Bemidji State lone hockey team in state on bubble

MANKATO - The scenario, for Minnesota college hockey enthusiasts, was playing out as hoped. Bemidji State reached the semifinals of the WCHA men's tournament in Mankato, and a victory over Lake Superior State on Friday presumably would put the Beavers on the cusp of a berth in the NCAA tournament.

If Bemidji State got in the 16-team field, all five Division I men's teams from Minnesota presumably would be in the tournament in the same year for the first time.

"Just wait a darn minute there, eh," came voices from the WCHA's "Yooper" contingent. Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State — teams from Michigan's Upper Peninsula — both won their semifinals in decisive fashion, a double blow to Bemidji State's hopes. The Lakers beat the Beavers 4-1 to advance to Saturday night's final, where they met Northern Michigan, a team toting an 11-16-1 record after its stunning 5-1 victory over top-seeded Minnesota State Mankato.

On Saturday, Lake Superior State beat Northern Michigan 6-3 for the WCHA's automatic NCAA bid, a result that was a positive for the Beavers.

"There are certain teams we are rooting for," acknowledged Beavers coach Tom Serratore, who must hope the NCAA picks three WCHA teams. WCHA Commissioner Bill Robertson adamantly said, "Our league deserves three NCAA bids."

The Beavers certainly were rooting for Quinnipiac to beat St. Lawrence (6-8-3) in the ECAC final, but that didn't happen.

The Bobcats (17-7-4) fell 3-2 in overtime, and that could give that conference two NCAA teams instead of one, possibly bumping Bemidji State (15-9-3).

In conference finals later Saturday, Massachusetts edged UMass-Lowell 1-0 in Hockey East, and American International beat Canisius 5-2 in Atlantic Hockey.

The word "presumably" is sprinkled throughout this story because in this COVID-19-impacted season, only the six conference tournament champions are set in stone as teams making the NCAA field.

The 10 at-large spots and the seedings in normal years are decided by the NCAA men's hockey committee using the PairWise Ratings, a mathematical formula that compares teams from different conferences.

Because there has been so little cross-conference play this year, the PairWise isn't as useful.

Enter subjectivity, with the NCAA committee using regional advisory committees, made up largely of coaches, to help with their decisions. Bemidji State and other bubble teams will learn their fate when the field is revealed at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

With that in mind, here's a breakdown of how the four other Minnesota teams presumably stack up:

By winning the Big Ten tournament and beating Wisconsin in the process, the Gophers (23-6) got the automatic bid and strengthened their argument to be one of the four No. 1 regional seeds. As a No. 1 seed, the Gophers would not be placed in the Midwest Regional in Fargo, where North Dakota, the likely No. 1 overall seed, must be placed as host.

With Boston College's loss to UMass-Lowell in the Hockey East semifinals, Minnesota might have passed the Eagles for the No. 2 overall seed. Presumably, the West Regional in Loveland, Colo., or the Northeast in Albany, N.Y., would be the Gophers' destination. The East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., is Boston College's likely location.

The loss to Northern Michigan on Friday — in which All-America goalie Dryden McKay was pulled after giving up four goals — might cost the Mavericks (20-4-1) one of the four No. 1 seeds and drop them to a No. 2 spot as they seek their first victory in the NCAA Division I tournament.

"Our opportunity is to learn from it, flush it and move on because we don't have time to sit and sulk or worry about what didn't get done," coach Mike Hastings said. "We've got to get some business done before the tournament."

As NCHC runners-up in both the regular season and NCHC tournament, the Huskies (17-10) are safely in the NCAA field, likely as a No. 2 regional seed. Fargo or Loveland could be where they end up, but that also might depend on the East/West split of the NCAA field and the number of West teams that would need to be sent east.

The Bulldogs (14-10-2) would appear to fall in the No. 3 seed band after finishing third in the NCHC standings and falling to St. Cloud State in the NCHC semifinals. As for UMD's regional destination, Fargo could be in play.