Just when you think you’re about to figure it all out, this past weekend happens.
Plattsburgh looked like it might be a step behind the perennial powers this season and then the Cardinals go and take three points from previously unbeaten and top-ranked RIT.
That’s the beauty of college sports though and that’s why we love this sport so much and follow it religiously.
What we do know and what we probably already could have assumed is that on any given night, any one of the top eight teams in the country can beat each other.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a season where we have had eight teams completely move to the forefront and be that far ahead of everyone else. Barring a major upset, I think you could almost pencil in the top eight teams in the USCHO.com Poll as the eight teams that will be in the NCAA Tournament this year.
RIT, Elmira, Plattsburgh, Middlebury, Amherst, Norwich, Wis.-River Falls and Gustavus Adolphus are your elite eight currently and with the NCAA Tournament expanding to eight teams this year, all eight can get in if there are no major upsets in the conference tournaments IE, someone other River Falls winning the NCHA, someone other than Gustavus winning the MIAC, and someone other than Norwich winning the ECAC East.
Middlebury and Amherst split their series this past weekend, which gets us nowhere closer to figuring out who has in the inside track to finishing atop the NESCAC standings this year. It will either come down to a team losing or tying to someone else or tiebreakers at the end of the season.
With RIT’s slip up, the ECAC West is wide open right now. Plattsburgh has actually moved ahead RIT conference wise and they’ll have a big two-game series showdown with Elmira on Jan. 28 and 29. Elmira is the lone team perfect in the ECAC West, but the Soaring Eagles haven’t played RIT or Plattsburgh yet. Elmira will get to host Plattsburgh for the first time since the 2008-09 season after they went to Plattsburgh two years in a row for ECAC West games to try and offset the three power teams from having to play all four games on the road at the other two schools.
Speaking of RIT, this weekend the Tigers aren once again hosting a pair of charity games. RIT is hosting Buffalo State and they will once again be wearing special edition jerseys. This time the Tigers are paying tribue to the US Armed Forces with special camoflauge jerseys that will be auctioned off.
RIT continues to set the gold standard with this auction website that they have now used two years in a row.
http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/supportveterans/
Check out the above link for all the information. When you go to the bidding page, you’ll get a glimpse of each girl’s personality a little bit with a posed photo.
http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/supportveterans/bidding.php
