Northeastern is currently unraveling. The Huskies have lost four in a row after being swept by Vermont this past weekend and are in danger of not only missing the NCAA Tournament, but also missing the conference should UNH pass NU in the Hockey East standings this upcoming weekend.
Current Conference Leaders
Atlantic: American International
Big 10: Penn State
ECAC: Cornell
Hockey East: Boston College
NCHC: North Dakota
WCHA: Minnesota State
Current Top-16 In PairWise
- North Dakota (25-4-4)
- Minnesota State (29-5-2)
- Cornell (23-2-4)
- Boston College (23-8-1)
- Minnesota Duluth (20-10-2)
- Denver (20-9-5)
- Penn State (20-10-4)
- Massachusetts (20-11-2)
- Clarkson (23-8-2)
- Bemidji State (20-9-5)
- Ohio State (18-11-5)
- Arizona State (22-11-3)
- UMass Lowell (17-10-6)
- Quinnipiac (21-11-2)
- Maine (17-11-5)
- Minnesota (14-13-7)
Now we adjust the top-16 in the PairWise to accommodate potential conference champions. AIC slides into No. 16 and Minnesota loses its spot.
- North Dakota (25-4-4)
- Minnesota State (29-5-2)
- Cornell (23-2-4)
- Boston College (23-8-1)
- Minnesota Duluth (20-10-2)
- Denver (20-9-5)
- Penn State (20-10-4)
- Massachusetts (20-11-2)
- Clarkson (23-8-2)
- Bemidji State (20-9-5)
- Ohio State (18-11-5)
- Arizona State (22-11-3)
- UMass Lowell (17-10-6)
- Quinnipiac (21-11-2)
- Maine (17-11-5)
- American International (21-12-1)
With the 16-team field set we can assign seedings, 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 UMass is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 7 Penn State is placed in No. 2 Minnesota State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 6 Denver is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 Minnesota Duluth is placed in No. 4 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Three Seeds
No. 9 Clarkson is placed in No. 8 UMass’ regional, the West Regional.
No. 10 Bemidji State is placed in No. 7 Penn State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 Ohio State is placed in No. 6 Denver’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Arizona State is placed in No. 5 Minnesota Duluth’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Four Seeds
No. 16 AIC is placed in No. 1 North Dakota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 15 Maine is placed in No. 2 Minnesota State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Quinnipiac 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.
Resulting in this initial bracket:
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Arizona State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Denver vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
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First and foremost, we must accommodate regional hosts. Penn State is the host of the Midwest Regional in Allentown, while Denver is the host of the West Regional in Loveland. We leave the Penn State/Bemidji State matchup as it is for now and swap Denver with UMass.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Clarkson
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Arizona State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
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We must now eliminate inter-conference matchups in the first round (BC vs. Lowell, Cornell vs. Quinnipiac). This is a simple fix as we simply swap Lowell with Quinnipiac.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Clarkson
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Arizona State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
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With regional hosts accommodated and no inter-conference matchups, the goal now is to maximize attendance at each regional event.
*Note: No. 16 AIC must stay in Loveland in fairness to No. 1 North Dakota
One quick change I see is swapping Arizona State with Clarkson.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Clarkson
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
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Actually, it probably makes more sense to have Clarkson in Albany and UMass in Worcester. So, we just swap the matchups entirely.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Clarkson
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
I don’t see any other changes after that. Ideally, we would love to get Ohio State into Allentown but with Penn State as the No. 2 seed it cannot happen as it would create an inter-conference matchup. That’s it for this week.
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Final Bracket
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Arizona State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Quinnipiac
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 UMass Lowell
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Clarkson
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Bemidji State
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Last Week’s Bracket
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Bemidji State
Northeast
1 Boston College vs. 4 Arizona State
2 Minnesota Duluth vs. 3 Northeastern
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Western Michigan
2 UMass vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Minnesota
2 Penn State vs. 3 Clarkson
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Movement:
In:
- Maine
- Quinnipiac
Out:
- Northeastern
- Western Michigan
Flanny's Thoughts 