More details on Hockey East's tie-breakers and multiple scenarios detailed

Photo: Merrimack Athletics

Earlier this morning, I clarified with the Hockey East office on tie-breakers and I believe I have most of the scenarios for the Warriors this weekend detailed below.

For purposes of head-to-head tie-breakers, a win is a win and the league doesn't necessarily acknowledge regulation wins over OT wins. For two-way tie-breakers, the league is sticking with the NCAA interpretation of W-L-T - so a shootout doesn't impact that either (it’s a tie).

However, when the situation gets tangled with three or more teams tied, the league will break those ties based on PTS%, which is different than I thought earlier this week when I detailed tie-breakers. The Hockey East website wasn’t clear, and I heard back from the league on this topic this morning.

Because there is a high likelihood the three or more teams involved have played a different number of games against each other, Hockey East associate commissioner Brian Smith told me this morning that the league wants to “make sure that imbalance is accounted for,” which makes total sense.

If at all possible, Merrimack wants UMass Lowell involved in multi-way ties because the Warriors earned 6 out of 6 points against the River Hawks. The Warriors want UConn out of these multi-way ties, because the Warriors went 0 for 6 in points against the Huskies.

So let’s play with some scenarios here …