John Haeussler said: >The regular season champion (defined as the number one >seed for the conference playoffs if there is a tie) and the >playoff champion are automatically in the NCAA tourney. >This holds for all four conferences...CCHA, ECAC, HEA and >WCHA. I admit, I'm not completely up to date on the changes over the last few years - but if this is true, then it's a new development. As I said, in 1991, St. Lawrence defeated Cornell in the ECAC finals, but Cornell received the second bid, and St. Lawrence stayed home - because Cornell had swept St. Lawrence during the regular season. Cornell lost to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 5-4, 4-6, 3-9. I don't recall who the regular season champion was that season, but I believe it might have been Clarkson. Jeffrey Anbinder Cornell University Development HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.