October 6, 2023
by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@CHN_AdamWodon)
Michigan’s Gavin Brindley (photo: Matt Dewkett)
Here we go …
Things to Watch
Does the Dominance Continue?
Last season, the Big Ten sent four teams to the NCAAs, and nearly two more. Those teams proceeded to run roughshod over everyone in the tournament, until they met each other … or Quinnipiac. In fact, three of the four NCAA teams the Big Ten had, lost to Quinnipiac along the way, including Minesota in the crushing title game defeat.
That notwithstanding, the way the Big Ten dominated to that point, left everyone talking. Outside the Big Ten, it was more like worry. With the changes to the NCAA landcape in recent years, had the “rich get richer” concerns reached such a point of no return, that the Big Ten would start to dominate like this every year?
To that end, we have to say — slow the roll. The Big Ten still doesn’t have a national champion, and an ECAC team — one that didn’t even win its conference tournament — took the feet out from under all of them.
It is possible, however, that it is a trend. In the past, all the blue chippers Big Ten teams recruited didn’t necessarily translate to massive success. They were nice to have, but what did it mean in March and April? Recent years, however, have shown that it is working, moreso. Is this because these programs are taking advantage of how the NCAA is tilting in their favor? Or is it just because their coaching staffs have learned how to do a better job at balancing their rosters? Or are just better coaching staffs, period?
Any or all of these can be true. However, there is no Big Ten hockey team (yet) getting stocked with 26 leased Ford F-150s, or six-figure endorsements, like we’ve seen in football. So there’s little reason to panic.
How this all shakes out this year will be interesting to follow — thus, why this section is in the Watch List.
At the end of the day, Big Ten hockey needs the rest of college hockey, so its fans should also be careful what they wish for. If major conferences split off to form their own championship in football, well that constitutes about 60 schools. In hockey, there’s only seven. You want that to be the whole of your existence?
Competition is fun. And for now, there’s plenty of it, from the NCHC, Hockey East, yes the ECAC, and others.
Wisconsin and Michigan State Make It Even…
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