Salve Regina

[MilkUniversity]

Yeah.... wow. Hopefully they'll be able to hold it together this year with a still incomplete schedule and a ton of the roster trying to transfer. They just announced their recruits for this year and it's a light class.

 

[VTpucksouteast]

And all of a sudden, the schedule is starting to fill up...

According to D3 Hockey News, they have 16 games scheduled:

HOME:
Anna Maria
Assumption
CT College
Franklin Pierce
Salem State
So. Maine
Wesleyan

AWAY:
Anna Maria
Keene State
Saint Mike's (X2)
Salem State (X2)
Southern Maine

NEUTRAL:
Geneseo (Tampa)
TBD/Tufts (Tampa)

 

[MilkUniversity]

Been a minute, but Salve pulled off a major upset against #14 ranked Bowdoin. A few months ago Salve’s teams looked on the cusp and now they end the fall with a 12-1 record.

DIII Hockey News pointed out they’re sitting in 5th in the NPI and have an added boost to their results with D2 teams mixed in to the schedule and no conference games. Two tough games lined up after the break in Tampa against Geneseo and Tufts. Not sure the exact math but even a split might put them close to an at-large bid if they can win out this season.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Been a minute, but Salve pulled off a major upset against #14 ranked Bowdoin. A few months ago Salve’s teams looked on the cusp and now they end the fall with a 12-1 record.

DIII Hockey News pointed out they’re sitting in 5th in the NPI and have an added boost to their results with D2 teams mixed in to the schedule and no conference games. Two tough games lined up after the break in Tampa against Geneseo and Tufts. Not sure the exact math but even a split might put them close to an at-large bid if they can win out this season.

Games against D2 teams do NOT count in the NPI.

 

[Lord_Zubin]

They do and they don't. Since the d2 games do not count towards the NPI they make the elgible sample size smaller. That makes any d3 results swing much harder on the npi scale compared to other teams. They only scheduled 24 games anyway and it includes 4 d2 teams so the math is only going to consider 20 games. Their schedule outside of tufts Geneseo is top 10 easiest in the country so they could very realistically go 17-3 in elgible games which is an 0.85 win%. In a full 25 game schedule you'd have to win 21 regular season games to match that % which only a few teams ever do. If salve Regina makes it with an at large bid with their joke of a schedule I think the NCAA will have to revise the NPI formula because that would open a whole new can of worms of teams trying to schedule the d2 teams just to mess with the rankings. In laymen's terms, they're attempting to pull a Notre Dame and are very likely to pull it off.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

They do and they don't. Since the d2 games do not count towards the NPI they make the elgible sample size smaller. That makes any d3 results swing much harder on the npi scale compared to other teams. They only scheduled 24 games anyway and it includes 4 d2 teams so the math is only going to consider 20 games. Their schedule outside of tufts Geneseo is top 10 easiest in the country so they could very realistically go 17-3 in elgible games which is an 0.85 win%. In a full 25 game schedule you'd have to win 21 regular season games to match that % which only a few teams ever do. If salve Regina makes it with an at large bid with their joke of a schedule I think the NCAA will have to revise the NPI formula because that would open a whole new can of worms of teams trying to schedule the d2 teams just to mess with the rankings. In laymen's terms, they're attempting to pull a Notre Dame and are very likely to pull it off.

Correct. This is what DIIIHockeyNews was saying. It's a not a boost to the NPI though, which is the wording Milk used. It's more of a loophole.

 

[Lord_Zubin]

Eh I'd argue a loophole that boosts ur NPI makes u both right, but that's just me

 

[MilkUniversity]

Correct. This is what DIIIHockeyNews was saying. It's a not a boost to the NPI though, which is the wording Milk used. It's more of a loophole.

I could've worded it a bit better. Zubin summed it up well, but having a chunk of the schedule against D2 opponents (even though most of their opponents are low in the NPI) is inflating their ranking with the D2 games not counting. With the chaos they had in the offseason, I doubt they took a deep look at their schedule options and decided to leverage D2 opponents to make a surprise push for an at-large bid. But do agree that if Salve somehow pulls off the impossible the NCAA needs to make some changes to prevent the rankings from being gamed.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

I could've worded it a bit better. Zubin summed it up well, but having a chunk of the schedule against D2 opponents (even though most of their opponents are low in the NPI) is inflating their ranking with the D2 games not counting. With the chaos they had in the offseason, I doubt they took a deep look at their schedule options and decided to leverage D2 opponents to make a surprise push for an at-large bid. But do agree that if Salve somehow pulls off the impossible the NCAA needs to make some changes to prevent the rankings from being gamed.

That's only because they won those D3 games. Had they lost them, it would have "boosted" their NPI in the wrong direction...

 

[Lord_Zubin]

and russ youve hit the nail on the head. If ur a team in a good conference like the CNE why would ever schedule these d2 teams when you play a tough schedule and those losses do happen. But if you play in a crap conference like the MASCAC or MAC might as well shrink the sample size and bet on yourself to run the table. They all have an essentially 0% chance of ever making it as an at large bid anyway so there's 0 risk and all the possible rewards. If they still lose some games oh well go win your conference tournament and you're back to where you were anyway. Win most of them and now ur in Salve's position.