Welcome back! In case you missed Part 1, I linked it here for you to check out.
If your favorite team wasn’t already covered, let’s continue on breaking down each conference race, starting with the NEHC.
NEHC
Let’s be real, the NEHC is almost certainly Hobart’s yet again, and even though they just suffered their first defeat of the season, they are still the class of this league by a wide margin. Hobart should keep winning to protect their current #1 seed in the NPI, but this conference is close to being wrapped up. Only the Statesmen have clinched a playoff berth so far. Below Hobart, we have a number of teams fighting for playoff home games and even more for a postseason appearance.
In the eleven team league, the top eight teams qualify for the postseason with the top 4 getting quarterfinal home games. Teams have either six or four games remaining the last three weekends.
Remaining Schedules
The Contenders:
As I mentioned above, Hobart is close to wrapping this thing up. I would advise the Statesmen to lock up the league title before the final weekend, in order to avoid any unwarranted pressure traveling to 2nd place Babson. To be honest, I just put the other teams that are still mathematically alive in this category, although Norwich and AM would need a near-miracle to pull off a first place finish like that. But asides from that, winning as many as possible should be the priority, as both Norwich and Albertus are facing teams that are right on their tails in the standings searching for that home playoff game. Right now, the magic number to clinch a spot is 34 points, but I’m sure that will change with wins and losses to come in the NEHC.
The Playoff Bubble:
With three of these teams likely to miss out, it’s hard to ignore that Southern Maine and Castleton are in quite a sticky situation. Yes, they play one another, so if one sweeps the other, there is a chance. However, they are quite a ways out of the last spot in, so they’ll need some vast improvement and some luck around them.
New England College has a pretty tough draw, and just a four point lead on UMass Boston. If UMB can sweep USM at the end of the year and steal some points again Babson and Albertus, then NEC should be careful. However, the Pilgrims are playing as well as anyone in the league the last month or so (besides #1 Hobart).
Skidmore and Elmira have tough games remaining as well, and Salve does just have the four opportunities for points left. If Elmira’s youth movement can take another step for the home stretch, don’t be shocked to see them flirt with a home game in Round 1.
My Call:
- Hobart (Conference Champion & First Round Home Game)
- Elmira (First Round Home Game)
- Norwich (First Round Home Game)
- Babson (First Round Home Game)
- Albertus Magnus (Playoff Berth)
- Salve Regina (Playoff Berth)
- Skidmore (Playoff Berth)
- New England College (Playoff Berth)
- UMass Boston
- Southern Maine
- Castleton
NESCAC
The NESCAC is usually up towards the top as one of the most competitive conference top-to-bottom in the country. While there’s a little more separation this year, it still has an extremely tight middle part of the standings, with six teams within three points of one another. Hamilton has emerged as the class of the league, with Trinity playing the part of a strong #2. Both teams need to avoid upsets to keep their name in the NCAA Tournament picture.
Eight of the ten teams will make the postseason, with the top four earning home games in the conference quarterfinals. Each team has six games remaining, so there’s a lot of meat left on the bone for these teams, so to speak. Hamilton is the lone team to have clinched a playoff berth thus far.
Remaining Schedules
The Contenders:
Hamilton just defeated Trinity last weekend in Hartford, and that may have give the Continentals the final piece to their championship puzzle. As I said above, both teams need to avoid upsets to stay alive in the NCAA picture, but at an absolute maximum, Hamilton will need 10 points to bring home the championship. I bet they do that sooner rather than later.
The Playoff Bubble:
As I said before, the middle of this conference is extremely close. But just like most leagues at this point, teams are still alive for home playoff games, but could also miss out on the playoffs entirely. Wesleyan and Connecticut College look like the easiest targets to miss, as they are a tad removed from the rest of the contenders. Two of the Cardinals’ games are also against Trinity, which is not necessarily a recipe for success. The Camels are also in a season-long skid at the moment, and need to turn it around quickly.
This part of the league is so similar to the MIAC from yesterday, as any of these teams have shown they can defeat each other. What also makes this so crazy is that Bowdoin, Colby, Williams, and Middlebury all have both the two championship contenders remaining on their schedules. This NESCAC schedule is drama-filled down the stretch. I could see this going any which way, as I’m realizing with how much parity Division III hockey has, my picks are basically shots in the dark.
My Call:
- Hamilton (Conference Champion & First Round Home Game)
- Trinity (First Round Home Game)
- Colby (First Round Home Game)
- Bowdoin (First Round Home Game)
- Middlebury (Playoff Berth)
- Amherst (Playoff Berth)
- Williams (Playoff Berth)
- Tufts (Playoff Berth)
- Conn. College
- Wesleyan
SUNYAC
The SUNYAC is definitely in a bit of a down year. There are powerhouse programs in this league, but this year, they are not as strong as they would like to be. Given the exit of Geneseo and Brockport to the league, it is definitely a transitional period for this league, before the newcomers join in the seasons to come. Cortland is having a very solid season featuring top-tier wins, however. The Red Dragons are trying to hold off rival Oswego, as both teams are making late-season pushes to be potential at-large bid candidates.
Similar to the CNE in the previous post, 6 of the 8 teams qualify for the postseason, with #1 and #2 earning byes and semifinal home games. #3 and #4 get First Round home games, so each spot is massive to figure out who ends up where, and who heads home early. Each team has five games remaining, and with the SUNYAC’s 2-points-for-a-win system, no one has clinched a bid, or been eliminated just yet.
Remaining Schedules
The Contenders:
Cortland at Oswego may be the game that determines who takes home the regular-season title. Many of the teams towards the bottom of the playoff field will be desperate, so these teams could also get tripped up by one of those. Buff State has a chance here, but I think they’ll need quite a bit of help. I only included them, as they do have an opportunity tie up Oswego in 2nd place this upcoming weekend. But they’ll need to win that one. Cortland and Oz also both still have to play Morrisville, who is by far the bottom-dweller this season (Buff State doesn’t get them). Plattsburgh may be the wild card here, as they have been extremely underwhelming, but have the talent on the roster to trip up a contender.
The Playoff Bubble:
Morrisville is hanging on by a thread, in terms of staying alive in this playoff race, meaning they’ll need a miracle to find a way to the playoffs. On surface level, it looks like the last playoff spot will come down to Potsdam or Canton. However, if one can get on a run, maybe it’s Fredonia or Plattsburgh that’ll slip down to that danger zone.
I view the Canton @ Fredonia game as being pretty crucial. Potsdam, Canton, and Plattsburgh cannot drop points to Morrisville either. Perhaps a little home cooking will help out Potsdam though, as they close with a three game homestand. On the flip side, Fredonia has their final three away from home.
My Call:
- Oswego (Conference Champion & First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- Cortland (First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- Plattsburgh (First Round Home Game)
- Fredonia (First Round Home Game)
- Buffalo State (Playoff Berth)
- Canton (Playoff Berth)
- Potsdam
- Morrisville
UCHC
The UCHC is the first of 2 leagues we’ll discuss next where all six teams make the playoffs. So no matter how tough of a season you’ve had, you always have a chance to win out and shock the world at the end of the season.
With that being said, the UCHC has quite a different makeup than the league is used to seeing. With the MAC schools breaking away, and the additions of Geneseo and Brockport have given us the six-team setup. At the top of the league, we have two national title contenders. Just like any six-team bracket, the top 2 seeds will get a bye, and #3 and #4 will get home games. Utica and Geneseo have already locked up the byes, so now they’ll be figuring out who can earn home ice throughout the tournament.
Remaining Schedules
The Contenders:
Obviously, the second series involving these two programs will prove to be absolutely massive. With both powerhouses getting tested very little against the other conference opponents, I would have to bet whoever finishes that series with more points has the inside track to a championship and home ice in the tournament. I will say, Geneseo has been playing with fire very often as of late, and is lucky they still are within 2 points of the Pioneers at this moment. All will be forgiven if they can take down Utica in 2 weeks’ time.
Playing for Seeding:
What makes this race so interesting is that all four of these teams are playing one of the 2 big dogs for exactly two games. It sure seems that Brockport is too far out of it to make a comeback, but opportunities against Nazareth and Chatham give them a chance to earn a bye.
Another interesting nugget is that the only team that seems to be playing decent as of late is Chatham. Brockport and Nazareth are really struggling and Manhattanville has been more down than up as of late. I do like the upset chances of Nazareth and Brockport more than the other two, just because Geneseo has been taken to overtime multiple times recently.
My Call:
- Utica (Conference Champion & First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- Geneseo (First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- Nazareth (First Round Home Game)
- Chatham (First Round Home Game)
- Manhattanville (Playoff Berth)
- Brockport (Playoff Berth)
WIAC
The WIAC, just like the UCHC is a league where all six teams make the postseason. Currently they have two Top 10 teams ranked in the national polls, but the next tier of the league can play with anyone in the country as well. This league reminds me of the MIAC in terms of its competitiveness (mostly), but the top teams have a higher ceiling in my opinion.
Each team has just four games remaining, and the top 5 are all still alive to receive bye games. As expected, Northland will be playing on the road in Round 1, and have clinched the #6 seed after having another tough season.
Remaining Schedules
The Contenders:
Obviously, next weekend will prove to be absolutely massive in the WIAC. With these two teams so close, it seems likely to decide the regular season championship, and who earns home ice in what’s likely to be a dramatic WIAC tournament. The Pointers won game 1 of this 3 game series. This is familiar territory for the Pointers, and with Northland on deck, they’ll most likely be banking 6 points to add to their total.
Superior is enjoying their best season in quite a while, and although they are four points up right now, they need to show up this weekend playing at a very tough Stout team. Every point will matter this weekend for the Jackets, because next weekend, points will be at a premium and overtime/shootouts may be the deciding factor, particularly if UWS has a rough weekend in Menomonie.
Playing for Seeding (in most cases):
While Eau Claire, River Falls, and Stout can all still mathematically still win the league, their main priority should be to end up in either 3rd or 4th place. No disrespect to Northland, but 3rd should be much more coveted than 4th, as well.
UWRF has the benefit of finishing their last two series at home, and also wrapping up with the Lumberjacks, although I could see Northland catching them sleeping one of those games. Stout has a pretty tough finish to the schedule, getting a hot Yellowjacket team coming to town, followed up by a trip to Eau Claire, who is no slouch. The Blugolds have been up and down as of late, but have shown they can beat both Stout and River Falls this year, so they have a great chance as well.
My Call:
- UW-Stevens Point (Conference Champion & First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- UW-Superior (First Round Bye & Semifinal Home Game)
- UW-River Falls (First Round Home Game)
- UW-Eau Claire (First Round Home Game)
- UW-Stout (Playoff Berth)
- Northland (Playoff Berth)
Again, thanks so much for reading these series of schedule breakdowns. If you have any questions or comments regarding any of the scheduling or tournaments, the comment box is down below. Here’s to a thrilling final three weeks of the season!
