Hockey Bracketology 2) Mich vs 3) ND in Cincinnati
Well, after last week's disappointment we are still pretty much a lock for the tournament. Right now we are the last 2 seed and will likely play ND in the Midwest Regional located in Cincinnati. That will be a big draw for the Midwest Regional.
Avoiding North Dakota will also be a blessing if Michigan is moved to Cincinnati. Instead, St Cloud St or Michigan Tech will be waiting the for the winner of UM vs ND.
Minny and PSU are still on the outside looking in and probably need to win the B1G tourney.
http://www.bcinterruption.com/2016/3/9//11184760/ncaa-mens-hockey-bracketology-march-9
The NCAA does a lot of things that don't make sense. Put that location in Detroit at least.
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There will be more people in Cincy than there were in Saint Louis a few years back.
I saw Michigan win a National Title in Cincy.
Grand Rapids never seems to bid. Neither does Detroit. Fort Wayne did once and there were like 10 people there.
The same cities seem to get regionals over and over again. Minneapolis, Bridgeport, Worcester, Albany, etc. and I suspect that might be because they're always guaranteed a few teams pretty close to the arenas because MN and NE are both very dense with hockey teams. The midwest is relatively sparse with tournament teams usually.
You probably don't remember it because M missed the tournament that year, but a few years ago Grand Rapids hosted a regional, which Michigan would have been placed in. Toledo also hosted a regional that year, which Michigan couldn't have gone to because of the one in GR. So despite having one of the regionals less than an hour drive from campus, we couldn't have participated in it.
NCAA hockey is nonsense.
the attendance was not great, but NEITHER was it terrible. About 6,000 for both sessions.
The teams drawn to Cincinnati in 2014 honestly weren't great from a regional POV --- Ferris State, Colgate, Wisconsin and North Dakota. But the event was marketed somewhat decently in the local media, and it wound up drawing DOUBLE the attendance of either of the 2013 western regionals (Grand Rapids, Toledo). Toledo arguably had a favorable regional draw in 2013 (Notre Dame & Miami) yet still only got 3,000 per session. Grand Rapids drew both North Dakota & Minnesota, which is analogous to Cincinnati drawing North Dakota & Wisconsin, yet they only got 3,000 as well.
I'm going to try to go if possible (the timing on Easter weekend isn't ideal), but I don't expect Cincinnati to be a disaster at all. The event is being advertised locally once again, just like in 2014. IF Cincinnati can get a team like Michigan or Notre Dame (or if Miami qualifies), 10K attendance isn't completely out of the question.
Due to his history in that building, it would be a fitting place for Red to finish his coaching career. Though I'd much prefer for him to go out in Tampa with a title.
I'll take whatever good vibes can come from that.
How do you see us passing Yale, Denver, Boston College, and Providence? Pretty sure their seasons are over and their tournaments start this weekend. PSU won't give us that much of a bump will it?
My gut tells me we're much more likely to finish a 3 than a 1
cuz fuck ND. Frozen Four bitches.
We may not win as our defense is suspect and the goalies sometimes forget they're playing hockey, but I think M beats ND and Tech.
I'd love to beat the domers at hockey since they won't play us in football.
Flashbacks of 2008 all over again, no thanks.
The Yost regionals that Michigan won are a barrier to that, of course. Also, there are probably a number of schools whose home arena is not large enough to host a regional. Based on the NCAA's guidelines, I think I heard someone say that Yost is now too small since the last renovation. I would suggest that those guidelines be relaxed a bit, and then give the regionals to the four highest-seeded teams that are able to host. At least being a #1 seed would mean something, as opposed to this year when North Dakota could be rewarded by playing Minnesota in Minneapolis.
UND will be the predominant fanbase almost regardles of where they play.What sucks is the gift Providence was handed last year. They were the absolute last team in and they got to play a home game against #1 Miami and #2 Denver. That is bullshit.
The committee takes regional attendance into account when constructing the brackets, and I have to believe that either Michigan or Notre Dame (or both) will wind up there, as there are no other tournament teams (other than potentially Robert Morris) within a 7-hour drive of Cincinnati. The #1 seed will probably be St. Cloud St., unless they make a run and pull ahead of North Dakota. If we play St. Cloud St., I hope someone finds the famous Molly from 2002 and interviews her...
As much as I would love to talk about the NCAA tournament and possibly a reasonable drive to Cinci, I am much more worried about PSU this weekend and then the Big Ten Tournament. What I saw from this team last weekend was wildly disappointing and discouraging. No way can they play like that the rest of the season and have a chance to win.
Friday's post-game comments on mlive (Ann Arbor)?
Calderone was quoted as saying "I think we let down defensively". No shit, Tony!
He also said something to the effect that they pride themselves on defense, which they've been emphasizing.
I'm wondering if he said that with a straight face.
My sorry-ass attempt at posting the link: http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/03/hockey_team_plays_out…
BOOO, everyone knows Albany is where it's at.
but it looks like we're doomed unless we get to the 4/5 line. With BC & Providence fighting for a 1-seed, one of them will certainly be placed there. We'd have to get to that line or hope one of them sneaks to a #3 overall and we get there as the #6-7