2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

[davyd83]

It's solid advice, but I'd also note that in Kato, we won 22 times this year, went 2-0 against the NCHC, 1-1 against the Big, and 1-1 against the ECAC (road win), and weren't even within shouting distance of the top 15 in the Pairwise. I'm not saying we belonged in the field, but I am sorta questioning a system that didn't even have us remotely close to making the field.

Might be the number of games played against teams in the bottom 20%

 

[manurespreader]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

I agree and I've said publicly, we need as a league to play fewer games vs the NCHC. We do get some games vs Atlantic Hockey and the ECAC lets at least keep what we have. It might be a good reason to get games vs the east at the GLi as well. Or at least during tournament season make sure we schedule games vs east coast teams instead of Minnesota.

 

[beaverhockey]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Moving the conference games number to 24 would (in theory) be a money saver. It would limit the number of trips to Alaska over the four year cycle. That, of course, is incumbent on playing at least one of those two extra non-conference weekends at home...and if one of those is on the road...it's a bus trip instead of a flight.

 

[davyd83]

Moving the conference games number to 24 would (in theory) be a money saver. It would limit the number of trips to Alaska over the four year cycle. That, of course, is incumbent on playing at least one of those two extra non-conference weekends at home...and if one of those is on the road...it's a bus trip instead of a flight.

So how do the rest of the WCHA schools guarantee themselves 2 of the four will be at home and that road games would be busserers? If you get stuck having to take a 2-for-1, you get nothing. If you get stuck flying out to play Merrimack or Holy Cross, you lose money because you won't get the Alaska, travel subsidy nor will you get the game exemption that Alaska offers.

 

[AKSWF]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

So how do the rest of the WCHA schools guarantee themselves 2 of the four will be at home and that road games would be bidders? If you get stuck having to take a 2-for-1, you get nothing. If you get stuck flying out to play Merrimack or Holy Cross, you lose money because you won't get the Alaska, nor will you get the game exemption that Alaska offers.

Play ASU, or DII/DIII teams. Not saying anybody should do that, but it is an option.

 

[davyd83]

Play ASU, or DII/DIII teams. Not saying anybody should do that, but it is an option.

If you do a 1-for-1 with ASU, you still pay full price for the flight to a Phoenix. Play D2\3, it's an exhibition game.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

So how do the rest of the WCHA schools guarantee themselves 2 of the four will be at home and that road games would be bidders? If you get stuck having to take a 2-for-1, you get nothing. If you get stuck flying out to play Merrimack or Holy Cross, you lose money because you won't get the Alaska, nor will you get the game exemption that Alaska offers.

I think that the last two seasons have shown us that the Alaska exemption is going unused by some.

GFM

 

[aparch]

I think that the last two seasons have shown us that the Alaska exemption is going unused by some.

GFM

Is that the chicken or the egg in this scenario? Are teams not using the Alaska exemption because they can't get non-conference teams to visit them, or are non-conference games not being scheduled because they can't fully take advantage of the Alaska rule to their benefit?

If a team has a reduction in expenses by not flying to Alaska as often, couldn't that money be just earmarked for a flight out east? Are the Alaska exemptions going unused because teams who are offering 1:1's aren't "big crowd draw" teams?

 

[gfmorris]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Is that the chicken or the egg in this scenario? Are teams not using the Alaska exemption because they can't get non-conference teams to visit them, or are non-conference games not being scheduled because they can't fully take advantage of the Alaska rule to their benefit?

If a team has a reduction in expenses by not flying to Alaska as often, couldn't that money be just earmarked for a flight out east? Are the Alaska exemptions going unused because teams who are offering 1:1's aren't "big crowd draw" teams?

A. I think it's mostly the former, because you're generally looking at 2-for-1s or pay dates, two things our schools don't like. Also, it's not always worth your while to do it. UAH went the full 38 in 2013-14, and Mike Corbett's sworn to never do it again because of the physical and mental toll that it took on his team. Also also wik, having the Alaska exemption doesn't just make more games appear. The Ivies' insistence on not playing the full slate does diminish things somewhat.

B. Honestly, in this league, the schools that can't get other schools to show up in their barns don't have the resources to fly out East.

GFM

 

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Is that the chicken or the egg in this scenario? Are teams not using the Alaska exemption because they can't get non-conference teams to visit them, or are non-conference games not being scheduled because they can't fully take advantage of the Alaska rule to their benefit?

If a team has a reduction in expenses by not flying to Alaska as often, couldn't that money be just earmarked for a flight out east? Are the Alaska exemptions going unused because teams who are offering 1:1's aren't "big crowd draw" teams?

In the case of MSU-M, the exemption went unused mostly because we wanted a bye week. This is especially important now that the new playoff format has shortened the season by a week.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

In the case of MSU-M, the exemption went unused mostly because we wanted a bye week. This is especially important now that the new playoff format has shortened the season by a week.

I think this is a huge part of things, with adding another week to the playoffs, and the fact that half the time you can add 4 more games to the schedule, plus more than likely those additions won't be at home, coaches are opting to use 2 games. It not all four to get a week off.

 

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

In the case of MSU-M, the exemption went unused mostly because we wanted a bye week. This is especially important now that the new playoff format has shortened the season by a week.

Same thing with BSU even before this year. They could have played 38 games this past year (and last year I believe), but Coach Serratore has said he will never play more than 36 as that bye week is too important to the health/healing of injuries.

 

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Same thing with BSU even before this year. They could have played 38 games this past year (and last year I believe), but Coach Serratore has said he will never play more than 36 as that bye week is too important to the health/healing of injuries.

Yep. As fans, we want hockey every week, and I think the players want it, too (Game goals are a lot sweeter than practice goals). But the coaches wisely step in and schedule a bye or two.

 

[AKSWF]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Ouch for us smaller schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/24/ncaa-200-million-payout-bonus/99582450/

 

[Superfly100]

is should we scale back on the NCHC and Big games (24 and 25, respectively) in favor of more AH (6 this year) or ASU (0) games, given how well this worked for OSU and PSU in this year's Pairwise?.

No. Playing the bottom teams of the weakest conferences does nothing to prepare you for the pace, skill, and intensity of playing the top teams of the toughest conferences once you get to the tournament.

I'd rather be a one bid conference that made a Frozen Four, than a two or three bid conference that never makes it out of the first round.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Ouch for us smaller schools:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/24/ncaa-200-million-payout-bonus/99582450/

As far as hockey goes, the only programs to get money were the Big10(7). Hockey won't see a dime of that money because those programs only care about money making sports (football, basketball).

I'd rather be a one bid conference that made a Frozen Four, than a two or three bid conference that never makes it out of the first round.

If you want to win a National Championship for the WCHA would you rather have 1, 2 or 3 teams in a field of 16? Hockey is often a game of lucky bounces. I would much rather have three chances. When you only get one team into the tourney, who says the team that wins the WCHA tourney is the best team in the WCHA. I think arguments could be made the last couple season that the WCHA's best team didn't even make the tourney field because the WCHA was a one-bid league.

Ryan J

 

[Superfly100]

If you want to win a National Championship for the WCHA would you rather have 1, 2 or 3 teams in a field of 16? Hockey is often a game of lucky bounces. I would much rather have three chances. When you only get one team into the tourney, who says the team that wins the WCHA tourney is the best team in the WCHA. I think arguments could be made the last couple season that the WCHA's best team didn't even make the tourney field because the WCHA was a one-bid league.

Ryan J

Understand what you're saying, and call me naive, but how we get there is as important as getting there.

If you're asking me, would I rather play the toughest schedule I could, be a one bid league, and win it straight up, or play the weakest schedule I could, flood the field, and then hope to win on a lucky bounce? I'll take the one bid league.

Yeah, Bi6 flooded the field this year, but they don't have much to show for it.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Who you schedule is nothing against who you recruit, although certainly the former informs the latter. Doesn't everyone want to play their Game 7 in the Ralph?

GFM