{"id":98363,"date":"2014-03-09T00:48:08","date_gmt":"2014-03-09T06:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wcha-blog\/?p=1331"},"modified":"2014-03-09T00:48:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-09T06:48:08","slug":"the-wcha-playoff-picture-is-finally-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2014\/03\/09\/the-wcha-playoff-picture-is-finally-set\/","title":{"rendered":"The WCHA playoff picture is finally set"},"content":{"rendered":"
With Alaska-Anchorage’s 3-1 victory over rival Alaska in Fairbanks this evening (or morning depending where you are), the first round of the WCHA playoffs has been set.<\/p>\n
Ferris State won the WCHA outright via a sweep of Lake Superior State while Minnesota State only took three of four points from Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs and Mavericks will be the top two seeds.<\/p>\n
Below are the best-of-three quarterfinal match ups. Winners advance to the WCHA Final Five March 21-22 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.<\/p>\n
— Friday through Sunday in Big Rapids, Mich. Friday and Saturday’s puck drop are set for 7:07 p.m. EDT while Sunday’s game, if necessary, would begin at 5:07 p.m.<\/p>\n
— FSU won the regular season series 3-1, winning 5-4 in OT and 5-3 in Big Rapids Nov. 8-9. The two sides split in Bemidji Feb. 14-15 with the Beavers winning 4-1 on Friday and losing 2-1 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
— Friday through Sunday series in Mankato, Minn. All three games begin at 7:07 p.m. CDT each night.<\/p>\n
— MSU won the season series 3-1 with a pair of 3-2 and 3-0 wins in Mankato Dec. 6-7. In Marquette Jan. 31-Feb. 1, the Wildcats won Friday 5-2 before the Mavericks won Saturday 5-1.<\/p>\n
— Thursday through Saturday series in Fairbanks, Alaska. All three games begin at 7:07 p.m. ADT (or 11:07 p.m. EDT). The Nanooks’ Carlson Center is hosting the opening ceremonies on Sunday for the 23rd Arctic Winter Games.<\/p>\n
— The Nanooks and Seawolves split their season series 2-2, but Nanooks won the Governor’s Cup in a shootout Saturday. UAA snapped Alaska’s seven game win streak winning 3-1 on Saturday. The Nanooks routed the Seawolves on Friday 7-2. During their first meeting Dec. 6-7 in Anchorage, Alaska lost Friday 3-2, but won Saturday 5-4.<\/p>\n
— Friday through Sunday in Bowling Green, Ohio. All three games start at 7:07 p.m. EDT each night.<\/p>\n
— Michigan Tech won the season series 2-1-1 despite not beating the Falcons in Houghton. BGSU won 3-2 and rallied late for a 4-4 tie Dec. 13-14 at Tech. The Huskies swept the second regular season series in Ohio, 5-2 and 5-4 on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.<\/p>\n
Note: <\/strong>Alaska wins the No. 3 seed over Bowling Green because the Nanooks won the B tiebreaker with BGSU, which is conference wins. Because the Falcons and Nanooks didn’t play each other four times, the A tiebreaker, head-to-head record, doesn’t apply.<\/p>\n