Some serious shuffling and repositioning after yesterday's monumental day plus from Wednesday night as well. Here we go:
1. UST
2. SMU
3. Concordia
4. Bethel
5. St. Olaf
6. GAC
7. Augsburg
8. CSB
9. Hamline
10. Carleton
11. St. Kate's
12. Macalester
The Tommies reclaim their spot on the mountaintop with a statement victory yesterday over visiting SMU that arguably left more than just ruffled feathers on the Cardinals. The ice bags that various SMU players were sporting after yesterday's game underscored what a physical beatdown they absorbed yesterday. I don't think, though, that this loss damages their postseason hopes and, with three of their last four regular season games at home in Winona, there's still reason for hope and optimism wrt winning the regular season championship and getting that #1 seed. UST still has a tough home game with St. Olaf on Wednesday night before the dreaded trip up to Moorhead for another big tilt with the Corn - and a chance at redemption as well. Speaking of Concordia, they're still cruising right along, doing things in their usual coldly efficient manner that gets them "W's". Even if they do get "locked in" to that third spot which I think is quite likely at this juncture, they're still a team that's a huge threat to step up and steal the show once the MIAC playoffs roll around.
Both Bethel and St. Olaf look to be pretty comfortable where they're at for the moment anyway but things could get interesting on that last regular season Saturday when the two face off in Arden Hills - and the four and five spots could get flipped. But, by far and away the biggest surprise on this day is the seeming revival of GAC from near-moribund status to a solid grip - at the moment anyway - on that sixth spot. They've managed to reel off seven wins in their last eight games and you've simply got to give a lot of credit to Head Coach Laurie Kelly and her squad for rising to the occasion when they appeared all but dead and buried. The road ahead, though, appears dangerous as home games with Bethel and SMU remain plus a roadie to UST (and yeah, I'm not going to get into all of that today, thank you) before they close things out for the regular season at St. Kate's. Augsburg, a longshot at this juncture, is not only going to have to take care of its own business but they're going to have to bank on getting help from Bethel, SMU and UST (plus possibly St. Kate's as well). The Auggies had to hang on for dear life yesterday against Macalester and the road ahead for them is just as challenging as both a home date with Bethel and a trip down the River to Winona to play SMU are in the offing. IF, if they can possibly get Abbey Luger back, I give them a shot. Meanwhile, is there possibly a more disappointing team in the country right now than CSB? Just a mere two weeks ago I liked their chances for taking control of that sixth spot but four straight losses have all but ended those hopes. Given the talent that they have, I really have no explanation for it nor do I see any chance they can reverse their fortunes with four games remaining. For a program like CSB that is rich with tradition and winning (nee, winning MIAC titles and competing in the Big Dance) it's without question a step in the wrong direction. While it's impossible to guess how CSB will do in the long-run scheme of things, all I know is that once you've fallen down, it's bloody hard to get back up and reclaim your spot among the elite.
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