Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

It's being speculated that today the league will announce they are doing away with the Final Five and that all playoff games will be hosted by the higher seeded team at campus sites.

I wonder how that will affect the regular season since it will add a week to the playoffs and our playoffs already back up against the start of the NCAA tournament. Will we be able to start earlier or is it going to cost everybody a week and either cut down on non-conference play or bye weeks.

I just hope the conference schedule is announced. I need to get in the TSA line now for a flight to Alaska.

bgbill wrote:I just hope the conference schedule is announced. I need to get in the TSA line now for a flight to Alaska.

It might be faster to just drive.

Beginning this season, the WCHA is moving away from the Final Five to a more traditional playoff format. It will be in effect for three seasons and then be evaluated again for either long-term placement or a new format will be introduced.

All playoff games will take place at campus sites, the first two rounds will be a best-of-3 format while the title game will be a single elimination game.

This will likely impact schedules and reduce a bye week off the schedule.

bgbill wrote:I just hope the conference schedule is announced. I need to get in the TSA line now for a flight to Alaska.

Schedule will be out Thursday.

Here's the announcement:

http://wcha.com/men/pres1516/201605/may17wcm.php" target="_blank

Lord_Byron wrote:Here's the announcement:

http://wcha.com/men/pres1516/201605/may17wcm.php" target="_blank

I like it. More games and a reward for doing well in the regular season. Obviously less overhead for the league, also.

I suspect we'll see more mid-week games for the non-conference slate. Teams will need to fit in the same number of games in one less week of allotted space, so it's going to be interesting.

I don't have a problem with campus sites IF tickets are distributed evenly among the fan base of all teams involved in that particular game.

Probably fixes the league's overhead. Does not really fix the " attendance" portion. It does allow for the home teams in the semi's to get some butts in the seats. Better hope BG finishes 1 or 2 , and the Alaska's near the bottom. Could be an ugly travel month depending on how teams finish.

Alaska or Anchorage should never be allowed to host unless they host each other.... Good decision by the WCHA....the league would have bankrupted if they tried to go back to a neutral site.

Archer wrote:I don't have a problem with campus sites IF tickets are distributed evenly among the fan base of all teams involved in that particular game.

THIS is my concern too. A small venue like Ferris State doesn't hold a lot of seats. It only holds 2,490. How many of those seats are their regular season ticket holders and their own students section? Probably a lot, which doesn't leave many seats for the visiting team in a final WCHA Championship game. This also doesn't account for fans of other teams that like to go to championship games.

Of course if we just win the league and playoffs, we won't have to worry about getting a seat!
#ChampionshipBound
#DropThePuck

At least one, if not both, Alaska schools will not be playing Division 1 hockey in the coming two years. Their chancellor is pushing through a recommendation to consolidate their three universities under one system. Alaska's budget is an absolute mess.

I have to imagine that both teams will receive an equal allocation of tickets to keep things fair, with leftover tickets being sent to the hosting school after a few days. It's important to note that the WCHA collects revenue for playoff ticket sales, not the individual schools. For all intents and purposes the university was eating the cost of your season ticket for the playoff series or including it in your plan. Also, keep in mind most schools are on Spring Break during the playoffs so student turnout will continue to be minimal.

The only thing I might have changed was changing the Finals to a two-game aggregate, but that might have just been too many games.

Overall this plan is a home run.

I've always wanted to have a 2 game championship series but then I thought in the 2nd game you could have unfair refs, tired players, an unlucky bounce. At least you know it's one and done. I'm all for the change. Makes the regular reason more important. Possibly less resting down the stretch to try and get the #1 seed. In the past #1 - #4 were going to Grand Rapids regardless, now securing #1 would get you home ice the entire tournament (as long as you win)