Now that my beloved Spartans have finished their regular season (Thank God) with a somewhat-better-than-I-was-expecting-but-still-not-good-enough-to- beat-UM-with-only-6-shots-on-goal-in-the-first-two-periods performance (and only playing 4 defensemen), that gives me some time to look at the remaining playoff possibilites in the CCHA. The eight playoff teams are set, with UAF's loss to WMU last night. OSU has clinched the eighth spot and Bowling Green has clinched the fifth spot. Miami and Ferris State are battling it out for sixth; if Miami wins tonight, they get sixth. Ferris State can get sixth if they win and Miami ties, or they at least tie and Miami loses. An FSU loss gives Miami sixth. The top four are a little tougher. Any of the four can finish anywhere from first through fourth, but WMU needs a weird combination to finish first. MSU's season, as I stated, is done. So, there are three games left involving the top four with 3 outcomes each (for those of you statisticians out there, that' s 27 possibilities). So, here they are, with the resulting standings: Currently: MSU 45, LSSU 44, UM 44, WMU 43 Two-way tiebreakers: LSSU>MSU, LSSU>UM, LSSU>WMU, UM>MSU, WMU>UM, MSU>WMU Three-way: LSSU>UM>MSU, LSSU>WMU>UM, LSSU>MSU>WMU, WMU>UM>MSU Four-way: LSSU>WMU>UM>MSU Possible outcomes of tonight's action (with standings): LSSU WMU UM Standings ____ ___ __ _________ W W W LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU W W T LSSU, WMU, UM, MSU W W L LSSU, MSU, WMU, UM W T W LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU W T T LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU W T L LSSU, MSU, WMU, UM W L W LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU W L T LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU W L L LSSU, MSU, UM, WMU T W W UM, LSSU, MSU, WMU\ T W T LSSU, WMU, UM, MSU T W L LSSU, MSU, WMU, UM T T W UM, LSSU, MSU, WMU T T T LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU T T L LSSU, MSU, WMU, UM T L W UM, LSSU, MSU, WMU T L T LSSU, UM, MSU, WMU T L L LSSU, MSU, UM, WMU L W W UM, MSU, WMU, LSSU L W T WMU, UM, MSU, LSSU L W L MSU, WMU, LSSU, UM L T W UM, MSU, LSSU, WMU L T T UM, MSU, LSSU, WMU L T L MSU, LSSU, WMU, UM L L W UM, MSU, LSSU, WMU L L T UM, MSU, LSSU, WMU L L L MSU, LSSU, UM, WMU Of 27 possibilites, number of chances for each team to finish: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th ___ ___ ___ ___ LSSU 15 5 5 2 UM 8 8 5 6 MSU 3 11 11 2 WMU 1 3 6 17 It's very interesting that UM has a better chance than MSU of finishing either 1st or 4th, while the Spartans' odds are better to finish 2nd or 3rd. WMU's situation is very interesting. One would suspect offhand that they would want to win and have both of the other teams playing tonight lose. But, they actually need Michigan to tie Bowling Green and have Lake Superior lose while they win to get the CCHA #1 seed. Finally, Bowling Green does have something to play for tonight, in determining their first-round opponent. A win over Michigan would give them the season series over UM, LSSU, and MSU, and help them to avoid playing WMU in the first round, a team that swept BG this year (that is, unless WMU loses to UAF, making WMU the #4 seed anyway). G. M. Finniss Michigan State University 22-7-1, 26-10-1 Who backs into first place (literally, after a dismal end to the season) if Michigan and Lake Superior lose. Hockey polygamy, here I come (at least for one night)! HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.