Heading into the final week of the regular season, much remains unsettled. Only two teams have locked in their regular season seeding, Silver in the first seed and Purple in the tenth seed!
Regular season seeding is determined by:
1) Points
2) Wins
3) Head to head
4) Point differential
Tonight’s matchups
In the first matchup of the night at 7:30, Red versus Neon, Red enters holding the 4th seed and needing a series sweep win, or a tie and a Green not winning versus Orange in the next game, to finish in 4th, otherwise could finish with a 5th seed. Neon enters in the 7th seed where a win and an Orange tie or loss will allow them to move up to the 6th seed, but a loss could have them drop as far as 9th!
Following this at 8:30 Green skates against Orange. Green looks to sweep this series and pending the results of the first game a win or tie will be either a 4th or 5th place finish, and a loss will drop them to 6th. An Orange victory will not only even the series for the year, but could place them in 4th with a Red loss, or 5th otherwise, but a loss could have them moving as far back as 9th as Neon, Gold, and Teal could each pass Orange with a win on the last night!
Gold and Silver are up next at 9:30, where Silver owns the first matchup between the two this year. Silver has also locked up the #1 seed, and will look to return to their winning ways as they enter post season play. Gold is sitting in the 8th seed as they enter tonight, with the possibility of finishing as high as 6th, with Orange and Neon losses, or as far back as 9th, with a loss and a Teal victory.
The evening and the regular season will close with a 10:30 rematch between Black and Teal. Since they tied in their first matchup, the series is up for grabs. Black enters the night sitting in the 3rd seed needing a win or a tie to move them into the 2nd seed, or a loss has them locked in 3rd. Teal enters with the 9th seed, but can move up with a win. How far they can move up depends on whether Orange, Neon, and/or Gold lose. Each one of those teams losses gives Teal another rung to move up to, as high as 6th!
Yellow and Purple are idle on the last night of the regular season. Yellow sits in the 2nd seed, pending the outcome of Black’s game, but can only move as low as 3rd. Purple finishes in the 10th seed, and will look to hit the playoffs refreshed.
Playoffs – round of three
With the Silver 1st place finish, they will skate in the round of three against the 6th, 7th, and 10th (Purple) finishers. Green, Orange, Neon, Gold, and Teal are all possible in the 6th seed, and only Green among these is not in competition for the 7th seed.
Black and Yellow will need tonight to determine which is 2nd and which is 3rd. Both will play 8th and 9th seeds in the round of three, which we need tonight to determine whether those are Orange, Neon, Gold, or Teal, but the same teams are competing for both of these spots. The 2nd seed will also play the 5th place team, and the 3rd seed will also play the 4th place team. Red, Green, and Orange enter tonight competing for the 4th and 5th place seeds.
Red, Green, and Orange enter tonight competing for the 4th seed, which will matchup against 3rd, 7th, and 10th (Purple). The same teams are vying for 5th, which will matchup against 2nd, 6th, and 10th (Purple).
6th through 9th are wide open, one of those spots being filled by whoever drops out of the 4th/5th race above (Green or Orange), as well as Neon, Gold, and Teal. The 6th seed will matchup against 1st (Silver), 5th, and 9th. The 7th seed will matchup against 1st (Silver), 4th, and 8th. The 8th seed will matchup against 2nd, 3rd, and 7th. The 9th seed will matchup against 2nd, 3rd, and 6th.
Purple will skate in the round of three against the 1st (Silver), as well as the 4th and 5th seeds (two teams among Red, Green and Orange).
Look for updates next week about the Playoffs and matchups. While the lower seeds certainly have a tougher schedule to make it to the semi-finals, all teams will begin the Playoffs needing only three wins to ensure their semi-final berth. Good luck!