Much better OOC schedule this year

This is more like a pre-pandemic schedule

Recent schedules have followed this formula

2. Tournament

4. Home-and-home with WMU

6. Home series vs. UP team

8. Two eastern schools home/away or maybe ASU

10. Home series vs. crappy AH team

The home series against bottom of the barrel AH teams were a ticking RPI time bomb. There was essentially no upside to winning and a huge downside to drawing or losing. Maybe the athletic department wants to give a handout to Catholic schools like Holy Cross or Sacred Heart, but those teams really need to step up their level of competition.

Bringing in Fairbanks or a school like them is a huge upgrade for that buy game slot.

Tournaments are going to be increasingly harder to find, as teams don't want to risk RPI points during the WJC. ND goes to the Ice Breaker as frequently as possible, but will have to work hard to fill that slot next year.

I agree but I’m very happy to see it *

A welcome development

5 of the 10 games on the road and the AH school is traditionally one of their stronger ones. Just a guess but this might be one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the NCAA this coming season.

Quite an improvement over the joke of a OOC schedule last yr *