2011 Conference Tournaments

[MNHockey75]

Any predictions for this years conference tournaments? Especially WCHA predictions.

1. UND vs. 12. Michigan Tech
2. Denver vs. 11. Minnesota State
3. Nebraska-Omaha vs. 10. Bemidji State (BSU took 7 points from UNO this year)
4. Minnesota-Duluth vs. 9. St. Cloud State (Probably the most intriguing matchup)
5. Minnesota vs. 8. Alaska-Anchorage
6. Colorado College vs. 7. Wisconsin

[MNHockey75]

I like...

First Round
North Dakota
Denver
Nebraska-Omaha
Minnesota
Colorado College
St. Cloud State

Final Five Play-ins:
St. Cloud State over Nebraska-Omaha
Minnesota over Colorado College

Semi's:
North Dakota over St. Cloud State
Denver over Minnesota

Championship:
North Dakota over Denver

[MNHockey75]

Next weekend:

ATLANTIC HOCKEY:
1 RIT vs. 12 American International
2 Air Force vs. 11 Sacred Heart
3 Holy Cross vs. 8 Canisius
4 Connecticut vs. 7 Mercyhurst

CCHA:
1 Michigan vs. 11 Bowling Green
2 Notre Dame vs. 8 Lake Superior
3 Miami vs. 7 Alaska
4 Western Michigan vs. 5 Ferris State

ECAC:
1 Union vs. 12 Colgate
2 Yale vs. 11 St. Lawrence
3 Dartmouth vs. 10 Harvard
4 Cornell vs. 8 Quinnipiac

HOCKEY EAST:
1 Boston College vs. 8 UMass
2 UNH vs. 7 Vermont
3 Boston University vs. 6 Northeastern
4 Merrimack vs. 5 Maine

My money is on Lamoureux and Air Force in the AHA. Michigan and Miami have the most talent in the CCHA. Yale is the top-dawg and the favorite in the ECAC, but Zajac and Union are quite good. BC is unstoppable right now in Hockey East play. I still like Maine to make a run at making the big dance.

[mulefarm]

I thought they eliminated the 3rd place game in the final five?

[clutterbuck22]

I thought they eliminated the 3rd place game in the final five?

They did. It's just one and done now.

[clutterbuck22]

Any predictions for this years conference tournaments? Especially WCHA predictions.

1. UND vs. 12. Michigan Tech
2. Denver vs. 11. Minnesota State
3. Nebraska-Omaha vs. 10. Bemidji State (BSU took 7 points from UNO this year)
4. Minnesota-Duluth vs. 9. St. Cloud State (Probably the most intriguing matchup)
5. Minnesota vs. 8. Alaska-Anchorage
6. Colorado College vs. 7. Wisconsin

First round
UND in 2
Denver in 2
Nebraska Omaha in 3
St. Cloud State in 3
Minnesota in 3
Colorado College in 3

Play in
Minnesota over Colorado College
Nebraska Omaha over St. Cloud State

Semi's
Minnesota over Denver
North Dakota over Omaha

Championship
North Dakota over Minnesota.

[MNHockey75]

I thought they eliminated the 3rd place game in the final five?

They did. It's just one and done now.

Now that you mention it, I remember hearing that they're keeping the "Final Five" name because there are five games.

[MNHockey75]

Friday nights scores:

WCHA:
North Dakota 8, Michigan Tech 0
Wisconsin 3, Colorado College 1
Denver 4, Minnesota State 2
Bemidji State 4, Nebraska-Omaha 2 -- They really have Blais' number this year.
Minnesota-Duluth 4, St. Cloud State 2 -- Game 1 was crucial.
Alaska-Anchorage 4, Minnesota 3 --

Other interesting scores:
Harvard 3, Dartmouth 2
St. Lawrence 4, Yale 3 (OT)
Merrimack 5, Maine 4
Ferris State 3, Western Michigan 1

WCHA Pairwise:
2. North Dakota
5. Denver
9. Minnesota-Duluth
12. Nebraska-Omaha
--------------------------
16. Wisconsin
19. Minnesota
20. Colorado College
21. St. Cloud State

[PuckU126]

Way to go, Rodents!

Stick a fork in them; they're done.

[warriors41]

I was just looking at the box score for the Bemidji State-UNO game. Nebraska must have had some defensive break downs because it says that 3 of Bemidji's goals were unassisted. Also, Dan Bakala had 46 saves last night. Hopefully BSU can finish the series tonight!

[MNHockey75]

WCHA scores:
Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 3 (OT) -- Game 3 tomorrow
Denver 3, Minnesota State 2 (OT)
Minnesota-Duluth 3, St. Cloud State 2 (3 OT) -- Say G'nite to SCSU.
Alaska-Anchorage 2, Minnesota 0 --
North Dakota 3, Michigan Tech 1 (ENG) -- UND finally let up a little on Tech.
Bemidji State 3, Nebraska-Omaha 2 -- BSU officially owns UNO.

Other interesting scores:
Lake Superior 4, Notre Dame 3 -- Game 3 tomorrow
Western Michigan 3, Ferris State 1 -- Game 3 tomorrow
Quinnipiac 1, Cornell 0 -- Game 3 tomorrow
Dartmouth 2, Harvard 1 (OT) -- Game 3 tomorrow
Colgate 4, Union 2 -- Game 3 tomorrow, Colgate is #12 seed.
Merrimack 6, Maine 2 -- Merrimack solidifies an at-large bid. Maine (a preseason favorite) is gone.

The WCHA was loaded with overtime games. Mankato, Tech, Minnesota and SCSU are longer with us. All four ECAC series' will go 3 games, which comes as a pretty big shock with #12 Colgate and #11 St. Lawrence still alive.

PAIRWISE:
1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Boston College
4. Michigan
5. Miami
6. Denver
7. Merrimack
8. Union
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. Notre Dame
11. New Hampshire
12. Nebraska-Omaha -- *Eliminated*
--D-A-N-G-E-R--Z-O-N-E--
13. Western Michigan
14. Colorado College
15. Dartmouth
16. Rensselaer -- *Eliminated*
17. Boston University
----------------------------
20. Alaska-Anchorage
22. Ferris State
23. Wisconsin
25. Bemidji State
26. Quinnipiac
28. RIT
29. Air Force
30. Cornell

[MNHockey75]

The weekend is officially over. Here's what's on tap next weekend:

WCHA:
#4 Minnesota Duluth vs. #10 Bemidji State (Winner will play UND)
#6 Colorado College vs. #8 Alaska-Anchorage (Winner will play Denver)

Atlantic Hockey:
#1E RIT vs. #2E Connecticut
#1W Holy Cross vs. #2W Air Force

CCHA:
#1 Michigan vs. #4 Western Michigan
#2 Notre Dame vs. #3 Miami

ECAC:
#2 Yale vs. #12 Colgate
#3 Dartmouth vs. #4 Cornell

Hockey East:
#1 Boston College vs. #6 Northeastern
#2 New Hampshire vs. #4 Merrimack

UNO is slowly slipping in the Pairwise. BU is probably done after losing to Northeastern tonight. Colorado College still needs help, they can't lose to UAA. The top 11 in the Pairwise are golden. Rensselaer finds themselves back in the top 15 somehow. I'm still not sold on the ECAC, especially after #12 Colgate beat #1 Union.

[MNHockey75]

Miami 6, Notre Dame 2 -- Miami is turning it on at the right time.
Yale 4, Colgate 0 -- The cinderella story is over for #12 Colgate.
Boston College 5, Northeastern 4
Denver 6, Bemidji State 2 -- Denver nets 4 in third.
Air Force 3, Holy Cross 2
RIT 4, Connecticut 2 -- RIT/Air Force will battle for the auto-bid.

[PuckU126]

Miami 6, Notre Dame 2 -- Miami is turning it on at the right time.
Yale 4, Colgate 0 -- The cinderella story is over for #12 Colgate.
Boston College 5, Northeastern 4
Denver 6, Bemidji State 2 -- Denver nets 4 in third.
Air Force 3, Holy Cross 2
RIT 4, Connecticut 2 -- RIT/Air Force will battle for the auto-bid.

Damn.

I was pulling for Northeastern in that one...

[MNHockey75]

Cornell 3, Dartmouth 0 -- This is huge news. If Cornell beats Yale tomorrow they will steal an at-large bid from the likes of CC and UNO. If Dartmouth doesn't beat Colgate tomorrow they're as good as done.

Merrimack 4, New Hampshire 1 -- Merrimack continues to impress and surprise. They should be a lock for a #2 seed after tonights win.

Western Michigan 5, Michigan 2 -- The Broncos have earned themselves an at-large big with this win, which is bad news for CC and UNO.

Here are tomorrows games:

WCHA Championship:
1. North Dakota vs. 2. Denver

ECAC:
First Place:
2. Yale vs. 4. Cornell
3rd Place:
3. Dartmouth vs. 12. Colgate

Atlantic Hockey Championship:
1E. RIT vs. 2W. Air Force

CCHA:
First Place:
3. Miami vs. 4. Western Michigan
3rd Place:
1. Michigan vs. 2. Notre Dame

Hockey East Championship:
1. Boston College vs. 4. Merrimack

[MNHockey75]

PAIRWISE HEADING INTO FINAL REGULAR SEASON DAY:

1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Boston College
4. Miami
5. Denver
6. Merrimack
7. Michigan
8. Union
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. Notre Dame
11. New Hampshire
12. Western Michigan
13. Nebraska-Omaha
14. Colorado College
15. Rensselaer
---
22. Cornell
24. RIT
29. Air Force

Well folks, I ran the numbers and the top 14 are locks. If Cornell beats Yale then Rensselaer is out, if not...they're in. Yale, UND and BC will be #1's. 4-8 can be no lower than a #2 seed. Omaha and CC will be #4 seeds, regardless of what happens. UNO could actually end up being the last team in.

So no matter what happens to tomorrow:
WCHA (5) -- North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College
CCHA (4) -- Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Western Michigan
Hockey East (3) -- Boston College, Merrimack, New Hampshire
ECAC (3) -- Yale, Union, Rensselaer (or Cornell)
Atlantic Hockey (1) -- RIT (or Air Force)

[MNHockey75]

Hold on now. It seems that UNO is not a lock. If Colgate and Cornell win then UNO misses the big dance...yikes.

[MNHockeyFan]

So when are the final regional seeds announced?

[MNHockey75]

So when are the final regional seeds announced?

Tomorrow, early afternoon.

[MNHockey75]

Atlantic Hockey Champion: Air Force (1-0 over RIT)
CCHA Champion: Miami (5-2 over W. Mich.)
ECAC Champion: Yale (6-0 over Cornell)
Hockey East Champion: Boston College (5-3 over Merrimack)
WCHA Champion: North Dakota (3-2 (2OT) over Denver)

As for the meaningless 3rd place games:
Michigan 4, Notre Dame 2
Dartmouth 5, Colgate 3