Any thoughts on The Classic? Winners / Losers coming out of the weekend?
The Atlantic has a clear top 6:
BA
CAL
FARM
ROWAN
FAIRFIELD
SCSU
In that order.
Next year, the Empire should re configure a way to get more Atlantic teams in the fold. It’s nice to have other conferences like the BRHC but when 2 teams don’t show up, it gives some teams less games than others.
A team like UDEL would have killed to be in the classic this season. B/c they weren’t I bet teams like GMU and Fredonia and even Stockton will likely jump them just b/c they weren’t invited and all preformed decently. Other teams like Albany, QU and even Ramapo college would have benefited from this as well.
The classic is an important showcase for the Atlantic region for multiple teams, let’s keep it in house next year and give teams 1-16 a chance to show what they could do. With so much parity between teams 7-12/13, this showcase should be a eye opener for the entire region.
Here’s what we learned with some notes… Obviously anything can happen, but with all things being equal, this is how I see it playing out…
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BA is the real deal. They are well coached, deep and poised to make a run at it. They are missing their spark plug Jennings, and they are only going to get better when their rink is open. The dose of reality that the Atlantic has to deal with is that the only team that can compete with them on any level is Farmingdale. Nobody else is capable of generating sustained pressure on them at any point, in any other zone baring a bad game. They are simply that good!
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Farmingdale. Like I said in September, the clear number 2 in the region. Has the most difficult schedule outside Michigan, deep roster and coaching staff. Missing their leading scorer for virtually the entire semester, they still generate what they do without him. Ranked 4 because they lost to CAL, who lost to Fairfield, who they beat, is what people go off of, but the Classic showed to anybody who watched that they are significantly deeper then CAL, and the score doesn’t always reflect that. They have 2 vs. BA, 1 vs. Rowan and 1 vs. Fairfield before the semester ends. That will make or break them.
3./4./5. Fairfield - Rowan - CAL - All of these teams are very, very good. and I believe round out the top 5, barring any major collapses. Rowan took game 1 of the series vs Fairfield at the Classic (2-1), and their rematch in January will be a major factor for Rowan staying in the top 4, as Fairfield plays Rowan twice and CAL twice, with a win over CAL already. Rowan is very well coached, and tactically disciplined. Teams will have to literally beat them in all phases, because they will not beat themselves. Their schedule isn’t as deep, without CAL on the sheet, but still good enough to autobid if they win out. Fairfield has a great opportunity to advance to the top 2, but they’d have to win their next two vs. Farmingdale. Fairfield’s core is deep, and they are capable of playing the speed game and the physical game. They are a very dangerous for any opponent. CAL is unique, they are extremely well coached and are committed to playing team defense. They don’t have the ponies to run with BA or Farmingdale, but their PP is tremendous as always. They capitalize on the mistakes of their opponents and make the best of their chances, though few at times. This is how they beat Farmingdale the first time and kept BA and Farmingdale close this weekend. They took 70 shots on net and probably 90 attempts from BA and lost in OT, and the next night took about 75 attempts and 60 on net from Farmingdale and lost in OT. They just concluded the best part of their schedule, with 1 game left vs. BA. It is impossible to keep them ahead of Farmingdale or Fairfield with a split against one and a loss to the other, with their remaining schedule. Judging Rowan vs. CAL is hard when they don’t play each other.
6 SCSU - On the door step, but has a schedule for a 5,6,7 team. Their only move up would be to beat Fairfield to tie the series, and Farmingdale who already won the first 2, then they could move to 4 if Rowan or CAL fall.
7-10. Now we split hairs. George Mason is the next best team, followed by UPJ, and Fredonia. The 10 spot is almost impossible to determine as the schedules these teams play is very difficult to measure against.
Is going to be interesting…
I would say extremely spot on!
@TheLuckyFries444 do you think the little school has the team to beat the likes of Oakland, Calvin, AQ, FGCU? All the power means nothing until you can beat those teams.
Oakland just lost to Central Florida this past weekend.
@atlantic_demon23 I’ve been around long enough to see it all, and can honestly say, to win 5 games in 5 days is one of the more difficult things to do in any level of college sports. With that being said, I live and die by the idea that at Nationals you have to play even hockey 5 on 5 and roll in with a PP at about 40% to win the whole thing. In order to pull that off you need a superior showing by your tender, three lines that can score and an effective 5-6 D pair. So, BA, in my opinion has three lines, solid defense, a great PP and a solid goaltending. Aquinas and Calvin are also very balanced teams, not too top heavy in any area, the difference between all of these teams in my opinion is Kyle Gannon the goalie from Oakland. He’s just different in the net. Anything is possible, but I still think Oakland is the top dog because of KG…
Gannon didn’t play against UCF…
I hear some rumblings that DVCHC wants to pull its teams out of the tourney. Facility is trash, the management of the tourney is subpar, and they could be better suited playing at the other tourney down at ice works in an upper tier division.
If you look at this years tourney at the classic, out of the 14 teams, I believe 5 came from the DVCHC
I was told UDEL was offered the first chance to take the Neumann spot but declined. Maryland took that spot
@Benders19 The magic word is “Relevant”… If you can’t get Pool A or B caliber teams in a showcase it doesn’t matter what the facility looks like or how you think its run. No top 10 teams ever play in it. I was also told like @Rasputin31, that when Maritime dropped out, Quinnipiac, Albany, Ramapo, Delaware, Loyola, and Fordham were all invited, but declined. Neumann should have been in it and but folded. The Blue Ridge teams that just no-showed is just terrible, but George Mason stepped up and deserved to be there so good for them.
What blue ridge teams no-showed?
Anyone have scores?
Why do you think they declined to partake in the classic? Could be a bunch of different reasons, only the teams know.
What the other tourney down in ice works was doing was having the upper tier teams not invited to the classic, participate in the DVCHC tourney. They would play each other. Example was 2 years ago, Neumann played Brandywine, ESU, Rowan (I believe) all as league games, and at the cost of the tourney of 1,100. This saves a lot of money.
Now if you take all DVCHC teams, and do this on a bigger level, they get 3 league games for 1,100. At a nicer facility, and still have the tourney environment to it.
This then allows them to go travel to Pitt/Empire division on different weekends.
These are just some things I’m hearing from that league.
When D3 goes to computer rankings next year, diversifying schedules to beyond the simplicity of local conference play is going to really become magnified. That is what the Classic is about, not conference play. Besides, if the DVCHC pulled it’s teams, do you really think the Classic would stop? Those guys would just invite their friends from Michigan and Florida anyway.
I think it would be stupid for DVCHC teams to leave the classic. In case anyone has forgotten, the CHE and Empire run the Atlantic division. The best teams come from that area and teams like a Rowan should gravitate towards those conferences to better themselves. The DVCHC tourney is an absolute gong show of lower tier teams. UDEL will certainly drop in the rankings bc they weren’t present at the classic, and voters after hearing they turned it down, might even penalize them for it.
Once BA leaves for NCAA, assuming they don’t have a club team, the DVCHC will lose almost all of its credibility.
I was actually surprised that the empire conference didn’t do a better job in keeping everyone informed of the games. The 1st day was great but fizzled after that.
Teams like UDEL, Maryland, GMU NEED the classic in order to get that SOS that is going to be crucial for teams 7 and below.
I agree they should move the rink, but any team who wants to make a name for themselves and get the all important “strength of schedule” vote needs this showcase. 5 years ago the DVCHC may have not needed the classic with how good their teams were, but the league is in a complete downward spiral and teams from the league would be foolish not to go in the future.
the point I’m making is, save cost on home ice slots and have a top tier division in he DVCHC, so the “gong show” as you call it wont be affected by that. Play 3 games at 1,100 and use the other funds to travel to the other teams
You speak like SOS is the best thing in he world… Does it matter if BA plays Farm 5 times in a season? Especially when BA goes 5-0 against farm. That just hurts Farm
If you look at all the top tier team, from 4 years back to present, they play each other at least 2 times and then they put in some little difference each year, like the 9-13 ranked teams. BA, farm, cal, Rowan, NU ( NU had all these teams on the schedule until the team folded) Fairfield, are always playing each other besides the classic.
just a general question, a team like SCSU. Is it better to play a schedule they have now, only playing 3-4 games against the 1/2/3 ranked teams and losing them 4, but beating teams behind them,
Or having a hard SOS and playing the 1/2/3 teams 10 times and losing all 10, and not scheduling the other games at all?
If we move to computer rankings, SOS will be the most important component. Rowan didn’t make regionals 2 seasons in a row because they didn’t have a good enough SOS.
I see what you’re trying to get at but the Classic is a tradition and teams are often penalized for not going or making the cut. It’s just the way it is.
@Benders19 Honestly SOS is more important than you think. It’s the primary criteria in ordering variables, beyond the simple metrics of wins and losses. It adds values to the size of the win or loss. If Farmingdale splits with, Fairfield, CAL, Rowan, SCSU, UPJ but plays BA 5 times and loses all 5, them playing 3 additional games against BA increases the value of their overall body of work, and if their losses are within a margin smaller then the teams that they are competing with, it will accentuate their value over other teams with similar win and loss records.
So, the moral of the story is… If you don’t swim in the deep end of the pool, most of the time, you shouldn’t be viewed as a strong swimmer. Sticking your toe in the deep end and hanging out on the other side of the rope gets you nowhere.
DVCHC doesn’t have good enough teams to pull out of the Empire. Their tournament, though it may be at a better facility, won’t have the same quality of competition.