Third Place Game or No?

[gojackets]

The announcers yesterday said that D3 women's hockey is the only NCAA sport that continues to have a 3rd place game.

The Pro's
It gives those teams one more game to show what they got
It gives the fans of those teams a chance to see their teams again.
It gives the NC$$ a little bit more money


The Con's
The teams are fairly devastated from losing the day before the game doesn't look good.
Its pretty much a meaningless game.



My cons are pretty weak, I had more yesterday but can't remember them. I'm for the game. The announcers said yesterday when asking the girls, they were pumped to play it. The 2 or 3 third place games I've watched, it was obvious from the first few minutes who would win. Gustavus just wasn't in that game yesterday, mentally. If you watched it, they weren't going after the corners that hard, they weren't giving it all they could. Same thing happened a couple years ago when UWS was in the third place game.

Thoughts?

[SeymoreHockey]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

Let the western teams decide ...they play these games more than anyone else...(ooooh, now don't get mad! )

[Bill-R-]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

It is really a meaningless game. Ditch it.

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

Let the western teams decide ...they play these games more than anyone else...(ooooh, now don't get mad! )

actually theres only been one third place game that had two western teams in it..and I think 2 with two eastern teams in it. So really its about even.

[kylehockey]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

With all the money many of the programs need to pay to travel, it seems silly not to play 2 games. I actually think it helps the players get over it quicker, knowing they have another game to play.

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

With all the money many of the programs need to pay to travel, it seems silly not to play 2 games. I actually think it helps the players get over it quicker, knowing they have another game to play.

the programs don't pay for the travel.

[CrazyDave]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

With all the money many of the programs need to pay to travel, it seems silly not to play 2 games. I actually think it helps the players get over it quicker, knowing they have another game to play.

On the D-I side, the third-place game was dropped with the reasoning that the semifinal losers were having to stay at least one extra night to play it (and in some cases, two). Those hotel costs involved did not make the game economically feasible.

[score1]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

In St. Peter, there were easily 4 times as many people in the stands for the third place game than for the championship game - maybe 500 vs 125 by my estimate.

Pretty poor showing for a championship match.

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

In St. Peter, there were easily 4 times as many people in the stands for the third place game than for the championship game - maybe 500 vs 125 by my estimate.

Pretty poor showing for a championship match.

That was the risk that the NCAA took with only having one western team in the FF. Remember 3 of the 4 teams were from half way across the country.

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

In St. Peter, there were easily 4 times as many people in the stands for the third place game than for the championship game - maybe 500 vs 125 by my estimate.

Pretty poor showing for a championship match.

did they have separate tickets for the title and 3rd place game this year, but same ticket last year.

I noticed that both games last year had attendence of 650 which probably doesn't accurately portray the real attendence figures of both.

[UCONN FAN]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

Let the western teams decide ...they play these games more than anyone else...(ooooh, now don't get mad! )

Ouch!

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

Ouch!

but its not actually true!!!

[The Thunder Dome]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

but its not actually true!!!

Division III Women's Ice Hockey Champions
Year Champion Runner Up
2002 Elmira (E) Manhattanville (E)
2003 Elmira (E) Manhattanville (E)
2004 Middlebury (E) Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W)
2005 Middlebury (E) Elmira (E)
2006 Middlebury (E) Plattsburgh State (E)
2007 Plattsburgh State (E) Middlebury (E)
2008 Plattsburgh State (E) Manhattanville (E)
2009 Amherst (E) Elmira (E)
2010 Amherst (E) Norwich (E)

Year 3rd Place 4th Place
2002 Gustavus Adolphus (W) Bowdoin (E)
2003 Bowdoin (E) Wisconsin-River Falls (W)
2004 Plattsburgh State (E) Manhattanville (E)
2005 Gustavus Adolphus (W) Plattsburgh State (E)
2006 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W) Gustavus Adolphus (W)
2007 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W) Amherst (E)
2008 Elmira (E) Wisconsin-Superior (W)
2009 Middlebury (E) Wisconsin-River Falls (W)
2010 Elmira (E) Gustavus Adolphus (W)

Well on one hand, I guess you are right in the fact that there have been 9 East teams and 9 West teams in the 3rd place game. But on the other hand, there has only been 1 appearance in the championship game for the West. I'll let you draw your own conclussions here.

[nyi19]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

Division III Women's Ice Hockey Champions
Year Champion Runner Up
2002 Elmira (E) Manhattanville (E)
2003 Elmira (E) Manhattanville (E)
2004 Middlebury (E) Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W)
2005 Middlebury (E) Elmira (E)
2006 Middlebury (E) Plattsburgh State (E)
2007 Plattsburgh State (E) Middlebury (E)
2008 Plattsburgh State (E) Manhattanville (E)
2009 Amherst (E) Elmira (E)
2010 Amherst (E) Norwich (E)

Year 3rd Place 4th Place
2002 Gustavus Adolphus (W) Bowdoin (E)
2003 Bowdoin (E) Wisconsin-River Falls (W)
2004 Plattsburgh State (E) Manhattanville (E)
2005 Gustavus Adolphus (W) Plattsburgh State (E)
2006 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W) Gustavus Adolphus (W)
2007 Wisconsin-Stevens Point (W) Amherst (E)
2008 Elmira (E) Wisconsin-Superior (W)
2009 Middlebury (E) Wisconsin-River Falls (W)
2010 Elmira (E) Gustavus Adolphus (W)

Well on one hand, I guess you are right in the fact that there have been 9 East teams and 9 West teams in the 3rd place game. But on the other hand, there has only been 1 appearance in the championship game for the West. I'll let you draw your own conclussions here.

was kinda hoping someone else would go through the trouble of looking all this up. had the championship info, not the third place.

What this really attests to is that given the chance, the west could potentially play in more third place games, number of teams wise, if they got more teams to the final four. But they typically don't. So it's always, except for the one year, going to be east vs. west in the third place game (unless they were to make the championship game) and an even split. There's no way around it until the next 4-3 split, so it's not even worth arguing.

[gojackets]

Re: Third Place Game or No?

was kinda hoping someone else would go through the trouble of looking all this up. had the championship info, not the third place.

What this really attests to is that given the chance, the west could potentially play in more third place games, number of teams wise, if they got more teams to the final four. But they typically don't. So it's always, except for the one year, going to be east vs. west in the third place game (unless they were to make the championship game) and an even split. There's no way around it until the next 4-3 split, so it's not even worth arguing.

on the other hand if the west team were to make it to the title game more often, then the east woul play more 3rd place games!