It may be time to rethink hockey district bracketing

The Kent District typically generates a lot of questions every year.

Which goaltender will get hot?

Who can stay out of the penalty box?

What Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League teams can give Great Lakes Hockey League counterparts a fight when it matters?

But for the opening two rounds of the tournament, perhaps the biggest question that should be asked is, “Why?”

Why have we not figured out, after all these years, a more logical solution than pitting two teams against one another that, quite frankly, probably shouldn’t be on the ice together?

That has to be a better way than this.

Granted, this happens across many sports — no dispute there. But at least in those instances there is an increased likelihood of better sectional finals in, say, basketball, volleyball or baseball. But in hockey, we can’t even get there for the most part.

Some wise people in the sport have made the argument the way to handle district hockey is the same way each region of Ohio handles talent disparity. They can put teams in separate divisions based on their level of caliber.

As much sense as that has always made for the league alignments, that will never happen in the postseason because of the slippery slope it creates.

If you do that in respect to the disparity in hockey, where is the line?

It’s a lock someone in another sport will ask — justifiably — “If you do that for hockey, why can’t you do that for us?” That’s off the table. So what about a twodivision format, splitting schools by enrollment like other sports?

That won’t work, either, because schools that should be playing each other may not because they would be in separate divisions if there’s not a competitive balance component attached to it.

Besides, the number of varsity teams in Ohio — 79 — doesn’t warrant a split.

But the Kent District is such an ordeal of going through the motions in the first and second round anymore. Consider this:

There have been 248 first- and second-round games played at Kent since that district’s inception in 2003, including this season. The average score of those games, rounding up or down to the nearest full number, is 8-1. The winning team has outscored the losing team, 1,862-328. Of those 248 games, 36 have been one-goal games.

The most competitive year — using the adjective loosely — was 2005, when the losing teams in 19 games combined to score 31 goals and five of the 19 were one-goal games. But even then, the goal differential that season was still minus-98.

There have been four years — 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2012 — during which only one game in the first two rounds of the postseason has been decided by just one goal at Kent.

Put it all together — and that’s not productive for anyone.

Here’s a suggestion to make it a little better:

Have more of a “playin” element to the bracket for the lower-tier teams. Essentially give the top teams in a given year a bye to the quarterfinals. It’s a win-win. The lower-tier teams have more incentive in the postseason, because they’ll be playing games in the opening rounds against teams of relatively similar quality and may have a chance to win.

The higher-tier teams then don’t need to obliterate someone off the ice, which serves no benefit to the winner or to the loser.

After the lower-tier teams duke it out for a week, the best of that lower-tier can then play higher-tier foes. The higher-tier foes will get better games to start the postseason, and the lowertier teams will be more of a factor in the district.

And if the higher-tier teams need something to do, have a scrimmage or tuneup of some sort.

It won’t totally solve the disparity issue — there will still be the blowouts to which we’re all familiar — but it might cut into the number a little more.

Ultimately, what good does it do to have a marginal or lower-echelon Blue or White team play a traditional Red North or GLHL power? Even Red South vs. Red North/ GLHL occasionally gets ugly these days.

There’s only so much positive from saying you played someone that good.

If one of the main questions we have to ask every winter around Kent District time is, “Why?,” then there should be a better way forward. Why not?

Chris Lillstrung