Well, I'm going to try this for another season-ending weekend.  Trying to
figure out who does what in the ECAC tiebreakers is almost always an exercise
in hair-pulling, even with the help of John Whelan's ECAC playoff possibilities
script (http://www.slack.net/~whelan/cgi-bin/ecac.cgi).  I thought maybe this
year, a lot of the possible ties would be wiped out, thanks to the unbalanced
schedule producing some teams with 20-game seasons and others with 21... but
nooooo, there are a half-dozen teams that could finish at 0.500 and in ties
regardless of how many games they wind up playing.  You fans of the other
leagues that grumble about tiebreakers, YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND [rant off]
 
Vermont obviously doesn't figure into the "what-if's" since their season ended
in January and they've been relegated to last place, but for the other ECAC
teams, I've listed the following:
 
THIS WEEKEND:  The team's weekend games, its last two of the season.  (Yes,
they
     all have two games left, thanks to St. Lawrence and Clarkson scheduling
     Wayne State to take the place of the cancelled Vermont games)
ON THEIR OWN:  The highest the team could finish with no help from the
     competition.  Generally, this involves a weekend sweep.
BEST CASE:  The highest the team could finish if everything goes right.
WORST CASE:  The lowest the team could finish if everything goes wrong.
     This generally involves getting swept while teams nearby in the
     standings win.
TIEBREAKERS:  How the team would fare if they finished the season tied with
     some other team which is currently close (within 4 points, or whatever the
     appropriate percentage is) in the standings.
 
For two or more teams tied in the standings, the ECAC tiebreakers are:
 
1.   Head-to-head record in ECAC games (non-conference meetings, such as in
     tournaments, do not count).
2.   Record against the top five teams in the conference.
3.   Record against the top ten teams in the conference.
4.   Goal differential (net goals) head-to-head.
5.   Goal differential against the top five teams in the conference.
6.   Goal differential against the top ten teams in the conference.
 
St. Lawrence:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Wayne State (nc), Dartmouth.
     ON THEIR OWN:  A win or tie against Dartmouth locks up first place.
     BEST CASE:  First.
     WORST CASE:  Could finish second if they lose to Dartmouth and Colgate
     sweeps.  This sets up a tie with Colgate, which gets ugly really quickly.
     Generally, St. Lawrence loses the tiebreaker if Dartmouth or Cornell are
     in the top 5 and Princeton is not.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Could win or lose against Colgate.
 
Colgate:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Princeton, Yale.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Has clinched second and can do no better without help.
     BEST CASE:  Could finish first with a sweep if St. Lawrence loses to
     Dartmouth.  Generally, Colgate wins the tiebreaker if Dartmouth or Cornell
     are in the top 5.
     WORST CASE:  Second.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Could win or lose against St. Lawrence.
 
Princeton:
     THIS WEEKEND:  At Colgate, at Cornell.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Would clinch third with a sweep.
     BEST CASE:  Third.
     WORST CASE:  Finishes ninth if they lose twice, Yale sweeps, Dartmouth and
     Rensselaer do not get swept, and Harvard picks up at least two points.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Yale; could win or lose against Dartmouth, Clarkson,
     Rensselaer, Harvard, and Cornell.
 
Dartmouth:
     THIS WEEKEND:  At Clarkson, at St. Lawrence.
     ON THEIR OWN:  A sweep would give Dartmouth fourth place.
     BEST CASE:  Clinches third with a sweep if Princeton does not sweep and
     either Rensselaer does not sweep or Harvard does not finish in the top 5.
     WORST CASE:  Would finish ninth with two losses if Yale wins twice,
Cornell
     beats Princeton, and Harvard gets at least one point.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Cornell; could win or lose against Princeton,
Clarkson,
     Rensselaer, Harvard, and Yale.
 
Clarkson:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Dartmouth, Wayne State (nc).
     ON THEIR OWN:  Clinches fifth by winning against Dartmouth.
     BEST CASE:  Finishes third if they beat Dartmouth, Rensselaer does not
     sweep, and either Princeton and Cornell tie or the winner of that game
does
     not win its other game.
     WORST CASE:  Drops to ninth if they lose to Dartmouth, Rensselaer does not
     get swept, Yale wins twice, Princeton loses to Cornell and ties or beats
     Colgate, and Harvard gets at least two points.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Harvard; loses to Cornell; could win or lose against
     Princeton, Dartmouth, and Rensselaer.
 
Rensselaer:
     THIS WEEKEND:  at Brown, at Harvard.
     ON THEIR OWN:  A sweep guarantees fifth place for the Engineers.
     BEST CASE:  Clinches third with two wins if Dartmouth and Princeton do not
     sweep.
     WORST CASE:  Would finish ninth if they get swept, Yale wins twice,
Cornell
     does not lose to Princeton, and Dartmouth gets at least one point.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Yale; could win or lose against Princeton, Dartmouth,
     Clarkson, Harvard, and Cornell.
 
Harvard:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Union, Rensselaer.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Two wins will give Harvard fifth place.
     BEST CASE:  Gets third with a sweep if Clarkson does not beat Dartmouth,
     Dartmouth does not sweep, Cornell does not sweep, and Princeton gets no
     more than two points.
     WORST CASE:  Finishes ninth with two losses if Cornell gets at least one
     point and Yale gets at least three points.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Yale; loses to Clarkson; could win or lose against
     Princeton, Dartmouth, Rensselaer, and Cornell.
 
Cornell:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Yale, Princeton.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Clinches fifth with two wins.
     BEST CASE:  A sweep gives Cornell third if Dartmouth and Rensselaer do not
     sweep.
     WORST CASE:  Would finish ninth if they lose twice.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Beats Clarkson; loses to Dartmouth; could win or lose
against
     Princeton, Harvard, and Rensselaer.  Well!  Thank goodness for an easy
one.
 
Yale:
     THIS WEEKEND:  at Cornell, at Colgate.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Would clinch eighth with a sweep.
     BEST CASE:  Gets fifth if they win twice, Princeton gets swept, and EITHER
     Harvard gets no more than one point and Dartmouth either beats Clarkson or
     gets swept, OR Rensselaer loses twice and Dartmouth either beats Clarkson
     or gets no more than one point.  There will be a short quiz on this
     next period.
     WORST CASE:  Can do no worse than ninth.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Loses to Princeton, Rensselaer, and Harvard; could win or
     lose against Dartmouth.
 
Union:
     THIS WEEKEND:  At Harvard, at Brown.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Clinches tenth place by beating Brown or by tying Brown and
     not losing to Harvard.
     BEST CASE:  Tenth.
     WORST CASE:  Would finish eleventh if they lose twice or if they lose to
     Brown and Brown beats Rensselaer.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Could win or lose against Brown.
 
Brown:
     THIS WEEKEND:  Rensselaer, Union.
     ON THEIR OWN:  Finishes tenth with a sweep.
     BEST CASE:  Tenth.
     WORST CASE:  Finishes eleventh if they lose to Union.
     TIEBREAKERS:  Could win or lose against Union.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95                                             DJF  5/27/94
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  JCF  12/2/97
"Anyway, after I've made my James Joyce faux pas, he invariably gives me an
 indulgent chuckle:  'Heh-heh-heh-heh, ohhh my -- James Joyce didn't write
 _Trees_.  _Trees_ was written by Joyce Kilmer.'  Of course, then I ask 'who
 is SHE?' and I destroy myself completely."
-- Shelley Berman
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.