C3 post-season field and schedule set

March 24, 2014

As usual, the final playoff spots in both C3 East and West came down to the final week of the season.

While the Spiders’ final regular season game was only for bragging rights, Sunday night’s C3 matchups determined which teams would extend their season into this week’s playoff week, and which teams would be wishing the snow would melt on the golf course.

In C3 East, the fourth and final spot was down to the Fighting Saints, last year’s C3 runner up, and the Ak Bars, who haven’t made the post-season since 2010–11. While the Fighting Saints did their part, beating the Fighting Ice Fish 5–4 at SLP, those Saints got to stick around at SLP to watch the Ak Bars hold on to beat the IceDogs in a 3–2 PIM-fest to eliminate the Saints.

And the top two C3 East spots were still unknown, until the Fighting Piranhas and Loons ended up in a tie, meaning the standings stayed just as they were for the last two weeks: Fighting Piranhas in first, Loons in second. Congrats to the Piranhas who win their division two years in a row.

In C3 West, the final spot was down to the Leafs, Mastodons and Sled Dogs. The Mastodons lost to the Diablos 5–3 at New Hope on the north rink while the Spiders were losing to the Shame. Followed by the Leafs losing Saturday to the Maroons 2–1, meaning the Sled Dogs needed a win to eclipse the Leafs. Instead, the Sled Dogs upset the second-place Wingmen 5–1, to make the post-season. Spider fans will recall the Sled Dogs were eliminated in the final game of the season last year as well, “upset” via a tie with the IceDogs to usher in the Spiders based on the most-wins tiebreaker.

The final C3 pool seedings:

C3 Pool A (with regular season record):

1. Fighting Piranhas (12–4–4–0; 28 pts.)
2. Wingmen (13–4–3–0; 29 pts.)
3. Maroons (11–7–2–0; 24 pts.)
4. Ak Bars (11–8–1–0; 23 pts.)

C3 Pool B:

1. Nighthawks (14–2–3–1; 32 pts.)
2. Fighting Loons (13–6–1–0; 27 pts.)
3. Spiders (12–7–1–0; 25 pts.)
4. Sled Dogs (10–8–2–0; 22 pts.)

Unlike past seasons, the playoff puck drops faster than with a referee with a hot Saturday night date, with no 25-day hiatus to build up the rust on their CCMs or let the BIG ice turn soft in the April temps.

The post-season schedule matchups for the C3 tier:

A look at the Spiders’ three upcoming round-robin opponents:

• Nighthawks:

  First up, the Nighthawks return to the winter post-season after a year hiatus by finishing sixth in C3 West in 2012–13. In 2011–12, they had finished third in the regular season, and went 1–2 in the round robin, including a Saturday pre-dawn 3–2 loss to the Spiders. This season, they appear unbeatable, with two four-game win streaks, and two shutouts for also-C3-East-Fighting-Saints goalie Jenn Stone.

  The Spiders and Nighthawks history in the regular season goes back to the 2005–06 season when the Spiders got their first-ever Winter Season win on Nov. 17, 2005. Since then the Spiders have gone 4–2 with the Nighthawks in the regular season. The Nighthawks have shown they can play in the tournament format, with big wins coming in the Fall Tourney, etc.

• Fighting Loons:

  Last season’s D1 champs, the Fighting Loons jumped in front of the Spiders in the standings thanks to a strong finish, going 5–1–1 in their last six, and 10–3–1 since the holidays.

  The season series with the Spiders was a split, with the Spiders coming from behind in the first game 4–3, and then handing the Spiders their helmets in a 7–0 drubbing in March.

  Spiders lifetime record vs. the Fighting Loons: 1–1.

• Sled Dogs:

  The Sled Dogs return to the post-season after ceding their spot last year to the Spiders thanks to a last-game tie with the IceDogs and the AHA tiebreakers. This season, they went 10–8–2, beating the Wingmen in the final regular season game to knock off the Leafs. In their last five, they’ve gone 2–3.

  The Spiders and Sled Dogs have a long history together, going back to the 2005 AHA Beginner season. In 2012–13, the Spiders went 2–1 against the Sled Dogs. In 2011–12 the first year at C3, the lone game went to the Spiders 2–1. Before that, in the 2009–10 D1 season, the Spiders won both matches. The teams split in the 2006–07 season at D2. And originally, the Beginner Spiders were at the mercy of the runtime rule, as the Sled Dogs won 7–4, 12–4 and, in the beginner playoffs, 10–3 in the 2005 AHA beginner season. So lifetime, it’s a 5–5 record.

  The two teams have not met in the winter season playoffs.

The Spiders will have their work cut out for them as they make their sixth consecutive return to the AHA post-season.

Playoff rules/tiebreakers

• There will be no overtime in round-robin pool play. 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 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 participate more than once until all other skaters have participated.
• Tiebreakers for pool standings:
  1. Most points
  2. Wins
  3. Head-to-head
  4. Goal differential (six goals maximum per game)
  5. Fewest goals against
  6. Fewest minor penalties
  7. Fewest total penalty minutes
  8. Earliest goal scored
  9. Coin toss

  (Note: If three teams are tied, once a team is determined as the higher seed, the tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the criteria between two remaining teams, if necessary.)

For more information, see the full AHA Winter Playoff info page and the full AHA Winter Playoff schedule.