"It's as if the Beanpot [Harvard beat Northeastern, 3-0] didn't count at all," Harvard forward Kim Landry said. "Brown's victory over [Division III] Middlebury counted the same as our victory over Northeastern."

The committee also overlooked several late-season results that could have affected tournament seedings.

These games include Brown's 5-1 loss to Providence Monday and a Dartmouth's 7-1 drubbing of Harvard last night.

"I'm not sure that the formula in place is the right one," Providence Coach John Marcetti said. "If I were on the committee and the decisions were that close, I would have made sure those final games meant something."

Ivy Title

In many years, the Ivy League title would not even have been decided at the point the ECAC committee made its decision. This factor reduces the importance of the Ivy League within the ECAC.

For the past eight years, the Ivy League has held its own tournament and sent its winner to the ECAC Tournament.

The Ivy tournament was abolished in the hopes of integrating the two leagues fully. However, if neither ECAC standings nor Ivy titles matter to the selection committee, Ivy coaches wonder what they have gained in giving up the tournament.

"I think we made a mistake. The Ivy League has always been competitive and fun," Crowe said. "Our tournament gave four Ivy teams another shot in a tournament, but now only one team will make the ECAC semifinals."