03-19-2007, 08:18 PM
Quote:In general, the bracket this year feels lopsided. It's unfair to group so many good teams in the Midwest and West side of the bracket, vs. the comparatively weak East and Northeast.
Not only did the NCAA short-shrift the WCHA, they put the two best teams in one region. At the risk of being a complete 'homer', the WCHA has the best teams -- we're only two years removed from the all-WCHA Frozen Four of 2005. You'd like the brackets set up so those kind of events can occur. I know the brackets followed the Pairwise almost to a 'T', but there was some regionalism manipulating going on. If Minnesota's the overall #1, they deserve to play the worst team (Alabama-Huntsville), but since the NCAA shut out both Denver and Colorado College, they left Air Force 'at home' to play sacraficial lamb to the Gophers in Denver at the West Regional. Trouble is, the Falcons are a competent team.
The West is the Bracket of Death. The teams out there have a combined 24 NCAA titles. Minnesota is #1. Nobody wants to play North Dakota right now. Michigan is always tough, although the last few years they've been average by Michigan standards.
St. Cloud played great all year, making a big run for the regular-season WCHA title at the end, but the Gophers had built to large a lead to be overtaken. SCSU then went in the tank in the playoffs, needing 3 games and a combined 5OTs to put away UM-Duluth in the opening round. They then didn't win a game at the WCHA Final Five, which cost them a #1 region seed. They have a Hobey Baker candidate in goal, Bobby Goepfert -- but they're not playing well right now, and I don't see them advancing. I would have thought Wisconsin beating SCSU in the third-place game would have gotten the Badgers into the tourney, since they beat Denver at home to advance to the Final Five and were the defending NCAA champs, but what the hell do I know?
Both Minnesota and North Dakota have issues in goal, so this contest is wide open.
OK -- 24 hours is enough time for whining. Let's sit back and enjoy what unfolds.
PS Next year there will be none of this Alabama-Huntsville-type nonsense. Bemidji State, a competent team team, usually comes out of that conference. The CHA is down to 5 teams, though, which means next year their automatic bid into the NCAA is gone. BSU is lobbying hard to get into the WCHA, but there's a lack of desire to expand, for reasons I can't fathom.