COLUMN: Tough schedule paying off for hockey team
Something doesn’t seem right with the Utah State hockey club.
After going 0-for-Colorado last weekend, its record dropped to 4-6 on the season, which is much worse than most people expected.
However, the first Division II rankings were released over the weekend and the Aggies are second in the West.
That doesn’t seem to make sense.
The reason USU has a curiously high ranking is because of the competition they’ve faced.
Half of their losses have been to No. 1 ranked Colorado State. Another was to defending champion Colorado. And another was to Weber State’s Division I squad.
The only loss that shouldn’t have happened was that fluke to BYU (which the Aggies have vowed to avenge).
All that competition has raised USU to a higher level of play and expectations.
The third ranked team in the new poll is Eastern Washington, which the Aggies shutout 6-0.
San Jose State ranks fifth, which was another victim of a USU blowout, 10-1.
Clearly, the Aggies aren’t at the same level as those behind them in the polls.
The hockey team, especially Head Coach Jerry Crossley, has the attitude that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.
This is blatantly obvious if you look at its schedule.
USU plays five games against Division I opponents (six including the preseason).
Another five games are against either Colorado or CSU, which finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the West last season.
All in all, the Aggies only have six games this year against teams who are not Division I or top-10 Division II.
While it may not have been scientifically proven, the fact remains that teams who play tougher teams fare better when the going gets rough.
Take the USU football team, for example.
The preseason Sports Illustrated poll ranked the Aggies dead last in the country. But they went on the road to play three good teams right at the start of season.
They may have lost all three games, but the effects of those games can be seen by the Aggies’ success in the weak Sun Belt Conference.
USU was used to playing teams that were ranked, and when the likes of Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee came to town, it was a cake walk for the Aggies.
This is also a visible phenomenon at the top of the college football polls.
Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in just about every poll you’ll see, and they loaded their non-conference schedule with teams like Alabama and UCLA.
USC is No. 2 and played tough teams like Auburn and Hawaii before starting conference play.
Florida State is No. 3 and has played Colorado and Miami in its non-conference schedule.
The theme here is that by playing the best teams available, it makes your team better. And if your team doesn’t, then they’re only hurting themselves.
Take the Kansas State football team, for example. They are criticized every year for playing such a soft schedule. And every year, just like Red Sox clockwork, they collapse when it counts.
They play teams like Massachusetts and McNeese State and think that they will prepare them for the likes of Oklahoma and Nebraska in the Big XII.
So the hockey team is doing what they are supposed to – finding and, hopefully, beating the best competition around. They appear to be a lock for nationals already and the tough schedule will do nothing but help them at that level.
Bryan Hinton is a junior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to bhhinton@cc.usu.edu.