omaha79 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:28 pm
My heart wants to see UNO play on, but my gut says they are done. Eliminating the Pairwise this year is going to create some shenanigans and I think the other leagues want nothing more than to stick it to the NCHC this year after so many years of the NCHC getting 4-5 teams in. I think there is a contingent in the college hockey world that wants the NCHC to only get 3 in to knock them down a peg. I also think it would be different if Denver was sitting there with a 14-10-1 record as they have the pedigree. Hard to keep them out. Easy to find excuses to keep Omaha out who is still seen as an upstart with little tradition in hockey circles.
I want to be wrong, but I just get the feeling that unless they have no one else to take, they'll find a way to stick it to Omaha and the NCHC. Also wouldn't shock me if Denver gets in over Omaha, even with a losing record based on head to head and that last game. Expect shenanigans to the highest degree this year as it's the committees one chance to really flex their muscles.
UNO has itself partly to blame. Really needed to beat Denver in the first round up in North Dakota. Denver was down several players due to Covid. It was a very winnable game, and we didn't do it.
Greg
I totally agree with that sentiment. At the same time, the "experts" are doing all kinds of mental gymnastics to try to keep Omaha out. They kept saying that Omaha, Notre Dame, and Bowling Green were all on the bubble with UNO at a slight advantage. But, saying that if UNO faltered, one of those other two would take their spot in a heartbeat. Well, all 3 lost in the first round.
So now, it's mental gymnastics trying to find ways to put a sub .500 team that finished 6th in their conference in over the 4th place team, essentially on head to head alone. I know the Pairwise isn't being utilized, but putting in a sub .500 team like that is almost unheard of. And, others are doing mental gymnastics trying to find ways to get Army in over UNO even though their competition is much lower than the NCHC.
Pleasantly surprised. Reading sites like USCHO and CHN, it just seemed like most didn't look very highly on UNO. At the same time, the idea of taking a Denver team with a sub .500 record was idiocy from the beginning.
omaha79 wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:08 am
Pleasantly surprised. Reading sites like USCHO and CHN, it just seemed like most didn't look very highly on UNO. At the same time, the idea of taking a Denver team with a sub .500 record was idiocy from the beginning.
On those sites in the days leading up to the tournament most were starting to put UNO in. I think you could make a point for Denver too. What I thought might hurt UNO was in college hockey OT wins are looked at the same as ties. I assume this is because not all conferences handle regulation ties the same. Some with shootouts, some play OT, some a combo of both.
