April 30, 2010
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CCHA Tweaks Playoff Format
CHN Staff Report
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — The CCHA will have five bye teams in the first round of its playoffs next season, and all 11 teams will make the postseason.
The league was forced to make the changes after Nebraska-Omaha announced it would switch to the WCHA next season, reducing the amount of teams in the league from 12 to 11. The CCHA denied a bid by Alabama-Huntsville to join the league, which would've kept membership at 12.
In recent years, the CCHA has used a system where the top four teams get byes, and the remaining eight teams play best-of-3 first round series. The four winners of those series play the four bye teams in best-of-3 quarterfinals.
Now, five teams will get the byes, and the other six teams will play three best-of-3 series. Those three winners will then play the top three seeds. That gives the 4-5 series an effective week off, even though the opponents are known.
