2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

In the case of MSU-M, the exemption went unused mostly because we wanted a bye week. This is especially important now that the new playoff format has shortened the season by a week.

I think this is a huge part of things, with adding another week to the playoffs, and the fact that half the time you can add 4 more games to the schedule, plus more than likely those additions won't be at home, coaches are opting to use 2 games. It not all four to get a week off.

[beaverhockeyfan]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

In the case of MSU-M, the exemption went unused mostly because we wanted a bye week. This is especially important now that the new playoff format has shortened the season by a week.

Same thing with BSU even before this year. They could have played 38 games this past year (and last year I believe), but Coach Serratore has said he will never play more than 36 as that bye week is too important to the health/healing of injuries.

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Same thing with BSU even before this year. They could have played 38 games this past year (and last year I believe), but Coach Serratore has said he will never play more than 36 as that bye week is too important to the health/healing of injuries.

Yep. As fans, we want hockey every week, and I think the players want it, too (Game goals are a lot sweeter than practice goals). But the coaches wisely step in and schedule a bye or two.

[AKSWF]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Ouch for us smaller schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...onus/99582450/

[Superfly100]

is should we scale back on the NCHC and Big games (24 and 25, respectively) in favor of more AH (6 this year) or ASU (0) games, given how well this worked for OSU and PSU in this year's Pairwise?.

No. Playing the bottom teams of the weakest conferences does nothing to prepare you for the pace, skill, and intensity of playing the top teams of the toughest conferences once you get to the tournament.

I'd rather be a one bid conference that made a Frozen Four, than a two or three bid conference that never makes it out of the first round.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Ouch for us smaller schools:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...onus/99582450/

As far as hockey goes, the only programs to get money were the Big10(7). Hockey won't see a dime of that money because those programs only care about money making sports (football, basketball).

I'd rather be a one bid conference that made a Frozen Four, than a two or three bid conference that never makes it out of the first round.

If you want to win a National Championship for the WCHA would you rather have 1, 2 or 3 teams in a field of 16? Hockey is often a game of lucky bounces. I would much rather have three chances. When you only get one team into the tourney, who says the team that wins the WCHA tourney is the best team in the WCHA. I think arguments could be made the last couple season that the WCHA's best team didn't even make the tourney field because the WCHA was a one-bid league.

Ryan J

[Superfly100]

If you want to win a National Championship for the WCHA would you rather have 1, 2 or 3 teams in a field of 16? Hockey is often a game of lucky bounces. I would much rather have three chances. When you only get one team into the tourney, who says the team that wins the WCHA tourney is the best team in the WCHA. I think arguments could be made the last couple season that the WCHA's best team didn't even make the tourney field because the WCHA was a one-bid league.

Ryan J

Understand what you're saying, and call me naive, but how we get there is as important as getting there.

If you're asking me, would I rather play the toughest schedule I could, be a one bid league, and win it straight up, or play the weakest schedule I could, flood the field, and then hope to win on a lucky bounce? I'll take the one bid league.

Yeah, Bi6 flooded the field this year, but they don't have much to show for it.

[gfmorris]

Re: 2017 WCHA Playoff Thread - Home Ice Advantage

Who you schedule is nothing against who you recruit, although certainly the former informs the latter. Doesn't everyone want to play their Game 7 in the Ralph?

GFM