Hockey: Who to root for and against

Submitted by sdl.9109 on

Here is a look at every team in the NCAA and whether we want them to win or not:

(Rankings are based on RPI as of Saturday Morning 2/28; parenthesis enclose Pairwise Ranking)

1. Boston University (1)-Win: There is no chance of Michigan catching BU, so it would be nice if they could knock down some other Hockey East teams (i.e. Northeastern)

2. Notre Dame (3)-Lose: We trail them, we have the opportunity to catch them, and they're Notre Dame

3. Michigan (4)-Win: Obvious

4. Northeastern (5)-Lose: If Northeastern does well in their conference tournament, they may pass us

5. Denver (2)-Lose: They lead us in the Pairwise and we stand a good chance of passing them if they lose once, as every remaining game they have should come against Pairwise top-25 teams.

6. Vermont (t-6)-Lose: Like Northeastern, they too have a fair chance to pass us. However, unless they win out, we should be ok.

7. Yale (t-6)-Win: We have a solid lead over them in our comparison and they have a shot at winning comparisons against
Denver, Northeastern, and Vermont, which would boost or secure Michigan's ranking.

8. New Hampshire (t-8)-Lose: When I say lose here, I mean that we don't want New Hampshire to win the Hockey East Tournament. Unless they do that, we should stay in front of them. Also, it would be nice to see UNH upset some higher ranked teams.

9. North Dakota (t-8)-Lose: North Dakota is surging. They probably won't pass us, but even if they don't, it would be nice if they lost some momentum going into the NCAA tournament.

10. Princeton (10)-Win: Another team that can't catch us but could hurt other teams. However, Yale can do a better job of this so we want Yale over Princeton.

11. Cornell (11)-Mixed: Can't really do anything for us but if they lose to Yale and/or Princeton, it'll help our cause indirectly. That said, they don't really matter.

12. Minn-Duluth (t-12)-Win: They play other WCHA teams that we want devalued. They also aren't a threat.

13. Miami (t-12)-Lose: Thanks to OSU, we have a secure comparison here. However, it would be nice for some security in the 2-spot of the CCHA standings (if we beat Ferris State tonight, this point becomes moot).

14. Ohio State (14)-Lose: They're Ohio State

15. Colorado College (t-15)-Win: Like Minn-Duluth, they could knock down some other WCHA teams ranked above them

16. St. Lawrence (t-15)-Mixed: Same as Cornell, but when they win, our RPI improves

17. Minnesota (17)-Lose: We currently hold the #4 overall seed. Should Minnesota make the tournament, we would probably play them in the first round at their home rink. This would suck.

18. Boston College (18)-Win: Another Hockey East team that could screw over teams ranked ahead of them.

19. Wisconsin (t-19)-Win: Another WCHA team that could hurt teams above it. Also, we want Minnesota State to lose, and they play Minnesota State.

20. Air Force (t-19)-Win: You never root against the Air Force

21. St. Cloud State (21)-Win: Same as Wisconsin. Also, they play Denver tonight.

22. UMass-Lowell (22)-Win: Another Hockey East team that could screw over teams ranked ahead of them.

23. Alaska (23)-Win: We'd be indifferent, but they're playing Alaska-Anchorage, whom we want to lose.

24. Rochester Institute of Technology (24)-Indifferent: They play such a low level of competition that they have no bearing on us.

25. Minnesota State (25)-Lose: Minn State provides a lot of TUC wins to WCHA teams, including Denver. If they're knocked out of the top 25 RPI, Denver falls below us.

26. Dartmouth (NR)-Win: Pass Minn State

27. Massachusetts (NR)-Lose: We don't want a weak Hockey East team in the top 25 or the rest of Hockey East gets a boost in their TUC records

28. Northern Michigan (NR)-Lose: If NMU makes the top 25, Michigan gets 2 losses in their TUC record. It also makes for a crappy comparison.

29. Alaska-Anchorage (NR)-Lose: They add wins in the TUC column of the rest of the WCHA if they make it into the top 25.

30. Nebraska-Omaha (NR)-Win: If they make it into the top 25, Michigan gets 2 more TUC wins.

36. Michigan State (NR)-Lose: FYS

Everyone else: Play the spoiler against teams that aren't us.

Update: With Alaska's loss to Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska now is on the cusp of falling out of the Pairwise. Should this happen, Michigan moves into third place behind Notre Dame. Furthermore, Notre Dame loses credit for a sweep against a TUC. This will lead to a highly interesting scenario where Notre Dame will get a one seed if they get two wins against TUCs or a loss in the second round.

Comments

Michigan Arrogance

February 28th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^

College hockey version:

MSU, ND for the obvious reasons.

NoDak, b/c those guys are jerks.

Maine: b/c of that 1995 OT game.

Minnesota: the only other program that comes close to being better than M.

lhglrkwg

March 1st, 2009 at 12:08 PM ^

I watch the rankings to see where minnesota is almost as much as I look for where michigan and notre dame are. if things go as i think they probably will (we get a lower 1 seed), we will be in minneapolis. it would be even better if ND would just lose to bowling green in the 2nd round though