This first picture is the standings of each year since 1951.
I can't believe how bad CC used to be. They were yesteryear's UAA. The early 80s to mid-90s were the renaissance of the UND/UW/UMN rivalry. All three teams were at the top of their game for damn near a decade. Minnesota finished in the top 3 for 16 years straight, wisconsin 11 years straight (15 of 17), and UND 8 of 17 years (they also combined for 7 national titles including 5 straight). Those who became fans during those years will probably have a much higher expectation of the gophers now, while those who are starting their love affair with the team may have a slightly tempered standard.
The second picture is the average overall (from 1951 to the year in question) final rank of each team.
I look at that graph and the first thing I see is Wisconsin/Minnesota basically mirroring each other for a long time. If I'm a Tech fan, this graph is the most depressing thing i have seen in a long while. You can see the team continually improve nearly every year from the league's first year until the peak in the 70s. After that, it's just a long roll down the hill.
What's unfortunate about this graph and the third is that it has a built-in bias for teams that have been around in years where the WCHA had as few as six members. The last place team would get a value of 6 where in other years the last place team gets a 10. How to remedy this? Your guess is my guess. I tried normalizing each year but that actually introduces a bias against the first place team each year.
I can also see why Michigan State left the league... pansies.
The third graph is the rank of each yearly average standing.
Wow, Denver appeared to be pretty dominant from 1962 to 1987 in this league. Looking at the individual years they didn't always do so hot but year-to-year, they were pretty damn good. Interestingly enough, SCSU has been trending upwards ever since they entered the league. I think this graph should also be quite indicative to who the most heated rivals would be depending on when you began watching the gophers. As mentioned above, those who started watching in the mid-80s to mid-90s would likely think wisconsin is still our biggest rival. Younger fans North Dakota. The oldest of the fans might even say Michigan Tech.
Well, it's probably just me but I find this kind of stuff pretty interesting and I figured I'd share it with those who may share my interest in this. I'm sure DHG or someone else is going to come in a troll this thread but whatever.
