Re: Bracketology 1.0 D3 style
Updated Bracketology as of Sunday, Feb. 10
CCC - Salve Regina (17)
MASCAC - Plymouth State (31)
MIAC - Augsburg (11)
NCHA - St. Norbert (6)
NEHC - UMass Boston (5)
NESCAC - Wesleyan (10)
SUNYAC - Geneseo (2)
UCHC - Utica (15)
Pool C - Stevens Point (1)
Pool C - Oswego (3)
Pool C - Norwich (4)
Pool C - Adrian (7)
I see two options for bracketing to avoid flights before the semifinals.
1st option (All 8 eastern teams in play-ins)
Plymouth at Geneseo
Wesleyan at UMass Boston
Utica at Norwich
Salve Regina at Oswego
Quarterfinals -
Salve/Oswego vs. Utica/Norwich
UMass Boston/Wesleyan vs. Geneseo/Plymouth
Adrian at St. Norbert
Augsburg at Point
This option is tough because you have the No. 2, 3, 4 seeds all playing in play-in games when it's avoidable to have the No. 2 and 4 teams to get byes in a different scenario. Plus you set up quarterfinal matchups between potentially the No. 2 and No. 5 team and No. 3 and No. 4 team.
2nd option ("Adrian triad")
Play-in round
Augsburg at St. Norbert
Plymouth at Wesleyan
Salve at Utica
Adrian at Oswego
Quarterfinals
SNC/Augsburg at Stevens Point
Wesleyan/Plymouth at UMass Boston
Utica/Salve at Norwich
Oswego/Adrian at Geneseo
Obviously the glaring one here is putting Oswego/Adrian in a play-in game. But Oswego plays in a play-in game in either scenario so that's less of a blow. They get a tougher play-in opponent and Adrian plays in the play-in game, which they don't in the other. What I like most about this scenario is that 4 of the top 5 seeds all get the byes they earned and you can do it within the travel requirements. However, it also leaves us with the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds having "easier" paths to the final four as they get potentially the No. 10 and No. 15 teams for a shot to the final four, while the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have to play the No. 6 and No. 3 seeds.
I think you can mark arguments both ways...but probably option 1 is slightly better at this point. However, lots of hockey left to change things. One of St. Norbert/Adrian, Geneseo/Oswego, UMass Boston/Norwich each have at least one more loss coming in the conference playoffs, and that's assuming one of them wins each playoff, which is far from a guarantee.
Still so much hockey left to be played, but I'll firmly put Stevens Point and Geneseo in as locks right now. Outside of that, anything can still happen....