Plan your April – Spiders aiming for playoffs
March 3, 2011
Spider fans: The AHA has announced the official — preliminary — playoffs schedule. Plan your April now as the Spiders are aiming to make their third consecutive post-season appearance.
As usual, the entrance gate is as follows:
- The top four teams from each division advance to playoffs. Pools:
- Pool A: East #1, North #2, West #3, East #4
- Pool B: North #1, West #2, East #3, North #4
- Pool C: West #1, East #2, North #3, West #4
- Three pools for the round robin round, consisting of three games each.
- The top four teams of the round robin (three pool winners plus next-best pool play record) advance to single-elimination pool final Saturday night.
- Tier Championship Sunday between the two semi-final winners.
In the event of a tie in the regular season standings, the following criteria are used to determine post-season seeding:
- Total points in the regular season.
- Number of wins in the regular season.
- Head-to-head record between teams in the regular season.
- Fewest total penalty minutes in the regular season.
- Fewest goals allowed in the regular season.
- Most goals scored in the regular season.
- Coin toss.
The post-season schedule matchups for the three D1 pools:
| Date | Day | Time | Arena | Pool | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/4/2011 | Mon. | 8:30 p.m. | Braemar S | B | 1 | 4 |
| 4/4/2011 | Mon. | 9:10 p.m. | Highland N | C | 2 | 3 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 6:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 2 | 3 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 7:15 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 1 | 4 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 8:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 1 | 4 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 9:00 p.m. | BIG 3 | B | 2 | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:00 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 2 | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 1 | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:15 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | 2 | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 7:45 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 1 | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 7:45 p.m. | Richfield 2 | A | 2 | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 8:00 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | 1 | 3 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 9:00 a.m. | Braemar E | B | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 10:15 a.m. | Braemar W | B | 1 | 2 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 12:00 p.m. | Braemar W | A | 1 | 2 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 12:00 p.m. | SLP W | C | 1 | 2 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 1:45 p.m. | Braemar W | A | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 1:45 p.m. | SLP W | C | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 7:30 p.m. | BIG 3 | – | Semi-Final #2 – 2 vs 3 | |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 8:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | – | Semi-Final #1 – 1 vs 4 | |
| 4/10/2011 | Sun. | 2:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | – | D1 Tier Championship | |
Playoff Rules/Tiebreakers
- There will be no overtime in round-robin pool play. Games will end in ties and will count in the standings.
- If at any time the score differential is six or greater in the third period, the clock will convert to running time. If at any time the score differential goes below six goals, the clock will revert back to stop time.
- In Pool Championship and Tier Championship games, if at the end of the three periods the score is tied, the teams shall play one overtime period of five minutes, running time. If at the end of the overtime period the score is still tied, a shootout will take place. Shootout rules are as follows:
- Three players from each team participate in the order the team captain selects. The home team will elect whether to shoot first or second.
- Each team takes three shots in alternating fashion. The team with the most goals after those six (or fewer) shots is the winner.
- If the score remains tied, the shootout will proceed to a “sudden-death” format. No skater may partipate more than once until all other skaters have participated.
- Tiebreakers for pool standings:
- Most points
- Wins
- Head-to-head
- Goal differential (six goals maximum differential per game)
- Fewest goals against
- Fewest minor penalties
- Fewest total penalty minutes
- Earliest goal scored
- Coin toss
For all the details, see ahahockey.com Playoffs.
