The women’s hockey pre-championship manual has always included a stipulation to prioritize cost reduction and fewer flights when setting up the quarterfinal matchups. “Pairings in the quarterfinal round shall be based primarily on the teams\u2019 geographical proximity to one another, regardless of their region, in order to avoid air travel in quarterfinal-round games whenever possible.” (View the 2019 pre-championship manual here. Criteria on pages 13-14.<\/a>)<\/p>\n
As first reported by Todd Milewski in the Wisconsin State Journal<\/a>, that criteria has been removed from women’s hockey championship selection criteria.<\/p>\n