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<\/p>\nScott<\/b>: True enough. The WCHA has already had several top-tier skirmishes, with Minnesota having played Colorado College and Denver, and North Dakota taking on Wisconsin last weekend after playing CC the previous week. I’ll be very interested in how this weekend’s Miami-Michigan State series shapes up, with those teams now No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the poll. Moving East, though, what the heck is going on in Hockey East? Every team has at least one tie in conference play already, and we’re seeing results like Northeastern beating New Hampshire and Merrimack tying Boston College. Now, I know that on any night, any team can beat any other team and all that, but factor in Hockey East’s 12-14-1 nonconference record — with eight of those wins coming against the CHA and Atlantic Hockey — and you have to ask if there’s something in the water.<\/p>\n
Jim:<\/b> This certainly seems to be a crazy year in Hockey East. There’s more parity top to bottom than we’ve seen in recent years, but I think it’s a combination of reasons. First, the bottom of the league has gotten stronger. Programs like Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell might not be championship-caliber clubs, but they’re definitely more competitive this year than last. At the same time, early departures, injuries and suspension have led to some of the top teams in the league becoming a bit weak. Maine lost Teddy Purcell, arguably the best rookie in the league. BC lost Cory Schneider a year early and is without top defensemen Brock Bradford (injury) and Brett Motherwell (suspension). And that’s only part of the list. The good news is that the season is a long one and it’s better to peak in March than November. But that doesn’t make early-season losses for the traditional Hockey East powers any easier to stomach.<\/p>\n
Scott<\/b>: Agreed. And early or late, those losses will weigh on the PairWise Rankings when the time comes. Speaking of a wild weekend, tempers flared between North Dakota and Wisconsin on Saturday, culminating in a brawl that saw 122 penalty minutes handed out and words exchanged between UND head coach Dave Hakstol and UW bench boss Mike Eaves postgame. Now, I’ve seen footage of the scrum on YouTube — which started with a hit on Brendan Smith by Rylan Kaip — and it’s no “Punch-up in Piestany,” but you don’t often see most everyone on the ice taking part in a melee in the college game. The result was a bunch of roughing minors handed out, with an extra one to Kaip, and a series of 10-minute misconducts for the players involved, meaning no one misses a game. Was this the appropriate reaction by the officials?<\/p>\n