The Gophers had to wait and watch as the conference playoffs unfolded as other teams fought for a spot in the NCAA tournament after losing the pivotal Game 3 against Notre Dame in the first round of the Big Ten hockey quarterfinals on March 9. Minnesota was ranked No. 4 in the PairWise Ratings following the defeat, indicating that the Gophers were the last No. 1 seed and most certainly the Fargo Regional’s objective.
Even though they are a No. 2 seed, the Gophers (25-10-4) are still probably headed to Fargo after two weeks.
That’s because in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff final at Xcel Energy Center, the Broncos defeated Denver 4-3 thanks to a goal from Alex Bump of Western Michigan 22 seconds into the second overtime. The victory solidified the Gophers’ No. 5 ranking and Western Michigan’s No. 4 position in the PairWise.
On ESPNU, the NCAA will reveal the 16-team tournament field at 2:00 PM on Sunday. The field may be predicted using the PairWise, which the NCAA uses to choose its 10 at-large teams and seed the tournament, and the outcomes of the six conference championships, which give the winners automatic NCAA invitations.
Minnesota State Mankato (CCHA), Maine (Hockey East), Cornell (ECAC), Bentley (Atlantic Hockey), Michigan State (Big Ten), and Western Michigan (NCHC) are the six conference tournament winners. When Penn State’s at-large berth was guaranteed by North Dakota’s defeat to Western Michigan in the NCHC playoffs on Friday night, the ten at-large teams were decided.
In order to fill its brackets, the NCAA employs a serpentine method using PairWise, where No. 1 matches No. 16, No. 2 matches No. 15, No. 3 matches No. 14, and so on. The four regionals are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday in Fargo, Thursday and Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, Friday and Sunday in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Friday and Sunday in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The winners go to St. Louis for the NCAA Frozen Four on April 10 and 12.
Before being modified to comply with selection committee regulations, a bracket projection might look like this:
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