We’ve reached the Christmas break in Division III hockey, and while there aren’t a ton of major moves from last week’s projection, there were some massive games that took place out west that did make an impact, and will shape the rest of this season’s story.

Current Projections as of 12/17/25

Automatic Qualifiers (NPI Rank)

• CNE: Endicott (12)
• MAC: Wilkes (17)
• MIAC: Hamline (15)
• NCHA: Concordia-WI (9)
• NESCAC: Middlebury (13)
• SUNYAC: Plattsburgh (18)
• UCHC: Nazareth (3)

At-Large (NPI Rank)

• Amherst (1)
• UW-River Falls (2)
• Colby (4)
• Augsburg (5)
• Williams (6)
• Connecticut College (7)

First Four Out (NPI Rank)

• UW-Eau Claire (8)
• Norwich (10)
• Bowdoin (11)
• Saint Benedict (14)

Discussion

• New Teams in Field:
  • Just one new team this week, and it’s the direct result of a head-to-head series that was played last weekend.  The Auggies of Augsburg swept the Blugolds of UW-Eau Claire in a home and away series.
    • Though both games were extremely evenly played, and one decided in OT, the Auggies’ sweep puts them into the projected field, moving from the 2nd team out at #11, all the way up to #5.
    • The Blugolds fell just one spot, from #7 to #8, but just enough to fall behind the current cutline.
• Seed Line Shifts:
  • With the Auggies jumping all the way up to #5, Williams and Conn. College each fell a spot to #6 and #7 respectively.
  • In regards to some conference leaders, Concordia-Wisconsin swept UW-Stevens Point last weekend, as they jumped from the #11 seed to the #8 seed.
  • Concurrently, Hamline dropped a nailbiter at home to the aforementioned Eau Claire team last week, essentially swapping spots with CUW.  The Pipers fell from the #8 seed to #11.
• The cut line for this projection is #8 being the first spot out.  This gives us 6 auto-bid schools in the projected field ranked lower than the first team out, #8 UW-Eau Claire.
• Multi-bid Leagues:
  • NESCAC: (5)
  • MIAC: (2)
• With not many east games played last weekend, our field is fairly similar, featuring a boatload of NESCAC teams.  But with many big games out west, those teams shuffled around a bit.

Seeding

1. Amherst
2. UW-River Falls
3. Nazareth
4. Colby
5. Augsburg
6. Williams
7. Connecticut College
8. Concordia (WI)
9. Endicott
10. Middlebury
11. Hamline
12. Wilkes
13. Plattsburgh

Projected Bracket

First Round

9) Endicott @ 7) Connecticut College

12) Wilkes @ 6) Williams

13) Plattsburgh @ 4) Colby

11) Hamline @ 8) Concordia (WI)

10) Middlebury @ 5) Augsburg

Quarterfinals

9) Endicott/7) CT College @ 1) Amherst

12) Wilkes/6) Williams vs. 13) Plattsburgh/4) Colby

11) Hamline/8) CUW @ 2) UW-River Falls

10) Middlebury/5) Augsburg @ 3) Nazareth

Geographical Breakdown

• Thick black lines indicate first round travel matchups.
• The colored shapes indicate which quadrant of the bracket is which.

Rationale

The Byes

As I mentioned, not a ton of huge changes up top, as #1 Amherst, #2 River Falls, and #3 Naz get the byes.

The 9E/4W Split

In Edition #2, Eau Claire replaced Augsburg in the projected field.  This time, the Auggies bump the Blugolds after the sweep, and with no other changes, we stand pad with the 9/4 split.  With UWRF in bye territory, we will have some mental gymnastics to work through to build this bracket.

Who heads to Hunt Arena?

With the seeds changing up a bit, there will be a debate as to which teams head to River Falls in the quarterfinal.  The other 3 west teams are #5 Augsburg, #8 Concordia-WI, and #11 Hamline.  After playing around with a few scenarios, it makes most sense to have a Hamline @ CUW matchup in Round 1, with the winner heading to #2 River Falls.  Although putting Augsburg in this pod would save some headaches with the other Round 1 matchups, it doesn’t seem fair at all for #2 to be potentially playing #5 in a quarterfinal.

Pairing the East Teams

We know the Auggies will be playing an east team in Round 1, and with the west teams and bye teams out of the picture, we’re left with these schools.

• #4 Colby
• #5 Augsburg
• #6 Williams
• #7 CT College
• #9 Endicott
• #10 Middlebury
• #12 Wilkes
• #13 Plattsburgh

If we pair these teams off according to seed, we have:

#13 Plattsburgh @ #4 Colby, #12 Wilkes @ #5 Augsburg, #10 Middlebury @ #6 Williams, & #9 Endicott @ #7 CT College

Another NESCAC Dilemma

You may have noticed, and probably predicted, we have two NESCAC teams in Middlebury and Williams facing off in Round 1, if we went by true seeding.  So, we will have to shift some teams around.

We probably want all of the top 8 to get their well-deserved home game, and with Colby, Williams, AND CT College being ranked in the top 7 no less, Middlebury will be pushed west to play Augsburg.

When reseeding the remaining six teams, two matchups remain the same (Plattsburgh @ Colby, Endicott @ CT College).  So that leaves us Wilkes traveling to Williams for their first round game, essentially swapping Wilkes and Middlebury from the initial projection.

Setting the Quarterfinal Matchups

With the #11 Hamline/#8 CUW winner heading to #2 River Falls, now we place the rest of the matchups into the quarters.

Being the middle two seeds left in first round games, the #9 Endicott vs. #7 Connecticut College winner making the short trip to #1 Amherst, in a pod that features three schools quite close together (Yes, by seed, #2 UWRF gets a slightly easier quarterfinal draw than #1 Amherst, but it is very slightly).

With #3 traditionally getting the matchup involving #6, #3 Nazareth hosts the #6 Williams/#12 Wilkes matchup.

Finally, we create our pod of four, with the #4 Colby/#13 Plattsburgh winner facing the #5 Augsburg/#12 Middlebury winner, meaning we’ll have one early flight, at the very least.

Frozen Four Placement

#1 Amherst is paired with the #4 Colby pod, a matchup that if seeds hold, we have seen a few times in NCAA postseason play.  On the other side, the #2 River Falls pod is paired with the #3 Nazareth pod.

Dollars & “Cents”

Here’s what flights the NCAA is ponying up for in this bracket projection.

First Two Rounds:

• First Round:
  • 1 flight from Middlebury to Augsburg
• Quarterfinals:
  • 1 potential flight if Augsburg defeats Middlebury (to Nazareth)

Frozen Four:

-If Amherst/Williams/CT College/Endicott hosts:

• 1 flight from top right quadrant of bracket
• 1 additional flight if Augsburg advances from bottom right quadrant of bracket

-If UW-River Falls/Concordia-WI hosts:

• 2 flights from left side of bracket
• 1 additional flight if Nazareth OR Middlebury advances from bottom right quadrant of bracket

-If Nazareth hosts:

• 1 flight from top right quadrant of bracket
• 1 additional flight if Colby advances from bottom left quadrant

-If Colby hosts:

• 1 flight from top right quadrant of bracket
• 1 additional flight if Nazareth OR Augsburg advances from bottom right quadrant of bracket

-If Augsburg hosts:

• 2 flights from left side of bracket

Depending on results, this bracket results in anywhere from 2-5 flights.

Wrap-Up

While we’re near the “halfway point” of the season, we’ll have a nice chance to catch our breath and reset for the home stretch following Christmas.  As always, please feel free to message down below, as we hope everyone has a very merry Christmas.  Stay tuned for more coverage in the new year!