So... what the hell is going on with this tournament? Michigan dumped by Air Force? Both UMD and New Hampshire pulled off miracle wins in the last second to tie and OT to win. Miami of Ohio dominates Denver?!?! then they dispatch of UMD.. Poor Ohio State hasn't won a game in this thing for years, and the seeding committee did them no favor by sticking them against Boston.. They were shredded by the Red who just rolled onto the finals. Bemidji, as Gip mention, hammered ND... The flippin Beavers?!?! They aren't even the 5th best team in the state annually. So we have Vermont and Miami of Ohio sitting back and waiting for the winners of Bemidji/Cornell and New Hampshire vs BU. The CCHA and WCHA were total flops this year, but Hockey East is looking pretty damned tough right now.
Well, the Beavers are in the Final Four thumping Cornell almost as badly as they thumped the No.1 ranked Irish. Not a bad performance for a member of a conference that is going to disband after next season and who had to petition the NCAA to retain its automatic tourney bid for its conference champ. Corey, how many NCAA play-off games had the CHA team won before this? One? Two? I understand that BS petitioned the WCHA for admission but the WCHA is still pondering its decision since it would prefer adding 2 teams rather than just 1. I guess if BS wins it all, it will make the WCHA's decision a lot easier.... For non hockey fans, what happened here would be comparable to a school like Savannah State, in basketball, being a 16 seed and going to the Final Four by not just beating but blowing out North Carolina and Kansas. The AF/Mi game was pretty much played in AF's end the entire game with Michigan out-shooting AF some like 42-12. But great goaltending and capitalizing on the few opportunities it had resulted in AF sending Michigan home with yet another first round exit. This was only the second time that a member of a the Atlantic Conference won a NCAA playoff game. But, the AF/Vermont game regional final game was even more strange. The game went into a second overtime when a shot from the point by a Vermont defenseman went into the net but was missed by the referee and linesmen. The game continued for another two minutes when, after a stoppage in play, the officials looked at the replay for roughly 15 minutes before deciding that Vermont had scored.
Well I am sure you remember that there was a point in time in which Bemidji dominated Division II along with the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Good ole Title IX constraints eventually rotted that division into nothing and forced the schools to go to either DI or DIII. You are correct that I can't remember the conference winning anything at the Division 1 level. I know UAH scared Notre Dame last year, but that's about it.. I can't imagine Bemidji playing DIII hockey. One of the reported homes of Paul Bunyan (see below), it is up in that crazy assed Iron Range area although they will fight you if you suggest they are part of the range... The people there love the Beavers.. Bemidji has a long standing history with some of the members of the WCHA. UMD and Bemidji have been playing each other (or sharing conference affiliation in other sports) for a very long time. (history time for those who dont follow midwestern collegiate sports) When UMD attempted to join the NCC (one of DII's premier conferences), little could they envision the jump to Division I by the Dakota schools and the southerwestern MN schools... So the NCC ceased to operate and those teams fell back into the NSIC.. Now the NSIC is this massive 'super conference', and I am starting to wonder if they may have designs on a hockey future..?? If not, why not... The WCHA already contains UMD, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State. They should probably pony up and do the right thing here.. Bemidji is already a member in women's hockey. The 'full participation' angle should really help them as several others are not members on the men's and women's side.. I think at some point in time, the NCAA needs to decide if it is going to grow the sport (and have the western conference members of the WCHA break off and seek expansion) or if they are going to go the isolationist route and protect old midwestern rivalries....(let teams like BSU die off because there is nowhere for them to go). The promotion of BSU to 'the big time' would not sit well with UMD, ND and NDSU...
UAH plays at the Von Braun center and most certainly have the facilities to play in the CCHA. Do they have the talent to handle the grind week in and out? They could offer warm weather and a few things other schools really can't.. That would be interesting.
From what I have read, one idea floating about was to have have Alaska-Fairbanks move from the CCHA to WCHA which already has Alaska-Anchorage with Bedmidji joinging the WCHA. UAH would then be added to the CCHA. If they did it this way, both leagues would have an even number of teams which would make scheduling easier, especially since visiting conference teams could play both Alaska teams when they visit. Putting UAH in the CCHA would be good for the league since it would give the league a presence in the South which could be a fertile ground for future expansion given the population shift from the East and Midwest to the South. Plus, if that young O'Connor kid is as good as advertised, he could wind up at UAH and compel his Dad to switch loyalties to the CCHA.
Good point Bobda. I have never been able to make heads or tails of UA and UA-A playing in 2 different conferences. It just seems so wasteful.. The O'Connor kid is still coming along nicely. If he continues on with hockey, it will be a single handed effort though..