NCAA Ice Hockey Bracketology: Conference Tournament Previews

Wisconsin goes into WCHA Tourney as #1 overall seed (Wisconsin Athletics)

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TIME!

The start of conference tournaments can only mean the 2017 NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament is right around the corner. As the season comes down to just a few more weeks, we have seen some teams slip and some others make a climb. The CHA still has one more week of regular season play to go and still some seeding to be determined. The teams who make the conference tournament will play for an automatic bid the following weekend.

This week the ECAC, WCHA, and WHEA all begin their conference tournaments with plenty on the line for a bunch of teams. Looking at the pairwise rankings teams 2-6 are in a really tight race, and the RPI also has that group separated by 17 one-thousandths of a point. So the importance of winning is crucial for all teams involved.

The CHA, ECAC WCHA and WHEA conference tournament winners all receive automatic bids into the national tournament. The potential of upsets and when they happen can really shake up the field as it stands now. Last weekend, #6 Boston College dropped a 4-1 decision to Providence but earned a split winning the following day and #1 Wisconsin skated to two ties with #4 Minnesota, they could potentially meet in the WCHA Finals. Anything can happen come playoff time so lets break down the updated MyWSports Bracketology.

ECAC Tournament:

#8 Rensselaer vs. #1 Clarkson

#7 Yale vs. #2 St. Lawrence

#6 Colgate vs. #3 Cornell

#5 Quinnipiac vs. #4 Princeton

WCHA Tournament:

#8 Minnesota St. vs. #1 Wisconsin

#7 Bemidji St. vs. #2 Minnesota

#6 St. Cloud St. vs. #3 Minnesota-Duluth

#5 Ohio State vs. #4 North Dakota

WHEA Tournament:

#8 Merrimack vs. #1 Boston College

#7 UConn vs. #2 Northeastern

#6 New Hampshire vs. #3 Boston University

#5 Vermont vs. #4 Providence

As a reminder here is the criteria for women’s college hockey.

The top four teams according to the selection criteria will be seeded 1-4 at the time of the selection call. The remaining four teams will be placed in the bracket based on relative strength as long as these pairings do not result in additional flights. These teams will not be reseeded and the committee will not change the bracket once the tournament has begun.
Assuming it meets the committee’s hosting criteria, the highest seeded team will be given the opportunity to host the quarterfinal game.
Pairings in the quarterfinal round shall be based primarily on the teams’ geographical proximity to one another, regardless of their region, in order to avoid air travel in quarterfinal-round games whenever possible. Teams’ relative strength, according to the committee’s selection criteria, shall be considered when establishing pairings if such pairings do not result in air travel that otherwise could be avoided.

In women's hockey only the top 4 of 8 teams earn a seed, with the primary consideration being minimizing flights between opponents and bracket integrity the second consideration. The following are projections based on current standings and selection committee criteria. AUTOBIDS: (Based on Conference Win %)

Wisconsin (WCHA)

Clarkson (ECAC)

Boston College (WHEA)

Robert Morris (CHA)

Now lets get the next four teams using the current Pairwise Rankings

#1 Wisconsin (WCHA)

#2 Clarkson (ECAC)

#3 Minn-Duluth

#4 Minnesota

St. Lawrence

Boston College (WHEA)

Cornell

Robert Morris (CHA)

The straight bracket:

Robert Morris v. #1 Wisconsin

Cornell v. #2 Clarkson

Boston College v. #3 Minnesota Duluth

Minnesota v. #4 St. Lawrence

On the Bubble: Princeton, Quinnipiac, Colgate, Boston University

Plenty of changes can happen given what takes place during conference tournaments. Currently the field has three flights in the quarterfinal round which is troublesome for the committee whose number one criteria is limiting flights. Robert Morris or whoever comes out of the CHA will be taking a flight regardless. The easy fix would be to swap Boston College and Minnesota to limit the bracket to one flight.

Robert Morris v. #1 Wisconsin

Cornell v. #2 Clarkson

Minnesota v. #3 Minnesota Duluth

Boston College v. #4 St. Lawrence

The committee has made some shocking moves in recent years, to say the least, but unless chaos ensues during conference tournaments the bracket can change a bit but not by much.

I like chaos... so... using our good friends at BC Interruptions NCAA Tournament Predictor these are the results

AUTOBIDS: (Luis' Picks)

Wisconsin def. Minnesota WCHA)

St. Lawrence def. Clarkson (ECAC)

Boston University def. Boston College (WHEA)

Syracuse def. Robert Morris (CHA)

MyWSports Projected Bracket:

Syracuse v. #1 Wisconsin

Boston University v. #2 St. Lawrence

Boston College v. #3 Clarkson

Minnesota-Duluth v. #4 Minnesota

LAST TWO OUT: