I agree that giving a bye to each league's champion (regular season or tournament, let each league decide) would take some of the irrationality out of the selection process. The way it is done now, 2 east and 2 west teams get byes, based on the supposedly rational, but fatally flawed, PWR ratings. Maybe we should eliminate the extra 4 teams also, since the bye gives such an advantage. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.