With Alaska-Anchorage’s 3-1 victory over rival Alaska in Fairbanks this evening (or morning depending where you are), the first round of the WCHA playoffs has been set.
Ferris State won the WCHA outright via a sweep of Lake Superior State while Minnesota State only took three of four points from Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs and Mavericks will be the top two seeds.
Below are the best-of-three quarterfinal match ups. Winners advance to the WCHA Final Five March 21-22 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.
No. 8 Bemidji State (10-14-4 in WCHA, 24 points)
at No. 1 Ferris State (20-6-2, 42)
— Friday through Sunday in Big Rapids, Mich. Friday and Saturday’s puck drop are set for 7:07 p.m. EDT while Sunday’s game, if necessary, would begin at 5:07 p.m.
— FSU won the regular season series 3-1, winning 5-4 in OT and 5-3 in Big Rapids Nov. 8-9. The two sides split in Bemidji Feb. 14-15 with the Beavers winning 4-1 on Friday and losing 2-1 on Saturday.
No. 7 Northern Michigan (13-14-1, 27)
at No. 2 Minnesota State (20-7-1, 41)
— Friday through Sunday series in Mankato, Minn. All three games begin at 7:07 p.m. CDT each night.
— MSU won the season series 3-1 with a pair of 3-2 and 3-0 wins in Mankato Dec. 6-7. In Marquette Jan. 31-Feb. 1, the Wildcats won Friday 5-2 before the Mavericks won Saturday 5-1.
No. 6 Alaska-Anchorage (12-12-4, 28)
at No. 3 Alaska (14-12-2, 30)
— Thursday through Saturday series in Fairbanks, Alaska. All three games begin at 7:07 p.m. ADT (or 11:07 p.m. EDT). The Nanooks’ Carlson Center is hosting the opening ceremonies on Sunday for the 23rd Arctic Winter Games.
— The Nanooks and Seawolves split their season series 2-2, but Nanooks won the Governor’s Cup in a shootout Saturday. UAA snapped Alaska’s seven game win streak winning 3-1 on Saturday. The Nanooks routed the Seawolves on Friday 7-2. During their first meeting Dec. 6-7 in Anchorage, Alaska lost Friday 3-2, but won Saturday 5-4.
No. 5 Michigan Tech (12-22-5, 29)
at No. 4 Bowling Green (13-11-4, 30)
— Friday through Sunday in Bowling Green, Ohio. All three games start at 7:07 p.m. EDT each night.
— Michigan Tech won the season series 2-1-1 despite not beating the Falcons in Houghton. BGSU won 3-2 and rallied late for a 4-4 tie Dec. 13-14 at Tech. The Huskies swept the second regular season series in Ohio, 5-2 and 5-4 on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Note: Alaska wins the No. 3 seed over Bowling Green because the Nanooks won the B tiebreaker with BGSU, which is conference wins. Because the Falcons and Nanooks didn’t play each other four times, the A tiebreaker, head-to-head record, doesn’t apply.
The final WCHA standings with tie breaking procedures can be found here.
