This is year it is a different format, since we have 6 teams, instead of 5. Now we have two play-in games on Thursday, and eliminated the third place game (which normal took place on Saturday afternoon).
Every team in St. Paul has a chance at the Broadmoor Championship and the NCAA auto-bid to the tournament. Three teams, UND, DU, and UMD are all but guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament, so the remaining three teams have more to lose this weekend.
Note - There will be a total of three Broadmoor Trophies. The largest will be on permanent display at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul in conjunction with the WCHA Final Five, one will be a traveling trophy, and one will be given to the winning team each year as a permanent addition to their display case.
WCHA 2010-11 FINAL standings
TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts1. North Dakota…...…….21-6-1…43
2. Denver……..……...……17-8-3…37
3. Nebraska-Omaha.…..17-9-2…36
4. Minnesota-Duluth......15-8-5…35
5. Minnesota…….....…...13-10-5…31
6. Colorado College…....13-13-2…28
7. Wisconsin……….....….12-13-3…27
8. Alaska-Anchorage…12-14-2…26
8. St. Cloud State….......11-13-4…26
10. Bemidji State…….….8-15-5…21
10. Minnesota State…...8-16-4…20
12. Michigan Tech………2-24-2…6
(Numbers are current PairWise Rank)
Bemidji St. vs #6 Minnesota-Duluth(season series UMD wins 1-0-1)
Last weekend the Beavers swept the UNO Mavericks in Omaha and the Bulldogs swept the SCSU Huskies in Duluth.
These teams played a pair of games in Bemidji back at the end of October, with the Bulldogs winning a 3-2 in OT and the rematch ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Beavers will be the underdog in this series, something they are use to this year. Other than beating up on UNO this season, the Beavers have had a hard time against the other top teams in the WCHA. Perhaps BSU needs to pretend they are playing UNO again this weekend? The Bulldogs dispatched a hot SCSU Husky team last weekend, granted it was a sweep, but going into a 3rd overtime on Saturday night is almost like playing 3 games. That coupled with a short off week, could be a factor in Thursday afternoons game. The Beavers need to continue to ride the stellar goaltending they got last weekend into St. Paul, if they want to advance. Giving up that many shots game in and game out will eventually catch up with a team, BSU hopes that isn’t this weekend. UMD appears to have righted their ship after it was listing a little toward the end of the regular season. If BSU can keep UMD’s top line off the score sheet they should be able to win. If UMD can get some goals into the net and get a lead they can open up the offense and try to bury the Beavers. BULLDOGS WIN
#20 Alaska-Anchorage vs #13 Colorado College(season series UAA wins 3-2-0)
Last weekend the Seawolves swept the UM Gophers in Minneapolis and the Tigers won their series with the Badgers in Colorado Springs.
These teams played have played 5 times this season. First time these teams met this season was in October in Fairbanks Alaska with the Tigers winning that game. In mid-November they met in Colorado Springs with the teams splitting, a 4-3 OT win for UAA and a 2-0 CC win. Then they met in Anchorage in mid-January with the Seawolves sweeping the Tigers, by 4-1 and 2-1 scores.
The Seawolves are riding a season best 5-game winning streak at the moment. The Tigers were the only team to play a 3-game series last weekend. This marks the 2nd time UAA has made the Final 5. The last time was March of 2004 and then like now, they play the CC Tigers. Back in 2004 the Seawolves beat the CC Tigers in the play-in game and then fell to UND and UMD. The Tigers had to come from behind twice to advance to this point, some might call it luck, some might say they rose to the occasion. Whichever way you put, I think they are living dangerously and don’t want to do it a third time. It is also hard to believe that UAA is heating up at the right time of year, they are getting goals and limiting their opponents scoring opportunities. The Tigers need to win to secure up their place in the pairwise and the NCAA picture. The Seawolves need to win this game and one or two more to get into the tournament; obviously if they win the Broadmoor they get the auto-bid. SEAWOLVES WIN
#2 North DakotaLast weekend the Sioux swept the MTU Huskies in Grand Forks.
The Fighting Sioux will play the winner of the UAA-CC game on Friday night.
On the season, UND is 2-0-1 versus UAA, and is 1-1-0 versus CC.
#6 DenverLast weekend the Pioneers swept the MSUM Mavericks in Denver.
The Pioneers will play the winner of the BSU-UMD game on Friday afternoon.
On the season, DU is 1-1-0 versus UMD, and is 2-0-0 versus BSU.
Also to note, UNO is currently tied with CC for 13th in the Pairwise rankings. So barring some major upsets getting auto-bids, the Mavericks have a good shot at getting into the NCAA tournament.
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