Re: B1G Hockey: The Countdown Begins
Bah, what would going back that far prove?
For one thing, that FS23 is fair-minded and intelligent. For another, that he realizes the WCHA's dominance from 2002 through 2006 was very impressive, but not necessarily typical.
Substantively, you get a fairer picture of conference strength, because the balance of power tends to fluctuate. Using 81-82 as a starting point is reasonable because that's when UM, MSU, ND & MTU shifted to the CCHA, making the the CCHA a realistic competitor with the WCHA and ECAC. Counting titles and title game appearances from 81-82 through 01-02, you get the following results:
National Championship Game Participants:
WCHA - 14
Hockey East -13
CCHA - 9
ECAC - 6
National Champions:
WCHA - 8
CCHA - 7
Hockey East - 4
ECAC - 2
Note that Northern Michigan won a title as a WCHA member. I wouldn't do it this way, but you can argue that championship belongs in the CCHA total since NMU currently belongs to the CCHA. The real point is that in terms of titles, it was virtually a dead heat over the course of two decades.
...This never ends well if you get dualing stats going because people find one that makes them look good and beat it to death as the only stat that means anything.
Just for fun, and maybe to draw your ire, here's a category FS23 didn't include:
Head-To-Head Championship Game Wins:
CCHA - 3
WCHA -1
1984: Bowling Green 5, Minnesota Duluth 4 (4 OT)
1987: North Dakota 5, Michigan State 3
1992: Lake Superior State 5, Wisconsin 3
1996: Michigan 3, Colorado College 2 (OT)
Add in the recent years, and the WCHA picks one Head-To-Head Title:
2011: Minnesota-Duluth 3, Michigan 2 (OT)
Now I'll admit that stat doesn't prove a whole lot. Since the NCAA seems to make a conscious effort to create East/West Finals, it's probably not a huge surprise that we've had only 5 five WCHA/CCHA finals over the course of three decades. But again, the picture we do have is one of relative parity over the long haul, not dominance.
Despite the limitations of the stats, I find them infinitely preferable to uninformed trash talking. So FS23, thank you. Tiggsy, I hope you'll reconsider.
That's all
I have time for today. If someone else wants to do some additional counting, I'd welcome that and take an open-minded look at the results.
