Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

I threw up in my mouth when I saw BC's double bye to Pittsburgh. Unreal.

Oh to be back in the "smoke filled room" days.

And this is precisely why I go on my rant about this obsession with the PWR every year. Because it DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!! As we have seen, a HIGHER-ranked team can get a much worse draw (look at Lowell) and a lower-ranked team can get a favorable draw.

I get it if you just want to have some fun with numbers and you enjoy the mental exercise, but putting any stock in the results is a waste of time because it ultimately has little bearing on a team's chances.

 

[claver2010]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

While I agree, I use it to get a general idea opposed to hard results.

Ex: UNH is hosting and is probably a 3 hence BC has to hope for Providence to stay east. Or the doomsday 2011 scenario where UNH was host as a 4 and Yale was a host as a 1 so BC as a 1 got shipped out west.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

And this is precisely why I go on my rant about this obsession with the PWR every year. Because it DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!! As we have seen, a HIGHER-ranked team can get a much worse draw (look at Lowell) and a lower-ranked team can get a favorable draw.

I get it if you just want to have some fun with numbers and you enjoy the mental exercise, but putting any stock in the results is a waste of time because it ultimately has little bearing on a team's chances.

Let's take this rant a little further for one second. And I agree with everything you've said above.

- The natural flaw of the math not being able to gauge a team with a great record from a bad conference is what it is. Something we have to live with. I can live with it. But it's definitely part of the problem.

- What's the first priority of this system? Hosting and placing teams that host in their brackets. As we all know this is nothing but complete shenanigans. The system is built on a crooked foundation. With that, you're going to open the door to a load of bullcrap almost every year depending on who is hosting and if they qualify that year.

- You want people in the building so you throw bracket integrity out even further. I'm also ok with this. BUT, guess what, your ticket prices are pretty high and your games are always at 8 or 9 pm. And you do this so you can spread the games out for television purposes. Guess what? No one watches the games on tv. Oh but Penn State is going to be great for the growth of the sport. Sure. Grow the game by getting families into these games? Nope. Let's cater to television that gets a .00000000000000000000001 rating and the main event (Frozen Four) gets beat out by things like Poker and dog shows.

OK my rants over. Thank you please drive through.

Oh and congrats on the win on Friday night. That 30 minutes of sodomy to end the game was as bad as anyone has seen in Boston since Max Nicastro went nuts last February.

 

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

The system is built on a crooked foundation.

And that's my point exactly. When the initial premise is flawed, nothing else matters. On the other hand (just to play devil's advocate), they HAVE to account for regional attendance, because (and here I go again) we all know that college hockey is still a regional sport that 99% of the country couldn't care less about. How many fans from the East, in particular, who are used to traveling and hour and a half or less for almost every game, are going to pay for a flight out West, especially when they might want to save their money in case they've got to get a flight to Pittsburgh after that? That's why to me it's simple. Focus on winning games and the rest will take care of itself. The rest is just all Russian roulette.

Thanks...I'm over it now. Hopefully we won't have to hear about the disallowed goal in 2009 anymore because now they got theirs. Sort of like the complaining about Ben Dreith stopped after the (now no longer existent) tuck rule fiasco against the Raiders - Pats fans felt as though they finally got "even." Looking forward to a new era at BU!

 

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

- The natural flaw of the math not being able to gauge a team with a great record from a bad conference is what it is. Something we have to live with. I can live with it. But it's definitely part of the problem..

Just because we have a mathematical formula does not mean it is the right one. Yeah, I've felt for a while that there somehow needs to be a balance between the math and the smokey room. Does anyone think that Lowell got a better draw than North Dakota here, even though the math says they did?

Really, Niagara even being in the tournament at all seems odd. That would be sort of like BU Basketball having only 2 losses in America East, going .500 OOC against some A10 and CAA teams, losing the conference tourney and then expecting to make the dance.

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Oh and congrats on the win on Friday night. That 30 minutes of sodomy to end the game was as bad as anyone has seen in Boston since Max Nicastro went nuts last February.

Thanks (I think)... was a fun way for it to end (for me the last game I saw with JP behind the bench live). The one thing I would have liked to have seen was the exchange between Jerry and Jack post game, if Jerry had been able to be there.

 

[Terrier520]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

#neverforget

 

[Agganis]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

Really, Niagara even being in the tournament at all seems odd. That would be sort of like BU Basketball having only 2 losses in America East, going .500 OOC against some A10 and CAA teams, losing the conference tourney and then expecting to make the dance.

Except that Niagara didn't go .500 OOC, they had 1 win in 7 games. If you look at their OOC record it says 3 wins, but 2 of those 3 were in the AHA tournament. They beat AHA teams and Clarkson!

 

[J.D.]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

I threw up in my mouth when I saw BC's double bye to Pittsburgh. Unreal.

Oh to be back in the "smoke filled room" days.

BU Hockey: **** You Math

Honestly, what have you seen from this BC team that makes you so certain they will beat Union? Union beat Lowell last year to go to the FF. Is this BC team head and shoulders above that Lowell team? I know it's not a perfect comparison because Union is different as well, but they do have a lot of talent on their team.

#neverforget

That loss really set the program back

As I said when that game ended, if you're in the mix consistently, even the best programs will have a game where it all goes wrong.

 

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

Honestly, what have you seen from this BC team that makes you so certain they will beat Union?

I just think his point is that for a #1 seed you'd have to agree that Lowell has potentially two tougher games than BC (a #2 seed). They may both win - they may both lose, but on paper you can't say you don't agree that Lowell has a tougher road to the FF, right? Not their fault, but nevertheless that's how it worked out. If they win they either get a #16 seed or a #1 (yeah right) seed that lost to Robert Morris, Colgate, AIC, St. Lawrence, Harvard and Brown (twice). I think that's easier than playing UNH in their backyard, don't you think? Or the hottest team in the country (Wisconsin).

 

[J.D.]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

No argument from me on any of that. I'm ecstatic with the draw BC got. Just don't know if they have the team to take advantage of it...

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

No argument from me on any of that. I'm ecstatic with the draw BC got. Just don't know if they have the team to take advantage of it...

I have a hard time not seeing them getting out of that region. QU is stumbling in having been pummeled by Brown, barely squeaking by Cornell, and losing to Harvard in the last couple of weeks of the year. I've never really felt their profile was all that great this season, especially with their losses being so bad, and not really racking up and solid wins over quality teams. They remind me a bit of Gonzaga's team this year, inflated record from medicore at best competition. And I don't put it past them to choke and lose to Canisius, who would have a snowball's chance in hell against BC. I've not seen Union so hey, maybe they could, but so long as York is on the bench, to me, the talent level disparity is just too much, and especially for three teams who have not faced BC, aren't used to how they play, it's just too hard to adjust. It seems every March I watch their tournament games on TV against these chumps who are facing them for the first time, and I'll end up calling a goal 30 seconds before it happens because you can see the opposition falling into their traps, especially when BC is shorthanded. Maybe injuries will derail them or Milner will have a bad game or two, but I'm just not convinced these teams can adjust to the SH pressure they put on you and defend their forwards having never skated against them.



Re: math v. smoke-filled room, perhaps there should be some marginal room for the committee to make adjustments if they see fit, but that opens up pandora's box a bit. it probably should be one or the other. That said, if it was a smoke-filled room system, we'd probably be in, and Niagara almost certainly would be out, they're 21 in KRACH and 10 in PWR, eek. Oh well, we dug our own hole in January and February.

 

[SomeGuy]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

Maybe the NCAA should look into using the "ELO" system. It is use in chess to rank players. Also the world's most played video game "League of Legends" uses this to match players of equal skill level.

If they did no to the ELO system you might need to play more non-conference games to better determine your elo score....just a thought.

 

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

Re: math v. smoke-filled room, perhaps there should be some marginal room for the committee to make adjustments if they see fit, but that opens up pandora's box a bit. it probably should be one or the other. That said, if it was a smoke-filled room system, we'd probably be in, and Niagara almost certainly would be out, they're 21 in KRACH and 10 in PWR, eek. Oh well, we dug our own hole in January and February.

If it were the smoke filled room methoed I think a number of teams would have a legit argument on being in over Niagara, I'm not sure that we would be first on that list given some of the bad losses we took.... but even within the existing field there could be some adjustments made. I mean, who would Lowell rather play right now Wisco or Niagara?

 

[Terrier520]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

That loss really set the program back

As I said when that game ended, if you're in the mix consistently, even the best programs will have a game where it all goes wrong.

If BU can hit the ground running next year, and go from being an on-paper national threat to an actual threat, then all I need is for BC to be knocked out this year. I don't want to start the next administration down 6-5.

 

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

If it were the smoke filled room methoed I think a number of teams would have a legit argument on being in over Niagara, I'm not sure that we would be first on that list given some of the bad losses we took.... but even within the existing field there could be some adjustments made. I mean, who would Lowell rather play right now Wisco or Niagara?

And there you have the dilemma. The idea was to make it totally "objective" so that there wouldn't be these kinds of "discussions" (like they have in basketball). The problem with that, of course, is that trying to quantify something that is intangible is next to impossible. There will be flaws in whatever system is used. Which is why I say (again), if we had just taken care of business and WON the games we should have, we'd be packing our bags to go out West now...

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

biggest farce is UNH

they finish in 6th place, PC finishes in 4th in Hockey East. They lose to PC in first rd of playoffs as well, ending the season 1-4-1 vs PC and get in over them

. providence goes 4-1-1, finishes in 4th vs 6th and knocks them out in playoffs. You would think those 4 wins coupled with semi berth and wins vs BC, Lowell would get them in

Strange system. It would have been one thing if UNH had finished higher in any format or had winning record vs

 

[Agganis]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

biggest farce is UNH

they finish in 6th place, PC finishes in 4th in Hockey East. They lose to PC in first rd of playoffs as well, ending the season 1-4-1 vs PC and get in over them

. providence goes 4-1-1, finishes in 4th vs 6th and knocks them out in playoffs. You would think those 4 wins coupled with semi berth and wins vs BC, Lowell would get them in

Strange system. It would have been one thing if UNH had finished higher in any format or had winning record vs

I don't know why I am responding, but UNH having a better record both against the rest of HE and OOC might have something to do with it.

Also how did 4 play 6 in the opening round of HE playoffs? Sounds like some weird seeding?

 

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

biggest farce is UNH

Except...as they say, it's the "entire body of work." UNH had a strong first half and it was enough to get them there. By that logic, you could say that BU deserved to get in because they had 21 wins, won 5 in a row at the end of the season (and as Barry Melrose says, "I'd rather be the hot team at the end of the year") and beat BC in the HE semis. But it doesn't work that way.

 

[DLG]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

UNH beat St Coud twice and won at Denver
Prov lost twice to Minn St and tied and lost with MIami

the system is the system

 

[chickod]

Re: Boston University season thread 4: Where BC comes to talk hockey

Also how did 4 play 6 in the opening round of HE playoffs? Sounds like some weird seeding?

4 didn't play 6. BU won the three way tiebreaker and ended up 3rd - they played Merrimack, the 6th seed. Providence won the head-to-head vs UNH (recalculated after BU was taken out of the mix once they were seeded 3rd) so they were 4th, playing #5 UNH.