The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

[walrus655321]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

I believe Dryden graduated in 1969.

[Snively65]

I believe Dryden graduated in 1969.

After his three stellar years at Cornell, he played for the Canadian National Team in 1969-70, then came up to the Canadians for their last six games of the regular season in 1970-1971, before leading the Canadians to the Stanley Cup that year, for which he won the Conn Smythe. He went on to win five more Stanley Cups and five Vezina's in the 1970s, but retired early in his prime. Originally drafted by the Bruins in 1964, but they traded his rights to the Canadians for a bucket of rocks.

[5mn_Major]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

However, UMD returns 5 of their top 6 scorers from a season ago, and 16 of their top 18. While the Bulldogs are a bit young between the pipes, if they find reliable goaltending, the Bulldogs should be a team that could contend for some hardware and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. If they do that, they could move up the rankings, but for now, they sit at #16.

True that. After watching them at Notre Dame this last weekend, this prediction is looking much more likely.

[walrus655321]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

After his three stellar years at Cornell, he played for the Canadian National Team in 1969-70, then came up to the Canadians for their last six games of the regular season in 1970-1971, before leading the Canadians to the Stanley Cup that year, for which he won the Conn Smythe. He went on to win five more Stanley Cups and five Vezina's in the 1970s, but retired early in his prime. Originally drafted by the Bruins in 1964, but they traded his rights to the Canadians for a bucket of rocks.

Everyone in Boston is too aware of his career from 1971 on

[Snively65]

Everyone in Boston is too aware of his career from 1971 on

Yep, but at least the Bs won in 1972, before the long drought.

[LynahFan]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

Everyone in Boston is too aware of his career from 1971 on

In The Game, he mentioned what great pride he had in his record in games he played in Boston - don't remember exactly, but there was one tie to BU during college, then only a handful of NHL losses to the Bruins.

[walrus655321]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

Yep, but at least the Bs won in 1972, before the long drought.

Yup. Thanks to the Rangers for taking care of the Habs!

[Snively65]

Yup. Thanks to the Rangers for taking care of the Habs!

Argghh! Just arrived in Vancouver and what do I find on TV other than game 7 of the 1979 semi-finals between the Bs and the Habs, in which the Bs were called for too many men leading to Guy Lefleur tying the game 4-4 with less than 2 minutes in regulation, and winning early in the first OT. Wow, both of those teams were loaded, as were the Rangers, which the Habs took 4-1 for the Lord Stanley Cup. Dryden, Lemaire, and Cournoyer retired after that season.

[walrus655321]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

Argghh! Just arrived in Vancouver and what do I find on TV other than game 7 of the 1979 semi-finals between the Bs and the Habs, in which the Bs were called for too many men leading to Guy Lefleur tying the game 4-4 with less than 2 minutes in regulation, and winning early in the first OT. Wow, both of those teams were loaded, as were the Rangers, which the Habs took 4-1 for the Lord Stanley Cup. Dryden, Lemaire, and Cournoyer retired after that season.

That was the true Cup Final that year. Either of those teams were going to roll over the Rangers.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

#8 - Michigan State Spartans
All-Time Record (Division 1): 1248-946-143 (.565)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 27
NCAA Tournament Record: 30-29-1
Frozen Four Appearances: 11 (1959, 1966, 1967, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2007)
Best Result: National Champion (1966, 1986, 2007)
Most Dominant Season*: 1997-1998 (33-6-5 (0.807) CCHA Regular Season Champions, CCHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Regional Finalist)
Conference Championships: Regular Season - 7 Tournament - 13
National Championships: 3
Points Earned - 233.7003
Change: -0.4983 (- 0.21%)
Last Season Position: 8 (unchanged)

The Michigan State Spartans come in at #8. The Spartans have consistently been one of the top programs in college hockey's history, but Michigan State was in its prime from the early 80s up until the late 00s. From 1982-2008, Michigan State went to 23 NCAA Tournaments, participated in 8 Frozen Fours, won 8 regular season titles, 11 conference tournament titles, and 2 National Championship. The remarkable consistency that the Spartans showed meant that the Michigan State faithful never had to go consecutive years without a trip to the NCAA Tournament in that frame. Unfortunately, the scene has not been so rosy for the State hockey program since 2008. In the last six seasons, the Spartans have just 1 NCAA Tournament appearance, zero 20+ win seasons, and only 2 winning seasons. Michigan State largely sits in limbo at the moment in the rankings, as they are well out of reach for the programs below them, and too far below the programs above them. As a result, for Michigan State to move up, they will need to bring back the consistency from the 80s, 90s, and 00s if they hope to rise in the next decade. For now, they sit at #8.

#9 - Maine Black Bears
All-Time Record (Division 1): 790-526-106 (.593)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 18
NCAA Tournament Record: 30-20
Frozen Four Appearances: 11 (1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007)
Best Result: National Champion (1993, 1999)
Most Dominant Season*: 1992-1993 (42-1-2 (.956) Hockey East Regular Season Champions, Hockey East Tournament Champions, NCAA National Champion)
Conference Championships: Regular Season - 4 Tournament - 5
National Championships: 2
Points Earned - 172.1054
Change: 1.4592 (+ 0.86%)
Last Season Position: 9 (unchanged)

The Maine Black Bears come in at #9. Maine was a dominating fixture in college hockey from the late 80s through the late 00s. In the 21 year span from 1987-2007, Maine made 11 trips to the Frozen Four, 17 trips to the NCAA tournament, and won all of the programs championships (both conference and national). As a result, only a few programs can match Maine when it comes to productivity/season. Unfortunately for Maine, the Black Bear program has not had such an easy go of it lately. Since their last trip to the Frozen Four in 2007, Maine has only 1 NCAA Tournament appearance and only one 20+ win season. The futility led to the dismissal of Tim Whitehead as bench boss of the Black Bears, and last season Red Gendron took over to lead the program. Gendron led Maine to a winning season last year, but will have his work cut out for him going forward. If he can bring Maine back to the glory days of not so long ago, win hardware, and get back on the pace the program was at from 1987-2007, the Black Bears will rise in the rankings. For now, they sit at #9.

#10 - Michigan Tech Huskies
All-Time Record (Division 1): 1141-1333-168 (.464)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10
NCAA Tournament Record: 13-9
Frozen Four Appearances: 10 (1956, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981)
Best Result: National Champion (1962, 1965, 1975)
Most Dominant Season*: 1961-1962 (29-3-0 (.906) WCHA Regular Season Champions, WCHA Tournament Champions, NCAA National Champions)
Conference Championships: Regular Season - 6 Tournament - 9
National Championships: 3
Points Earned - 161.8814
Change: 0.3423 (+ 0.21%)
Last Season Position: 10 (unchanged)

The Michigan Tech Huskies come in at #10. The Huskies have a proud history, collecting 3 National Championship and 9 Frozen Four appearances under legendary head coach John MacInnes between 1956 and 1982. Unfortunately for the Michigan Tech faithful, the cupboards have been bare for quite some time. Since 1983, Michigan Tech has only two seasons above .500. Neither of those campaigns resulted in any hardware. In that same time period, the Huskies have only one 20 win season. As a result, Tech has been on a slow decline for the past 30 years. However, it is not all doom and gloom for the highest ranked team in the WCHA. Head Coach Mel Pearson has helped restore the Husky program, and while last season's campaign was a disappointment, Michigan Tech figures to have a very competitive squad in the WCHA this season. If the Huskies can manage to win some more conference hardware, perhaps make their long awaited return to the NCAA Tournament, and maybe do some damage there, Michigan Tech could begin going back up the rankings. For now, they sit at #10.

#8 - Michigan State - 233.7003
#9 - Maine - 172.1054
#10 - Michigan Tech - 161.8814
#11 - Cornell - 159.018
#12 - Lake Superior State - 155.1683
#13 - Colorado College - 148.1879
#14 - Harvard - 129.0634
#15 - Clarkson - 128.0195
#16 - Minnesota Duluth - 111.5523
#17 - Rensselaer - 100.4252
#18 - New Hampshire - 83.5951
#19 - Northern Michigan - 80.9098
#20 - Bowling Green - 80.4704
#21 - Yale - 74.1412
#22 - St. Lawrence - 67.3464
#23 - Union - 57.2992
#24 - Providence - 48.6853
#25 - Miami - 46.6971
#26 - Notre Dame - 40.1649
#27 - Dartmouth - 39.6473
#28 - Ferris State - 32.6449
#29 - Colgate - 31.9207
#30 - Northeastern - 25.981
#31 - Quinnipiac - 25.2018
#32 - St. Cloud State - 25.0657
#33 - Brown - 21.4977
#34 - Ohio State - 19.2421
#35 - Massachusetts Lowell - 17.8988
#36 - Vermont - 17.4219
#37 - Bemidji State - 12.3169
#38 - RIT - 9.4061
#39 - Western Michigan - 7.9725
#40 - Niagara - 7.9213
#41 - Princeton - 7.1971
#42 - Air Force - 6.4961
#43 - Alaska Anchorage - 6.3671
#44 - Holy Cross - 5.0707
#45 - Nebraska Omaha - 5.0605
#46 - Minnesota State - 4.6448
#47 - Merrimack - 4.6092
#48 - Mercyhurst - 4.5085
#49 - Alaska - 3.8568
#50 - Massachusetts - 3.5038
#51 - Alabama Huntsville - 2.1932
#52 - Army - 1.6052
#53 - Canisius - 0.6028
#54 - Robert Morris - 0.5497
#55 - Connecticut - 0.2728
#56 - Sacred Heart - 0.1664
#57 - Penn State - 0.0589
#58 - AIC - 0.0374
#59 - Bentley - 0.0363

*According to my formula for determining the best teams from the NCAA era (1947-present)

[Terry Switzer]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

I think going to end like this: UW 7 BU 6 BC 5 DU 4
Goofs 3 Sioux 2 and that team up north 1

[UMICH]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

I think going to end like this: UW 7 BU 6 BC 5 DU 4
Goofs 3 Sioux 2 and that team up north 1

U. of Michigan isn't north of all of those schools. For example, UW, minny, and the sue are all definitely north of Mich. BC and BU are pretty even; and DU is south of Michigan.

[sterlippo1]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

I think going to end like this: UW 7 BU 6 BC 5 DU 4
Goofs 3 Sioux 2 and that team up north 1

flip flop DU and Goofs 7>5 is too much to not put DU ahead of goofs. 6>5 maybe, not 7

[J.D.]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

U. of Michigan isn't north of all of those schools. For example, UW, minny, and the sue are all definitely north of Mich. BC and BU are pretty even; and DU is south of Michigan.

come on man, aren't you a UM fan???

think he was taking a page from woody hayes

[Terry Switzer]

Re: The Greatest Programs of All-Time: #1-#59

I am married to Ohio State woman who loves OSU football. We never say Michigan in my house, it is always that team up north, that'
s why.