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 (26-5-4)
- Minnesota State (31-5-2)
- Cornell (23-2-4)
- Minnesota Duluth (22-10-2)
- Denver (21-9-6)
- Boston College (24-8-2)
- Penn State (20-10-4)
- Massachusetts (20-11-2)
- Clarkson (23-8-2)
- Ohio State (20-11-5)
- UMass Lowell (18-10-6)
- Bemidji State (22-10-5)
- Arizona State (22-11-3)
- Michigan (18-14-4)
- Maine (18-11-5)
- Quinnipiac (21-11-2)
Now we adjust the top-16 in the PairWise to accommodate potential conference champions. AIC slides into No. 16 and Quinnipiac loses its spot.
- North Dakota (26-5-4)
- Minnesota State (31-5-2)
- Cornell (23-2-4)
- Minnesota Duluth (22-10-2)
- Denver (21-9-6)
- Boston College (24-8-2)
- Penn State (20-10-4)
- Massachusetts (20-11-2)
- Clarkson (23-8-2)
- Ohio State (20-11-5)
- UMass Lowell (18-10-6)
- Bemidji State (22-10-5)
- Arizona State (22-11-3)
- Michigan (18-14-4)
- Maine (18-11-5)
- AIC (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 Minnesota Duluth 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 Boston College 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 Clarkson is placed in No. 8 UMass’ regional, the West Regional.
No. 10 Ohio State is placed in No. 7 Penn State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 UMass Lowell is placed in No. 6 Boston College’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Bemidji State is placed in No. 5 Denver’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 Michigan is placed in No. 3 Cornell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Arizona State is placed in No. 4 Minnesota Duluth’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
Resulting in this initial bracket:
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson
Northeast
1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Arizona State
2 Denver vs. 3 Bemidji State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Michigan
2 Boston College vs. 3 UMass Lowell
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Ohio 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/Ohio 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 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Arizona State
2 UMass vs. 3 Bemidji State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Michigan
2 Boston College vs. 3 UMass Lowell
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 Ohio State
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We must now eliminate inter-conference matchups in the first round (BC vs. Lowell, Penn State vs. Ohio State). This is a simple fix as we simply swap Lowell with Ohio State.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Clarkson
Northeast
1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Arizona State
2 UMass vs. 3 Bemidji State
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Michigan
2 Boston College vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Maine
2 Penn State vs. 3 UMass Lowell
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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
Ideally, we want to get more Big 10 teams into the Midwest and more ECAC/Hockey East teams into the Northeast and East. Clarkson can be swapped with Bemidji State and Maine can be swapped with Michigan.
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Bemidji State
Northeast
1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Arizona State
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Maine
2 Boston College vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Michigan
2 Penn State vs. 3 UMass Lowell
After that, I really do not see much that can be adjusted. Ohio State cannot go to Allentown as that would create an inter-conference matchup with Penn State. Same thing goes for Lowell with both BC and UMass serving as the two-seeds in the East and Northeast.
________________
Final Bracket:
West
1 North Dakota vs. 4 AIC
2 Denver vs. 3 Bemidji State
Northeast
1 Minnesota Duluth vs. 4 Arizona State
2 UMass vs. 3 Clarkson
East
1 Cornell vs. 4 Maine
2 Boston College vs. 3 Ohio State
Midwest
1 Minnesota State vs. 4 Michigan
2 Penn State vs. 3 UMass Lowell
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Last Week’s 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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Movement:
In:
- Michigan
Out:
- Quinnipiac
Flanny's Thoughts 