{"id":25772,"date":"2003-04-23T11:17:22","date_gmt":"2003-04-23T16:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2003\/04\/23\/between-the-lines-season-wrapup\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:28","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:28","slug":"between-the-lines-season-wrapup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2003\/04\/23\/between-the-lines-season-wrapup\/","title":{"rendered":"Between the Lines: Season Wrap-up"},"content":{"rendered":"
Thoughts and observations from the season that just passed.<\/em><\/p>\n This was a somewhat tumultuous season on some levels. There were a disturbing number of incidents involving coaches and players, one of which led directly to the firing of Clarkson’s Mark Morris<\/a>. There were coaches getting reprimanded for berating officials; there were two teams that dropped their program; unruly fan behavior; various sordid other scandals and criticisms of administrators — some by yours truly; and there was the ugly Joe Exter incident<\/a>, which inflamed all sorts of passions on all sides.<\/p>\n But college hockey manages not to disappoint, especially when we’re focused on what’s going on between the boards.<\/p>\n Some of the highlights:<\/p>\n Cornell\/Ivies<\/b>. Ivy League schools placed in the top 5 of the ECAC. Whether this says something about how far the non-Ivies have fallen or not, who’s to say. But in an era where the rich are getting richer, it’s nice to see the little guy keep up. It also bodes well if the non-Ivies can get their act back together. With the Ivies already flourishing, relatively, if Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Colgate, RPI and Vermont can rebuild, the whole league will benefit. And c’mon, how many of you really ever believed — agree with it or not — that Cornell would ever be ranked No. 1?<\/p>\n Ferris State<\/b>. Bob Daniels has always been one of the most pleasurable hockey people to talk to, so it was great to see him finally get some reward. Again, another win for the little guy.<\/p>\n The freshmen<\/b>. What a year for college hockey’s incoming class. Is this because there have been so many early departures of stars in recent years that it gives more room for freshmen to shine? Or are the new breed genuinely great? I think some of it is the former, but I lean much more heavily to the latter. Jeff Tambellini, Thomas Vanek<\/a> and Zach Parise<\/a> are superstars. Al Montoya and Jim Howard in goal. And many, many other freshmen had stellar seasons. And let’s not forget the ECAC. Between Matt Moulson, Hugh Jessiman, Shane Hynes and Jamie Sifers, the league did very well in recruiting. And Harvard, Cornell and Dartmouth all have great recruiting classes again. This year’s NHL Draft should be big for college hockey.<\/p>\n 16-team tournament<\/b>. We’ve had more dramatic NCAA tournaments in recent years, but it was tremendous to finally have the 16-team field<\/a>. It was great as well, on a somewhat related note, to see three newcomers: Ferris State, MSU-Mankato and Wayne State. The only potential concern was the split attendance in the East, and it did hurt a little, but overall, the concept was clearly worth it. Kudos to all who made it happen, and to all the fans, who pay the money that helps convince the “powers that be” that it’s worth supporting.<\/p>\n The Hobey Race<\/b>. Two stud scorers and a goaltender who broke the all-time NCAA record for lowest goals against average. It was anyone’s guess until the very end<\/a>.<\/p>\n