Home Ice? No Home Ice? That's what everyone wants to know! The
answer to your question lies in New Haven, Connecticut and Princeton,
New Jersey this weekend as the Dutchmen (12-15-5 overall) will close out
the regular season on the road. Union, coming off a weekend split at
home against Colgate (1-0 Loss) and Cornell (3-0 Win) currently sits in
the #10 position in the ECAC with a conference record of 6-11-3.
Many possibilities exist for where Union will begin the ECAC
playoffs, including at home. The first round gets underway Friday, March
5th with the top four teams receiving a first round bye. The Dutchmen
currently have 15 points, and trail St. Lawrence (SLU, 17 points) and
Clarkson (CLK, 16 points) for the final home ice playoff spot.
Even with a weekend sweep, the Dutchmen are not guaranteed
of having home ice. The best scenario would be for UNION to win both
games against Yale and Princeton, and have SLU and CLK, who play at
Cornell and Colgate this weekend, lose at least one game. That would
give the Dutchmen 19 points, SLU 19 points, and CLK 18 points.
Should Union, SLU and CLK finish tied in points, and then we
look at the tiebreakers, which both favor the Dutchmen. Tiebreak #1 (SEE
CHART BELOW) favors Union over SLU. The Dutchmen are 2-0 head to head
against SLU, having won on the road 4-3, and at home 3-2. Tiebreak #2
comes into play against CLK, as the Dutchmen and Golden Knights split
the regular season series, with each team winning at home. 4-1 at CLK,
and 3-1 at Union.
Therefore, the tiebreak will come down to the team with the
best record against the top four teams in the ECAC. Currently, Union is
(2-4-2) 6 points, while CLK is (1-3-2) 4 points. If your still confused,
then be sure to follow Friday night's game on “WTMM” ESPN RADIO 1300AM.
The pre-game show begins at 6:45pm, with a 7:00pm drop of the puck. The
picture will be that much clearer after the game.
Union owes the Bulldogs and Tigers a little “payback”, as
the Dutchmen were swept at home earlier this season, 4-0 by Yale and a
4-1 loss at the hands of Princeton. Yale leads the all-time series with
Union 16-7-2, and have won three straight, while Princeton is 17-10-3
all-time against the Dutchmen.
The only teams Union will NOT see in the first round of the
playoffs currently are Colgate, Vermont and Princeton. Following
Saturday night's game, all your questions will be answered, as the
Dutchmen will finally know their fate. No matter what kind of ice Union
finds themselves on, the Dutchmen will be ready to go for the 2004 ECAC
Playoffs.
2004 ECAC TIEBREAKING PROCEDURES
- Comparison of game results between tied teams
- Comparison of results of games against the top four teams
- Comparison of results of games against the top eight teams
- Goal differential in head-to-head competition
- Goal differential in games against the top four teams
- Goal differential in games against the top eight teams
ECAC 2004 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First Round
Friday-Sunday, March 5-7
Best-of-three games at campus sites
- No. 12 Seed at No. 5 Seed
- No. 11 Seed at No. 6 Seed
- No. 10 Seed at No. 7 Seed
- No. 9 Seed at No. 8 Seed
*Teams will be re-seeded after the first round
Quarterfinal Round
Friday-Sunday, March 12-14
Best-of-three games at campus sites
- No. 8 Seed at No. 1 Seed
- No. 7 Seed at No. 2 Seed
- No. 6 Seed at No. 3 Seed
- No. 5 Seed at No. 4 Seed
*Teams will be re-seeded after quarterfinals round
Championship Round
Friday, March 19
- No. 4 vs. No. 1 at 4:30 p.m.
- No. 3 vs. No. 2 at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 20
- Third Place Game 5 p.m.
- Championship Game 8 p.m.