Friday, March 2, 2007
But We Don't Want the Irish!
On the continuing topic of sports matters that probably interest only myself, another post: college hockey rankings. Now, the Minnesota Golden Gophers were considered the favorite for a #1 ranking at the beginning of the college hockey season, and have continued to be through the majority of the schedule. They fell to the North Dakota Fighting Sioux (the other UND) a few weeks back, and were replaced at the top spot by the surprising Notre Dame Fighting Irish. After sweeping the Gopher men last weekend, the then #5-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies were expected to surpass Notre Dame---who split their weekend series with the lowly Ferris State Bulldogs---for the top spot in the polls. Through what I can only imagine to be greater name recognition, the Irish barely held on to their #1 ranking, and the Huskies (my hometown team) stalled in the 2-hole. I hope this situation is remedied in the next few weeks (though I bear no special ill-will toward the Irish), depending on the continuing great play by St. Cloud State, whose only Division I sport is hockey. With the approach of college hockey's own March Madness---the "Frozen Four"---I sincerely hope for the top seeds to go to St. Cloud State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and Boston University (my alma mater), though the last was dealt a blow by a loss earlier this week. (I would prefer North Dakota of the two UNDs, but I find that contingency unlikely.) Perhaps sports fans can find a place in their heart for the Frozen Four this month, and readers of this blog will also be updated next week on the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Go Reds!
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2 comments:
thoughts:
1. st. cloud st is 6-3-3 after jan. 12...while, nd is 10-2-2. it's not just name recognition that keeps them atop the rankings.
2. i defer to others for in-depth prognostication...but would say that denver and michigan are to be considered 'sleepers'.
herodotus, look a little closer. Since Jan. 12, Notre Dame has played only one top-ten ranked opponent, admittedly winning one game and tying the other. But they are the Boise State of college hockey. St. Cloud State has had four such games (two games each against two respective opponents) in that time, going 3-1-0, and faces #8-ranked North Dakota to finish the regular season. This may be a red herring, but the current poll includes four top-ten teams the Huskies have beaten or tied, while there is only one for the Irish (two, if you include both major polls). Now I've no doubt the Huskies will head into playoffs the top-ranked team in the nation if they can pull off a sweep this weekend against the Fighting Sioux. Extremely difficult, but possible. Cease bitching...here.
I think Denver is a good pick as a sleeper, but I would replace Michigan with North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux, if they get hot, can be nearly unstoppable. We'll see.
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