The AOTHA 2023-2024 has wrapped up. Congratulations to Team Green on winning the Championship and to the recipient of the Jim Hokenson Award Pat “Hugger” Wollet.

When I sat down to write the first playoff article, where all seeds were described and matchups announced, I noticed that this season was much more balanced than recently completed seasons.  In particular, I saw that Green’s first place finish with 25 points would have placed them behind two teams last year.  Then, looking at the other end of the standings, I noticed Yellow’s tenth place finish with 11 points would have placed them above two teams last year. While I appreciated the balance, I hadn’t considered that the championship game would feature those first and tenth place teams!

Opening the evening this Sunday, 3/24, at 5:00 will be a Championship rematch between Green and Yellow!

When Yellow started the season 2-1, they did not expect that this would be their last winning streak in the regular season.  Grinding out the next 15 games to get 3 more wins and a tie, Yellow found themselves in 10th place with the toughest seeded path to advancing.  They then put together 3 straight wins over #4 seed Silver, #5 seed Gold, and #1 seed Green to become the first ten seed to advance.  In the semifinals they were rewarded with a match against the #2 team in the regular season, Neon, and won a marathon of a game 8-6 to advance to the championship.

Green stumbled out of the gate this season, losing their first two games, before winning their next five in route to a 12 win regular season.  Edging out Neon for first place, Green was rewarded with the lowest seed combination of opponents in #6 Orange (tied), #7 Purple (won), and #10 Yellow (lost).  Finishing this round with 3 points, tied with Silver, they advanced on the strength of their regular season finish.  Against Red, Green found the offense that had been thus far missing in the playoffs, winning 7-2 while scoring more than their previous three weeks combined, and advancing to the championship.

Green beat Yellow in their first meeting back in October 5-2, then again in December 3-2, before Yellow’s 5-2 playoff win on March 10th.  While Green is seeking the combination regular season and tournament championship, Yellow is looking to repeat as tourney champ and start the talk of a dynasty.

The finals, if tied at the end of 3 periods, there will be sudden death overtime periods until a winner emerges.  Good luck to both teams!

Following this game will be a consolation rematch between Neon and Red.  This, too, is a rematch from two weeks ago where Red evened the series at 1-1-1.  Red also had a tough seed matchup to get to the semi finals, beating #3 seed Teal, #6 seed Orange, and #2 seed Neon to advance, before a tough loss to Green has them in the consolation game.  Neon comfortably advanced after wins against #5 seed Gold, and #8 seed Black locked them in before the loss to #9 seed Red.  Being on the wrong end of the marathon game with Yellow has Neon also in the consolation game.  Congratulations to both teams on a great run, and good luck to both in this final game!

AOTHA has three openings for Captains beginning next season.

Team Black needs a new captain for 24-25 while Green captain Ben Harris and Yellow captain Dusty Thomas are up for re-election.

Click the link below and please make 3 selections, 1 for each of your top 3 choices.

https://forms.gle/3CEy8v3Ano11gEpr6

After the round of three Playoff games, the semi final matchups have been set.  Yellow became the first ten seed to advance in the six year history since we have gone to this ten team format, so now each seed has advanced at least once! The standings after this round are:

Place	Team	Points	Seed
1	Red	6	9
2	Yellow	6	10
3	Neon	4	2
4	Green	3	1
5	Silver	3	4
6	Teal	2	3
7	Gold	2	5
8	Purple	2	7
9	Orange	1	6
10	Black	1	8

The semi-final matchups will begin at 6PM, with a Red versus Green rematch.  Green swept Red in the regular season, outscoring them 11-8 in their two meetings.  Roles will be reversed on this night though, as Red entered the playoffs as the number 9 seed and Green the number 1, before Red went on a three game playoff winning streak outscoring their opponents 10-5 and Green went 1-1-1 scoring and allowing 6 in their three contests.  This game will feature two teams who last met over two months ago, before both teams settled into their most successful molds of a high scoring Red team and a lock down defensive Green team!

Following this will be the other semi-final matchup, at 7PM, a Yellow versus Neon rematch.  Neon swept Yellow in the regular season, outscoring them 9-5 in their two meetings.  With only 5 wins in the regular season, and knowing they likely needed 5 more to win the championship, Yellow has been undaunted in sweeping their first 3 opponents, outscoring them 14-4, to become the first 10 seed to advance to this round.  Neon secured advancing to this round before anyone else, and lost only after they were locked in, falling to 2-1 in the round, outscoring their opponents 12-8 in doing so.  Neon features the most consistent offense in the league, scoring a league leading 80 goals so far, while Yellow has flipped this script in the playoffs scoring 14 goals in this round, playoff leading, at the moment where teams have become much stingier allowing goals, down to 2.93 per game in the playoffs.

Sandwiching the semi-final games will be the final games of the season for those that didn’t advance.  The night will open at 5PM with a Teal versus Purple rematch.  Purple edged out Teal in the regular season 1-0-1, outscoring them 6-5.  Following the semi-final matchups at 8PM will be a Silver versus Gold rematch.  Silver outscored Gold 8-7 while they split their first two meetings.  The evening will close at 9PM with a Black and Orange rematch.  Orange outscored Black 5-4 in their meetings while they split wins.

The semi final winners on 3/17 will face each other in the championship game on 3/24, following the consolation game.  The consolation game will be at 5:00 PM on 3/24.

Formats for the semi final and final game vary from the regular season and round of three, as ties are not allowed.  In the semi final games, if tied at the end of 3 periods, there will be one sudden death overtime period, followed by a 3 player shootout round, followed by individual shootout rounds with different shooters, until a winner emerges.  The finals, if tied at the end of 3 periods, there will be sudden death overtime periods until a winner emerges.

Reminder, after this weekend’s games, ALL teams should expect to have a game scheduled on 3/17.  For those that don’t advance to the semi-final matchups, this will be your final game of the season.  For the four teams that advance to the semi-finals, they will skate on 3/24 in the finals or consolation game as well.  Heading into next weekend, Neon has locked up one spot, then Red, Yellow, Green, and Purple are all vying for the other three spots.  Here are the updated playoff standings after last week.

Place	Team	Points	Seed
1	Neon	4	2
2	Red	4	9
3	Yellow	4	10
4	Green	3	1
5	Purple	2	7
6	Teal	1	3
7	Silver	1	4
8	Orange	1	6
9	Gold	0	5
10	Black	0	8

The third week of the playoffs opens at 5PM with a re-match of Teal and Black.  Teal edged out Black in the regular season series, 1-0-1, outscoring Black 7 – 5.  Teal and Black will not advance to the semi final round, both looking for their first win of the playoffs.

Following will be a rematch of Green and Yellow at 6PM.  Green swept Yellow in the regular season series, outscoring Yellow 8 – 4.  The winner is in, a tie and they are both in, but whoever loses will have to wait for the next game to see if they can back in.

Next up at 7PM will be a Silver and Purple rematch.  Purple outscored Silver 9-8 while they split the regular season series.  While Silver looks for their first win in this playoffs, Purple is fighting to claim one of the semi-final places. With a win, Purple can pass Red if they lose, and whoever loses the Green versus Yellow game.  Only a Green versus Yellow tie, and a Red win or tie, eliminates Purple without regard for their finish.

At 8PM will be a Neon and Red rematch.  Neon outscored Red 8-4 in route to edging them 1-0-1 in the regular season.  Neon has locked up advancing, where a win guarantees a matchup with the last team to advance, and a winning streak of 4 games.  Improbably, both a Green versus Yellow tie and a Purple win over Silver in the games before this would then require Red to get a point out of their matchup with Neon to advance.

The evening will close with a 9PM rematch between Gold and Orange.  Orange outscored Gold 11-8 while splitting their regular season matchups.  Both teams will attempt to close the round with their first win of the playoffs.

To recap, if anyone wins the Green versus Yellow matchup, the scenarios are simple.  Neon and Red are in, the winner of that Green Yellow game is in, and the other is in with a Purple loss, or Purple is in with their win.  If Green and Yellow tie, the scenarios are all mixed up, where both of them join Neon in the next round, and Purple needs to win and Red to lose for Purple to claim the last spot, otherwise it is Red’s.

Remember that the semi-final round will be filled by the top four teams from this round of three games.  These will be determined by points in the round, and ties broken by regular season seed.  After the first night of playoffs, where the higher seeds went 2-2-1, the standings for the semi-finals round are:

Place	Team	Points	Seed
1	Neon	2	2
2	Purple	2	7
3	Red	2	9
4	Yellow	2	10
5	Green	1	1
6	Orange	1	6
7	Teal	0	3
8	Silver	0	4
9	Gold	0	5
10	Black	0	8

The second week of the playoffs opens at 5PM with a re-match of Gold and Yellow.  Gold outscored Yellow 10-5 en route to two wins in their regular season meetings, needing to complete the sweep for a chance to advance after their opening loss.  Yellow will look to build on their opening win for their first win streak since opening the regular season with back to back wins.

Following will be a rematch of Orange and Red at 6PM.  Orange outscored Red 11-6, splitting their two meetings.  The winner will control their own destiny the next week, sitting in the top 4, while a loss will have them looking for help for a chance to advance.

Next up at 7PM will be a Green and Purple rematch.  Purple outscored Green 6-4 with a win and a tie in the regular season meetings.  Green will need to find its first win in this series if they want to stay alive for a chance to advance.  It is hard to consider Purple underdogs, as a win against a team they have yet to lose to will leave them comfortably in the top four with one game left to determine advancing.

Following this at 8PM will be a Neon and Black rematch.  Neon and Black split 4-2 victories over each other in the regular season.  Another Neon victory here will secure their advance, while Black will need to string together some wins and some help.

The evening will close with a 9PM rematch between Teal and Silver.  Teal and Silver split two goal victory games in the regular season.  Finishing back to back third and forth in the regular season they each had a favorable path to advance, but after both suffered opening upsets, only one will remain in contention after their victory.

Reminder, while the website shows games scheduled through 3/10/2024, all teams will have a game scheduled on 3/17/2024.

The regular season has wrapped up and the matchups are now established.  As a reminder, seeding is determined by points, then wins, head to head, and then point differential.  The schedule for the next three weeks is available on AOTHA.com

Green closed the season with a tie against Purple and sealed the first seed, leading the league with 25 points.  With the first seed, Green will match up against Orange, Purple, and Yellow.  Green has a 3-2-1 record against these teams in the regular season, opening against Orange where the regular season matchups were split.

Neon finished with a win over Yellow, finishing with 24 points.  With the second seed, Neon will match up against Gold, Black, and Red.  Neon has a 3-2-1 record against these teams in the regular season, opening against Gold where they split the season series.

Teal held on to the third seed with a Red/Gold tie, finishing with 20 points.  With the third seed, Teal will match up against Red, Silver, and Black.  Teal has a 3-1-2 record against these teams in the regular season, opening against Red where Teal has a 1-0-1 edge.

Silver was idle the final weekend, sitting with 19 points and edging out Gold with the wins tiebreaker to hold the fourth seed.  With the fourth seed, Silver will face Yellow, Teal, and Purple.  Silver has a 3-3 record against these teams in the regular season, opening against Yellow where they split the season series.

Gold closed with a tie facing Red, earning 19 points and the fifth seed.  With the fifth seed, Gold will face Neon, Yellow, and Orange.  Gold has a 4-2 record in the regular season against these teams, opening against Neon where they split the season series.

Orange jumped into the sixth seed with a season ending win over Teal, finishing with 16 points.  With the sixth seed, Orange will face Green, Red, and Gold.  Orange has a 3-3 record against these teams, opening against Green where they split the season series.

Purple fell back one spot with a season ending tie against Green, earning 16 points and behind Orange due to the Orange sweep of Purple in the regular season.  Purple will face Black, Green, and Silver with the seventh seed.  Purple has a 2-3-1 record against these teams, opening against Black, who swept them in the regular season.

Black was idle on the final weekend, and watched two teams pass them by while they fell to the eighth seed with 15 points.  With the eighth seed, Black will face Purple, Neon, and Teal.  Black has a 3-2-1 record against these teams, and opens against Purple, who they swept in the regular season.

Red tied Gold to close the regular season, but lost the tiebreaker with Black earning the ninth seed with 15 points.  With the ninth seed, Red will face Teal, Orange, and Neon, who they have a 1-3-2 record against, opening against Teal who they are 0-1-1 against.

Yellow fell on the final night against Neon, earning 11 points and the tenth seed.  With the tenth seed, Yellow will face Silver, Gold, and Green, who they have a 1-5 record against, opening with Silver who they split the regular season with.

All teams are guaranteed these three games, after which the top 4 point earners in these three games will advance (2 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss), with the higher seed winning the tiebreakers to advance to the semi-finals. Good luck to all!

Just mention that you’re an AOTHA player at the ticket table and you and up to three guests will receive free admission.

The Adrian College men’s and women’s hockey teams are playing at the Huntington Center in Toledo this Saturday (women will take on Trine University at 2pm, followed by the men as they take on Aurora University at 5pm). Discounted tickets for the games are available to AOTHA players and their families when you follow the link below and use the coupon code.

Get your $8 tickets for the day with the coupon code: BULLDOGS 

https://www.toledowalleye.com/adrian-college-hockey

More about the Bulldogs:

The Adrian College Men’s Hockey Team has appeared in the past two NCAA Championship Games (winning in 2022 and losing in overtime in 2023).  The men are currently ranked #4 in the nation.  The Adrian College Women’s Hockey Team is currently ranked #6 in the country and has qualified for 6 of the past 7 NCAA Hockey Tournaments.

Just mention that you’re an AOTHA player at the ticket table and you and up to three guests will receive free admission.