{"id":98362,"date":"2014-03-08T00:52:35","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T06:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wcha-blog\/?p=1327"},"modified":"2014-03-08T00:52:35","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T06:52:35","slug":"saturdays-wcha-playoff-scenarios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2014\/03\/08\/saturdays-wcha-playoff-scenarios\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturday’s WCHA playoff scenarios"},"content":{"rendered":"

Going into the final night of the regular season, Ferris State and Minnesota State are still tied at the top of the league standings.<\/p>\n

Two teams — Michigan Tech and Bowling Green — are fighting for the No. 4 spot and a chance to host a first-round playoff series next weekend.<\/p>\n

And finally, three teams — Northern Michigan, Bemidji State and Lake Superior State — are vying for two playoff spots.<\/p>\n

Below are the best and worst case scenarios for nine of the league’s 10 teams. Numbers indicate a team’s seeding if the season ended today<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks again to Geof Morris of UAHhockey.com<\/a> for staying up late with me and double checking my work. If you notice any mistakes or discrepancies, email me at matt.wellens@uscho.com.<\/p>\n

1. Minnesota State (40 points, 20-7-0 WCHA record)<\/b><\/h4>\n

For the Mavericks, it’s simple. A win clinches a least a share of the MacNaughton Cup, the WCHA regular season title. They’s also be the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>The Mavericks beat Michigan Tech on Senior Night and Ferris State loses at home to Lake Superior State. MSU then wins the MacNaughton Cup outright.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>The Mavs lose tonight and Ferris beats LSSU. The Bulldogs then win the MacNaughton Cup outright and MSU is the No. 2 seed.<\/p>\n

2. Ferris State (40, 19-6-2)<\/b><\/h4>\n

Same story for the Bulldogs. A win clinches a least a share of the MacNaughton Cup and the WCHA regular season title. If they remain tied with MSU, the Bulldogs get the No. 2 seed.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>The Bulldogs beat Lake Superior State on Senior Night and MSU loses at home to Tech. FSU then wins the MacNaughton Cup outright and is the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>The Bulldogs lose tonight and MSU beats Tech. The Mavs then win the MacNaughton Cup outright and FSU is the No. 2 seed.<\/p>\n

3. Alaska (30, 14-11-2)<\/b><\/h4>\n

The Nanooks have clinched a first-round, home-ice playoff series and the No. 3 seed in the WCHA playoffs with Friday night’s win over Alaska-Anchorage in Fairbanks. The Nanooks will host the No. 6 seed in a Thursday through Saturday best-of-three series next week. Like the Chargers, Alaska knows where it’s finishing.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>The Nanooks beat UAA to win the Governor’s Cup.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>The Nanooks lose to UAA in regulation or overtime, forcing a shootout the Seawolves win. The Nanooks lose the Governor’s Cup, but they’re still in third.<\/p>\n

4. Michigan Tech (28, 12-11-4)<\/b><\/h4>\n

The Huskies are currently tied with Bowling Green for the No. 4 seed in the WCHA, but own the head-to-head tiebreaker, having gone 2-1-1 against the Falcons.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>Tech can clinch a home-ice, first-round playoff series with a win over Minnesota State tonight.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>If the Falcons gain one more point than Tech tonight, the Huskies are hitting the road for the WCHA playoffs. In the event of a three-way tie for fourth at 28 points between Tech, BGSU and UAA, the Huskies lose out, finishing sixth.<\/p>\n

5. Bowling Green (28, 12-11-4)<\/b><\/h4>\n

The Falcons clinched a spot in the WCHA playoffs with a win at home over Bemidji State on Friday.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>As detailed above, if the Falcons get one more point than Michigan Tech tonight, they take the final home-ice spot. BGSU loses a two-way tie with Tech due to head-to-head, but beats the Huskies and UAA in a three-way tie that comes down to record vs. top seeded Minnesota State.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>The lowest BGSU can finish at this point is fifth. In the event of a two-way tie with UAA for fifth, BGSU wins out due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

6. Alaska-Anchorage (26, 11-12-4)<\/b><\/h4>\n

The Seawolves have clinched a playoff spot despite losing Friday in Fairbanks because of losses by Bemidji State and Lake Superior State.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>The highest UAA can finish is No. 6 because it doesn’t have the tiebreakers to beat either Tech or BGSU. A win locks up the No. 6 spot and another series in Fairbanks.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>The Seawolves are swept by the Nanooks and LSSU beats Ferris State. The Lakers win the tiebreaker via conference wins and UAA finishes eighth. BSU can not catch UAA.<\/p>\n

7. Northern Michigan (25, 12-14-1)<\/b><\/h4>\n

The scenario is still as simple as it was yesterday for Northern: win and you’re in.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>NMU wins and UAA loses or ties at Alaska. Then the Wildcats finish sixth and get to go to Alaska … that’s as good as it gets, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>NMU loses at Alabama-Huntsville while the Beavers and Lakers win. Then the Wildcats’ season is over.<\/p>\n

8. Bemidji State (24, 10-13-4)<\/b><\/h4>\n

A win does not get the Beavers in. They need help tonight to get into the playoffs because they would lose a four-way tiebreaker at 26 points with UAA, NMU and LSSU due to a lack of conference wins. BSU also loses a three-way tiebreaker with UAA and LSSU or NMU and LSSU. BSU wins a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Lakers, meaning if both lose, the Beavers get in.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>Beavers win while NMU and LSSU lose. That gets BSU to seventh.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>Bemidji loses while the Lakers get either a tie or win. Then the Beavers are out.<\/p>\n

9. Lake Superior State (24, 12-15-0)<\/b><\/h4>\n

Like Bemidji, a win doesn’t guarantee the Lakers a playoff spot. They need the most help.<\/p>\n

Best case scenario: <\/b>The Lakers can climb to sixth via a win and losses by NMU, UAA and BSU.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario: <\/b>If the Lakers lose tonight at Ferris State, their season is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going into the final night of the regular season, Ferris State and Minnesota State are still tied at the top of the league standings. Two teams — Michigan Tech and Bowling Green — are fighting for the No. 4 spot and a chance to host a first-round playoff series next weekend. And finally, three teams — […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1425],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSaturday's WCHA playoff scenarios - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Going into the final night of the regular season, Ferris State and Minnesota State are still tied at the top of the league standings. 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