The 'V' Spot: ECAC Comes Through With Rule Change

Finally, the ECAC does something right.

After tabling discussion of expanding the playoffs until its July meetings, the ECAC has finally joined the rest of the D-I big boys. In their meetings last week, the conference athletic directors voted to expand its men’s hockey season to 34 games for non-Ivy League teams, and as a bonus to Harvard, decreed that the Crimson will not have to play a full two-game slate the weekend before the Beanpot.

For a conference that sent just one team to the NCAA Tournament last season, it finally recognized that in order to get respect from the selection committee and points in the pairwise rankings, its teams had to play as many games as the rest of college hockey.

It is a matter of simple mathematics.

Only the CCHA has as many teams as the ECAC. Under the old system, with only 32 allowed games, the conference had only 10 slots open for non-conference games, since each team has to play each other twice for conference play. By contrast, Hockey East—home of NCAA Champion Boston College—has only nine teams and the WCHA—home of 2001 runner-up and 2000 NCAA champ North Dakota—has 10. This means that teams in the other conference can schedule more games against the elite from around the country, bolstering not only their experience, but games the championship committee can hang their hat on when determining seeding.

The ECAC schedule had a built-in weakness that became a greater handicap each year. Now there is room for either an extra road trip or a perhaps another in-season tournament. Not only does this bolster the well—being of the teams in the conference, but it makes the league more exciting.

“Increasing the number of games the ECAC can play is very good for the league,” Harvard captain-elect Pete Capouch said. “It gives teams a chance to play non-conference games, possibly against nationally ranked teams.”

However, Harvard can only benefit right now by virtue of playing and beating teams in its conference bolstered by the new schedule. The Ivy League needs to approve the change in order for it to apply to the Crimson. Unfortunately, the Ivy League meetings were a week before the ECAC meetings and so the conference appears unlikely to budge from its 29-game limit for the next year. It is unclear if the traditional Ivy concern for the academic welfare of its student athletes will prevent the change from being approved in the near future.

The Crimson could really benefit from this switch because Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni has already made great strides to improving the team’s schedule. Last year, Harvard faced the University of New Hampshire. This year, Mazzoleni cashed in his CCHA connections to set his team up for a one-game showdown at Michigan. Five more extra games could represent a major step forward in Harvard’s renaissance.

“I do wish we were able to play more games because it would definitely help come the playoffs,” Capouch said.

Of more immediate concern for the Crimson is the freedom to not have to play games the Friday and Saturday before the Beanpot Tournament, which is on consecutive Mondays. Harvard’s Hockey East rivals—Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern—always had this luxury and it only served to make the Crimson even more susceptible to a first round defeat.

Consider this: before the Beanpot this past year, Harvard hosted its archrival Cornell and Colgate in as brutal a pair of games as the Crimson has on its plate. Then, it had the privilege of playing the No. 2 team in the nation in the Eagles on Monday night. B.C., determined to end the Terriers six-year title reign, may have won anyway, but a tired Harvard limping into the Fleet Center stood even less of a chance.

This year, Harvard is slated to face the Big Red at Lynah Rink in the weekend before the Beanpot.

Now, the weekend before the Beanpot every year the Crimson will be at home with the Friday night game most likely reserved for Brown, Harvard’s travel partner and the new permanent doormat of the ECAC. While Harvard may have to play Thursday and Friday, there will not be a game on Saturday, meaning the team will get the same two days of rest its opponents will have.

“Only having to play one game before the Beanpot should help quite a bit,” Capouch said.

“In years past, we’ve played Friday and Saturday and sometimes on the road, which made it pretty difficult to fully recover for the Beanpot on Monday. It’s obviously a big tournament for us and the program, so I think it’s a good move.”

According to USCHO.com, more rumors circulate around the ECAC concerning Assistant Commissioner Steve Hagwell getting more hockey power and a new playoff format switch that would add an extra round and reduce Lake Placid to a traditional Final Four. Those will have to be evaluated when concrete proposals materialize.

But for now, the league has taken a big step in the right direction.