ryan@fremen.DEC (02/27/85)
At least, I think so. The Boston Globe (whose reputation as one of the best sports papers is becoming doubtful in my eyes) hasn't deigned to publish ANY hockey polls this week. However, with Michigan State losing twice in a week while RPI's winning streak is now 23 games long, there's no excuse whatsoever for ranking RPI less than first (I'm just curious if it was unanimous). Like I've been telling you all along, this is the best team in the country! In last weekend's games, RPI clobbered Dartmouth 11-1 and Harvard 4-1 to clinch first place in the ECAC. Lake Superior and Michigan State split a pair, as did Minnesota and North Dakota. Yale ended Cornell's 10-game winning streak, setting a school record for victories and enabling Clarkson to move into a solid third place with a shot at second (Clarkson plays Harvard in the season finale Saturday). Dartmouth and Vermont have been eliminated from the playoffs. In a Sunday upset, Maine beat BC (hey, once you've got that first-round bye...). The current playoff picture in Hockey East is focused on the battle for fourth (the last home-ice spot). Northeastern and UNH are tied and play each other Thursday night; sixth-place Lowell is (barely) in the running. The likely Hockey East pairings will be Maine at BU, Lowell at Providence, and Northeastern at New Hampshire (or vice versa). BC, of course, gets a first-round bye. The WCHA's playoffs open this weekend, with the following pairings: 8. Michigan Tech at 1. Minnesota-Duluth 7. N. Michigan at 2. Minnesota 6. Colorodo College at 3. Wisconsin 5. Denver at 4. North Dakota The ECAC picture is quite a bit muddier. The home-ice spots have been wrapped up (RPI, Harvard, Clarkson, Cornell), but second place is up for grabs between Harvard and Clarkson (and maybe even Cornell), and the last two playoff spots are being fought over by Colgate, Princeton, and Brown. The tie-breakers in the ECAC are 1. Head-to-head 2. Record vs. top 4 teams 3. Record vs. top 8 teams The CCHA? Who knows, the Globe didn't print their standings. More details on the NCAA quarterfinals (quoted from the Globe, if you can believe them - for two weeks they'd been printing that each league will send two teams to Detroit the last weekend in March): "The [NCAA] committee seeds the four Eastern and Western teams, with the top two seeds in each region earning home ice and the No. 3 and 4 seeds from each section playing on the road. No. 1 East will host No. 4 West; No. 2 East will host No. 3 West; No. 3 East will play at No. 2 West; No. 4 East will play at No. 1 West." The BU campus is going through a measles epidemic; as a result, no spectators will be allowed at tonight's game against Lowell. Also, members of the media under 27 will be barred. The same rules apply to tomorrow's basketball game against Northeastern. BU's basketball coach says, "maybe we'll put red dots on our faces so Northeastern won't guard us so closely." The Northeastern coach's reaction? "What about the referees? I can't yell at them now - they'll hear me." Seriously, BU's going to have enough trouble with BC and UNH without the possibility of having players down with the measles. GO BIG RED!!! Mike Ryan Oh, about Big RED - it's a popular nickname for the team. The official team name is the Engineers, which is somewhat less glamorous. And most of the hockey players major in management or communications, anyway.
kunz@hplsle.UUCP (kunz) (03/05/85)
Hey Mike!
Did you used to write for the 'poly'? Your name is mucho familiar. Thanks
for posting RPI's progress... keep it up.
Bob Kunz '78
{hp-labs!hp-pcd,fluke,teltone}!hplsla!kunz