Hockey East 2020-2021

[J.D.]

I'd be curious what HEPI might look like if BC was given a chance to play UVM rather than
4 against UConn. But as I said it is what it is. BC, BU, UMass pretty clearly Hockey East's NCAA tournament representation.

[Fishman'81]

Just looked at KRACH and here is order of HE teams:

1. BC
2. BU
3. UMass
4. UConn
5. Providence
6. Northeastern
7. UML
8. Merrimack
9. UNH
10. Maine
11. Vermont

The only difference with HEPI is Maine and UNH are flipped.

Maine and UVM should flip, most likely.

I would never have imagined that Maine hockey would have sunk this low if I hadn't witnessed Red's first two games. It was very clear during that weekend at lowly St. Lawrence that Red hadn't a clue, even when he still had some genuine Timmy-talent on board.

We drove home dreading exactly what we've been seeing ever since, and we haven't regretted missing a trip to Boston for (what) 8 years now.

Why God why has his utter ineptitude been rewarded with the renewals? That fact truly defies any sort of logic.

[jjmc85]

I don’t think attendance changes the QF home ice much TBH. With the exception of a team hosting for the first time in a long time, they’re usually pretty dead as they usually correspond with spring break.

I think home ice advantage this year is a little bit having the last change but mostly the ice size difference. I’d rather UMass play MC at Mullins than play them at Lawler. If everyone in the conference had the same size rink, I’d agree home ice was pretty meaningless but the rink dimension is a factor IMO.

[jjmc85]

I'd be curious what HEPI might look like if BC was given a chance to play UVM rather than
4 against UConn.

This is makes me realize a possible reason they aren’t releasing the formula. They don’t want us complaining about SOS. If we had the formula and realized one team got home ice and a bye and the other was playing in the first round based on SOS factor, fans would be livid, especially because SOS is out of everyone’s control. NU fans on Twitter were pointing out they had very low SOS. Off the top of my head, they had a game vs UMass cancelled when UMass shut down which could have helped their SOS and the fact the game didn’t happen was out of their control. If we figured out something like that cost someone home ice or a bye, and I’m beginning to see why the conference wouldn’t want to deal with that headache.

That being said, they should still release the formula.

[Chuck Murray]

I would never have imagined that Maine hockey would have sunk this low if I hadn't witnessed Red's first two games. It was very clear during that weekend at lowly St. Lawrence that Red hadn't a clue, even when he still had some genuine Timmy-talent on board.

I never would have imagined UMaine hockey would have fallen so low that the Whitehead era would be looked back at in even the slightest degree of reverence. But there you have it ...

[leswp1]

Do they really have a formula or are they just winging it and hoping things will work out somehow?

[J.D.]

What does that mean?

[Chuck Murray]

Do they really have a formula or are they just winging it and hoping things will work out somehow?

Winging it.

[Split-N]

Of course they're winging it. It's even worse in some of the college basketball leagues (NBA too). Longstanding scheduling protocols are out the window, at least for this year, so I'm not going to criticize the league office or anyone else under the circumstances. Just happy to get any kind of season in.

[J.D.]

With BC, BU, and UMass virtual locks i suppose the single elimination QF round won't matter for them. Looking at that next group of teams though...UConn, Providence and NU could be fighting for one spot in the big dance.

[Snively65]

Of course they're winging it. It's even worse in some of the college basketball leagues (NBA too). Longstanding scheduling protocols are out the window, at least for this year, so I'm not going to criticize the league office or anyone else under the circumstances. Just happy to get any kind of season in.

Agreed with all of the above.

[boblav1]

Governor Baker to announce that large venues, including Fenway Park and TD Garden, will be allowed to reopen starting March 22 with reduced capacity


Governor Baker to reopen big venues to events on March 22; Fans can return to Fenway, TD Garden...
Opening Day at Fenway Park isn’t far away, and now it looks like there will be baseball fans in the stands to witness it — along with fans at TD Garden and Gillette Stadium.

[Chuck Murray]

Of course they're winging it. It's even worse in some of the college basketball leagues (NBA too). Longstanding scheduling protocols are out the window, at least for this year, so I'm not going to criticize the league office or anyone else under the circumstances. Just happy to get any kind of season in.

Your post started out strong, started to sputter by dragging hoops into it, then veered into enabling those in charge not to do their jobs better, and finished by setting crushingly low expectations.

Remedial viewing of this video required to avoid the consequences of a low expectation culture ...

[Split-N]

I get it that you don't have a high opinion of Mr. Metcalf and that's certainly your prerogative. But if we really expect the league office to be able to produce a schedule that is rational, certain, and predictable in an irrational, uncertain, and unpredictable year, then maybe we should give them some loaves and fishes and demand that they solve world hunger.

[J.D.]

If anyone has a clue on how they might set the schedule for next weekend here will be games played after tomorrow night:

PC 22
UMass 21
UConn 21
UNH 21
BC 20
NU 19
MC 18
UML 15
Maine 14
BU 13
UVM 12

The three opening round playoff games are on Wednesday March 10. Curious which teams if any are scheduled for two games next weekend.