Regional Sites:
East – Albany, NY
Northeast – Worcester, MA
Midwest – Allentown, PA
West – Loveland, CO
Current Top 16 in PairWise:
- North Dakota (18-2-3)
- Minnesota State (22-3-1)
- Cornell (13-1-3)
- Boston College (15-5-0)
- Denver (15-4-5)
- UMass (16-7-1)
- Ohio State (15-6-3)
- Clarkson (16-5-2)
- Penn State (16-7-1)
- Providence (14-6-5)
- Arizona State (15-8-3)
- Minnesota Duluth (12-8-2)
- UMass Lowell (13-6-4)
- Northeastern (13-7-2)
- Quinnipiac (13-8-1)
- Michigan State (12-11-1)
Current Conference Leaders:
Atlantic: Sacred Heart
Big 10: Ohio State
ECAC: Clarkson
Hockey East: UMass
NCHC: North Dakota
WCHA: Minnesota State
Now we adjust the top-16 of the PairWise to accommodate potential conference champions.
- North Dakota (18-2-3)
- Minnesota State (22-3-1)
- Cornell (13-1-3)
- Boston College (15-5-0)
- Denver (15-4-5)
- UMass (16-7-1)
- Ohio State (15-6-3)
- Clarkson (16-5-2)
- Penn State (16-7-1)
- Providence (14-6-5)
- Arizona State (15-8-3)
- Minnesota Duluth (12-8-2)
- UMass Lowell (13-6-4)
- Northeastern (13-7-2)
- Quinnipiac (13-8-1)
- Sacred Heart (13-8-1)
With the 16-team field set, we can start placing teams into regionals, beginning with the No. 1 seeds.
No. 1 North Dakota is placed in the West Regional in Loveland, CO.
No. 2 Minnesota State is placed in the Midwest Regional in Allentown, PA.
No. 3 Cornell is placed in the East Regional in Albany, NY.
No. 4 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, MA.
Two Seeds
No. 8 Clarkson is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 7 Ohio State is placed in No. 2 Minnesota’s State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 6 UMass is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 Denver is placed in No. 4 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Three Seeds
No. 9 Penn State is placed in No. 8 Clarkson’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 10 Providence is placed in No. 7 Ohio State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 Arizona State is placed in No. 6 UMass’ regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Minnesota Duluth is placed in No. 5 Denver’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Four Seeds
No. 16 Sacred Heart is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 15 Quinnipiac is placed in No. 2 Minnesota State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Northeastern is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 UMass Lowell is placed in No. 4 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Giving us this initial bracket:
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Penn State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Denver vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Northeastern
2 UMass vs. 3 Arizona State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Ohio State vs. 3 Providence
First things first, we must place host schools in their respective regionals. Penn State will host the Midwest in Allentown, and Denver will host the West in Loveland. Penn State is swapped with Providence and Denver is swapped with Clarkson.
Here is how the bracket looks after these changes.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Providence
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Northeastern
2 UMass vs. 3 Arizona State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Ohio State vs. 3 Penn State
With hosts accommodated, we must now eliminate inter-conference matchups in the first round (BC vs. Lowell, Ohio State vs. Penn State). We swap Ohio State with UMass, and we swap Lowell with Quinnipiac.
Here is how the bracket looks following these two changes.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Providence
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Northeastern
2 Ohio State vs. 3 Arizona State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 UMass vs. 3 Penn State
With no interconfertnce matchups, the focus now turns to boosting attendance at each event.
*Note: No. 16 Sacred Heart must remain in the West Regional in fairness to No. 1 North Dakota.*
Ideally, we want to try to get more Northeast teams into Albany and Worcester, and more Big 10 and West teams into Allentown and Loveland. One quick swap is moving Providence to the East and Arizona State to the West.
Here is how the bracket looks following this change..
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Northeastern
2 Ohio State vs. 3 Providence
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 UMass vs. 3 Penn State
It also probably makes more sense to have Providence in Worcester and Clarkson in Albany. We can just swap the matchups.
Here is how the bracket looks following these changes.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2. Ohio State vs. 3 Providence
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Northeastern
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 UMass vs. 3 Penn State
Another adjustment is to swap Lowell with Northeastern in order to avoid a potential all-UMass regional final.
Here is how the bracket looks following this change.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2. Ohio State vs. 3 Providence
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Northeastern
2 UMass vs. 3 Penn State
I don’t see any other potential changes. Obviously, it’s not ideal having UMass and Northeastern in the Midwest, but that’s just the way it unfolds this week.
Here is the final bracket.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 Sacred Heart
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2. Ohio State vs. 3 Providence
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Clarkson vs. 3 Minnesota Duluth
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Northeastern
2 UMass vs. 3 Penn State
Flanny's Thoughts 