NCAA Ice Hockey Bracketology: The Final Stretch

Clarkson University has worked its way to #2 in the Pairwise (Clarkson Athletics)

Well... the season for many programs will be determined this weekend during the semifinals and and finals of conference tournaments. The CHA regular season came down to the wire, Robert Morris earned the #1 seed and will have a first round bye along with #2 Syracuse. The entire tournament will be played this weekend with the winner earning the automatic bid and #8 seed to the NCAA tournament.

Three more automatic bids will be up for grabs in the other three conferences. In the ECAC and WCHA, the top four teams in the regular season all advanced into the conference semis. In the Hockey East, the University of Vermont took down Providence College in three games to earn a shot at #1 Boston College in the semifinals while Boston University also advanced in three games and will play Northeastern in the other semifinal.

The game of the weekend had to be the three overtime thriller between Quinnipiac and Princeton. Two teams looking to extend their seasons, the Bobcats stole game one but the Tigers came back in game two and three to advance to the ECAC semifinals. Here is what the tournaments look like this week and weekend.

CHA Tournament:

Lidenwood v. #1 Robert Morris

RIT v. #2 Syracuse

ECAC Tournament:

#4 Princeton vs. #1 Clarkson

#3 Cornell vs. #2 St. Lawrence

WCHA Tournament:

#4 North Dakota vs. #1 Wisconsin

#3 Minnesota Duluth vs. #2 Minnesota

WHEA Tournament:

#5 Vermont vs. #1 Boston College

#3 Boston University vs. #2 Northeastern

Still plenty can happen during championship week to create some movement in the top 10 and the final eight teams selected into the field. Quinnipiac and Colgate have most likely lost their chances in making the field so the door opens for teams like Boston U and Northeastern. The CHA champ will most likely travel to #1 Wisconsin no matter what but the rest is still up in the air for the NCAAs.

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 St. Lawrence

Minnesota

Boston College (WHEA)

Cornell

Robert Morris (CHA)

On the Bubble: Princeton, Northeastern, Boston University

The straight bracket:

Robert Morris v. #1 Wisconsin

Cornell v. #2 Clarkson

Boston College v. #3 Minnesota Duluth

Minnesota v. #4 St. Lawrence

Again this week we have some flights in the first round that can easily be changed with swapping BC and Minnesota. St. Lawrence and Clarkson have been favorites all season long in the ECAC but if Princeton or Cornell can steal the auto bid then some chaos can ensue. Also, BC is not a sure favorite in the WHEA, BC has lost games to BU and Northeastern and had to comeback with four seconds left against Vermont earlier this year to win in overtime. The potential NCAA Bracket looks like this:

Robert Morris v. #1 Wisconsin

Cornell v. #2 Clarkson

Minnesota v. #3 Minnesota Duluth

Boston College v. #4 St. Lawrence

Again lets have some fun with the BC Interruptions NCAA Tournament Predictor

AUTOBIDS: (Luis' Picks)

Wisconsin def. Minnesota (WCHA)

Clarkson def. Cornell (ECAC)

Boston College def. Boston University (WHEA)

Syracuse def. Robert Morris (CHA)

MyWSports Projected Bracket:

Syracuse v. #1 Wisconsin