to visiting teams, know they are sold out 6 months to a year prior. Put teams in Regionals according to PWR; 1/8/9/16, 2/7/10/15, 3/6/11/14, 4/5/12/13. Use this except for teams designated as Host or those within a certain radius of a Regional. If they did this, Merrimack and BC would be in the same Regional and there would have been an uproar!!! That is why this unbiased seeding will never happen.

    • Huh?

      With the exception of swapping Notre Dame / Merrimack and Michigan / UNO, they used the seeding bands exactly as they should have. North Dakota is the 2 seed. Denver is the 7 seed. What exactly are you complaining about sir?

      • DU_Fan

        Obviously you did not read what I wrote. If they used my unbiased formula, Merrimack (6) and BC (3) would also be in same bracket. You say “With the exception of swapping Notre Dame / Merrimack and Michigan / UNO they used the seeing bands exactly as the should have”. So you are proving my point, they were “unbiased” 50% of the time. You don’t have to be a Math Major to realize 2 Regionals out of 4 were less than fair.

        • k-man

          I am with you generally on the system itself (Yale fan), but don’t support it with patently unfounded attendance claims. I cringed watching on TV, the large percentage of empty seats last year, in each and every regional. Just pull up the box scores for the semis:

          Fort Wayne 4133 in a 10500 seat arena
          Albany 4073 in a 14236 seat arena
          Worschester 6572 in a 14800 seat arena (7230 with the curtains drawn)
          St. Paul 7281 in a 20554 seat arena…….

          These places would rather have the Smurfs on ice than the regioanls………there are attendance issues……Bridgeport will be jamming this year, but as for St. Louis, can’t see it…………

          • DU_Fan

            How about Green Bay, certainly not a hockey town. ND travels well so they should make up for Wisconsin not making it. I’m not sure, but have a feeling those attendance figures might be butts in the seats. I would imagine the actual ticket sales were higher. I really cannot imagine St. Paul not selling out well in advance with all the possible Minnesota teams being in. Since your figures are pretty meager compare to arena seeting availability, let’s just take attendance out of consideration when putting teams in Regionals.

          • Matto

            Bridgeport, Manchester and Green Bay should be fine for attendance.
            St. Louis will be a challenge, but would have been regardless. All things considered, they got a good selection of teams there (defending national champion and Michigan), so it’s about as good as could reasonably be hoped for.

          • Kyle

            I don’t know where you got your figures, but i was at the WCHA Final Five and heard the announcer say that the attendance for Saturdays game alone was 16,731 (http://wcha.com/men/tboxes11.php?mdenndk1.m19)… and some number over 40,000 for the tourney… And UND had 3/4 of the seats, I would imagine they will bring even more to that to Green Bay.

    • NH Fan

      This argument can be applied in every single regional. If the first round results fall in a certain manner you could have two teams from the same conference playing each other in all regional finals. East could be all ECAC. Northeast could be all HEA. And so on. No doubt North Dakota and Denver are great teams that just played each other. Them playing in the regional final is just as fair if Merrimack ends up playing UNH (just played in the HEA semis).

      • DU_Fan

        I agree totally! So let’s get rid of the “arguements” and put some actual rules into place. :-)

      • Rob

        If BC and Merrimack were in the same regional, then it would be the same.

        • never satisfied

          What difference does it make? You guys have no respect for Merrimack anyway so you’d probably be complaining about how easy BC got it.

          • DU_Fan

            I do respect Merrimack and would like to see them face BC in the Manchester Reional..

        • Matto

          Yale and Union (#1 and #2 regular season ECAC) are in the same regional.
          Last year, Michigan and Miami (CCHA tourney champion, and #1 overall seed) were in the same regional. Michigan was even shifted to be there, for attendance reasons.

          There is no real basis to the UND/Denver complaint, based on PairWise. Complain about using Pairwise if you will, but #2 and #7 are supposed to be in the same region, by default. And that’s where they are.

          • Paul

            I don’t think Rob was complaining, just stating the comparison that the previous poster was not accurate. NH Fan said UND and DU being in the same regional is just as fair as 2 teams that just played each other in the conference semi-finals being in the regional. UND and DU played each other their conference finals. It’s close, but not the same.

          • DU_Fan

            I never complained about DU/ND rematch. I simply stated that there should also be a possible BC/Merrimack matchup in Manchester or Bridgeport. Do the same 2/7 rules not apply to the 3/6 one????

          • Matto

            Manchester has nothing to do with 2/7 or 3/6 rules, but rather about host rules, and host rules take precedence.

          • DU_Fan

            What host rules?? What does host rules have to do with switching BC and Miami? Do you really know what you are talking about?

          • Matto

            OK, DU_Fan, I’ll go more slowly this time. Yes, of course I know what I’m talking about.

            UNH is the host team in Manchester, and UNH made the tournament. Therefore, they MUST play in Manchester. That’s the host rule, in short.

            Now, then, UNH is in as a 4-seed, and BC is a 1-seed. (4-seed being among teams 13-16, and BC being among teams 1-4). Teams can’t be switched out of their bands. Not my rule. So UNH can’t be flipped to the 3-seed in the region, they HAVE to be the 4 seed in Manchester.

            Finally, intra-conference matchups in the first rule are banned (unless the enforcement of other rules require it, as happened in 2008). So, UNH is the 4-seed in Manchester, and BC *cannot* be the 1-seed in Manchester. BC must be switched. There is no element of choice there. And, by definition, they have to be switched with *someone*. and that someone must also be a 1-seed. That someone CANNOT be Yale, as Yale is also a host, and therefore MUST play in Bridgeport.

            Therefore, the ONLY choices available are for BC to be switched with Miami, or to be switched with UND. For several reasons, switching with Miami makes much more sense.

            As for Merrimack, there is simply no good reason to move them. Retaining the 3-6 2nd round matchup is no reason to pull the 6 seed out of its local area.

            Put it another way: Let’s say that UNH switched places with Maine, in terms of PairWise. Maine would be switched with CC, thus setting up a potential CD-Merrimack final in Manchester.

          • After Further Review

            Well said, Matto… I think DU_Fan might just get it now.

    • Alecd521

      Not always true about the regionals selling out. I think much depends on the host team making the tourney. I’ve been in a half empty Times Union Center in Albany for a regional a few times, and in 2008 walked up the day of the regional and got 8th row seats right off center ice. But then I had to use stub hub for Bridgeport in ’09, as Yale made the tourney, so the place sold out quick. I didn’t make the same mistake this year and bought my tickets well in advance, which I’ll have to do again next year if Yale makes the tourney, as it’s back in Bridgeport again. All that said, I’m all for forgetting about attendance issues and the host schools. UNH shouldn’t be a 4 seed and then get to play close to home just because they’re the host. At least Yale is #1.

      • DU_Fan

        I am not opposed to having the Host team stay in their arena, nor opposed to schools with a predetermined radius also staying “home”. That would be part of the unbiased formula used for placing teams. When they held the West Regional in the Pepsi Center in 2007 followed by the FF in 2008 they did the following. In order to buy 2 tickets for the 2008 FF we had to buy 4 tickets for the 2007 Regionals. Do not buy into the Committee pleading poverty.

    • Joe C

      There was no uproar in Hockey East in 2009 when BU was in the same regional as UNH, with UNH being the “host”. BU beat UNH and went on the frozen four here in DC. I have the DVD and Ticket Stub to prove it.

      • DU_Fan

        Wrong, there was a huge uproar. These USCHO blogs were full of BU fans complaining they had to play UNH in their barn. They questioned why they didn’t get the #1 seed in Bridgeport.

        • Joe C

          Well, I cannot speak for those BU fans that posted in 2009. If they whined, then shame on them. Your team’s goal is to make the dance and then win four games. Of course, if your team won regular-season and playoff championship, you shnould not be getting on a plane because of a lowered seeded host. THen again, overcoming two-goal leads in the last minute is much more important than where the game is played.

          I do know that the BU fans here in DC that meet to watch the Beanpot and attended the Frozen Four never worried about Bridgeport versus Manchester. In the end, you hope your goaltender gets hot and that you get some lucky breaks on the ice. (By the way, the last few Beanpots, except for 2009, have not been as much fun).

          I have no problem with facing multiple schools from the same conference in the tournament. It just means that your conference did well, since you cannot face them in the first round.

          • DU_Fan

            I had a hard time reading their complaint from a logic standpoint, that’s why I remember it well. I wondered why they thought BU would have it easier facing a home #2 in Bridgeport rather than a home #4 in Manchester. Go figure..

          • Veteran Observer

            I don’t remember BU fans complaing about being in Manchester in 2009: It’s only an hour for Boston for starters. There certainly wasn’t a huge uproar–I know a lot of the biggest BU fans. Regardless, Ohio State was the No. 4 seed in that bracket; North Dakota/UNH was 2 vs. 3 there, and there was no guarantee that BU would even face UNH. That barely happened: UNH beat North Dakota in a terrific see-saw battle.

      • DU_Fan

        Most said they would rather play Yale in Bridgeport than UNH in Manchester.

    • sue

      rather, this helps DU and UND’s chances of not both getting knocked out before the FF.

    • Zimcity

      Denver is where they are supposed to be. The fact they may have to play North Dakota again is too bad. Perhaps they will play the whole game, like they did from the 3rd period on last night and beat the Sioux.

      Yes, not sure why they felt the need to swap the Michigan v. UNO and Merrimack v. Notre Dame match-ups other than travel concerns. Two more bus rides vs. plane rides. Attendance may be slightly better in St. Louis with UNO there, but clearly as others have said the issue is with UNH being a #4 seed host.

      • just play

        BC should of been the 1 seed in Manchester they have to change the format and have the HEA HOST THE NORTH EAST ECAC THE EAST WCHA AND CCHA OUT WEST .UNH gets to stay home every year which is unfair for the rest of the conference .UND got a good location but Miami gets punished because UNH is the host.

        • After Further Review

          The conferences do not always want the headaches of hosting. UNH does not host every year, if they did, they would have played in Manchester last year, not Albany. They have hosted 4 times in the 2000′s, but the same could be said for BU in Worcester throughout the 90′s. Anyways, it is a good opportunity for a “smaller” school to be a host, do whatever the NCAA wants them to do and make some money for the program. UNH does not have the funding that some of the larger schools have and are willing to work to make that money, that is the bottom line.
          Why would anybody choose to host, if their team might get sent somewhere else anyways? They still had to make the tournament, which is never a guarantee, or it wouldn’t mean anything. It is unfortunate that they dropped to a #4 seed, from the #3 they had been projected for a long time and BC had to go out west, but that is the way it goes. If BC had done enough to earn the #1 OVERALL seed, I think that there would have been a switch, somehow making UNH a #3 again and keeping BC in the northeast, but they didn’t.

          • Gravallese sucks

            Your logic here is flawed. BC did everything they could have done to ensure a top seed. Win the season with UNH, yes. Win the regular season, yes. Win the hockey east title, yes. What else would you have liked them to do? With a record of 30-7-1 and the #2 rpi ranking, they have the best record in college hockey and are the defending national champs, yet because a team @ 21-10-16 with a 16 ranking in the rpi is a “host” school they get screwed. #1 seeds should be placed in the closest location too their campuses regardless of the opponent. Higher seeded teams should not have to pay for the inability of lower seeded teams to finish off opposition.

          • Cyberump

            I totally agree,. teams should be seeded 1 thru 16 with 1 playing 16 2 playing 15, 3 playing 14 and SO on REGARDLESS! THEN the top 4 teams get placed closest to home. If it happens the top 2 teams are from the same league, then so be it, the lowest seed moves period! this is not rocket science!

          • Cyberump

            I just did the pairwise ranking as they SHOULD be and realized the committee DID do it the right way right down the line. 1 plays 16 2 plays 15 and so on brackets done correctly. SO the mistake they made was sending the WRONG team west. Sorry UNH, but you say you should be home because are hosting, but as far as I can see THAT and a buck should get you a hot cup of JACK SQUAT!!!

          • Cyberump

            As A BC fan, Let me say this. I have no objection to anyone hosting a regional and making some money for their school. But the way I see it,( and schools should be TOLD this right up FRONT) sure, you can host a regional any time you like, you just can’t PLAY in that regional unless you earn the right!!! BC beat UNH to take the regular season title and then WON the HOCKEY East title.AND BC has 30 thats THREE OH wins! I would say they did enough NO? UNH didn’t even make the HE finals. THE idea that “oh were hosting the regional so we get to play in it” is NONSENSE! BUT what gets me the most is how ANYONE has the nerve to suggest that with 30 wins BC didn’t do enough!! give me a big FAT break will ya?

          • After Further Review

            I think it sucks that BC has to travel. I have been cheering as hard as anybody while I have been in Denver and Detroit, amongst the other finals they have been in since ’98. I am just sick of the “UNH gets to play at home… blah, blah, blah…” They do the work as a school and it also wouldn’t be fair to the hosts to have to travel while all of their “people” are in Manchester doing all of the work and can’t even watch their team play. I wish they had stayed the #3 seed and they both could have stayed in Manchester. By qualifying for the tournament, they earned the right to play there.
            By the silly Pairwise, they didn’t do enough, I didn’t make the calculations, some NCAA geniuses did. Maybe 38-0 would have been enough. I am not a BC hater by any means (maybe Maine), but not BC.
            Easy on the CAPS kid, you’ll break that key!
            Maybe BC should put in to be the host in Worcester or even Boston? They could do the work and ensure they would stay home to play. This wasn’t meant as a shot against BC in any way, I am a Hockey East fan all the way (minus Maine) and I am sure I’ll be watching them while I am in St Paul!
            Good luck to the Eagles!

          • After Further Review

            I was more commenting on the fact that conferences don’t always want to host, UNH doesn’t host EVERY year (as suggested by just play), every school has the right to bid to host, but few actually do and that it’s no different than BU hosting every other year in Worcester for a very long time.

          • oldschool68

            Folks, pardon me for saying so, but you seem to think that this process is somehow about fairness. Rule #1,this is the NCAA (Need Cash, Again and Again). If you don’t get that, you’re probably thinking the BCS wil be replaced by a REAL football playoff format. We’re about to get Big Ten hockey (with 6 teams, I don’t get it either and I’m one of them!) and one more Automatic Bid. That leaves only 10 At Large bids.
            The NCAA would LOVE to see a 32 team field. Why?? See Rule #1.
            Host team guaranteed “home” ice, see Rule#1
            Pairwise Ranking system, see Rule #1.
            Because of a business transfer, I found myself at the Boston GAAHDEN watching the HE playoffs this year (I was the guy in the “maroon and gold” jersey that just didn’t look quite right to the BC folks). Met up with a UNH guy I got to know back in Buffalo about a decade ago (brother, you gotta love this sport!) and we commiserated about how “big” home ice will screw you up in the playoffs (I’d go there, but this is getting too long all ready), how the refs bring their own tea now and still get it wrong (he was an ECAC ref in the 70′s and early 80′s and (sorry, buddy) WAY too opinionated on that subject), and how the whole East vs West thing was getting back to the 70′s level (for those of you who weren’t there, the movie “Miracle” kinda gets the sense of it). Mostly though, he was convinced that, even though UNH had dropped to a top “Four Seed”, the NCAA would move them up to the bottom “Three Seed” to avoid punishing BC (take a hard look at the DIRECT PWR comparison between UNO and UNH before you blow this one off). My only comment is “See Rule #1″. The NCAA wants the controversy, wants the big news story and wants NCAA hockey to get bigger, not for the good of the game, but for increased revenue.
            I try to keep my postings short, but, one more comment. As one of the few WCHA guys (appartently) who has seen Merrimac play this year, I would like to respond to the folks who said “Who ever heard of Merrimac …
            I can’t speak for the talent of the ECAC, but I’ve had the pleasure of seeing every other team in the tournament this year (thanks for the travel schedule, boss). Merrimac scares the heck out of me (sorry, UND, DU and BC, but we ALL know who’s coming out of the tunnel when we play you). They’re big, play aggressive center ice “D”, and transition as fast as anyone I’ve seen all year. Bring your mouthguard, ND, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

          • After Further Review

            I think everybody knows it’s all about $$$ for the NCAA, that’s why I had great lower level seats in Detroit last year. Problem was, when the puck went over center ice, I had to watch the big screen because I couldn’t see the other end of the ice. But, it was a huge pay day for the NCAA and 37,000+ were dumb enough to go witness it.

          • catsonskates

            The NCAA only let them expand to 16 when the total # of teams reached 60 (we’ve lost a couple since). Hard to imagine that there will ever be enough D1 hockey schools to get to a 32-team field. As for only having 10 at-large bids, I believe that this is the first year that we’ve had more than 10. I agree that Merrimack is tough to play against. I’d imagine that Notre Dame has called up to Orono for tape of Maine’s weekend sweep of the Warriors last month. Just curious: has anyone noticed that BC hasn’t had to travel since 2000? Might be a factor in their recent success…

      • DU_Fan

        Zim, I do not mind the possibility of DU facing UND again. Win or lose, if it was as good as last night’s game the fans are in for a treat. My concern is that the committee is not straight enough to put BC and Merrimack in the same Regional. I do not have a problem with UNH being a #4 host. There have been other occassions where #2 or #3 have been hosts. Remember last year where #4 RIT was basically the host when we played them in Albany.

      • Matto

        Merrimack helps Manchester attendance. Especially if, as is very likely, the regional final ends up being Merrimack vs. Miami.

        The switch has virtually no impact on St. Louis, and may even help it (more convenient to fans of both teams being shifted there).

    • BC OWNS UND

      Your the only one complaining BC will go any where and never complain they just win check the facts.Merrimack might play UNH if they win the 1st game so whats the problem.WCHA FANS especially the Crying Sioux are never happy .Complain when they went to Manchester and choked lost to YALE lol last year complained again you got sent East .Now you get to play West and the big moaning and groaning has begun from the Mighty WCHA UND and DU fans.You have no facts to back up the bias claim because unless your team got a free pass to the final you will never be happy.BC went to Denver and made your Defense look like turnstyles .OH i forgot that was early in the year and Denver is better now .Well I got some news for you BC is alot better too and personally wished Merrimack played DU because it would be the same outcome as the BC games.UNO is a joke and would be in the cellar if they played in the HEA .The WCHA is loaded with B players on B teams.

    • ND always

      Totally agree… As far as I am concerned, the #1 and #2 teams in the country are in the same regional (UND & DU)

      • BobW

        Why do MidWest and Western fans always think they have the best teams. BC has OWNED the NCAAs for the past 10 years and should be considered the favorite/best team and should repeat as national champions. But the games must be played. There is no way that BC should have been kicked out West as they were the number 3 team and Miami was the number 4 team. ND and Merrimack could then have been swapped as well. Even though Merrimack is closer to Manchester than BC, I believe BC would have been a bigger draw as Merrimack is the smallest school playing DI hockey.

        • DU_Fan

          BC has “owned the NCAA’s for the past 12 years?? Suggest you look at http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Ice_Hockey_Tournament_champions and get someone to read it for you. If Selection Committee had any guts they would have put Merrimack and BC in some bracket, either Manchester or Bridgeport. Since whole idea, supposedly, it to place 1/8,2/7/3/6,4/5 in brackets it makes no sense not to pair them together. I could care less that DU/ND are paired together as 2/7, you need to win out anyway, but why this was not done to BC (3) and Merrimack (6) is beyond belief.

      • Cyberump

        wow a pretty bold statement considering NO league but Hockey east has won a national championship since 2007,, I think BC and the other HE teams may have something to say about who is the best team in the country. And OH yeah there IS that team from Yale!!!! They might say different as well.

      • Wbarry

        BC # 1 AND MIAMI # 2

        • stud

          Ya BC is the first #1 out haha got WORKED by the 6th best team in WCHA…WCHA is stacked best conference in D1 hockey no doubt

      • hiockeyfan

        you guys are dreaming DU one of top two?? BC could beat them blindfolded

        • WCHA

          You can say BC is a top team but to say ND and DU arent is unreal going by what RPI says about strength od schedule you would have to consider ND and DU at the top, the WCHA has plenty of tough teams that beat up on eachother during the regular season unlike a Yale who may play one decent team a month.

          • Tdzro

            The WCHA is so overrated. Evidence, UNO moves into the WCHA and finishes 3rd, but couldn’t crack the Top 4 or 5 in the CCHA. Denver plays BC and gets crushed twice. UND loses twice to MAINE! Sounds like another year where the WCHA does not live up to the hype.

          • Ryan Nieters

            UNO was top rated all year and as far better now than in the CCHA. And UND lossing to Maine, was that the first games of the year, and where is Maine now? I also remebering BC getting handled at the Ralph last year. look and the wins and losses when the WCHA and CCHA meet, youll have your answer T-nits

          • oops

            Where is Maine now? Not in the tournament. UND lost twice to a non-tournament team. Did you intend to highlight that fact?

          • Bceagle89

            BC = National Champs lest you forget.

          • Todd

            The teams in the wcha are just the best in the nation this year. you know it too

          • stud

            Hey Tdzro sure looks like the WCHA is over rated when UMD beat Union and UNO is up 2-0 to Michigan…and UMD had a ton of penalities first the best power play they went what 0 for ten yupp not over rated buddy

        • Ridingtimes

          BC best worry about the game at hand first…Yes they will probably win..but CC is not a cake walk..ASK DU..ND…Even Michigan they gave them fits and CC is playing better now then they have all season.

        • Sioux_Rube

          I have to agree with you, I believe Miami, BC, and UND are the best teams in the country and saying DU is above or next to them is ludicrous.

        • Sioux Fan

          Wow, How terrible is Hockey East? Nice showing BC and Merrimack. The selection committe could have left out both Merrimack and Union and selected a couple more WCHA teams. At least then we could have seen contenders and not pretenders……

      • Garbagegoal

        really du number2 remember this team lost to michigan tech

        • DU_Fan

          Nice to criticize when you don’t have the guts to tell everyone your team…. Man, or woman, up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          • really tiresome

            What team a person cheers for is irrelevant. Why do you need to know? So you can launch some ad hominem attack on the poster based on who they cheer for? You WCHA guys will do anything to avoid real discussion. You should go set up your own board somewhere else.

          • DU_Fan

            People, like you, that are afraid to state who they root for are simply cowards. It is totally relevant and proves they not willing to take the heat. I guess it is fair to “launch an ad hominem attack” with no fear of reprisal. I have no issue with anyone “nailing me” when they at least state who their team is. I grew up watching Army hockey and saw many eastern league games so I know every league has good and bad. I have never said “BC or BU lost to XX” so they don’t deserve their ranking, any team can have bad games and get beat by teams on the bottom. Don’t lecture me you moron!!!

          • really tiresome

            Yawn. So if I said I was a fan of say, Canisius, you would attack me and my team and discard anything I said about Denver? You’re the moron if you believe that.

            And saying that Denver lost to Michigan Tech is not an ad hominem attack. Do you know what that term even means? It might not be terribly relevant to Denver’s current odds in the tournament but it is a fact nonetheless. In fact, it helps explain Denver’s spot in the Pairwise although changing that result alone would not improve Denver’s seventh seed.

          • B.D.

            Who a person cheers for is irrelevant? Only if you are the type from the east coast who sits politely and applauds goals as if they were at an opera….

          • really tiresome

            You get stupider every day. Yes, if I want to talk about Team A, whether I cheer for Team B, C, X, Y, or Z is entirely irrelevant. Now go away.

          • Littlered007

            I’ll be upfront im a Sioux fan and always will be…! With this said i would much rather watch a WCHA game then any other conference in college. I enjoy the hitting, checking, and playing the body. I think were the dicussion comes into play is in the Ref’s…… Things are called much different from Hockey East, CCHA to the WCHA. It seems that the hard hitting is called more in the NCAA tourny! Some ppl may say WCHA has dirty players but when that is what you do to win games all year it becomes part of the game and not a 2min deal… I see more 5 on 3′s in the NCAA’s then i do all year watching WCHA play!

            With all this said, there are 5 teams in my opinion only have a shot at winning and they are all in the same side of the bracket…..BC,CC, Neb,DU and UND.

            I don;t see YALE stopping 35 shots a game, Maimi only has 2 really solid lines on both sides of the ice. who the hell is Union (LOL)…

            I think the best game of the weekend to watch is going to be UND and DU.. as they just met eachother a week ago in a great center ice battle!

            BC will beat CC on friday and have there hands full with Neb, who will win this tourny in 5 years or less….and if you no anything about the coach and what he has done you will agree!

            Another good game to tune into will be the New Hampshire-Miami game, I think this is going to be a run and gun game…! Just have the feeling each team will score around the 5ish range.

            As far as Michigan…I hate that state!

            Hope to be cheering against you soon!!!

    • BU_HE_Fan

      Hey, DU Fanboy, love your “unbiased” diatribe. The selection process worked just fine. They have hard and fast rules – you just don’t like them. Hockey East teams have played each other in regional finals quite a few times the past few years since the NCAA went to 16 teams. The WCHA whining is pathetic. If Denver had taken care of business down the stretch and NOT lost 4 of 7 to some weak sisters who did not make the NCAAs, then they would have had a higher seed. Plus Denver lost twice badly at home to BC.

      If anyone should be screaming, its BC (I’m a BU fan so no love lost there). So long as hosting is part of what it takes to fund the NCAA regionals (and it isn’t going away anytime soon so long as money is tight for college hockey), we will always have situations like UNH. But then again, UNH has not been to a FF in quite a while so hosting has not helped them the way hosting helped Michigan playing at Yost.

      • Matto

        Excellent post.

        I’ll note, also, a comment that DU_Fan made regarding attendance: “I am tired of hearing about the “attendance factor”. Anyone that has purchased tickets for Regionals or Frozen Four, know that except for a minor amount of seats reserved to visiting teams, know they are sold out 6 months to a year prior.”

        Really??? Does anyone believe that? The official attendance figures from 2010 seem to differ; frankly, they were mostly dreadful for the regionals. Not a single regional game filled even half the seats in the venue where it was played. Not even the games in St. Paul (7,000 announced attendance in an 18,000 seat arena).

        Yes, there were big crowds for the semis and finals, but those games were nowhere close to sold out, either (granted, they played ‘em in a football stadium, but still…).

        Attendance is a *huge* factor for the regionals, and for hosts.

        • DU_Fan

          These dreadful attendance figures were attained AFTER the committee adjusted the teams to get more people in the seats. This is not working, no fan boost. This could not get worse, even according to your post, so lets just put Host teams and those close to the sites and go strictly by ranking. I could care less which system they use, PWR of KRACH, but let’s eliminate attendance as a mojor factor. This is the ONLY FAIR and UNBIASED way to send teams to the regionals.

          • Matto

            DU_Fan: After challenging me wrt knowing what I was talking about, it would have been a refreshing change to see you acknowledge that you had no clue at all when it came to the attendance figures.

            You are correct to the extent that the dreadful attendance was AFTER teams were adjusted (Yale and Michigan, in particular) to boost attendance. But you are absolutely incorrect when you assert, “no fan boost.” Of course there was. Yale didn’t have a huge turnout in Worcester, but it was still far more than it would have been in Fort Wayne (the band, alone, was probably more than they would have had in Fort Wayne). And Michigan had many more people in Fort Wayne than they would have had in Worcester. That is, YES, it could — and would — have been worse had those teams not been switched.

            Your “solution” would be a money disaster, and yes, it does matter. Far more than any notion you might have of competitive fairness. The NCAA objective is to run a tournament that self-sustains and crown a champion. It is not, necessarily, to guarantee any particular “fair” setup along the way. And, to be sure, I have no love for the NCAA, nor all of its scheduling rules here, but the logic is fairly plain.

          • After Further Review

            Well said, Matto and BU_HE_Fan… good posts.
            To the BU fan, hopefully… sooner or later, before I die UNH gets back there… and maybe even wins! It has been since 2003 since they have been to the finals and lost to Minnesota.

          • DU_Fan

            Please do not confuse ticket sales with people in the seats. I totally understand your point but you cannot force fans that have no rooting interest to use their tickets. Most people that blog here are fans that will attend games just to see good college hockey, I attended every session at the Pepsi Center for the Regionals and the Frozen Four, but there were plenty of empty seats at the Regionals with Air Force being the only local entry. The ticket offices listed the games as “Sold Out” but seats were available outside the arena. As a matter of fact you could get tickets for a song after Air Force was beaten. THe Frozen Four was pretty much packed for all games. My point is that this cannot be fixed, am I too “pie in the sky” to want an unbiased selection. On my post I still said that Host teams and those within a certain radius would be exempted.

        • DU_Fan

          To further explain, Matto. Teams A,B,C.D are in a regional and teams A and B play Friday afternoon. Even though almost all the tickets are sold, the odds are that the fans from C and D will not attend. Likewise for a night game between C and D, fans from A and B might not attend even though they have tickets. Pure college hockey fans would likely attend both sessions but they are a rare breed. It gets much worse after 2 teams are eliminated, those fans scatter into the wind and go home. There is nothing that can be done about this, it has always been this way. The NCAA sells a lot more tickets than fans in the seats but it looks bad on TV.

          • Matto

            “To further explain”??? LOL.

            You don’t know what you’re talking about, and rather than learning from those who do (and I’m hardly the only one), you insist on parading your cluelessness like it’s a badge.

            Here’s a clue for ‘ya: The first round game attendance is for THE ENTIRE DAY. Both games. They don’t announce one attendance for game 1, and then a different one for game 2 (how would that work, anyway? They have no way to know.) So your “explanation” makes no sense at all.

            Every single first round game last year, AND every single 2nd round game last year, played to an arena that had more empty seats than filled seats. And I hate to tell ‘ya: announced attendance is the tickets sold, not the fannies in seats. Unless you really, truly believe there were 37,000 paid customers in seats at Ford Field last year.

            Please, already: Give it up.

      • DU_Fan

        What hard and fast rules, BU-Idiot?? I stated I had no problem with DU/UND facing each other, are you that illiterate?? Their hard and fast rules have 3/6 pairing. What does hosting have to do with moving BC and Miami to stick by their standards? That has nothing to do with UNH hosting in Manchester.

        • Matto

          3/6 in the same region is NOT a hard and fast rule. It’s secondary to other rules, which is why they had to move BC. Your name calling makes you look bad, especially in light of your insistent clueless responses, even having had the rules and their precedence order explained to you.

    • Duluth06ChE

      This is the most ignorant comment I have ever read. The selection committee may not have “hard and fast” rules, but they have guidlines which the followed TO THE LETTER to create this bracket. In order to avoid a potential DU and UND matchup in the regional they would have had to BROKEN the rules to avoid it!

      Also notice how I say potential matchup. There is no guarantee your little pioneers even make it past W Michigan. Infact, I don’t think they will.

      We as WCHA fans needs to stop whining about how unfair it is that we get put into the same regions. The fact of the matter is WHCA is no longer the premiere college hockey league. Outside of UND, there is no team you could pick out of the WCHA that would easily run the table in any other conference tournament (besides Atlantic Hockey, they suck). DU the #2 team in the nation? Is your name Homer?

  • Marine3045

    Northeast looks like a death bracket whereas UND might have the easiest run to the FF. I think Bridgeport has the possibility for the most surprises.

    • Karl Largen

      UND has the easiest run to the FF, because DU is a push over this year. Yeah, about that…

      • alilwittiness

        Um, for those of us that know hockey, traditionally UND is Notre Dame, ND is North Dakota. So chill.

        • union hahaha

          alilwittiness….youre clearly wrong. our guest referred to the Northeast regional as a death bracket.. Notre Dame is in that one. It would make no sense for him then to refer to that same team as making an easy run. In the hockey world, North Dakota IS referred to as “UND”. Just because North Dakota is referred to as ND on the pairwise grid, doesnt mean people actually use it. And if you even used that, Notre Dame’s reference is “Nt”. Wise up pal

        • Rob

          You could not be more wrong.

      • DU_Fan

        Hey Karl, time to go back to school.. pushover is one word. Direct reflection on the quality of your post.

        • just go away

          Being a member of the grammar and spelling police tells me all I need to know about you, you whiner.

        • Karl Largen

          You didn’t get the hint of sarcasm in that post?

  • The Edgar Kid

    Why wouldn’t switching Denver and Notre Dame have made sense? That would have kept two WCHA teams (Denver and North Dakota) from another battle royale and would have put a WCHA team in the regional now without a WCHA team. The inevitability of two conference teams in the same region when five teams from a region qualifies would still have been preserved with Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College in St Louis.

    The EdgarKid (and with no brief for any of the teams involved).

    • DU_Fan

      Because they don’t want a repeat of 2005!!!!!!!!

      • boo hoo

        Yeah, it’s all a conspiracy against the WCHA. I think your tinfoil hat is on too tight. Ask your mom to adjust it for you.

        • DU_Fan

          Not a conspiracy, idiot, just a fact. Let’s take all the argueing away and set some hard and fast rules so every team knows where they will be going.

          • WCHAFAN

            They are just against an all WCHA frozen four.

          • Christopher Burns

            but at the same time it being in St. Paul would probably give it some of the best attendance numbers seen for a frozen four.

          • Djwor

            It’s a fact that they don’t want a repeat of 2005? You obviously don’t know what the word “fact” means.

          • Matto

            No, it’s just silliness. There’s no such rule. Had the bands worked out that way, there would have been WCHA teams in each region. Just like in 2008, when WCHA teams went a sterling 1-4 against non-WCHA teams in the tournament.

      • Matto

        No, it’s because ND is a 3-band, and Denver is a 2-band, so they *can’t* make that switch.

        And, for the conspiracy folks… WCHA had teams in each region in 2008, and CCHA had teams in each region in 2009.

    • Hockey God

      The commitee will never again have a WCHA team in every regional, out of fear of an all WCHA FF again.

      • Matto

        Yeah, because, like, 2008 didn’t happen.

  • guest

    Jerry York was right, conferences should host the regionals, not specific teams. That being said, teams do need to be sent out of their region, if only to make the game more appealing nationwide. I hate that BC is traveling, but can now choose whether I want to see Merrimack or Yale play next weekend.

    • Joe C

      As a BU alum, I completely agree with Jerry York about conferences hosting the regionals. Of course teams should travel, but it should be the 4th seed that travels, not a 1st seed. The top four seeds should be placed as close to home as possible, and then tweak second seeds, then thirds and finally fourths for travel/attendance issues.

      BC dominated everyone in Hockey East this season (except for Merrimack) and won the Hockey East Tournament. And yet, they fly out west while UNH takes a bus ride to Manchester. The underlying system is flawed, considering just how long Manchester has been the Northeast Regional site and how much longer it will be the site. I am fine with it being the site, but why is UNH the host year after year after year.

      Hypothetically, if Northeast Regional was in Portland (with Maine as host), in Worcester (with Holy Cross as host) or Providence (with Providence or Brown as host), UNH is on a plane for being a fourth seed. I understand that Manchester has had a great gate, but that is NOT due to the wonderful work of UNH. It is due to the proximity of all the Hockey East and ECAC fans that fill the building.

      Better yet, Hockey East should be the host and the highest Hockey East seed should be placed in Manchester.

      • Theohawk4

        Your exactly right… There is no reason for UNH being in Manchester…

        It is a joke actually… BC earned the right to stay home not UNH.

        Agree that there are 4 regional a conference should host one and their champion gets to stay there…only fair way…

        Why should Miami and BC get shipped out of their region because of a host that does not deserve to play where they are…

  • Bronco12

    I think Miami got somewhat shafted. They’re a #1 seed in their regional, and yet they’re playing UNH basically at home. So, get rid of the “host” teams and I think you have a decent system.

    • Joe C

      Miami got moved because BC got moved. BC got moved because UNH is the host. It would have been better (though against current rules) that UNH moved to Miami’s “proposed” regional in Green Bay. Miami, North Dakota, Yale and Boston College would be close to their home schools and UNH would be on the road because it is a fourth seed.

    • Matto

      Miami beat UNH at Manchester in the first round in 2007. It’s not *that* big a deal.

      • After Further Review

        UNH has not played well in Manchester, with maybe the exceprion of beating UND in ’09, ever… so their “home” ice doesn’t mean much.

  • Jim

    Lets go BC, lets win four straight out west

  • Boonetown

    DU and UND in the same regional kind of sucks. It’ll be a hell of a game though, provided they both win their first games.

    I’m just happy BC has to fly to St. Louis. First time in over 10 years they’ll travel outside of the Northeast for an NCAA regional. It’s about time.

    • guest

      BC with the exception of 2006 has always been a one or a two and more often than not, were the biggest name draw in their region. The fact is that BC fans never travel well, but they will fill up an arena in New England.

      • Joe C

        I think they failed to qualify for the tournament in 2009. Just a guess here from a BU alum. I just hope BC loses a game in the tournament this year. It is tough losing Beanpots and not making the tournament while Newton College keeps winning.

  • Dittoheadadt

    Simply put, any system that sends the nationally-ranked #2 and Hockey East regular season AND tournament champ packing and keeps within 30 miles of home a team that lost in the SAME conference’s tournament semis (and was swept by the conference champ in the last weekend of the season when all they needed was one win, btw), is an asinine, broken system. Like many have said, the conference should be the host, not any particular team. BC would be just as big a draw in Manchester as UNH would be…with the added benefit of fans knowing they’d actually see the local team win. BC won their regular season crown, their conference tournament crown, is #2 in the country, and is 22-2-1 in their last 25 games. What did UNH do? Had good geography.

    Brilliant work, FF “braintrust.”

    (Maybe they figured BC alum are more successful than UNH alum and thus are able to travel farther to follow their team?)

  • Racketology

    If you went by KRACH and ignored first-round intraconference matchup concerns:

    Green Bay
    —————
    #1 UND vs. #16 Air Force
    #8 Merrimack vs. #9 Notre Dame

    Manchester
    —————
    #4 Denver vs. #13 Colorado College
    #5 Miami vs. #12 UNH

    St. Louis
    —————-
    #2 BC vs. #15 Minnesota
    #7 Duluth vs. #10 Union

    Bridgeport
    —————-
    #3 Yale vs. #14 Western Michigan
    #6 Michigan vs. #17 Nebraska-Omaha

    I like this bracket much better than the real one.

    • my two cents

      They would never go with straight KRACH. I could see replacing RPI (the number, not the school) with KRACH within the same Pairwise framework. Taking away common opponents just encourages schools to schedule fewer meaningful non-conference games. It’s bad enough as it is with some teams refusing to travel. The worst category is TUC.

      • pairwiseblows

        why can’t the ncaa tell teams to travel, they micromanage their logos already?

    • After Further Review

      But then DU couldn’t play CC in a first round game, so there would be more switching…

  • gopherfan

    I think we can all agree that it’s nice for all of us to be able to predict who will make the tournament and where they’ll go. That doesn’t mean the system works, because BC earned the right to stay home. Here’s how to fix it: First, implement KRACH because we all know that it is a much better system. Continue with tourney autobids, and then fill the rest of the teams based on KRACH, seeding with 1/8/9/16, 2/7/10/15, etc. Next, have conferences, not schools, host the regionals. Finally, put the top seeds in the regions closest to their home schools, and move everyone else accordingly. Top seeds earned the right to stay close to home, and if conferences are hosting, teams like UNH fly and BC stays home.

    • Matto

      Disagree re Krach.

      Look at Krach as a predictor, the last few years. It’s not pretty.

      It’s very useful, only if your intent is to put 6 or more WCHA teams in he tournament.

      • Flyund

        Sounds like Matto’s from out east.

        • Matto

          Yes, and I’d rather have RPI in this tournament than Minnesota. Sue me.
          I live in CCHA-country now, anyway.

          I don’t mind if the finals end up dominated by one conference — though in recent years, that has been much more likely to be a Hockey East doing than WCHA.

    • curmudgeon

      Idealism, meet logistics.

      Do you have any idea how much advance planning it takes to reserve a rink and to line up all the people who will work there on a specific day?

      • curmudgeon

        this is goofy, replying to myself. I get the idea now. The VENUE is fixed in advance, except a conference is designated as the host at that venue, rather than one school being designated as the host at that venue.

        I wonder how much better / worse this would be in getting the people needed to run the show. Would it have to switch from volunteer to paid?

    • DU_Fan

      Not such a good idea to have conferences host. Suppose HE, CCHA and WCHA all host, does that mean every team in each conference stays home. Much more complicated than having one team be designated host.

  • Rob

    The bracket turned out as planned according to the Pairwise, so not a surprise. I’m really not even sure why we need a committee. Let’s just let a computer do everything. Seedings, assigning regionals, game times, etc. Maybe IBM can donate some time of its Watson computer. Regarding the Pairwise, it has some major flaws which reward the top teams in weak conferences (i.e. ECAC) as strength of schedule is not used at all. Yes, winning percentage against TUCs is used, but when some schools play twice as many games against TUCs compared to other schools, the winning percentage should not be given the weight that it gets. Also, games against common opponents is not an accurate measurement because each team doesn’t play the “in common” team the same amount of times. For example, Team A could dominate Team C by winning 4 out of 5 games during the course of the season and conference tournament while Team B beats Team C in 1 game during a holiday tournament. Team B would get an extra Pairwise point when compared to Team A. That isn’t logical. So again, not an accurate measurement. It’s likely the haters will attack my post with their venom, but I ask you to consider this objectively and logically.

    • DU_Fan

      The brackets DID NOT go according to Pairwise, that is the problem!!!!!!!!!

      • collegehockeyfan

        Pairwise determined which teams get in, thats about it

        • Rob

          The Pairwise is the start of the problem and thus the most important one to fix. DU_Fan is upset because DU is going to Green Bay and may face UND again. I’m a UND fan and don’t like it either. However, going by the 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, etc. methodology, Denver (by being a #7 Pairwise ranking) and UND (a #2 Pairwise ranking) ended up in the same regional. I haven’t studied every regional, but know there were some adjustments made for host teams, which is ridiculous, but the main problem in the Pairwise. Personlly, I think Denver is better than a #7 which would put them in a different regional than UND. I don’t want to get into an argument about who is going where and why; the focus needs to go to fixing the Pairwise. It is not an accurate measurement of quality teams.

          • DU_Fan

            I am not upset the DU/UND might meet in a regional. As a 2/7 pairing this is totally fair. What I am not pleased with, is the selection committee did not follow their own “rules”. There is not one person on this entire blog that has addressed why BC/Merrimack are not paired together as a 3/6 matchup. That is why we need to set firm regulations on where, and how, teams are sent to Regionals. Since Jason Moy got it “CORRECT” maybe he can tell us the logic behind this.

          • Matto

            It has been addressed many times, including in Jason Moy’s column. BC is being moved because the current rules require it, as they cannot play New Hampshire in the first round (at least, not with this arrangement of overall tournament teams). Because of this, BC has to be moved. Merrimack, however, does NOT need to be moved, and so they stay close to home. Merrimack playing close to home is more important than retaining a 3/6 matchup in St. Louis.

      • blah

        They went according to the rules (hosts, intraconference). This was the least objectionable bracket in years. Give up already.

        • After Further Review

          Agreed.

  • Paul Mcnamara

    some good comments…absolutely would like to see number one seeds not having to face conference rivals in next game if possible…conferences should have opportunity to get as many teams to a Frozen as possible without having to beat up on each other;

    host team getting to stay home should only be in effect if you are a one or a two seed (maybe even just a “1″) IF AT ALL! This year UNH being forced to be in Manch completely throws out creativity, common sense and being able to put together the best laid out match ups. someone said the committee’s work was done in 5 minutes was probably in o n the “over” on this one, it probably took them 30 seconds…no effort at all except presing the “print” button on the computer…

    If you earn a “1″ seed, you should stay in your “hemisphere” as a number one, as long as “geography” lays it out among the top 4 pairwise, like it does this year – meaning Yale and BC are 1 seeds in the Northeast/east, and NoDak and Miami are 1 seeds in GB/StL regionals, to get the process started…

    …go from there, making sure they do not play, if possible, a team from their same lg in next game…obviously this is not perfect, but do the best you can, especially eliminating a “favored” (higher seeded) in-first-game team…(so NoDak should be kept away from Denver, but might have to face CC, for example, if CC pulls first round upset…)

    As many 1′s and 2′s stay in hemisphere – (helping attendance) and travelers start with all 4 #4-seeds and work their way up (obviously, again, not a perfect cookie-cutter system considering this years 4 #3 seeds are all from “west” hemisphere…)

    Using these guidelines, we can look at a) a tweaking of this year’s committe brackets, and a “start-from-scratch” version…

    Tweak…at Manchester we switch in Duluth to replace Notre Dame…still has Miami a #1 seed traveler, but have to abide by UNH being allowed, as a #4 seed, to have a home game and home crowd…absurd system requirement…

    at Bridgeport, Denver comes in to replace Union, and Notre Dame replaces Duluth;

    at Green Bay, union has swapped in here for DU

    at StL…nothing changes under present rules.

    many changes needed, many more than those mere tweaks under present rules.

    If no rules, take the 16 and do this…

    All 4 #1′s stay in hemisphere, NoDak at Green Bay, Miami at StLoo, BC at Bridgeport and Yale at Manchester…(no team should have a home game, not UNH in Manchester, not Yale in Bridgeport…)

    Manchester: Yale vs Colo College and Merrimack vs Notre Dame (there is a familiar match up!)

    Bridgeport; BC vs Air Force and Union vs Neb/Omaha

    Green Bay: NoDak vs RPI and Michigan vs Duluth

    StL: Miami vs UNH and Denver vs Western Mich.

    The bands have been kept intact; the attendance has incentive; the 2nd round league matchups are minimized, especially in “scope;” Teams are REWARDED for being the best, and made to travel for just making the 16; and Yale is not THAT much better than NoDak and BC or even Miami that they automatically “deserve” Bridgeport and “deserve” the 16 seed…

    This would be a really fun tournament, and conforms to the rules, as far as I know.

    • Matto

      There is lttle reason for Yale to play host if they don’t get to play there upon making the tournament. It’s not worth doing. That’s just an example, but the tourney will lose hosts if they don’t allow the host teams to play in their own hosted event.

      I don’t mind Jerry York’s idea, but it would still be Yale in Bridgeport.

      • collegepuckfan

        Do not believe you can run the best 16-team tournament poossible with the current restrictions of the “hosting” rules…would Yale rather be a host, or would they rather be in the tournament and take their chances on location if they make the tournament?

        They can do both, but the two should not be connected, given there are only 16 qualifiers in this universe… and guaranteeing Yale (or UNH, or Wisconsin, or a Minnesota team or a Boston school) their location, regardless of finish in the almighty Pairwise, throws off true “committee” work in putting together the very best match ups.

        just my opinion…

        • After Further Review

          I agree, it is a rule that probably should be changed. The problem I see is even less teams will be willing to host if their team may be shipped somewhere else… of course they have to make the tournament first. But why would a team and a lot of volunteers want to work a regional and not be able to see their team? This would mean more work for the poor old NCAA and they don’t like more work, so they depend on the hosts too much. Unfortunately, they don’t run themselves and the NCAA has too much else going on and doesn’t want the work… but in all fairness, I agree with you.

        • Matto

          I think it’s easy to try to view the hockey tourney as if it’s essentially just a smaller version of the basketball tourney… but it’s not. I think it’s a pretty big deal to the hosts, who presumably are shelling out substantial resources, to be able to get their team. I’m guessing it’s a *very* big deal to the city of Bridgeport, regardless of what Yale would rather do. In short, if they can’t have their team for the regional (assuming the team qualifies), it may not be worth it to them to be involved. That Yale is hosting *again* next year — 3rd time in 4 years — may indicate that the competition for regional hosting isn’t all that stiff.

          The money in the hockey tourney isn’t so large that they can really afford to substantially de-value being host, which is what would happen if the host could be shipped elsewhere. Having the absolute “best” matchups isn’t quite as important as getting the tournament to be a success — and rewarding hosts who qualify is, I believe, more important to the success of the tournament, than having the exact matchups that fans might prefer.

          The problem, as I see it, is when the host qualifies but gets a low seed. Then, on the chance that the higher seed is from the same conference, that team — by the current rules — has to move. That’s what is forcing BC to St. Louis (and, cascading down, is what is forcing Miami to play in Manchester), and that’s where I’d target the change.

          • curmudgeon

            It sounds like they may run the men’s hockey tournament like the women’s division I basketball tournament. The top seeds generally have home games in the first round, both for attendance and for people to work at them.

            It is a compromise between ideals and money; though not a complete sell out as the subsequent rounds are at more ‘neutral’ sites.

  • Alan

    wouldn’t it be great fun if both North Dakota and Denver got beat and BU got busted too…and Yale and Union faced off eastern title…then you WCHA whiners would really have something to whine about…go underdogs!!

    • Joe C

      I would be very surprised to see BU show up in the tournament at this point. :)

      Although I would not be sad to see BC lose a game in the tournament. Any round will do for me. But hopefully someone will take care of BC before Miami plays them, because Miami in the tournament against Boston schools….

    • Go Sioux

      Who’s Union?

    • Lilwright6

      Union is from the ECAC so is RPI who will knock off North Dakota

      • http://twitter.com/topherbaron Topher Baron

        No Dak is firing on all cylinders right now…they will not lose that first game, hands down. It could be a 6-0 type game

  • soSIOUXme

    OK let’s have some fun.
    What’s your upset pick in round 1?
    (As much as I’d like to take AF over Yale or CC over BC I’ll take UNO oer Michigan)
    &
    What region will supply the champion?
    (I’ll take Midwest @ GreenBay)

    • Paul

      soSiouxme, it’s mis-use of the Sioux word as in your name that causes a rift between supporters and opponents of the use of Fighting Sioux. Not only that, its a little childish. I’m alum of UND and support the use of Fighting Sioux, but in a respectful and intended way. Go Sioux!

      • SOsueMe(is this better?)

        You couldn’t be more correct about being respectful to a good name, odd though no mention of the people themselves, just the name … “word” you called it. In the eyes of the NCAA you & I are kindred folk; not just both UND alums but we both use the name Sioux as we see fit, when neither of us should. So as you admonish me for being childish, I would encourage you not to throw stones as you stand in the same glass house; in other words, check the mirror. Let’s remember our beef on the subject is not with each other, it is with the NCAA. We’ve already got wide support from the Sioux people themselves. If only the NCAA would recognize that fact.

    • Upset

      Union over UMD would be my upset pick.

      • Upset

        Now that I think about it, Union is the higher seed, so technically it’s not an upset… but for most folks, an ECAC team knocking out a WCHA team would be. So I’m sticking with it.

      • Paul

        Huh, help me understand how that would be an upset. A 2 beating a 3 isn’t considered an upset.

    • Lilwright6

      RPI over the Fighting Sioux 3-0

      • Nyqi

        I think that is HIGHLY UNLIKELY but it would be an upset to see that happen.

      • Hockey God

        Good luck with that.

    • Nyqi

      I have seen Notre Dame play this year and like them a lot. I think they might be able to beat Merrimack.

      Think the winner will come from the Midwest.

  • Anonymous

    You know what, with all the complaining about who has to go west vs east or lower ranking schools staying home as a host, or having to play someone you just played, I have a novel idea. Don’t just get rid of the “Host” school for the regionals, get rid of the regionals altogether. Let regular season play for each conference determine the ranking order for each conference’s tournament. Play the tournaments, find the 5 conference tournament champions, rank them 1-5 based on PWR or whatever is fairest (that’s probaby another argument right there), have 5 vs 4 as a play-in the week before the FF, and then have the FF with 1 vs 4/5, and 2 vs 3. Simple. The conference champs have already proven their worth by being the best of their tourney, why do we need to see more than one team from the same conference in the FF? In any given conference tourney, if one team beats another, then why should the loser move on? Everyone has a fair shot this way. But I guess that would be too logical.

    • typical WCHA troll

      That won’t work because the WCHA is so freakin’ awesome that they deserve 11 spots in the tournament (even we admit Michigan Tech doesn’t deserve a spot).

    • Hockey God

      That’s one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard.

    • Guest 2

      LMFAO @ that idea. Just the 1-5 conference tourney picks would include a team from a conference that couldn’t produce a team that would even remotely qualify as an at large bid in today’s PWR. Then with the potential for conference tournament upset in the remaining championship games or even semis you could be leaving the best teams in the country out of a tournament that is based on a season’s long level of achievement for it’s qualifiers by replacing it with a system that rewards teams that go on a short late season run. Not every year turns out conference tournament champs who have been the best team in conference all season. I don’t know why I responded to this anyway.

      • Anonymous

        Maybe I was just fired up about all the whining, but the point of my post was that everyone is complaining about “it’s not fair that my school has to go here” or “their school is a lower seed and gets to stay home” Waaa waaa waaa. Nobody ever seems to be content with where they have to go in the tourney and the fact that they are IN IT. I do have to say that I will agree with you that the National champion should be crowned as the best overall for the whole year and not who’s hot right now. So don’t have a tourney at all and give it to the #1 from the best ranking system at the end of the regular season. If you’re gonna have a tourney though, get rid of the auto bids and just place the top 16 from that system. Then there’s no argument that the, how was it referred to earlier, “cake” conferences like my AHA just waltzed into it. Of course then you could have one of the lower-ranked teams of those 16 get hot, win it all, and everyone complains that the champ wasn’t great all year and just got lucky. Either way, someone’s always gonna complain. You can’t please everyone, I guess.

        • Jim

          You are an Idiot

    • catsonskates

      I wouldn’t call it a “novel idea” – sounds a lot like the NCAA tourney through 1980. Hockey had to fight to get to 16 teams (and only after enough schools moved up to hit the 60 school threshold) and agree to autobids for each league (six at that time). It’s down to 58 schools, but they let us keep the 16 team field. Do we really want to go backward?

    • Jim

      Your are an idiot and should never comment again

      • Anonymous

        I just made my comments in response to all the whining going on now to show that nobody will ever be happy with whatever selection process, no need for name calling. Btw, if you wanted to add “and should never comment again” you should have just used the “edit” button to your post…Idiot. ;)

  • Pjkeating23

    Jayson: You had BC in Manchester for most of the second half of the season. Why did you switch BC at the last minute to St Louis when you pretty much knew all along and said so in your blog that BC was going to be the #1 team in the Northeast ? The “host team” thing is BS. Get rid of it.

    PJ from BC

    • 4 Seed

      I think BC got shipped out at the last minute because UNH didn’t fall to a 4 seed until the last week or two of the season. If UNH is a 2 or 3 seed, then BC can, and would have stayed in Manchester. But when UNH fell to a 4 seed that forced BC out.

  • http://twitter.com/sgesualdi SCOTT GESUALDI

    The system is broke. Teams shouldn’t be rewarded for a 20 win season when they play teams in cupcake leagues. Hockey East and WCHA are the toughest in the country and teams like Wisconsin, Maine and BU are penalized because they didn’t win enough because they lost to UNH and BC or UND or DU yet a team like RPI gets in because it beat teams like Brown and other ECAC cellar dwellers. Having an automatic berth for AHA and ECAC is a joke.

    • give it a rest troll

      Wisconsin went 1-8-1 against the top four in the WCHA during the regular season. They had their chance. They were measured, weighed, and found to be wanting. The only reason they had a winning record was because the played a weak, weak non-conference slate.

    • Joe C

      I am a BU alum that has seen the Terriers not make the tournament two straight years. Both years they were the bubble team (or maybe the second one left out) and there is only one reason for this. They did not play well enough to get an at-large bid. If you lose too many games to inferior opponents, if you have to scramble for ties and if you struggle against the better teams in your league, the result is easy to predict.

      I have no issue with the audobids, as long as a conference meets the criteria. Right now, that is six teams. I have no issue with a 20-win team from supposedly “inferior cupcake” conferences getting an at-large bids over third-place teams from a big conference when that team plays poorly in the conference tournament. BU, Maine and Wisconsin are right where they need to be, watching games on television and weighing the option to go professional.

    • Lilwright6

      just wait until RPI beats UND……York is the best goalie in the country

      • Nyqi

        He’s the best goalie in the country based on what? his goals against is 7th in the country, save percentage is 4th, 18 wins and only 2 shutouts and that is against an ECAC schedule. Not sure how those numbers make him the best anything. Good luck with your dream of winning against UND on Saturday. I don’t see that happening.

    • curmudgeon

      RPI did not get in because of its conference record. RPI had a tough non-conference schedule early in the year and it was those wins, not its ECAC record (well, except for its victories over Yale….) that helped it slide into that last open spot when everyone else lost late.

  • UNH Down the drain pipe

    For all of those concerned that UNH got the benefit of the ‘home state advantage’, don’t worry. They have started their annual migration down the toilet already (see semifinal loss to Merrimack and they ended the year 2-3 in their last 5). THey will be out at about 6:15pm on Saturday night. They last played Miami (OH) in the tourney several years ago and UNH was the 1 seed and Miami the 4. Miami won the game. It should come as no surprise that the University of No Hope, once again, has No Hope.

  • Stal102

    Whens the last time a 1 overall seed won this thing – anyone know?

  • anti whining

    why dont they just hand a wcha team the trophy so they dont have to play anyone and they can stop whining

    • Hockey God

      Sounds to me like most of the whining is coming from HE and BC.

      • CRYING SIOUX

        BC dont have to whine you moron they win and they own the WCHA check the FACTS.

        • Steve

          crying, do you care to look at all the history or just that which supports your argument? Last year carries no more important than the last 60 years. It’s all history. Also, there have been posts from BC fans upset and venting (i.e. whining) about being in the St. Louis regional.

  • blah blah blah whine

    The ONLY problem in this whole NCAA tournament is having MAINE vs. NEW HAMPSHIRE play for the title game in sunny California. That was the absolute worst idea in the history of the universe.

  • Mnwizkid

    The biggest joke is Yale #1 seed, 2nd round they’re done, and yes the Sioux having to meet Denver again, that is if they both win, is a big, big joke.However, so are the jackasses running our country, but that’s how all things work now, money talks, and well……..you know the rest. Well, may the best team win!

  • blah blah blah whine

    Me thinks everyone should stop whining…there are 16 really good teams that get a chance to play for a national title. There are always a couple okay teams that get left out, but who cares. This isn’t an “okay” hockey tournament. As for where you have to play…the teams shouldn’t care one bit. If you’re the best, you’ll beat anybody, anywhere. The only people who should ever be upset are the poor fans. It is hard for college kids to follow a team accross the country.

    • collegepuckfan

      which is the point in a alot of the arguments for looking into change…

  • Mnwizkid

    The one good thing about the smaller conferences having a entry, was shown a few years ago by Bemidji State. The parity in NCAA has greatly improved, and it usually comes down to a bounce of the puck or two or great goaltending. This in turn has/ and will help these smaller schools recruit more quality players. Everyone wants to be a winner and go to a school that has the winning tradition, of course as well as the academics. But, the pairing system, sure does need some work!

  • HOCKEY EAST IS DOMINANT

    BC WILL PLAY ANYONE ANYPLACE ANYTIME JUST ASK THE SIOUX WE OWN THEM SINCE 2001 AND ANY WCHA B TEAM PRETENDER THAT GETS IN THEIR WAY.

    • Mnwizkid

      Yep, if you can get by a very good CC team first round you may have a chance to play the Sioux or Denver. In regards to Jayson Moy’s comments that he nailed it,doesn’t say alot about his credibility,(being in Singapore), nor the panels being able to pick the pairing in 5 minutes. Seems like it was a slam dunk, well before the final conference games were played. But as many pointed out, if you are the best, you are the best, and as I previously said, may the best team win!

    • soSIOUXme

      Big talk about a team that scarcely gets out of their own back yard in the regular season. There are teams that will go anyplace and BC just isn’t one of them. They’ve made the occasional distant trip but not on an annual basis. Let’s remember when BC hosted UND just a couple years back, that’s right UND did the traveling. The ice and conditions were so bad at the BC rink the game was called at the end of 2 periods. BC should travel more, they are a good club. But traveling, soaring, Eagles on wing around the country, they are not.

  • Madmac63

    Sending #1 Seed Miami to Manchester and #1 Seed BC to St. Louis is INSANE!!!!

    I get the whole hosting issues, and not playing teams from your league, yada yada yada . . .

    Use the 2, 3, and 4 seeds balance the bracket. You don’t use the #1 seeds for that.

    Gaaz . . . not only is travel to Machester expensive and impractical, but I’m not even sure I’ll be able to get the NE Regional on TV here in Chicago.

    This Blows. The committee are IDIOTS!!

    • Matto

      The committee aren’t idiots. Within the current rules, this was an obvious bracket.

      I’m pretty sure the entire tournament is on espn3.com. So, everyone with a computer and internet access should have the NE Regional.

      • After Further Review

        And the UNH/Miami game is on ESPNU

  • GoBlue’92

    Stop complaining. These are the facts: The National Champion will win their next 4 games regardless of who they play. In this field of 16, the team that does that is indeed the National Champion. End of story. Good luck to all, go UNH!

  • Garbagegoal

    How in the world can DU be the number 2 team in the country they lost twice to CC once they lost 9-2. lost to Saint Cloud got demolished by BC and even lost to michigan tech

    • DU_Fan

      DU is #7, and placed that way. How about having the guts to state your team so I can rip their record apart??

      • toxic avenger

        Shut up already about this “your team” nonsense. I can’t believe you actually said you want to “rip their record apart”. That would prove nothing with respect to Denver. Get a clue.

  • Davyd83

    Here is a real silly solution, BC plays as the top seed in Manchester, UNH slides into Manchester as the host. I think avoiding conference matches in the first round is much sillier than making Miami come east and BC go west. But Im just exercising a bit of common sense. To have the “perfect” 1-16, 2-15…..etc…when there are ties and miniscule differences is too idealistic.

    This year should have looked like this.

    Bridgeport: Yale/ AIr Force, Union/UMD
    St Louis: Miami/CC, Michigan/UNO
    Green Bay: North Dakota/RPI, Denver, W Michigan
    Manchester: BC/UNH, Merrimack/Notre Dame

    So simple, so easy, all blown up to avoid a BU/UNH first round game

    • Matto

      I agree that the “no intraconference matchups in the first round” rule could be relaxed, in situations such as this when there’s a host team with a lower seed. Were it the other way around — UNH as the #1 and BC as the #4, there’d be no issue with moving BC out.

      The only issue I have with the proposed bracket, is putting all 3 tournament HE teams in Manchester. One of them has to go somewhere else. Assuming the intra-conference rule could be relaxed, I’d then switch Merrimack with Union (yeah, that breaks a rule, too, oh, well).

    • DU_Fan

      There are no “ties” in PWR. In case of a “tie” they use RPI as the determining factor. Whether you like it or not, this is one of the rare cases they have been consistent.

  • Guest 2

    I like the seeding match ups 1v16, 2v15 and so on but moves for attendance ( which has been spotty many times @ various regional sites) hosting and travel should be scrapped. I’m not sure what criteria should replace them but a team that wins it’s regular season conference and conference tournament and actually would be a tournament qualifier by PWR should get to play as close to home as possible. This year I see the BC and UNH regional placements as the worst decisions of regional placement I understand why but those reasons should change. But BC can win in any arena because York can usually keep the focus away from environment and on the task at hand. BTW from experience of attendance at many FFs the team that travels the best is Maine hands down as the whole damn state shows up anywhere they play and pretty much take over. But they didn’t make it.

    • After Further Review

      I agree on the travel part, maybe because there is nothing else to do in Maine!

  • Brecky

    What’s the point of having “host” teams anyway? Other than being the host, UNH doesn’t deserve to play its first game so close to home.

    • After Further Review

      Join the NCAA rules rocket scientists and change the rules…

  • hockey2130

    RPI is going to knock off North Dakota then beat Denver to go to the FF

    • Nyqi

      That would be a good weekends work if they can. I don’t see that happening as both UND and DU have vert strong goaltending at this point in the season and are both playing well right now. But that would be not just one but two HUGE upsets. Best of luck.

  • Tyler

    How can anyone agree with this, Miami as a number one seed has to go to New Hampshire to play New Hampshire….What is that about?

    • Stevo

      I totally agree. It’s just more East Coast bias against the Midwest.

      • After Further Review

        If you had seen UNH play in Manchester (ever), you wouldn’t be the least bit worried! I think Miami is a very good team and UNH split with them in Oxford, but that was the first weekend of the season. Hopefully it will be a good game.

        • sven

          I’ll second that . UNH plays in Manchester like they are too busy reading there press hype to even show up. One and Done!

          • After Further Review

            You got it… and I am a UNH fan!

  • Tyler

    Miami havgin to go to NH wo play NH? How can you call this fair when the number one team gets that kind of injustice

  • Sux2BU

    I might be joining the discussion late but I am LIVID BC is out West. How on earthi did this happen? I almost bought tickets to BOTH Manchester AND Bridgeport knowing that, despite these silly seeding rules, the committee would HAVE to put the #1-#2 team in the country close to their home base. And the Defending National Champions!

    There are two (2) legitimate arguments to make against the brackets this year; The committee effectively bent over backwards to give Miami (OH) a walk into the Frozen Four. (The country is OBSESSED with them, why? They can’t compete with the East, UMASS would beat them never mind BU and BC. Get over it!) Miami (OH) should be in the West region, closer to their home-base; BC in NH, closer to their home-base; Problem solved for both schools and their fans.

    This is not alumi-bias either; Would anyone have a gripe if Merrimack was sent to another region? Their fans might not like it sure, but, having lost to BC would they really say they deserve to take BC’s place in the Northeast regional?

    • Tyler

      HAHA, did u not notice that Miami has to go to New Hampshire to play NH. Thats a pretty sour deal as a one seed to have to go into someones backyard. Miami is a good team with one of the best power plays in the country, second only to union, Miami has beaten a lot of very good teams this year including ND 6-2 in the semis of the CCHA tourney. Stop with this east coast biased, Miami is a very strong program and is only getting better. They have made the Frozen four the last two years and deserve more respect than your giving them.

    • Jcorey

      As a Merrimack fan I can honestly say noone would be upset if MC had to travel and BC stayed in Manchester. MC fans are happy just to be ib the tourney. BC took the HE title. They should be there.

  • Phil

    GO BC, Merrimack, and UNH.

    BC fan

    • After Further Review

      Agreed, from a UNH fan!

  • http://twitter.com/topherbaron Topher Baron

    I love all these comments…First and foremost, if you are complaing about BC or Miami, here’s a thought. If your team would’ve ended up #1 in the country, not #3 or #4, you would’ve got dibbs on Bridgeport and I’m guessing you’d still be complaining. The conference matchups have to be avoided in the first round, hands down. I don’t want to see them right away, why should you?

    • Matto

      Neither CD nor Miami would have gotten dibs on Bridgeport, as Yale already had dibs on Bridgeport. That’s the risk they take by not hosting themselves: they can get moved under certain circumstances.

  • Ryan Nieters

    East Coast BS. These Regions do not even make sense. If I were a UMD fan I would love where I’m sitting, a chance to get to the frozen four with ease. Yale, you better pray the game has non-WCHA refs. You will not out-skate or out play UMD physically. secondly, 1 WCHA team versus 4 WCHA team on opposing sides of the board. Taking the strengths of the teams overall, how does the selection commitee put DU and UND in the same bracket? As fare as the writers for USCHO go, it is like they get paid not to discuss how bad this system is. And as far as Yale being No. 1, guess playing 7 (3-2-2 record of UND’s 7 games) less games is a benfit? East Coast BS, The East side of the bracket is a joke

    • Matto

      Wow, I get a feeling of deja vu just reading this. Didn’t they say the same thing about Yale and UND last year?

      Here’s a newsflash: ECAC is 2-1 vs. the WCHA the last 3 years, despite being the lower seed in each contest. The one WCHA win was the UMD miracle over Princeton; I wouldn’t count on such a generous clock-keeper in Bridgeport.

      • Matto

        quick correction: 2-2, ECAN vs WCHA (2-0 ECAC for all teams not named Princeton).

        Nothing in the last 3-4 years to support any claim of WCHA superiority.
        That could change this year… but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

  • catsonskates

    Before I jump on the KRACH bandwagon, could someone enlighten me on strength of schedule? Is it based on how the opponent was rated at the time that the teams met, or how they are rated currently? For instance, does a game vs BC in mid-November when they were 6-4 count the same as a game vs BC in mid February when they were 22-6? Or a game vs a 5-4-1 NoDak team and a 22-8-2 NoDak team?
    Seems like a computer-based ranking like this could take that into account, but does it?

  • DU_Fan

    Can we please put the “attendance factor”, “self-sustaining mandate”, “poverty” and “profitability margin” issues to rest as excuses for sending teams to whichever regional they want?? The NCAA has a total revenue budgeted for 2011 of $757,000,000, of which they admit to taking about 5%. They also claim to use this to spread out over all sports, so a shortfall in one sport will simply shift profits from the many others. Do you think the NCAA made enough money from Ford Field attendance to “sustain” college hockey for a year or two???

    • Matto

      You win 2nd place in the “most irrelevant post of the thread” contest; the guy who saw a need to post “you are an idiot” twice, wins first place.

      No, you may not put attendance or economics aside, and if you are so inept as to cite NCAA total annual budget as if it is somehow pertinent here, you are even more clueless than I previously suspected. I think we can all move along now, nothing to see here anymore.

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