2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

Morrisville is in as the Colonial champs for the second straight year.

[D3WomensHockey]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

Middlebury beats Amherst 2-0. I would assume the two bids will come down to Gustavus, UWRF, UWEC, and Amherst.

[shelfit]

Point taken. The only quality hockey left in DIII starts with the Final Four. And it's only going to get worse! Kind of sad.

Another nail-biter of a "championship" game as Elmira squeeks by Stevenson......5-0 at Elmira with shots favoring Elmira by the slimmest of margins......50-23. Hope the fans didn't give themselves whiplash falling asleep in their seats.

[Scott_TG]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

I think the bracket ends up

Morrisville @ Norwich
Middlebury @ Plattsburgh
Adrian @ Elmira
River Falls/GAC @ Hamline

[MND3Dad]

I think the bracket ends up

Morrisville @ Norwich
Middlebury @ Plattsburgh
Adrian @ Elmira
River Falls/GAC @ Hamline

I like this but I think they take UWEC instead of UWRF. Eau Claire has beaten them twice in a row.

[spwood]

I like this but I think they take UWEC instead of UWRF. Eau Claire has beaten them twice in a row.

I was ready to say this will never happen, but the WIAC final probably made the comparison almost a toss-up. It’ll be interesting!

[egon_getts]

I think the bracket ends up

Morrisville @ Norwich
Middlebury @ Plattsburgh
Adrian @ Elmira
River Falls/GAC @ Hamline

I'm not sure if Hamline will host, even though they got the autobid. I could see Hamline/UW (I think RF, but slim chance of EC) play-in, winner@GAC. The only thing I'm not sure about is how Morrisville wouldn't be considered 8/9, but not sure they'd fly them/Hamline/Adrian (other likely lowest seeds) for a play in.

[Scott_TG]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

The only thing I'm not sure about is how Morrisville wouldn't be considered 8/9, but not sure they'd fly them/Hamline/Adrian (other likely lowest seeds) for a play in.

Per the instructions from the NCAA to the committee, avoiding flights in the first round is priority one over everything else when it comes to seeding. Morrisville is definitely the 9 seed, but they can't fly the Mustangs out west for the 8/9 matchup.

[NUProf]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

I'm not sure if Hamline will host, even though they got the autobid. I could see Hamline/UW (I think RF, but slim chance of EC) play-in, winner@GAC. The only thing I'm not sure about is how Morrisville wouldn't be considered 8/9, but not sure they'd fly them/Hamline/Adrian (other likely lowest seeds) for a play in.

EC is East, and is in. What am I missing here?

[egon_getts]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

Per the instructions from the NCAA to the committee, avoiding flights in the first round is priority one over everything else when it comes to seeding. Morrisville is definitely the 9 seed, but they can't fly the Mustangs out west for the 8/9 matchup.

Of course! I forgot about that. In that case, They could make it work for an Adrian/Morrisville play in! The shortest driving distance I could work out (with some finagling on Google Maps) was 503 miles. Of course, that could end up giving Norwich a much more difficult path as the number 1 seed, unless Morrisville were to win, in which case they could still go to Norwich, but then there'd be 3 teams out West, and increase flying after the play-in. I think I'm just doing some wishful thinking at this point, but it would be nice to see a few matchups that are less common. The NCAA criteria pdfs were updated today, and it's tight between all of the Western teams. With the current stats, I think they'll avoid all of my fanciful thinking and go with your initial predictions, except I think it'll be UWRF at Hamline with winner at GAC. CC is still ahead of Amherst, but loses to UWRF and GAC in criteria.

[egon_getts]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

EC is East, and is in. What am I missing here?

Sorry, I was trying to distinguish between UW-RF vs UW-Eau Claire, not Elmira College. That was confusing writing by me! Yes, Elmira is definitely in, and with the latest NCAA numbers, I think UWRF and GAC are in as well.

[Scott_TG]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

Of course! I forgot about that. In that case, They could make it work for an Adrian/Morrisville play in! The shortest driving distance I could work out (with some finagling on Google Maps) was 503 miles. Of course, that could end up giving Norwich a much more difficult path as the number 1 seed, unless Morrisville were to win, in which case they could still go to Norwich, but then there'd be 3 teams out West, and increase flying after the play-in. I think I'm just doing some wishful thinking at this point, but it would be nice to see a few matchups that are less common.

Morrisville/Adrian doesn't work as per the official travel calculator the NCAA uses, it's 521 miles. It's going to be Adrian/Elmira unless and until teams closer to Adrian (Buff State, Trine, King's, Wilkes, Nazareth all fall within 500 miles). And the closer programs I mention in my example are either far away from contention or haven't even started playing.

In case you're interested, you can play with the NCAA Travel Calculator here: https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/miles

[egon_getts]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

In case you're interested, you can play with the NCAA Travel Calculator here: https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/miles

Ah, hadn;t known how they calculated officially (although I realized it would be a stretch for an actual Morrisville-Adrian game, fun as it may be).

Interestingly, with their win over River Falls, Eau Claire would have beat Hamline or Connecticut College in criteria if GAC had beaten Hamline in the MIAC championship. That would have been fun. I don't think they've ever made it to the NCAAs, if my memory serves me. But, neither has Hamline, and though I'm a GAC fan in general, Hamline can definitely bring it! I wouldn't be at all suprised to see them upset UWRF, and even GAC again.

I think there should be some really top notch hockey in the tourney this year, and not just the final 4. With the likely exception of the Norwich-Morrisville game, where Morrisville will just be outgunned and out-depthed (if that's a word), I think almost every possible matchup feels like it could go either way.

[Genbeau]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

The blowouts/shutouts in some of the championship and semi-final games are no surprise and are proof of how bad some conferences are.

Can someone remind me why St. Thomas wasn't allowed to advance to the playoffs? A rules violation off some sort but I don't recall the situatuon. No matter what, it's a shame that a top team like that is not playing at this time of the season.

Norwich is solid all-around team but certainly beatable (by any top team not in the NEHC, agreed!!) Interesting stats vs UMB. Cadets up 5-zip after 2 yet only leading the shot count 16-14? Actually being outshot 10-7 in the second? (btw, not a slam on umb goaltending, just ghastly turnovers in the d-zone and people being left completely unattended out front.) Beacons going 0/5 on the pp? I predict a closer score vs Morrisville. Norwich 3-1 w/ an EN'r.

[Scott_TG]

Re: 2017-18 DIII News, Game Notes, Etc

The D3Hockey site final projection has UWEC in over UWRF. We'll see how it shakes out in less than 3 hours.

D3Hockey.com Projection:
Morrisville @ Norwich
Middlebury @ Plattsburgh
Adrian @ Elmira
UWEC/GAC @ Hamline