The ECAC Playoff Picture

When one thinks of confusing things, visions of driving through the downtown streets of Boston come to mind.

Or watching a foreign film with no subtitles.

But the ECAC playoff situation? Confusing? What's so difficult about a post-season format that gives eight out of 12 league teams at least one extra weekend of hockey? It's not that hard to figure out, is it?

The easiest part of determining who makes the playoffs is finding out who won't make them. Brown (1-19 ECAC), Princeton (3-16-1) and Army (4-15-1), come on down, you're the next contestants on "Wait 'Til Next Year."

The hardest part is trying to figure out the playoff positions of the eight lucky contestants.

Okay, that's it for now. You really don't want me to do this, do you? Let's make a deal: I'll explain the essence of the "One Thousand Points of Light," and we'll wait until Saturday night when all the playoff spots will be definite.

But who's Harvard (18-2) going to host next weekend in the opening round, you ask? The crimson has already gained home-ice advantage--along with St. Lawrence (17-3) and Colgate (14-5-1)--but has yet to clinch the regular-season title and still does not know who will visit Bright Center next Friday.

First, the easy part. Harvard will capture its fourth consecutive regular-season crown if it defeats the Saints tomorrow at Bright. If St. Lawrence beats the Crimson, Harvard can still clinch the title Saturday. A win over Clarkson (12-6-2) and a Dartmouth victory over the Saints would give Harvard the title.

But what if both Harvard and St. Lawrence tie for first place, you ask?

Good question. The ECAC threestep tiebreaking policy is as follows:

1. Results of head-to-head competition during the regular season.

2. Results of competition against the top four teams in the league.

3. Results of competition against the top eight teams in the league.

Hope the Crimson defeats the Saints tomorrow. Makes things a whole lot easier.

Now, the hard part. Harvard will host either RPI (8-10-2), Yale (9-11), Vermont (11-9) or Dartmouth (7-12-1). Both the Engineers and the Elis are assured the last two postseason spots if they win at least one of their two games this weekend.

Yale travels to Army and Princeton. Playoffs look good for the Elis.

RPI goes on the road to third-place Colgate and fifth-place Cornell (12-8). Uh-oh.

Sixth-place Vermont can fall to eighth place if it loses both its games this weekend. One condition: RPI and Yale, four points behind the Catamounts, must sweep their respective weekends.

Where does the Green fit into this? Dartmouth must sweep its final home weekend against St. Lawrence and Clarkson and needs either RPI or Yale to lose both its games. And if the moon is full Saturday night, Dartmouth makes the playoffs.

Please let me explain those 1000 points, instead. Please don't let me talk about the playoff situation for Colgate, Clarkson and Cornell.

Here's what is already semiguaranteed:

The Red Raiders, riding a ninegame ECAC winning streak, can finish no lower than fourth place.

The worst the fourth-place Golden Knights can finish is fifth place. That means no home ice. But a sweep over Harvard and Dartmouth, combined with a losing weekend for Colgate at home, propels Clarkson to third place in the league.

Brief aside: Colgate is unbeaten at home this season. Good luck, Clarkson.

Fifth-place Cornell can either drop to sixth place or can grab the last home-ice slot. The Big Red is only two points behind Clarkson in the standings. A big home weekend at Lynah Rink can result in an extra homestand for the Red.

That's it. If ties occur, you can spend your Saturday night figuring out all the tiebreaking procedures.

I, however, will drive to downtown Boston.

Or maybe catch some flick in France.