Step 1: Pick the 16 Tournament teams
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. St. Cloud State
5. Bemidji State
6. Boston College
7. North Dakota
8. Yale
9. Alaska
10. New Hampshire
11. Cornell
12. Michigan State
13. Vermont
14. Minnesota Duluth
15. Ferris State
16. Atlantic Hockey Winner
Bubble Teams (Northern Michigan, Maine, Nebraska-Omaha, Union, Colorado College)
Step 2: Assign the Seeds
No. 1 Seeds: Denver, Miami, Wisconsin, St. Cloud
No. 2 Seeds: Bemidji, Boston College, North Dakota, Yale
No. 3 Seeds: Alaska, New Hampshire, Cornell, Michigan State
No. 4 Seeds: Vermont, Minnesota-Duluth, Ferris State, Atlantic Hockey Winner
Step 3: Place number 1 seeds in regionals
Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.
No. 1 Denver is placed in the West regional in St. Paul
No. 2 Miami is placed in the Mid-West regional in Fort Wayne
No. 3 Wisconsin is placed in the East regional in Albany
No. 4 St. Cloud State is placed in Northeast regional in Worchester
Step 4: Place the other 12 teams avoiding inter-conference match ups if possible
Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.
If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.
Number 2 Seeds:
No. 7 North Dakota is placed in No. 2 Miami's Regional, the Mid-West Regional.
No. 6 Boston College is placed in No. 3 Wisconsin's Regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 Bemidji State is placed in No. 4 St. Cloud's Regional, the Northeast Regional.
Number 3 Seeds:
Our bracketing system has one Regional containing seeds 1, 8, 9, and 16, another with 2, 7, 10, 15, another with 3, 6, 11, 14 and another with 4, 5, 12 and 13.
No. 10 New Hampshire is placed in No. 7 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional.
No. 11 Cornell is placed in No. 6 Boston College's Regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Michigan State is placed in No. 5 Bemidji State's Regional, the Northeast Regional.
Number 4 seeds:
One more time, taking No. 16 v. No. 1, No. 15 v. No. 2, etc.
No. 16 Atlantic Hockey Winner is sent to No. 1 Denver's Regional, the West Regional.
No. 15 Ferris State is sent to No. 2 Miami's Regional, the Mid-West Regional.
No. 14 Minnesota Duluth is sent to No. 3 Wisconsin's Regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Vermont is sent to No. 4 St. Cloud's Regional, the Northeast Regional.
Our Bracket as we have it set up:
West Regional:
1 Denver vs 16 Atlantic Hockey Champ
8 Yale vs 9 Alaska
Midwest Regional:
2 Miami vs 15 Ferris State
7 North Dakota vs 10 New Hampshire
East Regional:
3 Wisconsin vs 14 Minnesota-Duluth
6 Boston College vs 11 Cornell
Northeast Regional:
4 St. Cloud State vs 13 Vermont
5 Bemidji vs 12 Michigan State
Our first concern is to avoid inter-conference first round match ups. We have two, Wisconsin vs Minnesota-Duluth and Miami vs Ferris State. Since they are both 1 vs 4 match ups, we can easily switch Ferris State and Minnesota Duluth.
So now we have:
West Regional (St. Paul, MN):
1 Denver vs 16 Atlantic Hockey Champ
8 Yale vs 9 Alaska
Midwest Regional (Fort Wayne, IN):
2 Miami vs 14 Minnesota-Duluth
7 North Dakota vs 10 New Hampshire
East Regional (Albany, NY):
3 Wisconsin vs 15 Ferris State
6 Boston College vs 11 Cornell
Northeast Regional (Worchester, MA):
4 St. Cloud State vs 13 Vermont
5 Bemidji vs 12 Michigan State
So now we have avoided inter-conference match ups. Integrity looks good. How about attendance? The East looks ok with BC and Cornell in Albany. Worchester has Vermont, the Mid-West has Miami, and North Dakota. St. Paul looks awful for attendance. There is a couple of things that we can do. I'm going to switch out the St. Paul pod with the Worchester pod so that St. Cloud and Bemidji are in St. Paul. I Also am switching #9 Alaska with #10 New Hampshire.
So our FINAL tournament now is:
Northeast Regional (Worchester, MA):
1 Denver vs 16 Atlantic Hockey Champ
8 Yale vs 10 New Hampshire
Midwest Regional (Fort Wayne, IN):
2 Miami vs 14 Minnesota-Duluth
7 North Dakota vs 9 Alaska
East Regional (Albany, NY):
3 Wisconsin vs 15 Ferris State
6 Boston College vs 11 Cornell
West Regional (St. Paul, MN):
4 St. Cloud State vs 13 Vermont
5 Bemidji vs 12 Michigan State
I like that bracket a LOT better. We now have Miami and North Dakota in Fort Wayne, St. Cloud and Bemidji in St. Paul, New Hampshire and the Atlantic Hockey Champion (most likely RIT) in Worchester, and Boston College and Cornell in Albany.
That's my bracket for the week. We'll see what Jayson Moy from USCHO comes up with during the week.
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