Re: Poll Results Nov 9th ..hard to predict but easy to criticize
Two ways:
1) Not every poll gets counted each week. There are back-ups who also submit ballots in case one of the regular voters does not get theirs in on time, or at all. So, someone who voted in last weeks poll may not have submitted a poll this week, or they may not have submitted a poll last week, and did so this week.
2) After 2 weeks between polls, someone could have simply changed their mind.
Like this fool who didn't submit a ballot this week. Mostly because I wasn't confident enough with what I had to finalize it, but this is what my last draft looked like.
Rank Team My Previous
1 Manhattanville (1)
2 SNC (3)
3 Adrian (4)
4 Plattsburgh (2)
5 Norwich (5)
6 Stout (7)
7 Oswego (NR)
8 Gustavus (6)
9 Elmira (11)
10 Middlebury (10)
11 Amherst (12)
12 River Falls (NR)
13 Hamline (15)
14 Utica (NR)
15 St. Scholastica (NR) I guess?
I had M'ville #1 in the preseason, no reason to change that. SNC is a worthy #2, but that tie to Hamline is enough to disqualify them from first right now for me. Adrian slides up a spot, no big points of discussion until...
Plattsburgh. Here's the issue with Plattsburgh and Oswego. Let's say, despite the fact I still think Plattsburgh is a better team, I rank Oswego above them. Then I have to rank Elmira above Plattsburgh because Elmira split with Oswego. Then I have to rank
Morrisville above Plattsburgh for splitting with
Elmira! See how this quickly gets out of hand? So I either go strictly by the results (Morrisville a top 5 team) or I say "screw it" and get creative. I chose the latter.
Norwich stays where they are and...
Stout moves up? Surely Carey has lost it now. Well, maybe. But SNC is the #1 or #2 team in the nation, depending who you ask. Losing twice to them is no shame. Throw in the way they spanked St. Thomas, and I think this spot is perfectly justified.
Oswego might have earned better, but I'm critical of anybody putting them second. I've seen too many Oswego teams climb up the polls only to slam back down, and this team is a fraction of any of those.
Elmira in the vicinity of Oswego and Gustavus just felt right in this spot. Middlebury and Amherst pretty much stay in the same spots (as they should if they haven't played) and River Falls makes an entrance by sweeping a Superior team I was very skeptical about. Hamline gets credit for the SNC tie but little else. Utica displaces the national champions (who, like Superior, were a team I was skeptical about that I moved out) and I threw CSS at the bottom even though I think beating UWSP is like beating a JV squad right now. Hard to leave out a 3 win NCHA team though.
And those are my thoughts.