Alright, so usually we do this on Friday before a weekend series of games but the drive to Ithaca prevented that. And since it seems odd to move back in time, let's look at what the playoffs would look like if they started today.
Byes:
1. Union (23-7-3, 15-3-1)
2. Yale (21-5, 15-4)
I just want to separate the top two teams here in the bye category to point out Union and Yale have clinched not only byes but have clinched finishing either first or second as well.
3. Dartmouth (15-8-3, 11-6-2)
4. Princeton (15-9-2, 10-7-2)
5. Cornell (12-11-3, 10-7-2) vs. 12. Colgate (6-23-2, 3-14-2)
Right now, Colgate gets the short trip to Ithaca thanks to Princeton holding the tiebreaker over the Big Red for the last bye spot. There's a lot of volatility on both sides of this equation but as a fan, who isn't hoping for a Cornell-Colgate rivalry playoff series?
6. RPI (18-9-4, 10-8-1) vs. 11. Harvard (6-18-1, 4-13-1)
Again, a lot of volatility here but for Harvard, this is an attractive matchup and preferable to the other teams (Dartmouth, Cornell, Princeton, Clarkson) buzzing around sixth in terms of competitiveness and/or travel. Crimson have played well against the 'Tute all season, winning 1-0 at home and losing 3-2 against RPI despite mustering 48 shots (with two RPI goals coming from Harvard miscues on one 4x4 shift.)
7. Clarkson (14-15-2, 8-10-1) vs. 10. St. Lawrence (6-12-1)
Yet another fun rivalry matchup, and better yet, a rematch of last year's playoffs to boot. These two teams met last year with St. Lawrence hosting as the fifth seed and Clarkson as the twelfth. Now a win and a Brown loss tonight would give Clarkson guaranteed home ice. Is it too much to ask for these two teams to stay paired up together?
8. Quinnipiac (13-13-5, 8-9-4) vs. 13. Brown (8-13-4, 6-11-1)
These two teams square off tonight and it might just determine which of the two of them (or St. Lawrence) ends up with the last home ice spot. This is a game to keep an eye on tonight.
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