Pay attention now, for this story problem could be more cyclonic to the mind than anything found on a GRE.
Of the three teams still in contention for the last unclaimed Hockey East playoff spot, sixth-place New Hampshire holds the tiebreaker over eighth-place Vermont by virtue of winning the season series. Likewise, the Catamounts would have the upper hand on seventh-seeded Maine were they to ultimately knot up after finishing Game No. 21. But the Black Bears won their wishbone against UNH, thus would have the tiebreaker over the Wildcats.
Are you still with us?
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, with only a two-point differential between sixth and eighth, the three postseason aspirants shall each battle with one of the league’s top three. Maine hosts top dog Boston University on Friday and Saturday night, Vermont makes a two-day trip to Providence Saturday and Sunday, and the Wildcats engage Boston College in a home-and-home series.
Sweeps all around, which would amount to zero change whatsoever and a quarterfinal passport for Brian McCloskey’s pupils, is easy enough to project by default. But remember that the sole reason the Mainers are still in the equation is because their desperation patently exceeded that of the Eagles during their two-night stay at Conte Forum last weekend. BC conceded three out of four points amidst learning that, due to a scheduling conflict with their men’s basketball neighbors on March 5, they would not see any home ice in the playoffs even if they took the regular season crown.
And now, with a four-point gap and the defending champion Terriers having won their season series, the Eagles can go no higher and no lower than second place. Translation: neither of the Comm. Ave. cohabitants will have anything left to immediately gain this weekend.
Granted, BU and BC will have that bye week to get any necessary rest, but it is only natural to expect their respective adversaries from Maine and UNH to put forth more intensity.
The situation at Schneider Arena will be a tad different, but only in the sense that both contesting clubs will have even more on the line. Whereas the Friars need one more win to cement third place, the Catamounts are officially one loss away from elimination. Regardless of the out-of-town results, Vermont cannot afford to still be trailing the Wildcats by two points –as they are right now- by the time they have only two points left to play for.
“Great. That’s exactly what we want,” Providence head coach Bob Deraney recently told this author, with the most genuine enthusiasm in his tone.
“The most dangerous people are the most desperate people.”
There’s something for all of this weekend’s ostensible top dogs to remember.
For PC, the upcoming series will indubitably include a redemption factor. The Friars effectively gave Vermont the requisite traction to start whittling its way back into the playoff hunt by spilling a 1-0 decision at Gutterson Fieldhouse Jan. 30.
In addition, the Friars have their PairWise posture to think about. Having already broken double-digits in the loss column, they are arguably lucky to have hovered around the No. 9 slot, one run shy of at-large bid range. They simply do not want any more slippage, let alone against one of the more plebeian programs in the league.
Similarly, the Eagles could stand to stiffen their stance on the national landscape, if only for insurance. After their Beanpot triumph Tuesday night, they rank No. 7 on the PairWise leaderboard and wouldn’t want to risk dropping any lower if that meant having to resort to the hardly fail-safe automatic bid.
For these reasons, PC and BC ought to offer no sympathy to either of the Cat packs. And vice versa, for New Hampshire wouldn’t want to submit to the Eagles and risk Maine usurping its claim to sixth place. And because the Black Bears took two out of three meetings from the Wildcats, in the event of a BC sweep, they would only have to pluck one point away from the Terriers to wrap up their berth.
Then again, that’s only assuming the Catamounts didn’t do any damage. Recall that they hold the tiebreaker over Maine and still, albeit by a long shot, could even collect enough loot to safely pole-vault over UNH.
The phrase “anything can happen” is horribly hackneyed, to be sure. But the situation it describes herein is refreshingly original to the Women’s Hockey East Association. Never in the league’s nine-year history have each of its member schools still had more than pride to play for at dusk of the regular season.
So, if you’re not directly involved in the action or the potential configuration process after the ice chips settle, be glad.
And as you enjoy watching all questions being answered for you, be thankful this isn’t Big East basketball, where every program earns a postseason bid just for being a member. What fan would want to miss out on this type of tension?
Al Daniel is the Hockey East correspondent to Beyond The Dashers
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