I doubt that this removes Western from the NCAA picture.  Barring upsets in
tournament finals to allow a couple of teams into the tournament, I simply
don't see five teams moving past Western in the PWR rankings.  With Minnesota
beating MTU tonight, it won't happen in the WCHA, so there are only two teams
here ahead of the Broncos.  Unless Ferris wins the CCHA, no team other than
BGSU will pass them (yes, I'm speculating that the CCHA will get five teams
in the tournament).  That leaves at most six Western teams ahead of WMU.
 
Out east, if Providence doesn't win the HE title, that only leaves two teams
ahead of Western there (BU and UMass-Lowell).  I don't see all four top ECAC
teams moving ahead of them, so barring a Harvard win, that won't happen
either.  Even so, that would keep St. Lawrence from moving up  And I don't
think both Cornell and Clarkson will make the tourney if the Crimson win.
 
All in all, it would take a number of upsets to keep Western out of the
tourney.  Even then, I wouldn't be sure, since any upset has to come at the
expense of some other team on the bubble.
 
J. Michael Jackson
 
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