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New WCHA is dead

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AZAce said:
Much has been said about cost and travel, but I firmly believe that a major consideration for the WCHA making this drastic move is the fact that the three schools being eliminated are not competitive. Bottom line is that this lack of being competitive hurts every team in the conference when it comes down to the all important PairWise rankings.
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I love (sarcasm) that three down years constitutes being uncompetitive.

Six teams have made (or would have qualified based on standings) the WCHA playoffs each season since realignment: Mankato, Tech, NMU, Bowling Green, Bemidji, and...Fairbanks. Suddenly Ferris State and Lake Superior wanting to take a creamy dump on UAF makes a ton more sense.

This isn’t about being uncompetitive. It’s about travel and geography, plain and simple. If it was about being competitive then that $120k that UAF is slated to blow on the six WCHA teams traveling north this coming season would instead be used to beef up recruiting, assistant salaries, facilities...you know, all the things that help a program be more competitive.

Besides, none of this is a done deal. If ASU doesn’t wind up as a B1G affiliate, the NCHC is the next most obvious landing spot once their arena gets figured out. If that happens, you can bet Mankato is going to go full “Why Western” mode to get that 10th spot (nor would I blame them).
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

https://www.miningjournal.net/sports/2019/07/wcha-still-trying-to-figure-things-out-after/

When asked if he felt if Huntsville had a chance to become the eighth team to even out the new seven-team conference, Kurtz said that should be more of a national discussion.

“I think that’s a great question, but I think that’s a question that has to be addressed on a national level,” he said. “If college hockey wants all 60 schools to be viable, then a discussion has to take place on how to best make that happen for all 60 schools.”
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

purpleinnebraska said:
I hope this isn't an issue because: 1) Things are cyclical. It was just a few years ago that Alaska qualified for home ice 2 years in a row (though there was the NCAA penalty one of those years); and 2) Someone has to finish last. I think finances have to be the big driving force here. While those three schools have struggled a bit, the league has still been able to grab at-large bids in '14, '15, '18, and '19, so I don't think it's accurate to say those schools are killing our Pairwise.
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Another reason I miss that Pairwise tool at slack.net It would be easy to subtract the UA(A, F H) games from the results and see what the new pairwise are.

So a potential veto override vote is next week? What are the odds of that happening?
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

ticapnews said:
Another reason I miss that Pairwise tool at slack.net It would be easy to subtract the UA(A, F H) games from the results and see what the new pairwise are.

So a potential veto override vote is next week? What are the odds of that happening?
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I really don't think it would make much difference. The games that kill you from a Pairwise perspective are the losses (Yeah, I know. Captain Obvious.). PLAYING a team in the bottom 10 doesn't hurt your Pairwise. LOSING TO a team in the bottom 10 hurts you. Our conference has suffered more in the Pairwise from the fact that the NCHC has beaten us like a drum. We've tended to do OK against the other conferences.
 
purpleinnebraska said:
I hope this isn't an issue because: 1) Things are cyclical. It was just a few years ago that Alaska qualified for home ice 2 years in a row (though there was the NCAA penalty one of those years); and 2) Someone has to finish last. I think finances have to be the big driving force here. While those three schools have struggled a bit, the league has still been able to grab at-large bids in '14, '15, '18, and '19, so I don't think it's accurate to say those schools are killing our Pairwise.
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Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

Let’s take a look at last season’s non-conference records for the seven breakaways...

Bemidji State: 2-4-2
Bowling Green: 5-1-1
Ferris State: 2-4-0
Lake Superior: 4-1-0
Michigan Tech: 1-5-1
Mankato: 5-2-1
Northern Michigan: 1-6-0

You want to get a better PWR, win. Period.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

broncoinak said:
Guy's a complete moron. And he got elected by promising free money to a bunch of idiots who then go rail against "socialism" as if the PFD isn't a shining example.
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At least his rich brother (who bankrolled his entire campaign from Texas) paid for him to get a tailor. When he was a state senator he used to walk around in the capitol wearing a suit that was so long it would slide underneath his shoes.

You would have thought Sarah Palin was enough of an example why electing somebody from Wasilla to a statewide office up there is a terrible idea.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

Squarebanks said:
Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

Let’s take a look at last season’s non-conference records for the seven breakaways...

Bemidji State: 2-4-2
Bowling Green: 5-1-1
Ferris State: 2-4-0
Lake Superior: 4-1-0
Michigan Tech: 1-5-1
Mankato: 5-2-1
Northern Michigan: 1-6-0

You want to get a better PWR, win. Period.
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20-23-5 is not insurmountable. 1-22-1 on top of it would be.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

gfmorris said:
Hasn't Navy been rumored to AH since the current middies were in diapers?...
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That rumor has been making the rounds ever since the Brits tried to sail into Baltimore Harbor. All due respect to Messrs. Trefzger and Connelly but I wouldn't hold my breath.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

Split-N said:
That rumor has been making the rounds ever since the Brits tried to sail into Baltimore Harbor. All due respect to Messrs. Trefzger and Connelly but I wouldn't hold my breath.
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I thought they flew into BWI..... (sorry, couldn't resist)
 
Slap Shot said:
20-23-5 is not insurmountable. 1-22-1 on top of it would be.
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It is when 70% of those 20 wins are from three teams. Not coincidental that the two WCHA teams who made the NCAA’s last year were a combined 10-3-2 in non-conference play. The only team from last season who can make the grievance that the collective WCHA PWR screwed them out of an at-large bid is Lake Superior, who had some bad conference losses that knocked them down. As presently constructed, this new league still looks a lot like a two-bid league unless the teams not named Mankato step it up on an annual basis.

And for the record...I will freely admit UAF’s non-conference record is not helpful. We had something like a top-5 difficult non-conference schedule last season: ASU (when nobody knew they’d be good), St. Cloud and Denver. I get the aspiration to beat top teams, but I’d rather we schedule more winnable games. But hey, none of that may even matter anymore.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

Squarebanks said:
It is when 70% of those 20 wins are from three teams. Not coincidental that the two WCHA teams who made the NCAA’s last year were a combined 10-3-2 in non-conference play. The only team from last season who can make the grievance that the collective WCHA PWR screwed them out of an at-large bid is Lake Superior, who had some bad conference losses that knocked them down. As presently constructed, this new league still looks a lot like a two-bid league unless the teams not named Mankato step it up on an annual basis.

And for the record...I will freely admit UAF’s non-conference record is not helpful. We had something like a top-5 difficult non-conference schedule last season: ASU (when nobody knew they’d be good), St. Cloud and Denver. I get the aspiration to beat top teams, but I’d rather we schedule more winnable games. But hey, none of that may even matter anymore.
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Agreed. NMU was third in WCHA play, but missed the tournament...not because of the Alaska schools or Huntsville, but because they went 1-6 in non-con games. Our Pairwise problems are solved when we can go .500 against the NCHC and Big.
 
Re: New WCHA is dead

Why on earth would anyone hire Kurtz. The guy is a total D***. What the heck does he mean by global hockey commnity decision. I'll tell you. What he means is, NO. and he is just too dang afraid and too much of a coward to say it.
 
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