Wrong. It gets REALLY annoying to hear this from Starman every telecast (and other than that I think he's an excellent analyst). As we have seen this week with the basketball, it doesn't even matter. ALL of the #1 seeds are gone. The hot team at the end of the season is usually the one who wins. It doesn't reflect "conference supremacy" or anything else. Ohio State scored eight goals and then got shut down the next game. One bad bounce, post or crossbar can completely change the complexion of the outcome in a one and done scenario. But that's what makes hockey so exciting.
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- Thread starter Speed Kills
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Wrong. It gets REALLY annoying to hear this from Starman every telecast (and other than that I think he's an excellent analyst). As we have seen this week with the basketball, it doesn't even matter. ALL of the #1 seeds are gone. The hot team at the end of the season is usually the one who wins. It doesn't reflect "conference supremacy" or anything else. Ohio State scored eight goals and then got shut down the next game. One bad bounce, post or crossbar can completely change the complexion of the outcome in a one and done scenario. But that's what makes hockey so exciting.
First Time Long Time
Rebuilding
Hearing what from Starman? He does games for the NCHC...it's his job to pimp the conference...and when the league has 5 titles in 10 years... he's going to pimp that fact.
it's a selling point for the league... they'd be stupid not to do it.
The issue comes with the "well why aren't you guys eating crow" crap.
It's the first year the league hasn't had a team in the Frozen Four... could that be a one year anomaly or could it be a trend? Only time will tell... but no one who follows the NCHC should have to "eat crow " based off one season and one moron fan who's so desperate to have the Big ten be the big dog so he can thrust his chest out.
Go ahead and strut if you want no one cares...
I will never understand why fans get so obsessed with what is said about their conference. If you're the doormat of your conference do you walk around with your chest out because you're in the best conference? I personally couldn't care less what success other Hockey East teams have in the national tournament. I care about what my program/coach is doing to become a better team. As a BC fan I am not going to be rooting for BU because they are representing Hockey East. It's just a tired, overrated topic.
TalonsUpPuckDown
Roll along you BG Warriors!
You must not read the Miami message boards.
StateofHockey78
New member
I'm sure he doesn't. Nor does anyone else who values their time.
Lost_Husky
Late to the Party
Or the Wisconsin board.
How am I "strutting?" All I said was it gets annoying. I didn't say ANYTHING about "my" conference. (and it's not the B1G either) MY point was that 1) just because you might have the one or two best teams doesn't make it the best conference, and 2) it's an unresolvable argument because of the nature of hockey. Yeah, over a REALLY long-term you could determine "supremacy" perhaps. Bill Walton gets on every night and proclaims the Pac-10 (or 12 or 16 or whatever it is now) the "conference of champions." As their teams routinely get knocked out...
First Time Long Time
Rebuilding
I was speaking of Speed Kills...and honestly...who cares if it gets annoying to you... again...it's his job to do it. And when it is 5 in 10 years...again...it would be stupid for the conference...on their own broadcasts to not do it.
But if it annoys you that much there's always a mute button.
Clymer is an idiot. Love the guy and he was an awesome player for the Gophers, but man does he come out with some terrible takes.
Hard to accuse him of calling games as a homer, though. I think most fans at least have to give him that.
FredsDeadFriend
New member
Really? Last 5 years, NCHC has sent 6 teams to the Frozen Four, the B1G has sent 7.
7 > 6.
Last 3 years? NCHC has sent 3 teams to the Frozen Four, the B1G has sent 4.
4 > 3.
So I guess you are right, the results ARE the same.
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
I haven't seen this mentioned so if it has I apologize.
It's possible that the mighty B1G won't even be in the final. What happens if that occurs?
Does the ECAC or HE get to lay claim to the title of best conference?
Do certain peoples heads explode?
Does the hockey world spontaneously combust?
Does the world end?
It's possible that the mighty B1G won't even be in the final. What happens if that occurs?
Does the ECAC or HE get to lay claim to the title of best conference?
Do certain peoples heads explode?
Does the hockey world spontaneously combust?
Does the world end?
StateofHockey78
New member
If you've been reading all this, you would sure think so Mark. HAHA
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
The proverbial train wreck. I've tried to keep up but have been distracted a bit...
StateofHockey78
New member
The proverbial train wreck. I've tried to keep up but have been distracted a bit...
It's a good thing for you. Trying to keep up with the conversation is like running on a hamster wheel. Round and round and round.
Speed Kills
Registered User
You absolutely NAILED it!!!
Speed Kills
Registered User
The Big Ten has already proven itself to be the best overall conference, top to bottom, based on the results of all teams combined over the duration of the entire season. A couple of upsets in the Frozen Four will not change that fact.
FredsDeadFriend
New member
What's really turned them so silent is that they fear, or know, that this is a trend that will probably continue going forward. It probably won't be an every season thing, but it's very unlikely to regress back to how it was like the first few years when the B1G only got 1 team to the Frozen Four in those first 3 years and only 2 compared to the NCHC's 7 in the first 4 years. The NCHC started out with several advantages that helped it start out more successful, but were or are not the type of advantages that will help them sustain the success they had from 2014-2021 far into the future, at least not in my opinion.
On the other hand, the B1G started out with some disadvantages that just needed some time to overcome, and the advantages the B1G has, also needed time to kick in. Have those disadvantages all been overcome? Have all of those advantages fully kicked in? Is the recent trend(4 Frozen Four teams for the B1G compared to just 1 for the NCHC) going to continue and be an annual thing? I don't know for sure. I'm sure the NCHC will bounce back to some degree. If not as a whole, a couple teams or at least one team should have some good seasons going forward.
Comparing the 2 conferences future potential, I'd say the B1G's potential going forward is far better than the NCHC's.
Miami of Ohio? Omaha? WMU? CC? None of these schools have ever had more than a few really good seasons. All are small schools with no big time football or men's bb to help fund anything they want to do with their hockey program or their athletics dept in general. None of them have tons of money or a lot of alums with money to make things happen. What do these schools offer outside of playing in the NCHC? I'm not saying it's impossible that they could develop into legit powers, I mean UMD figured out how to do it, but I think UMD had an advantage that they don't have, that being located in the state of hockey and being close to Canada and also having a successful women's program as well as a successful football program that helped give the fans a taste of what it's like to have a championship team, but I am just saying it's unlikely.
Compare those 4 to the bottom of the B1G, OSU, Notre Dame & depending on when you are talking about, Michigan St and/or Wisconsin, both Wisconsin and Mich St have several Natl Titles and periods where they were considered a legit power and have the money to put towards their programs and have some mojo as well, or at least Wisconsin does, not sure about MSU? Notre Dame has had limited success in the past but like UW and MSU has the money to put towards their program. Will they? Not sure?
Now looking at the top of the 2 conferences, I think Minnesota, Michigan & PSU have the money and facilities and mojo and desire to win to the point that the 3 of them combined can match up with the top 4 of the NCHC, because as good as UND & Denver have been throughout history and UMD has been recently, all 3 of them, as well as SCSU are all smaller schools without big time football or men's bb to help their athletic depts in general. Not saying that is a requirement, but it sure helps and not having such can hurt.
Also, I think what UND had in the old WCHA wasn't replaced with what it gets in the NCHC. Series' with small schools such as Denver, CC, SCSU & UMD continued, which helped the new NCHC to start out well as the majority of the conference was made up of schools with heated rivalries, but instead of UND traveling to play Minnesota and Wisconsin in their big arenas and on their big TV networks, those series' were replaced with more small schools like WMU & Miami of Ohio which long term take some of the shine off of UND and DU, CC, SCSU & UMD who all benefited from that dynamic as well.
Meanwhile Minnesota and Wisconsin and Mich, MSU & OSU left behind the small schools to join up with each other and big school PSU and later semi-big school Notre Dame. This new combination of schools wasn't going to start out with a bang, it would take time for the rivalries to heat up and now they are heating up. And with the heat has come more fans showing up to games and watching on TV. TV mind you on the B1G conferences own network if not on other networks. And networks like ESPN or Fox, etc., are going to prefer to have games vs big schools with large potential fan bases like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, PSU & OSU on their networks. A casual hockey fan who tends to only or mostly watch the NHL might watch an NCAA tourney game between big schools like Minnesota vs Michigan or either of those vs a Boston College where as a game of schools like Mankato vs Omaha or St Cloud St vs Quinipiac isn't going to draw as many non-college hockey fans.
Now the difference may not be significant enough for networks and many or all of them may not even give a sh1t about college hockey? But if they ever do, it won't be because of anything the NCHC does or contributes to the sport, but it easily could be very much because of something the B1G did or contributed to the sport. Maybe helping to bring it into bigger markets. Many believe and have said that Arizona St started up only after they saw PSU make it work for them. The NHL stated it was open to helping a school like Illinois in getting started. If a West Coast Conference or the Southeastern Conference ever start up or move up to Div 1 play, it won't be so that their teams can play the likes of St Cloud St or Omaha or WMU or UMD, it will be so that they can play the likes of Minnesota, Michigan, OSU, PSU & Wisconsin in big arenas.
FredsDeadFriend
New member
^^^ this ^^^^
FredsDeadFriend
New member
It's been said many times by those arguing for the B1G, one team does not a conference make. A team winning the Title does NOT automatically mean that team's conference is the best conference. Nor does a conference need to produce a Natl Champ to be considered the best conference top to bottom.
A conference getting 5-6 into the NCAA tourney could make the case for that conference as long as all 5-6 don't lose in the 1st round, then it could be argued the conference was overrated. A conference getting 3 into the Frozen Four is basically a slam dunk, but even then it's not absolute as not even 3 teams does a conference make. A Conference getting 4 into the 2nd round of 8 makes a very strong argument, but again it's not absolute. If all 4 of them lose, then it depends what the rest of the field looks like and does. But I hope you get the drift.
Of the 7 teams in the B1G, only Wisconsin ranked worse than #17 in the PWR and they still rated higher than a ton of teams from the ECAC, NCHC & HE. If there was an NIT tourney for college hockey MSU & Notre Dame would have probably dominated it and both ended up in the Title game. Had they not had to play Minnesota, Michigan, OSU & PSU for half of their games basically, they would have gotten into the tourney. Other rating systems, like the Krach or whatever it's called now, and also the Massey Rating had them both getting into the tourney. But few people want 6 teams from a single conference getting into a tourney of just 16 teams. That's over 1/3rd of the field.
B1G teams are ranked like this according to...
Massey's Rating ------ USA Hockey ---- CHN Power Ratings --- USA Today
#1 - Minnesota ----- #1 Minnesota ---- #1 - Minnesota ----- #1 Minnesota
#2 - Michigan -------- #2 Michigan ----- #3 - Michigan ------- #2 Michigan
#7 - Ohio St ----------- #6 OSU -------- #8 - Ohio St --------- #6 OSU
#8 - Penn St ----------- #8 PSU -------- #6 - Penn St --------- #8 PSU
#13 - Notre Dm ---- #19 Ntre Dm -----#11 - Notre Dm ---- #19 Ntre Dm
#14 - Mich St --------- #17 MSU -------#12 - Mich St ------- #17 MSU
#24 - Wisconsin ----- UR Wisconsin ----#24 - Wisconsin ----- UR Wisconsin
I didn't list PWR because we all know how they rated in the PWR.
If that's not saying, "BEST CONFERENCE" then I don't know what will?
But I know "who" would say it. The NHL.