Its the last week of the regular season for our teams. After a grueling 5 months so far, we still have another month and a half, but with seasons on the line now. This week marks the last week of a guaranteed tomorrow for our teams, so lets look at the chances our teams have to see that next day.
BOWLING GREEN FALCONS (9-20-5, 4-18-4-3)
Possible High Seed: 11th
Possible Low Seed: 11th
The Falcons finally cooled off, and were blasted by the red-hot Ferris State Bulldogs last weekend. We knew coming into the weekend that they really couldn't move much, and now have solidified the 11th place seed for the 3rd straight year, with the past 2 resulting in last place finishes. The Falcons have now finished last 3 of the past 4 years, so improvement seems to be slow coming. However, the Falcons will be hoping to play the role of spoiler again this year, against a dizzying variety of possible opponents.
MIAMI REDHAWKS (19-13-2, 13-11-2-1)
Possible High Seed: 2nd
Possible Low Seed: 7th
With Miami's sweep of Notre Dame, they are guaranteed no less than 7th, since they would own the 2nd tie-breaker against the Irish, and the 1st against Northern Michigan. For Miami to get the 2nd seed, they would need a Bowling Green sweep over Michigan, so realistically, Miami could go anywhere from 3rd to 7th. They play current 7th place team Ohio State this weekend in a home-and-home, so the Redhawks could easily secure the first round bye if LSSU struggles at Northern Michigan this weekend.
Miami has been on fire lately, and has played their way back into the NCAA picture. If they can make it to Detroit, expect another Miami run come March as the RedHawks look to defend their CCHA title.
WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS (16-13-5, 13-10-3-3)
Possible High Seed: 2nd
Possible Low Seed: 6th
For Western to secure their 2nd straight first-round bye and host series, they simply just need to win a game (probably Friday) and have a Miami "tie" against Ohio State. WMU would then have at least 4 points on the Redhawks and 4 points on LSSU. Ideally, Western would want to hold onto the 3-seed though, but that would require the Broncos matching Michigan State this weekend point-wise, along with holding off the Redhawks and Lakers.
Western has not won a Saturday game since sweeping Notre Dame in a home-and-home on January 14th. Their last Saturday win before that? December 10th versus Bowling Green. This worries me because if Western can't beat the red-hot FSU team on Senior Night on Friday, then they are in a hole for the Saturday game against that same Bulldog squad, in a place where Ferris dominates: 14-1-2. The lone loss? Friday, December 9th against.......WMU.
These two teams were the 4-5 match-up last year, and there is no love lost between the two. This will be the most physical series of the year, as Western looks to try to play back into the NCAA picture, and keep a high seed.