nysportsfan29
Repping The 'Sweeg in JC
This was something I had rolling around in my brain and I didn't really know where to post it so I figured I'd start a new thread.
There are a couple of reasons I have even begun to think it's even possible to have a discussion where there are two opposing viewpoints on the matter. One is Stout's abysmal showing in the Primelink which is supposed to be the cream of the crop when it comes to holiday tournaments featuring 3 of the best eastern programs there are. Outside of those two NC games, Stout beat two teams whose combined record is 5-17-2 (St. Thomas/Mary's) to give them a .500 record in NC games.
1st place right now in the NCHA belongs to perennial power St. Norbert. You could, IMO, argue that thaeir out of conference record isn't that impressive either. They have a loss to a tough eastern opponent (Sal. State) and a tie to, arguably, the best team in the MIAC (Hamline). Their NC record is 3-1-1 which isn't bad, however their wins have come against Lake Forest, Bethel and Lawrence (a 2-1 nail biter over the latter) whose combined record is 13-17.
I figured since St. Norbert is currently in first place in the NCHA and since Stout won it last year and made it all the way to Placid, it's possible those points could give way to a possible debate.
Without going into the Poll Predictions too much (since I'm sure there will be a thread up later in the day) I know that there are currently 4 teams in the poll, however St. Norbert is the only one in the top 5. It's possible they could drop out with Adrian, Norwich, and Elmira all going 2-0 on the weekend in rather convincing fashion for the most part. And who knows if Superior will stick around in the top 10 after a split on the weekend?
Lastly, if I'm not mistaken, the NCHA plays most of their out of conference games against the MIAC; a conference whose collective record is 39-45-13 (91 out of a possible 194 points if my math is correct). So despite the overall out of conference record being well above .500, is that only because they've played inferior competition? It's also important to note that the NCHA is 1-3-1 against the two best teams in the MIAC- Hamline and Gustavus Adolphus
I'll add a disclaimer and say that I do believe that the NCHA is still the best conference in D-III (without having ever seen one of the teams play). My only question is do we continue to take it as the "God's Honest Truth"? It certainly helps that the ECAC-W appears to be down this year, but is that the case for the NCHA as well? Is it more than just possible, for the sake of being possible, that the conference will decline down the road?
What do you all think?
There are a couple of reasons I have even begun to think it's even possible to have a discussion where there are two opposing viewpoints on the matter. One is Stout's abysmal showing in the Primelink which is supposed to be the cream of the crop when it comes to holiday tournaments featuring 3 of the best eastern programs there are. Outside of those two NC games, Stout beat two teams whose combined record is 5-17-2 (St. Thomas/Mary's) to give them a .500 record in NC games.
1st place right now in the NCHA belongs to perennial power St. Norbert. You could, IMO, argue that thaeir out of conference record isn't that impressive either. They have a loss to a tough eastern opponent (Sal. State) and a tie to, arguably, the best team in the MIAC (Hamline). Their NC record is 3-1-1 which isn't bad, however their wins have come against Lake Forest, Bethel and Lawrence (a 2-1 nail biter over the latter) whose combined record is 13-17.
I figured since St. Norbert is currently in first place in the NCHA and since Stout won it last year and made it all the way to Placid, it's possible those points could give way to a possible debate.
Without going into the Poll Predictions too much (since I'm sure there will be a thread up later in the day) I know that there are currently 4 teams in the poll, however St. Norbert is the only one in the top 5. It's possible they could drop out with Adrian, Norwich, and Elmira all going 2-0 on the weekend in rather convincing fashion for the most part. And who knows if Superior will stick around in the top 10 after a split on the weekend?
Lastly, if I'm not mistaken, the NCHA plays most of their out of conference games against the MIAC; a conference whose collective record is 39-45-13 (91 out of a possible 194 points if my math is correct). So despite the overall out of conference record being well above .500, is that only because they've played inferior competition? It's also important to note that the NCHA is 1-3-1 against the two best teams in the MIAC- Hamline and Gustavus Adolphus
I'll add a disclaimer and say that I do believe that the NCHA is still the best conference in D-III (without having ever seen one of the teams play). My only question is do we continue to take it as the "God's Honest Truth"? It certainly helps that the ECAC-W appears to be down this year, but is that the case for the NCHA as well? Is it more than just possible, for the sake of being possible, that the conference will decline down the road?
What do you all think?
