2014 Frozen Four Tournament (and conference championships)

[Alberta_Beef]

NCAA FROZEN FOUR TOURNAMENT BRACKET
the brackets will be announced March 23rd, 2014

The participants are decided in the following fashion:
- The 6 conference Championship teams receive automatic berths
- The final spots are decided using the pairwise rankings

Current pairwise rankings can be found here:
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/ratings/ncaapwcr.php

1. Minnesota
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Ferris State
5. Wisconsin
6. Quinnipiac
7. UMass-Lowell
8. Notre Dame
9. Providence
10. St. Cloud State
11. Michigan
12. Minnesota State
13. North Dakota
14. Vermont
15. Colgate
16. Cornell
17. New Hampshire
18. North Eastern
19. Western Michigan
20. Yale

Also note than Mercyhurst is the top ranked school in the Atlantic Hockey Conference and they are ranked 31st in the pairwise rankings. Which means unless a team wins their conference if they are ranked below 15th they will probably not advance to the NCAA tournament.



Currently the conference playoffs are underway, they will determine the 6 conference champions and the 6 automatic berths in the Frozen Four tournament. The conference championships currently look like this:

Atlantic Hockey Tournament
Semi-Finals
Mercyhurst 4 vs. 5 Canisius 2ot
Robert Morris 5 vs. 4 Niagara ot
Finals
Canisius 4 vs. 7 Robert Morris

Robert Morris win the Atlantic Hockey Conference Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

Big Ten Tournament
Quarter-Finals
Ohio State 2 vs. 1 Michigan State ot
Penn State 2 vs. 1Michigan 2ot
Semi-Finals
Minnesota 1 vs 3 Ohio State
Wisconsin 2 vs 1 Penn State
Finals
Wisconsin 5 vs. 4 Ohio State ot

Wisconsin wins the Big Ten Conference Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

ECAC Tournament
Semi-Finals
Union 5 vs. 2 Cornell
Quinnipiac 2 vs. 3 Colgate 2ot
Finals
Union 5 vs. 2 Colgate

Union College wins the ECAC Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

Hockey East Tournament
Semi-Finals
UMass-Lowell 4 vs. 0 Notre Dame
Providence 1 vs. 3 New Hampshire
Finals
UMass-Lowell 4 vs. 0 New Hampshire

UMass-Lowell wins the Hockey East Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

NCHC Tournament
Semi-Finals
North Dakota 0 vs. 3 Miami of Ohio
Denver 4 vs. 3 Western Michigan
Finals
Denver 4 vs. 3 Miami of Ohio

Denver wins the NCHC Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

WCHA Tournament
Semi-Finals
Ferris State 5 vs. 4 Alaska-Anchorage ot
Bowling Green 0 vs. 4 Minnesota State
Finals
Minnesota State 4 vs. 1 Ferris State

Minnesota State wins the WCHA Conference Championship

[Alberta_Beef]

Thanks to getback for this great post in the Prospect Stats thread

Originally Posted by getbak

Here's a primer for the NCAA Conference playoffs:



The winners of each conference get an automatic invite to the NCAA Championships. Additionally, the top 10 teams in the Pairwise rankings that don't win their Conferences also get invites.

Here are the current Pairwise rankings: http://www.uscho.com/rankings/pairwi...kings/d-i-men/


From a Flames' prospects perspective:

YALE (Kenny Agostino - Senior) : Eliminated from ECAC Conference Quarterfinals. No chance of NCAA invite. Agostino has signed his NHL ELC with the Flames and could make his NHL debut this week.

MICHIGAN STATE (Matt DeBlouw - Sophomore) : Will play Ohio State in Big 10 Conference Quarterfinal at 7pm ET on Thursday. If they win, will play the #1 team in the nation, Minnesota, in the semifinals on Friday. Must win their Conference to get an invite to the NCAA Tourney. DeBlouw is unlikely to sign with the Flames regardless of MSU's fate.

COLGATE (Tim Harrison - Freshman) : Will play 6th ranked Quinnipiac in the ECAC semifinal on Friday at 7:30pm ET. They are currently the bubble team in the Pairwise at 16. I don't think they must win their conference to get an invite, but at least one win will be important to move up in the Pairwise. Harrison is unlikely to sign with the Flames regardless of Colgate's fate. He was the youngest player on an older Colgate team this year and should see his role expanded next year.

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (Mark Jankowski - Sophomore, Jon Gillies - Sophomore, John Gilmour - Sophomore) : Will play UNH at 8:00pm ET on Friday. PC started the season really strongly, but struggled after the Christmas/World Juniors break. Gillies fought an injury for most of the latter part of the season, but seems to have recently regained his early season form. Jankowski has become a very versatile part of the Friars' attack, playing a strong defensive role, as well as contributing on the score sheet, with 6 points in his last 6 games. Gilmour is an solid defenceman with a decent offensive instinct. PC is currently 9th in the Pairwise, which should make them a safe bet for an invite to the NCAA tourney regardless of their results this weekend. IMO, Gillies is a toss-up for signing with the Flames this year. Jankowski and Gilmour will likely play at least one more year in College.

BOSTON COLLEGE (John Gaudreau - Junior, Bill Arnold - Senior) : Eliminated from the Hockey East playoffs this weekend by a strong, but poorly-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. BC is still a very strong College team who will be considered one of the favourites in the NCAA Tournament. Gaudreau is all but guaranteed to win the Hobey Baker award this season as the best player in College Hockey (an award he probably should have won last year too). Arnold and Gaudreau have been 2/3 of the best line in the nation since the start of December. Both players are expected to turn pro once BC's season ends. The only question now is whether it will be early enough for them to don the Flaming C this season.

[ClubFlames]

I had no idea how NCAA works with their championships but ever since our influx of College Prospects I must admit I am looking forward to this.

[sureLoss]

If you get ESPN channels you can watch some of the tournament:
http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-re...-championship/

ESPN will cover the entire 2014 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship which includes 12 regional games from four sites between March 28-30 and the Frozen Four semifinals and finals in Philadelphia on April 10 and 12. In regional action, ESPNU will televise eight games, including the Midwest, Northeast and West regional finals. ESPN2 will televise the East regional final and West regional semifinal. ESPN3 will exclusively carry a Northeast and Midwest regional semifinal. On Thursday, April 10, ESPN2 will televise the Frozen Four semifinals and on Saturday, April 12, ESPN will televise the Frozen Four Championship Game. Every game of the tournament will be available on WatchESPN.

[Alberta_Beef]

Play-ins for the Big 10 were yesterday

Big Ten Tournament
Quarter-Finals
Ohio State 2 vs. 1 Michigan State Overtime
Penn State 2 vs. 1 Michigan Overtime (x2)

This means that Ohio State will face Minnesota and Penn State will face Wisconsin

[Alberta_Beef]

There are also a whole lot of games today, 3 of which are already over:

Atlantic Hockey Tournament
Mercyhurst vs. Canisius
Robert Morris vs. Niagara

Big Ten Tournament
Minnesota vs Ohio State
Wisconsin 2 vs 1 Penn State

ECAC Tournament
Union 5 vs. 2 Cornell
Quinnipiac vs. Colgate

Hockey East Tournament
UMass-Lowell vs. Notre Dame
Providence vs. New Hampshire

NCHC Tournament
North Dakota vs. Miami of Ohio
Denver vs. Western Michigan

WCHA Tournament
Ferris State vs. Alaska-Anchorage
Bowling Green 0 vs. 4 Minnesota State

[getbak]

The Hockey East games are all being broadcast on NBC Sports Network today and tomorrow, if you have access to that.

UMass-Lowell is currently up 4-0 on Notre Dame about halfway through the third. The Providence game is scheduled to start at 6:00 MT.

[Alberta_Beef]

Notre Dame has been Eliminated by UMass-Lowell!! The Riverhawks put up a 4-0 win the in the Hockey East Semi Final

[Alberta_Beef]

#7 seed Canisius has upset #1 seed Mercyhurst 5-4 in double overtime in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Mercyhurst was the top team in the conference in the pairwise rankings by a significant margin. The 3 remaining teams are currently ranked 47, 48 and 49 in the pairwise rankings.

It is extremely likely that whoever wins the AHC will be the lowest seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are announced March 23rd.

[Alberta_Beef]

http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/unh.portal#

UNH audio feed of the Providence/New Hampshire game

[Alberta_Beef]

Denver knocked off Western Michigan 4-3

[sureLoss]

Providence in trouble down 3-0 after 2 periods.

[sureLoss]

Friars lose 3-1 to UNH. Still have a very good chance of making the NCAA tournament

[StrykerSteve]

Calgary Flames ‏@NHLFlames 1m Congrats to #Flames prospect @tim_harrsn3 & @Colgate_Hockey who are off to the ECAC Championship game! Double OT win over Quinnipiac tonight

[getbak]

All the Conference Finals are set for Saturday (current Pairwise rank in parentheses):

Atlantic Hockey: Canisius (48) vs. Robert Morris (47)
ECAC: Colgate (12) vs. Union (3)
Hockey East: New Hampshire (18) vs. Mass.-Lowell (7)
WCHA: Minnesota State (11) vs. Ferris State (4)
NCHC: Miami (29) vs. Denver (23)
Big 10: Ohio State (19) vs. Wisconsin (5)


Regardless of the outcomes, it looks like Boston College (2), Providence College (10), and Colgate (12) are all safe in the Pairwise and should be appearing in the NCAA Tournament top 16. The NCAA Selections will be announced on Sunday at 10am MT.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by getbak

All the Conference Finals are set for Saturday (current Pairwise rank in parentheses):

Atlantic Hockey: Canisius (48) vs. Robert Morris (47)
ECAC: Colgate (12) vs. Union (3)
Hockey East: New Hampshire (18) vs. Mass.-Lowell (7)
WCHA: Minnesota State (11) vs. Ferris State (4)
NCHC: Miami (29) vs. Denver (23)
Big 10: Ohio State (19) vs. Wisconsin (5)


Regardless of the outcomes, it looks like Boston College (2), Providence College (10), and Colgate (12) are all safe in the Pairwise and should be appearing in the NCAA Tournament top 16. The NCAA Selections will be announced on Sunday at 10am MT.

With Atlantic Hockey and the NCHC having the 4 lowest seeds it ensures a team needs to be in the top 14 in the pairwise rankings. If one of New Hampshire or Ohio State win then the top 13 should be safe and if both win the top 12 should all get in regardless of whether they win their conference or not.

I agree with Colgate being safe since the 4 teams following them did not reach their respective conference finals.

It looks to me like the NCAA tournament will look like:

• Minnesota (1)
• Boston College (2)
• Union College (3)
• Ferris State (4)
• Wisconsin (5)
• Quinniapiac (6)
• UMass-Lowell (7)
• Notre Dame (8)
• St. Cloud State (9)
• Providence College (10)
• Minnesota State (11)
• Colgate (12)
• Denver/Miami of Ohio (15)
• Robert Morris/Canisius (16)

then 2 of (which in my estimation with be the 13/14 seeds in the tournament):

• New Hampshire
• Ohio State
• Vermont
• Michigan

If I am right in how I think the brackets will come out, then I believe that BC, Providence and UMass Lowell will all be in the same regional bracket with a possibility of BC and Providence duking it out for a spot in the Frozen Four

[Alberta_Beef]

Saturday's results from the Conference Championship games:

Atlantic Hockey Tournament
Canisius 4 vs. 7 Robert Morris
Robert Morris win the Atlantic Hockey Conference Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

Big Ten Tournament
Wisconsin 5 vs. 4 Ohio State ot
Wisconsin wins the Big Ten Conference Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

ECAC Tournament
Union 5 vs. 2 Colgate
Union College wins the ECAC Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

Hockey East Tournament
UMass-Lowell 4 vs. 0 New Hampshire
UMass-Lowell wins the Hockey East Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

NCHC Tournament
Denver 4 vs. 3 Miami of Ohio
Denver wins the NCHC Championship
North Dakota won the 3rd place game
__________________________________________________ _________

WCHA Tournament
Minnesota State 4 vs. 1 Ferris State
Minnesota State wins the WCHA Conference Championship
__________________________________________________ _________

Final Pairwise Rankings
Conference Champions in bold

1 : Minnesota
2 : Boston College
3 : Union
4 : Wisconsin
5 : Ferris State
6 : Quinnipiac
7 : UMass.-Lowell
8 : Notre Dame
9 : St. Cloud State
10 : Minnesota State
11 : Providence
12 : Colgate
13 : Vermont
14 : North Dakota
15 : Michigan
16 : Northeastern
17 : Cornell
18 : New Hampshire
19 : Ohio State
20 : Yale
21 : Minnesota-Duluth
22 : Western Michigan
23 : Denver
24 : Maine
25 : Clarkson
26 : Bowling Green
27 : Alaska-Anchorage
28 : Alaska-Fairbanks
29 : Nebraska-Omaha
30 : Rensselaer
31 : Miami
32 : Mercyhurst
33 : St. Lawrence
34 : Lake Superior
35 : Air Force
36 : Michigan Tech
37 : Brown
38 : Michigan State
39 : Northern Michigan
40 : Harvard
41 : Bentley
42 : Connecticut
43 : Dartmouth
44 : Robert Morris
45 : Boston University
46 : Bemidji State
47 : Massachusetts
48 : Canisius
49 : Merrimack
50 : Niagara
51 : Penn State
52 : Colorado College
53 : Holy Cross
54 : RIT
55 : Princeton
56 : Sacred Heart
57 : American Int'l
58 : Alabama-Huntsville
59 : Army

It appears the cutoff will be #14

[getbak]

Minnesota State over Ferris State in the WCHA Final was the only upset on Saturday. Union winning the ECAC was the only Conference regular season leader to win their Conference tournament too.


This looks like the final Pairwise, and the 16 teams who should get invited to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday (Conference winners bolded):

1. Minnesota (Big 10)
2. Boston College (Hockey East)
3. Union (ECAC)
4. Wisconsin (Big 10)
5. Ferris State (WCHA)
6. Quinnipiac (ECAC)
7. Mass.-Lowell (Hockey East)
8. Notre Dame (Hockey East)
9. St. Cloud State (NCHC)
10. Minnesota State (WCHA)
11. Providence (Hockey East)
12. Colgate (ECAC)
13. Vermont (Hockey East)
14. North Dakota (NCHC)
15. Denver (NCHC)
16. Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey)

Atlantic Hockey: 1
Big 10: 2
ECAC: 3
Hockey East: 5
NCHC: 3
WCHA: 2


We'll know the final list in a few hours.

[Freeway]

Selection day is Sunday, March 23. Anybody know WHEN on Sunday, though?

[getbak]

Noon eastern. Broadcast live on ESPN-U, if you can find that somewhere.