{"id":27139,"date":"2005-02-17T17:05:43","date_gmt":"2005-02-17T23:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2005\/02\/17\/this-week-in-new-england-diii-feb-17-2005\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:10","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:10","slug":"this-week-in-new-england-diii-feb-17-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2005\/02\/17\/this-week-in-new-england-diii-feb-17-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in New England D-III: Feb. 17, 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"
There is less than one week left in the season and that is the only clear point one can define in terms of looking at a very cloudy playoff picture coming into the final games of the regular season. For each of the three D-III conferences the final games on the schedule have a lot riding on them for not only who gets in but who is seeded where — it is that tight for positions in all of the conferences. Guaranteed excitement and playoff atmospheres during the regular season and heartburn for coaches worried about keeping their teams focused on their own games while scoreboard watching to see who else can help or hurt their team’s efforts. In an effort to sort out the madness, here is a preview of what we know now (which may be dramatically different by Tuesday of next week) as match-ups and tiebreakers come into clearer view.<\/p>\n
All eight teams are in the playoffs, so no surprises there. With just two games left in the regular season schedule, Norwich and Babson are solidly positioned as the first and second seeds — no real surprises there either. In fact, both teams are nationally ranked and are in streaks where they are playing their best hockey of the season at the right time of the year. The two teams played to a 3-3 tie at Norwich back on Jan. 14 in a game that both coaches felt their team played well enough to win. If unsettled business is any consideration for the final match-up come the first weekend in March, don’t be surprised if one and two end up playing in the final in Northfield again this year.<\/p>\n
Going all the way to the bottom of the standings, only the eighth seed is pretty well set as well. Winless Castleton State is going to finish at the bottom of the league standings and have punched their ticket to a first round match-up with [nl]Vermont state rival Norwich. Salem State is currently in fifth with 13 points, four points ahead of Skidmore in sixth, and the Vikings close the season with Skidmore. Should Skidmore win out and Salem State lose its remaining two games, Skidmore could tie in points but take the higher seed based on winning the tie-breaker. For Salem State, just a single point this weekend would lock-up the fifth seed and with Castleton coming to town on Friday night, look for the Vikings to lock up the higher seed. With Skidmore likely to remain in sixth, the Thoroughbreds will be preparing for either a trip to New England College or Southern Maine. The UMass-Boston Beacons are in the seventh spot and even with two wins the final weekend would lose out to Skidmore based on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Skidmore defeated UMB 4-1 earlier in the season so look for the first round match-up for UMass to involve its travel partner in the league, Babson.<\/p>\n
That leaves us with the intriguing battle for the third and fourth seeds between New England College, which has rallied to have a great second half of the season, and Southern Maine, which has surprised a few people this season with consistent play and some big upsets, including last week’s win over Bowdoin by a 5-2 score. The teams are separated by just one point with two games remaining. USM finishes the regular season at home, while NEC travels for its final two games. Southern Maine will host Skidmore and Castleton this weekend while New England travels to UMass-Boston and finishes with Babson in what could be a semifinal playoff preview. This chase will come down to Saturday’s result — look for Southern Maine to eke out the third seed and a first round home game re-match with this week’s opponent, Skidmore. That would leave NEC to host Salem State in the four vs. five match-up. Stay tuned, because it’s all likely to change.<\/p>\n
At the time this piece has gone to press, there are still a number of key games being played on Thursday night that could have an impact on what appears below. So based on the here and now and current version of the world for the ECAC Northeast, it is fair to say that this final six days of the regular season is going to be wild in terms of who even makes the playoffs.<\/p>\n
What do we know for sure? Well, in this conference, not a lot right now. We do know who the top three seeds in the conference are, but even now the order is not set. Curry and its 40-game regular-season unbeaten streak is in first with just one game remaining against a very hot Assumption team on Saturday night. A win or a tie for the Colonels locks up home ice for the entire playoffs as the league has reverted to the Saturday (quarterfinals), Wednesday (semifinals) and Saturday (final) format meaning the conference title will be played to the “Max” — as in Max Ulin Arena, Curry’s home rink. <\/p>\n