It was a good weekend if you are a Boston University hockey enthusiast.
BU had a fun, come-from-behind victory over Providence behind the strength of Cason Hohmann, who got himself a trio of points.
Meanwhile off the E Line, Northeastern University ended Boston College’s 19-game winning streak and knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in the USCHO national rankings. So, with BC dropping from first to third, BU moving one rung up to No. 11 and Northeastern making the leap all the way to the 14 spot, there was a healthy amount of poll activity for the Boston schools — not surprisingly sparking the typical early season outbreak of poll-mania.
“The Terriers have already jumped three spots since preseason, and BC lost the No. 1 ranking! Gee golly!” said the poll-trolls.
As a society, we love lists and rankings — the “Best Songs of 2012”, the AFI Top 100, the “100 Hottest Celebs”, NFL power rankings. We obsess over political poll projections.
So, when we go an entire offseason without NCAA hockey rankings to track, we understandably get a little excited when the puck polls come back.
Hey, it’s great on a superficial level, but do early season polls really mean anything?
They mean about as much as a side salad means to Ron Swanson.
The very concept of a preseason poll seems like an oxymoron.
“Hey, let’s rank the top teams!”
“Okay. Let’s look at their results.”
“There are no results! They haven’t even played a game yet. Hey let’s rank the top movies of 2013! That trailer for Oz was good. There’s our No. 1.”
A preseason poll is conjecture. It’s a theory that hasn’t yet been tested in the lab.
It seems useless to me in the world of sports … why not just wait until these teams play each other to rank them?
Sure, BC was phenomenal last year, but look at the turnover on their roster.
It’s not the same team. They might still be the best team in college hockey. They might be 15th. We haven’t seen enough to form a confident opinion about that.
It’s precisely that turnover — the constant revolving door of players — that makes preseason college polls an unreliable source.
You can look at BU’s recent history. The Terriers came into the 2008-09 season at No. 9. They won the whole thing.
The next season, they opened in the two spot. They didn’t make it onto a bracket.
Ferris State, UMass Lowell, Michigan State, Air Force — none of those teams were ranked at the start of last season.
They all went ice dancing last year — playing in the championship tournament, with Ferris State finishing runner-up.
Notre Dame was your preseason No. 1. They were not among the final 16.
Merrimack was the nation’s top dog at one point.
Fans tend to get married to these early season polls. I say you need not even look at them until Christmas.
You’ll see top ranked teams fall off the map. You’ll see schools that weren’t on the radar have meteoric rises — some will stick around, some will flame out by midseason.
You’ll see teams that are darn good fall to the edge of the rankings, only to rise from the ashes and return to the top.
It’s hockey. The puck takes funny bounces. Weird stuff happens.
Coaches adjust, players get better, others get hurt. Teams change, they grow. They evolve.
And we’re talking about 18–23 year olds — volatile people.
Don’t be a victim of the polls every week — you’re too young to start losing your hair.
So, you’ve decided to call off the wedding with USCHO.com and return the ring, but be careful you’re on the rebound.
Just as easily as you almost said “I do” to the preseason polls, you could end up drunk in Vegas with your arm around a hot, scantily-clad collegiate brand name.
Fans love to put the schools they know on a pedestal. People know Coke, so they drink a lot of Coke.
You’re not a sucker though. You knew Ohio State was a fraud last season!
You knew Notre Dame was a sham at No. 1! Who cares about 1920s football?
Colorado College?
Who cares what they did in the mid ‘90s? Don Lucia is long gone.
New Hampshire? Please.
They were off your radar by November.
So, don’t be so quick to anoint the Golden Gophers. They look great, but doesn’t the Minnesota brand make you a little quicker to crown them king?
Make North Dakota work for their affection. See how long Miami can stay unbeaten before you pencil them in for April hockey.
And don’t be so quick to write off a team like Northeastern just “because it’s Northeastern.” They might be the real deal.
How scary did Ferris State look last year? Their pedigree is worse than Northeastern’s.
Don’t allow your brain to be clogged with pre-conceived preseason notions.
Everything shall change.
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