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WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Bummer.

Next season's thread will be "In Which We Advance to the Second Round."
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

MTUHuskies said:
I hope you don't mind my edit to your comment :D
Click to expand...

No. But I'm a Northern fan, and we shot ourselves in the foot down the stretch in conference. If we swept you in February, closed out against Huntsville, and against BGSU... we might have gotten in.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

MissThundercat said:
No. But I'm a Northern fan, and we shot ourselves in the foot down the stretch in conference. If we swept you in February, closed out against Huntsville, and against BGSU... we might have gotten in.
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True. But it can also be said that tech shot themselves too. Two losses early to MnSU, splitting with UAH, two ties vs. UAA, dropping 3/4 to Ferris, and OOC losses to ASU (2), and UW didnt help. Even going .500 in those games would be better.

But I cannot complain with Tech's season. They dealt with a lot of injuries and finished strong. WCHA should have a lot of good competition next season.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

MTUHuskies said:
True. But it can also be said that tech shot themselves too. Two losses early to MnSU, splitting with UAH, two ties vs. UAA, dropping 3/4 to Ferris, and OOC losses to ASU (2), and UW didnt help. Even going .500 in those games would be better.

But I cannot complain with Tech's season. They dealt with a lot of injuries and finished strong. WCHA should have a lot of good competition next season.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

And I can't complain either. NMU's best record in awhile, highest conference finish in awhile, home ice in the playoffs, and advancing to the WCHA Championship.
 
MTUHuskies said:
WCHA 2018-2019: 3 NCAA teams; 2 rounds; 1 National Champion

Am I asking too much?
Click to expand...

I don’t think that’s too much at all. We weren’t too far off from getting three teams in this year. And both losses in the tourney were in OT. As Air Force proved, anything can happen in these one-and-done games.

Two things need to happen, IMO.

1. Better OOC performance (duh)
2. The bottom half of the conference needs to start showing meaningful improvement.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

With the SCSU job open, and Mike Hastings being an alum there, there’s concern about him leaving Mankato.. my biggest concern is that the Mavs are in the WCHA and SCSU is in the NCHC.

It’s no secret the WCHA’s bottom half must improve drastically for the league to improve.. which is why Minnesota State applied for the NCHC and why that’s where they want to be.

Quite frankly, they absolutely must get in the NCHC. Looking at the pairwise, the Mavs played the following teams in the WCHA:

57 Alaska 4 times
50 FSU 2 times
51 UAH 4 times
60 UAA 4 times
56 LSSU 2 times

That’s 16 games against teams 50 and lower in the pairwise.

Additionally, BSU was 31 in the pairwise, and the Mavs played them 4 times.

20 games in league play against teams 31 or lower in the pairwise.

In the NCHC, the Mavs would’ve played 0. ZERO teams 31 or lower!!

The lowest rated NCHC team in the pairwise was Miami at 29.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

MavHockey14 said:
With the SCSU job open, and Mike Hastings being an alum there, there’s concern about him leaving Mankato.. my biggest concern is that the Mavs are in the WCHA and SCSU is in the NCHC.

It’s no secret the WCHA’s bottom half must improve drastically for the league to improve.. which is why Minnesota State applied for the NCHC and why that’s where they want to be.

Quite frankly, they absolutely must get in the NCHC. Looking at the pairwise, the Mavs played the following teams in the WCHA:

57 Alaska 4 times
50 FSU 2 times
51 UAH 4 times
60 UAA 4 times
56 LSSU 2 times

That’s 16 games against teams 50 and lower in the pairwise.

Additionally, BSU was 31 in the pairwise, and the Mavs played them 4 times.

20 games in league play against teams 31 or lower in the pairwise.

In the NCHC, the Mavs would’ve played 0. ZERO teams 31 or lower!!

The lowest rated NCHC team in the pairwise was Miami at 29.
Click to expand...
I know MnSU wants into the NCHC, but honestly, the top half of the WCHA is great. I don't really know why any program would want to run away from it for the meat grinder that is the NCHC. I guess MnSU wants to play SCSU, UMD, UND in regular season games, but I'm fine with MTU in the WCHA because I enjoy the matchups with BGSU, FSU, MnSU, BSU, NMU. Hopefully FSU can rebound to past form and UAH, LSSU can find a way to improve...UA_ and UAA, I just don't know.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

The WCHA has gotten 2 teams in 3 of their 5 years. With another team ranked 16 or 17 in the final pairwise. All the league needs to do is improve 10% in NC and its fine. The top 2-3 teams have a pretty decent chance of getting into the tournament any given year. Save for 2016-17 (by far the worst year for the league), the top half of the league has been top 32 in final PWR. 2014-15 was the best, with BSU 5th highest in the league at 27th.
 
Shirtless Guy said:
The WCHA has gotten 2 teams in 3 of their 5 years. With another team ranked 16 or 17 in the final pairwise. All the league needs to do is improve 10% in NC and its fine. The top 2-3 teams have a pretty decent chance of getting into the tournament any given year. Save for 2016-17 (by far the worst year for the league), the top half of the league has been top 32 in final PWR. 2014-15 was the best, with BSU 5th highest in the league at 27th.
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UAF was close in 2014 and 2015...’14 was a goofy non-conference loss, as I recall. ‘15 was the NCAA hammering us so they could let North Carolina off.

The league isn’t really that far off from being in contention for three spots.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Squarebanks said:
UAF was close in 2014 and 2015...’14 was a goofy non-conference loss, as I recall. ‘15 was the NCAA hammering us so they could let North Carolina off.

The league isn’t really that far off from being in contention for three spots.
Click to expand...

It isn't, finding a way to schedule more home games and literally winning about 10% more in NC is all it would take. LSSU and UAH are the only 2 that haven't finished in the top half of the league as far as final PWR. MnSU, NMU, BGSU, BSU, MTU, and FSU are all pretty good programs that should be pretty successful in NC.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

Squarebanks said:
UAF was close in 2014 and 2015...’14 was a goofy non-conference loss, as I recall. ‘15 was the NCAA hammering us so they could let North Carolina off.

The league isn’t really that far off from being in contention for three spots.
Click to expand...

Someone on the BG site ran the pairwise predictor and I recall it came down to something like a 2-3 game swing to get us and Northern in this year with Mankato. Maybe I'm misremembering the details but this year we were actually were in contention for 3 spots.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

TalonsUpPuckDown said:
Someone on the BG site ran the pairwise predictor and I recall it came down to something like a 2-3 game swing to get us and Northern in this year with Mankato. Maybe I'm misremembering the details but this year we were actually were in contention for 3 spots.
Click to expand...

It doesn't take much.
 
Squarebanks said:
Cool.
Click to expand...

I don’t mean be to be an ***hole, I’m just sick of watching the Mavs rack up the wins to make the tournament and bounce first round. Minnesota State has heavily invested in its program to make it a winner, and a national contender annually. I’m not saying they’re going to be North Dakota or Michigan putting together double digit year streaks of making the tournament, but they should be in the mix annually and win games at the NCAA tourney level — even with all the success in the new WCHA, the Mavs still haven’t been able to do it.

The WCHA currently leaves little margin for error in the W/L column, and frankly, playing 20 games against tougher opponents this season, while resulting in a few more losses, would’ve helped the Mavericks go through a more rigorous test and preparation for the postseason.

I enjoy when MTU or BSU and MSU play or the FSU/MSU great series we had early in the new WCHA, etc. I’d rather see the Mavs split more series and play tougher opponents rather than generally run through most of te league with their top teams and then fall flat come NCAA time.

There were multiple games the Mavs played their “B” game and were successful and won. That would happen far less in the NCHC, and would force the Mavs to consistently be at the top of their game, or they won’t make the NCAA tournament.

Now, I will acknowledge part of the NCAA failures have been on the staff and the team as well — you cannot lose to RIT as the #1 overall seed, or completely dominate UMD for 20 minuets then hit the coast button and watch it all fall apart.
 
Re: WCHA Season Thread 2017-18: In Which We Try For Two Bids

MavHockey14 said:
I don’t mean be to be an ***hole, I’m just sick of watching the Mavs rack up the wins to make the tournament and bounce first round. Minnesota State has heavily invested in its program to make it a winner, and a national contender annually. I’m not saying they’re going to be North Dakota or Michigan putting together double digit year streaks of making the tournament, but they should be in the mix annually and win games at the NCAA tourney level — even with all the success in the new WCHA, the Mavs still haven’t been able to do it.

The WCHA currently leaves little margin for error in the W/L column, and frankly, playing 20 games against tougher opponents this season, while resulting in a few more losses, would’ve helped the Mavericks go through a more rigorous test and preparation for the postseason.

I enjoy when MTU or BSU and MSU play or the FSU/MSU great series we had early in the new WCHA, etc. I’d rather see the Mavs split more series and play tougher opponents rather than generally run through most of te league with their top teams and then fall flat come NCAA time.

There were multiple games the Mavs played their “B” game and were successful and won. That would happen far less in the NCHC, and would force the Mavs to consistently be at the top of their game, or they won’t make the NCAA tournament.

Now, I will acknowledge part of the NCAA failures have been on the staff and the team as well — you cannot lose to RIT as the #1 overall seed, or completely dominate UMD for 20 minuets then hit the coast button and watch it all fall apart.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mean SCSU had a terrible streak, your frustration isn't with WCHA, its with MnSU failing on the big stage...
 
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