Nationals D1 rankings

[sid21]

Regular season and regionals over: an opinion on how teams look heading into the national tournament...your thoughts?

TOP 10
1. Lindenwood
Obvious pick.

2. UMSL
Haven’t been impressive against Lindenwood yet but they have beaten the 3 teams below them and that’s good enough to remain the top contender to LU.

3. Michigan State
Close loss to LU was impressive, hopefully they can keep that going at nationals.

4. Buffalo
Shaky at Chicago interregionals but dominant at ECRHA regionals.

5. Central Michigan
Winless in their last 5 but still too talented to move them too far down the list.

6. Rhode Island
6-3 loss to Buffalo in regional final cements them as #2 out of the east.

7. Florida Atlantic
Impressive in beating UCF 3 times to win regionals, earning #1 status in the southeast.

8. Central Florida
Not a good regional tournament losing 3 times to FAU, but they were all close at least.

9. North Texas
Strong showing at Chicago interregional and then won their regional title. Hoping to be first southwest team to make “Elite 8” round at nationals since 2005.

10. Arizona State
Almost dropped off this list for poor showing at regionals. Lost to UNLV and Long Beach State: not sure if ASU has been overrated all along or UNLV and LB have been underrated.

Contenders?
Long Beach State/UNLV: They both beat ASU at regionals but lost the season series to them, seems like they might be able to contend but not sure.

North Carolina State: They’ve got multiple wins over UCF so perhaps they can surprise some teams and go deep in San Jose.

Ohio State: Beat Central Michigan at regionals and played Michigan State close, we’ll see if they can play at that level against new competition at nationals.

Mizzou: Still have done nothing impressive but nationals will prove if they’ve deserved to be mentioned on here each time in spite of their record.

[William Bourque]

UL Lafeyette: They’ve played North Texas close who has played close games with 3 of the top 5 teams. Not sure if that’ll translate to ULL doing some damage at nationals.

They are not going to be at nationals.

[sid21]

They are not going to be at nationals.

Oh yeah. What the **** was I thinking? Fixed it.

[ISFN]

Whats up with ULL?

Did they just forfeit the rest of the season?

No Bid to nationals which I'm sure isn't because they weren't good enough, interested in knowing what happend.

Burke mentioned (I wish he would explain) a new seeding process at Nationals which could shake things up, I wouldn't be surprised to see 2 new teams in the championship game.

Dark Horses: Ohio, Long Beach, and West Point

[William Bourque]

Burke mentioned (I wish he would explain) a new seeding process at Nationals which could shake things up, I wouldn't be surprised to see 2 new teams in the championship game.

The general gist of it, is that the "Seedings Meeting" that was held each year at nationals, following the conclusion of Round Robin play has been eliminated.

Teams will now advance out of the pools, knowing, that they won't play a team they played in the pools until at least the final four. Anyone who is familiar with the World Cup or followed the ECRHA Regional Championships this season should have a general idea on how things will play out. However, unlike at ECRHA Regionals, no teams will be eliminated in Pool play.

I looked for the article that Burke reference, however, I could not find it.

[ISFN]

I see some flaws in that, but as shown in the seeding meeting there were also flaws.

So the teams must be seeded before the tournament then, right? I know these pools aren't just randomly selected, how is that process done?

Sorry If I'm asking the wrong person, just curious because I was certainly in favor of the seeding committee.

[William Bourque]

I see some flaws in that, but as shown in the seeding meeting there were also flaws.

So the teams must be seeded before the tournament then, right? I know these pools aren't just randomly selected, how is that process done?

Sorry If I'm asking the wrong person, just curious because I was certainly in favor of the seeding committee.

The process can't start until all teams are committed to going, but once it starts, I am sure that we will be able to relay that information to you. But as of now, I am not 100% sure, and it wouldn't be proper to speculate.

[mustachemarty5]

Speaking from the east, I think every team in this region will be competitive and surprise teams at nationals. It may seem silly that 8 teams got in from this region, but there is a reason and I think they should all be there if you want top competition.

Buffalo (24-2-2) With the impressive season they have had, I think it is established that they are the top team. With big, skilled players like Walzer, Durinka and Kendall leading the way and role players like Felber and McNeil also with big points, they will look to finish strong. Sometimes they tend to not really skate (maybe because they don't have to, but who knows) and they could be caught off guard if a team can really move the puck and skate well, but for the most part, they will simply control the game and set the tempo. They also have a solid goalie in Christie to back them up. Good showings against UMSL and LU to go with a win over Central Michigan help their case and put them as a top tier team in the tournament, but Nationals is a whole different game. Look for them to at least get to the Final 4.

Rhode Island (18-6-3) It's fair to say that they stand out as the second best team in the region. They are a quick team that can score goals in a hurry. They often have slow starts, but can put up goals to come back as quick as they give them up. At regionals, they came back from deficits of 3-5 goals regularly. They have solid players like Lundh, Rieger and Borbidge, but it is Nelson that runs the show by never getting frustrated and scoring clutch goals. They are a great team, but the goaltending is very shaky. That's something to watch out for in the tournament. When they went south, they didn't exactly do as well as expected with loses to NC State and FAU, but that may be a testament to the rising talent down there. Expect them to get to the Elite 8 with a chance to go further if they can get the defense and goaltending they need.

Rutgers (16-8-1) The third best team is really a toss up, but I'll give it to Rutgers based on Regionals. They don't really look good or have star power, but they play solid defense and seem to get the job done by playing a box on defense. Reisman and Masino work well together and provide most of the scoring. They also have solid goaltending which is what may take them far. A solid inter-regional win against Ohio State shows they can play with and beat good teams. I think they get to the Sweet 16 fairly easily either through a bye or first round win, but I don't know about their prospects going beyond that.

West Point (14-6-5) This team is solid top to bottom. The entire team is big and strong on the puck, in phenomenal shape, and they can shoot. Would you expect anything less from the Army? Graham is the big point getter, but don't focus on one guy with this team because they can all play. Their biggest asset is that they are physical and they never get tired. It's like playing against a team of robots because they don't let up the whole game. They have proved themselves through their strong regular season which includes a tie with Buffalo. They also won all their out of region games and will look to continue that success in San Jose. Look for this team in the Elite 8 as a sleeper.

Towson (11-11-1) This team had questions coming into the season, but got out to a great start. Unfortunately they have lost 8 of their last 9 and had a poor showing at Regionals. Cowdell is talented, but clearly isn't as effective without Inge and Houser who are out the rest of the season. Questionable losses to Michigan and Texas-Dallas hurt this teams perspective chances at going anywhere. This team has a lot of question marks around them and are obviously hurt by the absence of key players. They will be lucky to get out of the First Round.

UConn (10-11-4) Here's a team that really turned up their play at the right time. They are much improved from the first half of the season and looked impressive at Regionals. The team revolves around the offense of DaSilva as he is one of the top difference makers in the league. He is very tough to contain and he scores very difficult and opportune goals. Don't overlook Tomczyk or Gabor though because they can play as well. They also beat Ohio State which shows the strength and depth of the east against top competition. The goaltender, Back, is usually solid and if he gets hot, mixed in with a little luck, this team could surprise people and find themselves in the Elite 8.

Stony Brook (10-17-1) Here is another team who, after a disappointing first half, got their act together and went 11-6 in the second half (including Regionals). 4 of those wins came against weak teams from the southeast, but they destroyed those teams by winning those games by a combined score of 46-8. They were also very impressive in conference play. Cartwright will lead this underrated squad who looks good now that they have a flow and have players who are recovered from injury. Don't write them off at all, just remember their historic National Championship run in DII a few years ago. I think they storm into the Sweet 16 with a chance to go further.

Hofstra (7-16-0) From the outside, this team looks weak and appears to have stumbled into the tournament. Don't be fooled by their sub-par record. They lost 9 of those games by 1 or 2 goals to the top competition in the country. In 3 games against Rhode Island, they lost by a combined 4 goals. That isn't a good argument for them because they are still losses, but in a different region, their record could be reversed. They showed this by beating Michigan and Texas-Dallas out of region. This team has trouble finishing games and scoring goals in general, but they can skate hard for the whole game. No real big names, but they have a great leader in their captain, Ketcham, who leads by example with his great work ethic and as a whole, they are tough to play against top to bottom because they work so hard. I can see them getting to the Sweet 16 and being a tough team to play there.


*Records include Regular Season, Inter-Regional, and Playoffs (not pre-season)

[sid21]

Wow, great ECRHA analysis. Anyone from other regions with good info like that on their D1 teams?

[NCSU17]

From the SECRHL

1a.) UCF: Can be a very streaky team, but when they are on their game they can be a top team. Connor Cafferty and goaltender Dan Moon are the cornerstones of this team, but they also have 5 or 6 very strong supporting players. If the Knights play good, disciplined hockey, expect them to be among the final 8 teams.

1b.) FAU: They had an impressive regionals. Thiefault is a great finisher, and Greg Boyd is an amazing all around player. They have alot of team speed and move the puck well, but they lack a solid defensive core and are prone to defensive breakdowns. Like their Floridian counterpart, FAU has struggled with consistency, but this could be a good thing for them. If they play they way they are able to, I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish in the final four or better.

3.) NCSU: We have struggled with inconsistency more so than any of the other D1 SECRHL teams. We are heavily dependent on the production of Chris Davis and Mike Iadanza, and our goalie Bobby Child. If we can play within ourselves we could surprise, but I think it is clear we are not as dangerous as the Florida teams.

[Ben Lambert]

It wouldn't surprise me if it was an all-gp final for the third year in a row. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if only 1 GP team makes it. At least one will be in the finals, just like always...

There are about 4 or 5 teams tops who have the capability to make it there, usually it becomes abundantly clear which ones in the pool play at nationals.

[InlineMBA]

Hofstra (7-16-0) From the outside, this team looks weak and appears to have stumbled into the tournament. Don't be fooled by their sub-par record. They lost 9 of those games by 1 or 2 goals to the top competition in the country. In 3 games against Rhode Island, they lost by a combined 4 goals. That isn't a good argument for them because they are still losses, but in a different region, their record could be reversed. They showed this by beating Michigan and Texas-Dallas out of region. This team has trouble finishing games and scoring goals in general, but they can skate hard for the whole game. No real big names, but they have a great leader in their captain, Ketcham, who leads by example with his great work ethic and as a whole, they are tough to play against top to bottom because they work so hard. I can see them getting to the Sweet 16 and being a tough team to play there.

Hofstra was an Alternate - Did they get in because of a team not accepting their bid? If so, who backed out?

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

[MIDWESTCLAPPER]

I think that if there was going to be a year in DI where neither team in the finals was from the Great Plains this would be the year. Buffalo, Rhode Island, FAU, Michigan State, Central Michigan are all not to far off skill wise from UMSL and Lindenwood. Though chances are very unlikely that both UMSL and Lindenwood wouldnt make the finals it could happen.

[William Bourque]

Hofstra was an Alternate - Did they get in because of a team not accepting their bid? If so, who backed out?

Steve Inge - ROXBURY 8

Central Michigan

[kleinberg13]

Central Michigan

Is central michigan B not going either?

[NCRHA]

All B Division and Division II teams have accepted their bids. So no alternates for B and DII at this point.

3 Division I teams declined their bids, so all 3 alternates (Hofstra, Sam Houston State, and Michigan) all were given bids. Those 3 have all accepted.

[mixingitup15]

Such a farce...what is even the point of the regular season...why don't they just let teams scrimmage whoever they want all year and invite every damn team in the ncrha to nationals...hofstra??? Really is this a joke...that's awesome and they are competitive and only lose by 1 or 2 goals every game...woooppppiieee dooooo....this is gotta be a complete joke...

[letsgoisles89]

All B Division and Division II teams have accepted their bids. So no alternates for B and DII at this point.

3 Division I teams declined their bids, so all 3 alternates (Hofstra, Sam Houston State, and Michigan) all were given bids. Those 3 have all accepted.

Aside from Central Michigan, what other D-1 teams declined their nationals bid?

[NCRHA]

Colorado State and Mizzou both declined their DI bids as well.

[J88]

I don't usually post on here, but look at the site almost everyday. Now none of my comments are directed toward any of the schools, just the NCRHA, so any players on any schools I mention please do not take offense. I respect every inline hockey player for the problems they face. Whether it is funding yourself or trying to find funding just to play a game that most of us played on a street or parking lot as kids. I for one couldn't make my college team work for the last two years. I also am not in fan of making inline hockey into ice hockey, so none of my comments are made with that intention. I have played only a handful of ice hockey in my life. I am an inline player through and through.

The NCRHA is pretty ridiculous on the way they have set up the Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championship. Just speaking on the Division I side, they have 37 active teams with MTSU as an "affiliate." Not sure what that means to the SECRHL. They give 24 berths to the National Championships? That seems a little (I mean a lot) excessive. Almost 65% of the teams in Division I get bids to the CRHNC. If you get over 50% you start getting teams that are under .500 for the season.

The NCAA has 56 Division I schools in ice hockey, and still only awards 16 bids to their National Championship Tournament. Only 28.5% of the teams in Division I will make their NCT. At least all of the top 20 teams in USCHO poll have plus .500 records, and going strictly by that poll for the tournament, four plus .500 teams will not make their tournament.

From that five teams are making the CRHNC tournament with sub .500 records. If you only included 16 teams into the CRHNC, that would eliminate the five teams with sub .500 records, as well as at least three over .500 on the outside looking in. This would leave a bubble the way the NCAA basketball tournament works. Also this would let the NCRHA selection committee take into account inter-regional events attended for that tie-breaker.

I like that Division II only receives 16 bids to nationals, it feeds into my NCAA point, but why must Division I make up for those teams? Why do games need to be played at 8 in the morning? You can have 16 Division I schools, 16 Division II schools, 6 Junior College (I still call it Division III), and 12 B Division schools and have a tournament that was less stressed out and a cleaner floor for games with more time to clean.

If the NCRHA wants to grow bigger why not feature games at the Division I level with the top teams organizations facing the third or maybe fourth seeded teams in bigger organizations rather then facing teams ranked eight or ninth in their organization with a sub .500 record? I personally would rather see a close game between a Regional Tournament winner and a school with a larger, maybe more competitive Region who finished second or third, than a game where a Regional winner beats a school who was seventh or eight in their own Organization in a blow out.

If the NCRHA uses the CRHNC tournament as a reward for playing Division I, why not promote it as a larger tournament with "primetime" games and such, instead of an anyone can pay to play tournament?

I am sorry if I have offended any active collegiate players. That was not my intent. I apologize for my words. My only intent is to try and better the game I love in whatever way I can.

- Rick Jackson

[cdolan]

J88 has it right. And now that those three teams didn't accept their bid, it makes it even worse.
Hofstra 7-17-2
Sam Houston 10-13-2
MICHIGAN 3-16-4
I'm happy for these guys. They actually get to go to San Jose. But what's the point? I'm not trying to bash Michigan, but 3 wins?

[Jkahn09]

and two of their wins came against a team that didn't win a game all year. Damn UMichigan sports sucked this year.

[dan sangiorgio]

i agree that having such weak teams make nationals is a joke but it is actually just a byproduct of the ncrha planning for the future. the plan is to eventually get all the most organized and well funded teams into divsion 1. right now alot of those teams are either in d2 building towards that or just not moving up for other reasons. untill that happens some weak teams are gonna make nationals and it has already been stated that it will drive up costs per team if some bids are eliminated. the ncrha is still a very new and growing organization if compared to club ice hockey which i think the ncrha is trying to model some ideas after. i would say in another two cycles of students( about 8 years) you will see d1 have about 50 teams all well organized with some sort of funding.

[GoRangrHky]

As far as teams with losing records making it, when you have that many teams making a tournament, and not enough teams for them to play, unless everyone is going .500 all year, there's going to be good teams with bad records in there. DI needs more teams, for sure, but it's up to the teams themselves to step up and do it.

[FAUplayer]

As far as teams with losing records making it, when you have that many teams making a tournament, and not enough teams for them to play, unless everyone is going .500 all year, there's going to be good teams with bad records in there. DI needs more teams, for sure, but it's up to the teams themselves to step up and do it.

It should be up to the league to delineate who is in D1 and who is in D2: like NARCH. Make the requirements for D1 and D2 same as far as uniforms and coaching, then there would be no excuse other than we want to sandbag, and allow the league directors to say "you are being moved up to D1".

[ISFN]

As for Michigan..Obviously their record is a small indication of their talent but at the same time look at their league, one of the better D1 divisions for sure, having games against, CMU MSU and Ohio State almost every weekend, 3 very solid teams, as well as Eastern whose also a very solid team.

Records don't always tell the whole story, Look at Colorado State, Just about the same record as UMSL but do you think they're on the same level?

I'm not by any means comparing UMSL and Michigan or even saying Michigan will fare well at nationals but just wanted to bring up the fact that records shouldn't be the deciding factor.

[Flyinhighh]

The records shouldnt be the only deciding factor, but they should be a factor. U of M finished dead last in the league, only above a team that dropped out. They do play in a tough league against 4 very good teams, but if they can literally not beat ANYONE and their biggest accomplishment is a couple ties, there really is NO point to the regular season and might as well just skip to regionals and nationals..Wouldnt have this problem if teams like GVSU and Cincy would come play D1.

[mustachemarty5]

As far as teams with losing records making it, when you have that many teams making a tournament, and not enough teams for them to play, unless everyone is going .500 all year, there's going to be good teams with bad records in there. DI needs more teams, for sure, but it's up to the teams themselves to step up and do it.

I agree with this 100%. DI is the class of college roller hockey and just about every team is a top level program. Theoretically, any DI team should be able to dominate at the DII level. That is why DI gets more teams admitted. If there is a problem with "weak" DI teams making the dance, then the stronger DII teams should step up and remove those teams.

Is it silly that most of the league makes nationals? Yeah, a little, but if there were more teams in DI, i guarantee a lot of the "weaker" would have better records. If you put the top half of DII into DI, the "weak" teams in DI would rise to the top with better records. Of course some of those teams won't and they will still post sub-par records, but that is the responsibility of the DII teams to step up and displace those teams.

I do believe that a lot of DII teams will start to make the jump to DI because of the fact that more teams make nationals. Take a team like Miami for example who had a great season posting a 13-3 record. I don't think it would be as good in DI, but they are still obviously a good team. They didn't get into nationals and they are going to be sitting at home watching a team like Michigan with a 3-16-4 record go to San Jose. Next year, I guarantee they will look at the possibility of DI. Is it fair that they had a great season and Michigan couldn't beat anybody yet Michigan get to go to San Jose? Maybe not, but Michigan is playing the top competition in the country every week. I think that if top DII teams would take a chance and jump up to DI, the Tampas, Neummans, and Cincinnatis would make the big dance, bounce some weaker teams and eliminate the problem of weak teams going nationals. Would they post the records they have now, not at all, but they have the potentially to be great against the best teams.

A few years ago, there was a team that was just starting down in Maryland. It was their first year in the league and it was recommended that they play DII. After their first weekend, they went 0-3. The league again asked if they would like to move to DII. They said no because they wanted the top competition. They worked all year and squeaked into nationals. A few games later after beating Lindenwood, they were in the Final 4. This is a team that could have easily dropped to DII, but they went out and reached their potentially. Today, Towson is one of the most respected programs in the country. (PS. I'm not from Towson)

DI is where the top competition belongs and if teams don't want to make the jump, that is their decision. The league has remained committed to not rewarding teams in DII simply because there are more teams, but rather to reward teams at the highest level. Teams need to come join DI because they are hurting teams that actually belong in DII who are not top tier, but looking to be competitive. If you want to bash someone for "weak" teams in DI, look at the top DII teams and ask them why they aren't playing with appropriate competition.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

I'm no expert on the college division, especially considering the fact that when I was in college, hockey on inline skates didn't exist. :mad:

All I can say is that I'm excited and proud to tell you that I'll be in San Jose to cover the NCRHA Nationals again this year. I hope that as many people as possible will be patient with the near saints who have been doing their best to make collegiate inline hockey a success. They've done wonders with minimum suppport... and huge amounts of passion for the game.

Take it from one who knows -- I witnessed the first collegiate championships played in an outdoor rink in Torrance, California, with perhaps eight teams attending. Besides a cheap trophy, I believe the top prize was a pair of Motiv Skates. You don't know how good you've got it.

The passion expressed by the collegiate and high school players these past few years is perhaps the ONLY thing that's motivated me to keep this site alive during tough times.

I look forward to meeting you all in San Jose. Let's work together to give the sport of inline hockey a renaissance!