The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

Mathematically the leagues have been comparable for the past two to three years except at the very top where the very best teams from the ECAC were not comparable to the very top teams from the HE, WCHA, & CCHA. However, just below the top the teams and leagues were all very competitive and very comparable with each other. Two years ago both Union and Yale made it the the NCAA's but lost to a standout Duluth team which went on to win it all. Union lost 2-0 to Duluth that year but Duluth was in a league of its own. The ECAC record was 1-2 in 2011. Last year the ECAC almost had two in the final four so its been building for a while. The ECAC record in 2012 improved to 3-2. This year the only NCAA losses suffered by the ECAC will be at the hands of other ECAC teams and its record will be 8-2, I think. That stands in stark contrast to the WCHA's record.

Something that has helped the ECAC is the tough competition in the league from top to bottom. There were no easy wins by anyone, anywhere, anytime although Quinnipiac made it look easy. When your last place team can beat BU twice, something is up.

What bods well for the ECAC going forward is the wealth of talent returning on a number of very very young and developing teams like Dartmouth, Brown, RPI, Colgate, Cornell, Yale, St. Lawrence, Harvard, Princeton, etc. I am not sure the ECAC will continue to produce the same number of winners at the very top but they will be very very competitive in the "rank and file" next year and I would not be surprised to see ECAC teams return to the frozen four on a more regular basis.

Thanks. Not what my post was about though.

The top teams in the WCHA, HE, CCHA, and ECAC can all beat each other on any given night.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

Somewhat out of context, but neither team has to play in the best conference or have the best conference over X years to be crowned champion tomorrow. Were it my team winning tomorrow night I couldn't care less where any of it ranked, I'd drink some beers and go home and plant one on my wife.

 

[The Rube]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

Somewhat out of context, but neither team has to play in the best conference or have the best conference over X years to be crowned champion tomorrow. Were it my team winning tomorrow night I couldn't care less where any of it ranked, I'd drink some beers and go home and plant one on my wife.

I would, too.

Of course, I might then get slapped by Slappy's wife, and then punched by Slappy, but the story would be awesome.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

Q couldnt have made it to Pittsburgh without western Canada and Minnesota talent.

It should state "Q couldnt have made it to Pittsburgh without 24 year old western Canada and Minnesota talent"

Quinnipiac is going to have a major reload factor next year, although the team model will likely allow junior and senior transfers as in the past .

 

[TigerinMinnesota]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

As an alum from the WCHA I don't care what you say this is great for college hockey. If you look beyond your respective teams and conferences this will only solidify college hockey. The competition between leagues has narrowed in the last decade. As college fans we should be ecstatic over this. In the last 23 years the WCHA, CCHA and Hockey East dominated both the National Championship and Hobey Baker. Now young kids throughout the US will look to play in the ECAC not as a consolation but to be live a boyhood dream of winning a championship (this is not a knock on the league). If you look at all the teams that made the frozen four you will see a loyalty by these players. They didn't come into their respective teams asking what the team could do for them but what they could do for their team. Not many of these teams were affected by guys leaving early. The WCHA for an example back in the 2000's they had guys that would stick around for at least 3 years. Now they recruit premadonnas who stay for a year and then head to the pros without a care if they won a title. I can come up with several examples of guys leaving early who are either career AHL'ers or now playing in Europe. Quinippiac is a great example with 11 seniors. They stuck around to get their degree and let it all play out. I'll be pulling for them because thats what I stand for and probably because Yale would have never accepted me. Everyone who is bashing this league should take a look at their own team and ask if they are recruiting the right guys for their program. Best of luck to both teams and best of luck to college hockey!

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

It is a great year for the ECAC (long time coming) but one year does not make you a dominate conference. You need to prove it over 5, 10, 15 or twenty years. ECAC has been an easy team to beat in the NCAA's. But we might be seeing more parity in college hockey where the gap between conferences is shrinking.

You nailed it Biddco. Establishing a claim of "dominance" is only statistically valid over a broad range of time. That's statistical common sense in all of college and professional sports. The comical thread title must have been written by a 13 year old with a Ylae hat and stick horse.

 

[The Rube]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

You nailed it Biddco. Establishing a claim of "dominance" is only statistically valid over a broad range of time. That's statistical common sense in all of college and professional sports. The comical thread title must have been written by a 13 year old with a Ylae hat and stick horse.

THANK YOU BOTH. That's what I've been stating over the course of this season, only to be burned at the stake.

 

[Biddco]

Re: The best NCAA Championship by a league (ever)....

THANK YOU BOTH. That's what I've been stating over the course of this season, only to be burned at the stake.

You nailed it Biddco. Establishing a claim of "dominance" is only statistically valid over a broad range of time. That's statistical common sense in all of college and professional sports. The comical thread title must have been written by a 13 year old with a Ylae hat and stick horse.

Yeah this thread is probably created just to create a reaction and some sort of debate on the subject.

Congratulations to the ECAC! Wonder if we will ever see an AHA team win a title...