Re: The 2016 NCAA Frozen Four
I think BC would have finished 3rd in the WCHA with a 32-6-2 record for the year losing to Wisconsin in the semis.
It's easy to make such a statement/come to such a conclusion after watching one game between the two teams. Granted I've felt that BC's high powered offense had as much to do with their cupcake filled scedule as it did with the talent on their roster, but had BC had to play Wisconsin 4 times, Minny 4 times, UND 4 times and BSU 4 times, all the players on their roster would have gotten a lot more experience playing against a higher quality of opponent and by the time the conf tourney came along and then the NCAA tourney, all of those high quality players would possibly have figured out how to play against the likes of Minny and Wisconsin and could have won them a Natl Title?
I've seen it in other sports, cfb and cbb, teams play a weak scedule and then lose come tournament time being unprepared to play against some of the best teams in the country. In cfb Big East teams and maybe ACC teams and now AAC teams suffer from this phenomena often. On the other side of the coin, I've seen teams barely make it into the NCAA tourney after struggling to get through a tough scedule only to hit the NCAA tourney and blossom. The UConn men's bb team might be the most recognizable example before they joined the AAC and some Big Ten mens bb teams have done the same over the years. On the Men's side for hockey, I think the old WCHA was such a grind that any WCHA team that got into the NCAA tourney was a team to be feared, while it seemed that some years CCHA teams were the teams going into the tourney unprepared for the tougher competition. There have been some obvious exceptions and the CCHA had some good seasons as a conf and the WCHA had some lesser seasons as well.
But I really think that is what happened today to BC. Clarkson was the first truly high quality opponent they played all year and they got behind against them and needed OT to beat them, and Minnesota was even better. Not considering the quick 1st goal, BC hung with Minny for most of the game, and each goalie had the same number of saves late in the game. But it seemed to me that BC just didn't know how to play against a team as good as Minny. So I agree with others that had Wisconsin won the semi-final game, they would have beaten BC as well. But had BC played the entire season in the WCHA, even if they had finished 3rd behind UMn and UW, they would have been a much tougher out in the NCAA tourney and could have even won it all. They obviously know how to win games.
But we'll never know for sure? Some of us will continue to follow many of these players as they move on into the Pro league or play in the next olympics, and then we'll learn a little more about them, but that will only be the stars on each team and they'll be playing on different teams with different linemates and they might even be playing against each other, seeing as some are Canadians and some are Americans, etc..
So what am I trying to say, well, I guess as much as I felt BC played a weak scedule, I don't think its right or fair or honest to belittle what they did this year to the degree some here have. Saying that they might not have finished any higher than 4th in the WCHA??? What evidence is there of that? The one game today that they played against Minny vs a team with nothing but players who have already won Natl Titles in the past, with the obvious exception of the frosh, of course??
BC pounded on UMD. And NE may have been a little overrated, but they were at least Top 10 and BC beat them what? 4-5 times, sometimes handily?
Had they played in the WCHA this season, I doubt they would have finished below BSU and UND, and though I think both UMn and UW are better than BC, its not by much and they may have swept both UND and BSU and the rest of the WCHA and been right there with UMn and UW? They may have gotten a series in vs Minny without Kessel and back when AL was struggling a little and may have gotten a sweep vs the Gophers, especially if it was a series out east. BC may have finished 2nd ahead of Minny in the conf standings and being more hardened from the conf grind, who knows about the WCHA conf tourney and then the NCAA tourney???
Hey, I enjoy the back and forth that goes on between western fans and eastern fans, and the Western teams have dominated so far, but Clarkson did beat a very good Gopher team 3 years ago and there have been some games where eastern teams have played very close vs western teams so I don't think its cool to belittle a team like BC and what they did this season. Going 40-0 going into the Natl Title game is not an easy task. It's hockey, very few hockey teams ever win so many games in a row.
Ok, I'm rambling, but I just feel strongly about this.
