More good fortune for UMD.
No kidding, this is an asterisk year. I may just be a salty Michigan fan but they should have cancelled the tourney or had replacement teams ready to go
They did have replacement teams ready--that was how Notre Dame got into the field in the first place. But like basketball, there was a deadline for changing the field for logistical reasons that had already passed when Notre Dame and Michigan had to drop out.
Yet Michigan wasn’t allowed to play. Nothing to see here.
I would normally say, there has to be more to this to make any sense that UMass stays while UM gets booted. But it's the NCAA, so nope.
If a player tests positive prior to the team traveling, the team is still fine to play because the team can claim their Covid protocols are so locked in that none of his other teammates count as close contacts. That's probably BS, but as long as no one else tests positive, they're clear. That was the case with Michigan and Van Whye testing positive before they left. If it was just him, they would have been allowed to play.
The problem is that it is impossible to weasel your way around the definition of a 'close contact' when the entire team spends a couple hours on an airplane together. Once Michigan had players start testing positive after they flew together, they were done.
This makes zero sense.
Pretty big difference between this situation and Michigan's. From what I can tell, none of those players tested positive and the four out are just a contact tracing situation. It is also unclear if they traveled or were left behind. Michigan got in trouble because one of the travel party actually tested positive.
Oh look a clear easy explainable difference
Honest question, do we know if any of the UM players tested positive?
From the below Daily article there were two, at least prior to the game. One tested positive prior to the team leaving for Fargo so they were left home. But then one got symptoms and a positive test the day before the game which ultimately led to the cancellation. Not sure if any other players tested positive after the game was canceled.
https://www.michigandaily.com/ice-hockey/how-michigan-hockeys-season-ended/
Yes, Two players confirmed positive. GVW and another who does not play
Oh here we go again. Presenting facts and logic to the argument...
You sound like my girl friend...
This makes no sense, though I guess if there's some local rule regarding how long someone can be considered in the vicinity of others then perhaps they could weasel their way out of it. But even then, you assume the NCAA would have a blanket rule about this. I mean, I assume the reason is "we can't have a bye directly to the championship".
I try to be the one who knows NCAA rules, but I am honestly perplexed here. Michigan was kicked out of the tournament--they did not withdraw voluntarily. Massachusetts is not out of the tournament.
Is it simply because the positive COVID tests for the Minutemen were performed by UMass and not by the NCAA? And in Michigan's case there was a positive test performed by the NCAA? Because if that's the rule, it is a stupid rule.
(EDIT: Never mind; once again, Sione has shown us the way. These are NOT positive tests on the part of the UMass players. That is, in fact, a rather large difference).
Someone who played tell me if I'm crazy, but it's only 4 games to win the whole thing. Why not just do a single location 16 team tournament in say MSP or Boston. Lock everyone in for a week or two and just get it done. The NCAA only cares about the men's basketball tournament and it shows
The NCAA Division I men's hockey committee, easily the worst NCAA committee (and it's not even close), fought against any changes to the format. So don't blame the NCAA for not caring about hockey--these are all hockey people who are making these awful decisions.
i reject the premise.
these are not "hockey people." nobody who truly, honestly cares about advancing and developing college hockey would make the decisions they do. it's mind-boggling.
Not excusing the hockey committee because I agree they could have gotten it done, but the logistics of hockey is quite a bit more complex than basketball. There are more high-quality basketball courts available in Indiana than there are for hockey, even in MSP or Boston you would be fighting with the pro teams or dipping down into low-major college rinks.
Hockey games are also longer and occasionally go to long overtimes, requiring more space for the teams and contingencies. It's relatively easy to do back to back games at Hinkle, Mackey, and Lucas Oil for basketball, you would probably need at least 4 venues for hockey, maybe even more. Or extend the games longer than a single weekend, which probably gets into to TV issues with ESPN.
Again, it could be done but it's harder to pull off than you might think initially.
Josh Whittman is requesting Illinois be declared the victor of the Frozen Four tournament
i read that three times before i figured out it wasn't UM-Ass
complete bullshit.