Women's Playoff Scene: Much To Decide

Seven of the eight playoff bids in the NCHA Women's Conference have been clinched, but there are still a dozen different scenarios that could play out based upon the final weekend of the regular season.

The battle for home ice is anything but settled heading into the weekend as head-to-head matchups will provide plenty of drama.  Current #4 St. Scholastica will play home-and-home with current #2 UW-Superior while current #3 Lake Forest travels to current #5 Adrian.  The Bus Ride Battles start Friday at 5:00 PM CT as the Yellowjackets take on the Saints.  Puck drops in Adrian at 7:00 PM ET.

The team that has clinched a playoff bid and is locked into their seed is UW-River Falls.  The Falcons won the conference regular season title outright last weekend and will host the number-8 seed in the quarterfinals.  The Falcons also control their destiny to host the NCHA semifinals and finals.

Below are some of the situations the other eight teams involved in the playoff mix are in.

* UW-Eau Claire clinches the final playoff bid with one point this weekend against Finlandia.  The Blugolds could jump as high as the #7 seed, should they sweep and St. Norbert gains zero points against Marian.

* Concordia-Wisconsin must sweep UW-Stevens Point and have UW-Eau Claire gain zero points against Finlandia in order to secure a playoff bid.

* Lake Forest clinches home ice with one point at Adrian.

* UW-Superior clinches home ice with one point against St. Scholastica, or if Lake Forest gains one point at Adrian.

* UW-Stevens Point is still in the hunt for a home playoff series.  The Pointers must sweep Concordia-Wisconsin and St. Scholastica and Adrian must both gain zero points (against UW-Superior and Lake Forest, respectively).

* St. Norbert could jump as high as the #5 seed with two wins and some help.  The Green Knights would need Adrian and UW-Stevens Point to gain zero points.

* St. Scholastica could jump as high as the #2 seed with a sweep over UW-Superior and Lake Forest gaining one or zero points at Adrian.  Lake Forest holds the tiebreaker on the Saints, should they finish in a tie.

* Adrian is right on the cusp of a coveted home playoff series, and the Lady Bulldogs control their own destiny to play in Michigan next weekend.  A sweep of Lake Forest this weekend would do the trick.  Adrian needs at least two points this weekend to have a chance at home ice, and the Lady Bulldogs will be at the mercy of the St. Scholastica / UW-Superior results in that situation.