Rare is the occasion that with one day left in the college hockey’s conference tournament weekend that all 16 spots are accounted for, but after Friday’s results that is exactly the case.
Three bubble teams learned their fate as Michigan’s season is now officially over while Quinnipiac, on an otherwise bad day, joined Penn State in clinching its NCAA Tournament spots.
The Bobcats began the day’s slate knowing that a win over Cornell in the ECAC semifinals would sew up their NCAA Tournament bid. But Quinnipiac allowed a late shorthanded goal to tie the game and the Big Red won in overtime.
That result translated to the end of Michigan’s NCAA Tournament hopes. The Wolverines began the weekend on the bubble and if Quinnipiac did not win the ECAC tournament (among other things), they were the first team to fall below the cutline.
After Friday’s ECAC opener, eyes turned to the NCHC. If both Denver and Western Michigan, the two NCHC teams that have already punched their NCAA tickets, reached the NCHC final, that would also guarantee NCAA safety for both Penn State and Quinnipiac.
Denver defeated Arizona State and Western Michigan ended North Dakota’s season, and with that, we know the 16 teams for the NCAA Tournament:
1. Boston College
2. Michigan State
3. Maine*
4. Western Michigan
5. Minnesota
6. Connecticut
7. Boston University
8. Providence
9. Denver
10. Ohio State
11. Massachusetts
12. Penn State
13. Quinnipiac
14. Minnesota State*
15. Clarkson/Cornell (ECAC champion)
16. Bentley/Holy Cross (AHA champion)
The final two teams our are Michigan and Arizona State.
Without going into specifics of how I would move teams around as I would in a typical Bracketology column, I will leave you with my bracket based upon where each team is currently seeded in the PairWise.
Manchester Region
1. Boston College
2. Providence
3. Denver
4. Holy Cross/Bentley
Toledo Region
1. Michigan State
2. Boston University
3. Ohio State
4. Clarkson/Cornell
Allentown Region
1. Maine
2. Connecticut
3. Penn State
4. Quinnipiac
Fargo Region
1. Western Michigan
2. Minnesota
3. Massachusetts
4. Minnesota State
