Playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on Friday, February 28 and go three rounds, finishing up on Sunday March 15th in Foxboro, Mass.
An ice storm in early December wiped out the Huskies Tournament and 18 games. Most of those games were rescheduled for the February 28th weekend and the Playoffs were shortened to two rounds. "The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley."
The first round will take place March 6,7,8. The top eight teams in the National conference will convene in Haverhill, Mass at the Valley forum, while their American Conference counterparts will meet in Warminster, Pa at The Rinks at Warwick. The format at both venues is double elimination with 2 winners from each conference advancing to the Final Four in Foxboro the following weekend and ultimately to the Tier III B Nationals in Marlboro.
Under the double elimination format, so long as a team keeps winning, it proceeds in a winners' bracket. Three wins and you advance. One loss puts you in the losers' bracket. Two losses and you are eliminated. In words...
On Friday night there are four games where seed 1 hosts seed 8, seed 2 hosts seed 7, seed 3 hosts seed 6 and seed 4 hosts seed 5. Each game is played to a winner.
After Friday night's games, the winners are seeded 1,2,3,4 and the losers are seeded 1,2,3,4.
On Saturday morning. Loser 1 hosts L4 and L2 hosts L3. The two losing teams will have 2 losses and will be finished. The two winners proceed to Saturday night
On Saturday morning, Winner 1 hosts W4 and W2 hosts W3. The two winners proceed to Sunday morning. The two losers proceed to Saturday night.
After the Saturday morning games, there are 4 teams who have one loss. These teams are seeded 1,2,3,4.
On Saturday evening, 1 hosts 4 and 2 hosts 3. The two losing teams will have 2 losses and will be finished. The two winners proceed to Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning, the two winning teams from Saturday morning play. The winner goes to the Final Four and the loser plays on Sunday afternoon.
The two survivors from Saturday evening play each other on Sunday morning. The loser has two loses and is finished.
On Sunday afternoon, the two remaining teams that have only 1 loss play each other and the winner goes to the Final Four at Foxboro.
