NCAA Ice Hockey Bracketology: The Final Prediction
Boston College wins automatic bid with OT win over Northeastern (BC Athletics)
WOW... what a weekend in college hockey! The conference tournament season did not disappoint, we saw upsets, witnessed overtime thrillers and experienced heartbreak. March Madness might be a basketball thing, but what a start to the college hockey playoffs.
As we entered conference semifinals and finals this weekend we had an idea of how the field would shake out. The games this weekend proved just how good the remaining teams were; Boston College was taken to double overtime against fifth seeded Vermont while Minnesota Duluth upended Minnesota in the WCHA conference semis.
Overall it was an incredible weekend and tonight we find out the final eight teams the committee deems fit to play for a National title. The weekend produced four automatic from the CHA, WCHA, WHEA and ECAC.
CHA Tournament:
Robert Morris def. Syracuse
ECAC Tournament:
Clarkson def. Cornell
WCHA Tournament:
Wisconsin def. Minnesota Duluth
WHEA Tournament:
Boston College def. Northeastern
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:
Wisconsin (WCHA)
Clarkson (ECAC)
Boston College (WHEA)
Robert Morris (CHA)
Now lets get the next four teams and complete rankings using the current Pairwise Rankings
#1 Wisconsin (WCHA)
#2 Clarkson (ECAC)
#3 Minn-Duluth
#4 Boston College (WHEA)
St. Lawrence
Minnesota
Cornell
Robert Morris (CHA)
On the Bubble: Northeastern
The straight bracket:
Robert Morris v. #1 Wisconsin
Cornell v. #2 Clarkson
Minnesota v. #3 Minnesota Duluth
St. Lawrence v. #4 Boston College
This looks like an easy bracket for the committee to work with...minimal flights and some pretty entertaining hockey. Now stranger things have happened but for the most part this is what we are sticking with. You can watch the NCAA Selection show here or follow @MyWSports for updates.
