2008 Woodie Awards
Club hockey earns spot in rankings
By: Tim Ottusch
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The club hockey team's win against No. 2 Michigan ranks as more than just a win.
"It was huge victory for us because it proved that we belong, (that) we deserve to be right up there with them," said junior Andrew Anson.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II rankings came out Oct. 28 and had Michigan ranked second in the Central Region, while CMU was ranked sixth. Coupled with a close loss to last year's Division I champion, Oakland University, CMU could have a higher ranking.
"It's going to be a good start to moving up in the rankings," said senior Craig Lipar.
Even with the big weekend, coach Chris LaPan knows the team has to continue its momentum.
"I think we need to carry it forward. We have Ferris State next weekend and then, in two weeks, we have Davenport," LaPan said.
Davenport is the No. 3 team in the Central Region, just six points behind Michigan. Ferris State is unranked, but only because of policy violations.
"If we can string together a couple wins here, that's definitely going to propel us into the top three," Lipar said.
The rankings appear five times per season and the top two teams in each region (Northeast, Southeast, Central and West) in the final rankings earn automatic bids to the National Tournament in Fort Meyers, Fla. The rankings are based off eight criteria, including strength of schedule, head-to-head records, comparative scoring and overall record.
Teams that finish third through 10th in each region play in a regional playoff to decide the two remaining spots for each region. CMU has gone through this route the last two years, and in 2006 they were able to advance.
"We would like to avoid that at all costs," Lipar said. "But, we're not afraid of going there because we've been there the last two years and one year it panned out for us and last year we were on the cusp."
Lipar also said if the team wants to finish in the top two, it has to win at least two-thirds of its games and beat the top three teams in the region.
"It's going to take a lot of hard work; a lot of persistence and mental focus," Anson said.
CMU's most important remaining regional opponents are Michigan State, Grand Valley and Davenport. The team also faces two Division 1 teams - Eastern and Western - later in the season.
sports@cm-life.com
"It was huge victory for us because it proved that we belong, (that) we deserve to be right up there with them," said junior Andrew Anson.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II rankings came out Oct. 28 and had Michigan ranked second in the Central Region, while CMU was ranked sixth. Coupled with a close loss to last year's Division I champion, Oakland University, CMU could have a higher ranking.
"It's going to be a good start to moving up in the rankings," said senior Craig Lipar.
Even with the big weekend, coach Chris LaPan knows the team has to continue its momentum.
"I think we need to carry it forward. We have Ferris State next weekend and then, in two weeks, we have Davenport," LaPan said.
Davenport is the No. 3 team in the Central Region, just six points behind Michigan. Ferris State is unranked, but only because of policy violations.
"If we can string together a couple wins here, that's definitely going to propel us into the top three," Lipar said.
The rankings appear five times per season and the top two teams in each region (Northeast, Southeast, Central and West) in the final rankings earn automatic bids to the National Tournament in Fort Meyers, Fla. The rankings are based off eight criteria, including strength of schedule, head-to-head records, comparative scoring and overall record.
Teams that finish third through 10th in each region play in a regional playoff to decide the two remaining spots for each region. CMU has gone through this route the last two years, and in 2006 they were able to advance.
"We would like to avoid that at all costs," Lipar said. "But, we're not afraid of going there because we've been there the last two years and one year it panned out for us and last year we were on the cusp."
Lipar also said if the team wants to finish in the top two, it has to win at least two-thirds of its games and beat the top three teams in the region.
"It's going to take a lot of hard work; a lot of persistence and mental focus," Anson said.
CMU's most important remaining regional opponents are Michigan State, Grand Valley and Davenport. The team also faces two Division 1 teams - Eastern and Western - later in the season.
sports@cm-life.com
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