Faceoff Factor

Weekend Recap: Conference Tournaments (Part Deux)

Andrew Chiappazzi | College/NCAA

Mar 17, 08:05 PM | Hype this story!

Here’s where we are so far with the conference tournaments. Some are finished, others will wrap up this coming weekend. Here’s what you can take to the bank and here’s what you can look forward to as you balance your hockey watching schedule with your basketball watching schedule.

ATLANTIC HOCKEY
Air Force comes out as the #3 seed and takes care of business, beating RIT in the semifinal round. They also get a gift from Mercyhurst, who knocks off Sacred Heart and Army before falling in the final round. Air Force will not get anything other than a bottom seed in the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations to the Falcons for repeating as AH tournament champions.

CCHA
Last week was normal. This week was not. Northern Michigan, the #6 seed, upsets #3 Michigan State, eliminating the defending champions. An early exit could push the Spartans to the point of not even making the NCAA Tournament, but it’s unlikely. The other top seeds all won, so Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame all survived. The Irish, in particular, had to escape Ferris State. Miami will host the Irish and Michigan and Northern Michigan will drop the gloves in a battle of the Mitten-Shaped State.

CHA
The favorite won. Niagara came out of the gates as #2 seed and took care of Robert Morris and Bemidji State as the host team of the tournament. The Purple Eagles return to the tournament for the first time since 2004. Robert Morris caps off a disappointing season and Bemidji State continues to struggle to win the tournament since a back-to-back run in 2005-2006.

ECAC
Again, no surprises up to this weekend in the ECAC, and then things were all shaken up. First, #1 Clarkson falls to #8 Colgate, capped off by a 2OT victory by Colgate in the rubber game on Sunday. Then #5 Cornell dropped #4 Union. Only Princeton and Harvard survived, and one would have to believe that those two teams are the favorites.

HOCKEY EAST
All four top teams have survived, and it wasn’t exactly a difficult road. Only Vermont and Boston had to go to a third game in their respective series, and they won those games convincingly. Each potted four goals, and Northeastern and Massachusetts-Lowell couldn’t keep up on Day Three.

WCHA
Minnesota remains as the only unexpected contender, topping Minnesota State and needing a 2OT game on Sunday to do it. The #7 Gophers will do battle with St. Cloud State in the play-in game on Thursday. The semifinals will wrap on Friday, followed by the Championship Game on Saturday.