NCAA Tourney Format Change?

Entering Phase I of "Operation: EoDS Posting More Often":

Where EoDS Shamelessly Rips Off Goon.

We've yet to really hear any news from the AHCA meetings in Naples, Fla. this week, but North Dakota beat writer Brad Schlossman made a post yesterday (well... technically still today) proposing what he thinks they should be discussing. It's actually an idea that was proposed last year, and was used in the 1980s:

Changing the first round of the NCAA tournament to be a best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed. The NCAA tournament format is still up in the air (there's a reason that the regional sites have only been announced through the next tournament), and this is an idea that was brought up last year.

The rationale?

1. It offers an advantage to higher seeds in an era where parity has made almost every first round NCAA game a toss-up.
2. It offers a way around the low attendance issues we've seen in the regionals recently, by allowing passionate local fans see their teams in action.
3. In theory, higher attendance means more money for the NCAA and the schools.

I have to admit, this sounds great on the surface. An extra bonus goes for the notion that UND would get screwed as long as they keep their nickname issues with the NCAA alive. ("Now hosting the NCAA First Round: The University of North Dakota Fannings")

I do have a few reservations, mostly with the cost issue. Yes, there will undoubtedly be more tickets sold for the first round games. No more half-empty arenas if the host team isn't playing in the tourney. (Or half-empty arenas when the host is playing...)

But let's consider something here: There are quite a few arenas in the college hockey world. A lot of them are small and perhaps not used for a lot of other functions, but there are quite a few arenas (UW's Kohl Center among them) that are multi-purpose, have other tenants and are looking for things besides college hockey for revenue.

A place like the Kohl Center can get quite busy, there are often other functions that the Kohl Center can be used for by the time we get to mid-March. How does the NCAA intend on keeping these arenas available when they won't know for sure that they're hosting NCAA playoff games until (at most) a few weeks ahead of time? Is that a cheap proposition? How much more money can the NCAA make off of those games?

Plus, although this would open up the possibility of NCAA games in some of college hockey's largest and best arenas (Kohl Center, Mariucci, Conte Forum, Yost, etc.), but there aren't a lot of arenas in D-I hockey that seat more than 7,000 people. Quite a few of them have a max capacity of less than 5,000- so it's hard to guarantee huge attendance increases.

And lets not forget that the "super regionals" proposed would still require the NCAA to reserve the arenas for a whole weekend. Granted, they don't have to reserve four arenas for regionals, just two, but its a cost that is still there and carries all of the risks that currently exist for regional sites.

As I see it, the biggest problem with the current format of the NCAA is simply timing. As it is now, the field is announced on a Sunday morning, and the first round begins the following Friday. That's hardly enough time for people with regular jobs and a limited amount of vacation time (like me) with only a week to try to plan for a way to plan out a weekend's worth of travel to go to a regional. It's hardly impossible, but it sure is short notice. An extra week between the selection of the field and the first round would go a long way towards giving traveling fans a chance to organize themselves and make a trip.

Another benefit of an extra week? Making sure that the first round of the tourney doesn't coincide with the opening rounds of the basketball tourney. There's no sense in trying to compete with that behemoth.

All in all, it's not a bad idea. But the positives aren't nearly as open and shut as Mr. Schlossman paints them out to be. As a fan of the team with one of the best (if not THE best) atmospheres in college hockey, I will admit that I love the notion of having more playoff hockey there... so let's see if the NCAA Tournament Committee ends up wanting to try this out.

It's a much better idea than shootouts. Let's just put it that way.

Live Blogging the Regionals

Today's Regional Games:

12:30 (CST): Midwest Regional Semi - 1 North Dakota vs 4 RPI (ESPN3.com)
___Final: UND 6 - RPI 0

3:00: Northeast Regional Semi - 1 Miami vs 4 New Hampshire (ESPNU)
___Final: UNH 3 - Mia 1

4:00: Midwest Regional Semi - 2 Denver vs 3 Western Michigan (ESPN3.com)
___Final: DU 3 - WMU 2 (2 OT)

5:30: East Regional Final - 1 Yale vs 3 Minnesota-Duluth (ESPNU)
___Final: UMD 5 - Yale 3

6:30: Northeast Regional Semi - 2 Merrimack vs 3 Notre Dame (ESPN3.com)
___Final: ND 4 - MC 3 (OT)

8:00: West Regional Final - 2 Michigan vs 4 Colorado College (ESPNU)
___Final: UM 2 - CC 1

West Regional Thoughts...

I've had 24 hours to reflect on my thoughts from the West Regional and I'm still giddy as hell. Such a great feeling knowing your squad is heading to the frozen four. It's an even better feeling knowing that we have just as good of a chance as any squad there to come home from Detroit City with hardware.

First things first, Johnny Mitchell came up huge on Saturday night. I'm not going to take 100% of the credit for his two goals, but if you don't think me posting the picture comparing him to Goose from Top Gun (top left) had something to do with it your borderline retarded. Ok so it obviously had nothing to do with it, but it is great to see Johnny burying some opportunities. He's showed flashes of brilliance this season but nothing for a sustained period of time. If we can get him hot heading into the Frozen Four it's going to be scary.

I thought our defense played solid all weekend. Ryan McDonagh is just a beast. I feel bad that he doesn't get even close to enough credit. The guy flat out is a shut down defenseman. He's like the Deion Sanders of the WCHA. Smitty was solid and had some points. Gardiner stepped up and showed a little offense this weekend. Playing against other teams top lines he doesn't always have opportunities to jump up in the play offensively but when he can he's a major threat. Schultzy has really taken his game to the next level late in his freshman year. I hope we can keep him around for a while. Rammer and Goloubef were solid as well. Two more kids that don't get nearly enough credit.

Looking at the most important part of the Badger lineup, between the pipes, I thought that Gudmandson was good enough. There were a few goals that left me scratching my head but for the most part he looked assertive, confident, and ready to lead us to a title. I've said this all season, our goaltending doesn't have to go out and win us games, it just can't lose us games. If Goody puts us in a spot to win, I like our chances.

Offensively, you have to start with Mr. Geoffrion. I've got all the respect in the world for this guy. On the ice, off the ice, he is Badger hockey. He's making a serious push at the Hobey Baker and I would love nothing more than to see him and Mr. Smith in the final three with one of them winning it. Davies had another solid weekend, that snipe on Friday night was dirty. Steps continues to impress on both ends of the ice, that kid just has a gift with the puck and finding people. If you don't think Davies taking his game to an elite level has anything to do with Stepan your crazy. I thought that Podge did a nice job in both games. He didn't score but he had scoring chance after scoring chance. I wish he could have buried that break away but he wasn't the only Badger not to bury and opportunity this weekend. Andy Bohmbach was great. He was physical, assertive, and was setting up his teammates all weekend.

Overall I really liked the way the boys played this weekend. I'd like a little more consistency out of our PP but it's nice to see us scoring goals even when the PP isn't clicking. This is a Badger squad that can beat you from multiple angles and I think that's what makes us dangerous in this tournament. We're getting scoring from all four lines and there isn't many teams in the country that can say that right now.

We're a confident bunch and we should be. There are 2 other #1 seeds at the Frozen Four but we're just as good if not better than any of the other squads there. RIT is going to be a tough opponent in the opener. Say what you want about their schedule but if you saw them play Denver and UNH you know that they are the real deal. They frustrated both teams and counter attacked when presented an opportunity. We cannot get lax like we did on the PP when we gave up the goal to Festler on Saturday. RIT will make the Badgers pay if they are given an opportunity.

Would have liked to see some better attendance at the X but it was still a pretty good atmosphere. I have to give a shout out to our band and our students. You guys f'ing rock. I was sitting by a bunch of St. Cloud fans as well as Gopher fans and they could not stop talking about how awesome you guys are. Do what you have to do to get yourselves to Detroit.

Official Ticket Information From UW Athletic Department

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/032810aac.html

March 28, 2010

MADISON, Wis. – With a 5-3 victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday in the 2010 NCAA West Regional final, Wisconsin has advanced to the 2010 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four. The Badgers open with RIT on April 8 at Ford Field in Detroit.

The all-session ticket price, good for both Frozen Four semifinal games Thursday and Saturday’s Championship Game is $189.

Now that the Badgers have advanced to the Frozen Four, the following ticket policy for donors to athletics will be implemented. Please remember that each participating team receives a limited number of tickets from the NCAA. The UW Athletic Department will only sell and distribute tickets from our NCAA allotment.

Patrons whose 2009 donations to UW Athletics were at the Coach’s Club ($1000+) and above will be granted the opportunity to request 2010 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four tickets. Requests for tickets will be accepted for the Frozen Four in Detroit online at UWBadgers.com beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 28 and ending 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30. Requests may also be made in person at the Wisconsin Athletic Ticket Office, located in Kellner Hall (adjacent to Gate 1 of Camp Randall Stadium) or by calling 1-800-GO BADGERS from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. If tickets remain after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, they will be available for purchase from all other donors and men’s hockey season ticket holders on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 31.

Please note that the University reserves the right to implement ticket limits per donor account, if demand exceeds supply.

All donors who request Frozen Four tickets will be notified by email of their ticket outcome no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30. Specific ticket pick-up information will also be released at that time.

West Regional Final Reactions

Video reaction via UW's CBS College Sports page. (Truth be told, my browser is on the rocks right now, so I can't get the video to play. Let me know if the link is any good. Or if it's relevant.)

Quotes as reported by UWBadgers.com.

Milewski: Penalty Kill Tweak Makes a Difference for Wisconsin (USCHO.com)

D. Myers: Team Effort as Wisconsin Reaches Frozen Four (College Hockey News)

Tom Oates: Stars aligning for another UW championship (Madison.com)

Baggot: Mitchell ditches monkey on his back with two goals (Madison.com) Baggot takes the same angle as the recap story from USCHO.com. Anyone want to guess which article was published first?

J. Myers: UW advances to Frozen Four (JSOnline.com... outsourced article because WSJ doesn't have much money and they'd rather cover Brandon Jennings' bowel movements than care about successful teams in Wisconsin)

Another item found courtesy of USCHO.com:

Frozen Four Bound!!!! Don't Stop Believin'

UW 5
SCSU 3

Scoring:

1st Period
2:31 UW Mitchell (Bohmbach, Murray)
13:22 UW Geoffrion (McDonagh, B. Smith)
14:48 SC Festler (Lasch, Marvin)
15:21 UW Gardiner (B. Smith, Geoffrion)

2nd Period
No Scoring

3rd Period
4:16 SC Festler (Unassisted) SH
6:54 UW Mitchell (Bohmbach, Gardiner)
17:10 SC Mosey (Eddy) EA
18:52 UW Bendickson (Geoffrion) EN

EoDS's cheers of the day

I cannot be in St. Paul with our beloved Badgers, but for those who are, here are a few cheers and songs to sing that I'll recommend for tonight:



Any cheers that describe how much Ben and Jerry's suck get bonus points.

Vermont's goalie, Rob Madore, is a great big sieve. Be sure to remind him at every passing opportunity. His mother's name is Lisa.

"New Hampshire rejects"

NMU or SCSU themed taunts to follow for tomorrow. Okay, let's be serious, we all know that Jan Brady won't be winning this afternoon. It's just destiny.

And if any annoying gopher fans give you lip (a distinct possibility... you are in St. Paul), sing this to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine":

Are you watching?
Are you watching?
Are you watching, Gopher fans?
Are you watching?
Are you watching?
Are you watching, Gopher fans?

Where'd your team go?
I can't find them!
Where'd your team go, Gopher fans?
Are they missing?
Are they golfing?
Where'd your team go, Gopher fans?

Badgers Nab #1 Seed In St. Paul

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Regionalization of NCAA tourney on hold

Back in October we posted about the NCAA's plan to make Regionals more regional affairs. Here's what INCH and CHN reported at the time, and here's how the WCHA responded at the time.

Per CHN today, regionalization has been put on hold for a year. The NCAA's Championship/Sports Management Cabinet is voting this week on whether to mandate regionalization of brackets for most NCAA sports, but any changes will not go into effect until next season. Men's D-I Ice Hockey Chair Steve Cady is "optimistic that the more drastic regionalization proposals will not be passed, and instead hockey will be allowed its compromise proposal".