Here is a breakdown for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament pairings IF THE TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY ...
|
Seed |
Team |
Pts |
CCHA Games Remaining |
Best |
Real |
Worst |
|
No. 1 |
Miami |
56 |
OSU, OSU |
62 (1) |
1 |
3 |
|
No. 2 |
WMU |
51 |
@MSU, @MSU |
57 (1) |
2-3 |
3 |
|
No. 3 |
ND |
50 |
BG, BG |
56 (1) |
2-3 |
3 |
|
No. 4 |
FSU |
42 |
@UM, @UM |
48 (4) |
4-5 |
5 |
|
No. 5 |
OSU |
42 |
@MU, @MU |
48 (4) |
4-5 |
5 |
|
No. 6 |
Alaska |
40 |
|
40 (6) |
6 |
7 |
|
No. 7 |
BGSU |
34 |
@ND, @ND |
40 (6) |
7-9 |
9 |
|
No. 8 |
LSSU |
32 |
@NMU, @NMU |
38 (7) |
7-10 |
10 |
|
No. 9 |
UM |
31 |
FSU, FSU |
37 (7) |
7-10 |
10 |
|
No. 10 |
NMU |
29 |
LSSU, LSSU |
35 (7) |
8-10 |
11 |
|
No. 11 |
MSU |
25 |
WMU, WMU |
31 (10) |
11 |
11 |
A few things worth mentioning about these standings ... Most of the columns are self-explanatory. The "Best" column is the team's best-case scenario, in other words how many points will it have if it wins its final two games (and the best possible finish that can produce). The "Worst" column is if a team loses its final two games (and the deepest the team can drop in the standings). The "Real" column is a guess at where the team will finish based on the games it has this weekend (and what other teams above it and below it in the standings will do). In most cases I tried to present a realistic range of possible finishes.
According to the CCHA, here are the steps used to break ties in the standings …
a) Shootout results will not be used to help break ties in the standings for the CCHA Championship Trophy and playoff seeding.
b) The recipient of the CCHA Championship Trophy and seeding for the CCHA Tournament shall be determined by the greater number of CCHA regular-season wins;
c) If not determined by (a) or (b), the recipient of the CCHA Championship Trophy and seeding for the CCHA Tournament shall be the team with the best regular-season winning percentage against the other co-champion(s);
d) If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c), the recipient of the CCHA Championship Trophy and seeding for the CCHA Tournament shall be determined by comparison of total goals for and against each team in contests between (among) co-champion(s) in regular-season play;
e) If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or d, the recipient of the CCHA Championship Trophy and seeding for the CCHA Tournament shall be determined by comparison of the winning percentages of the co-champions against the remaining highest ranked CCHA teams, successively, until the determination is accomplished or all CCHA regular-season contests have been considered;
f) If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or (d) or (e), the recipient of the CCHA Championship Trophy and seeding for the CCHA Tournament shall be determined by the flip of a coin.
So here is how I broke the ties …
- Fourth seed: Ohio State and Ferris State have one shootout win; Ferris State has 13 CCHA wins while Ohio State has 12, so Ferris State wins.
Here is a look at how the Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff pairings would be assigned if the season ended today (tournament is re-seeded after each round) …
FIRST ROUND
Friday-Sunday, March 8-10
Best-of-3; home of higher seed
No. 11 Michigan State at No. 6 Alaska
No. 10 Northern Michigan at No. 7 Bowling Green
No. 9 Michigan at No. 8 Lake Superior
QUARTERFINAL ROUND
Friday-Sunday, March 15-17
Best-of-3; home of higher seed
No. 8 seed at No. 1 Miami
No. 7 seed at No. 2 Western Michigan
No. 6 seed at No. 3 Notre Dame
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Ferris State
SEMIFINAL ROUND
Saturday, March 23
At Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
No. 1 seed v. No. 4 seed, 1:05/4:35 p.m.
No. 2 seed v. No. 3 seed, 1:05/4:35 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 24
At Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Semifinal winners, 2:05 p.m.
And here’s how I figure things stand for Bowling Green …
- First through fifth seeds: These simply aren’t available for the Falcons. Miami, Western Michigan and Notre Dame will finish first through third, in an order yet to be determined. Ferris State and Ohio State will be fourth and fifth and play one another in the second round of the playoffs.
- Sixth seed: This is possible, but not easy. It’s also simple to understand: Bowling Green must claim two wins at Notre Dame Friday and Saturday. If there is any other result, Alaska is sixth.
- Seventh through 11th seeds: Bowling Green can finish no lower than ninth. Michigan State can’t catch the Falcons, and since Lake Superior and Northern Michigan play one another, BOTH schools can’t catch BG, either. However, Lake Superior needs three more points than BG this weekend to move ahead of BG in the standings (Falcons would win a tiebreaker), Michigan needs four more points to move in front of BG (Falcons would win a tiebreaker), and Northern Michigan needs five points to tie BG (NMU would win a tiebreaker). To clinch seventh: BG needs four points this weekend. To clinch eighth: BG needs to finish in front of two of these three teams: Lake Superior, Michigan and Northern Michigan. Earning two points shuts out Northern Michigan; earning three shuts out Michigan; earning four shuts out Lake Superior.
Want more? Click here to see how the percentages play out for BG and the rest of the CCHA in this chart, courtesy of PlayoffStatus.com.
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