The top-ranked Spartans took the first step of what they hope will be a monthlong climb to a national championship this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.
With the two-game sweep of Alaska-Fairbanks in the first round of the CCHA playoffs under its belt, MSU is likely five wins away from its first national title in 15 years.
“We came out and needed to get on the board (in the playoffs) and we did,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said. “We’ll take it and we’ll advance.”
Advancement will be the word of the month for the Spartans (30-4-4), as they try to wade through the postseason phases that ultimately lead to the single-elimination NCAA Tournament.
Unlike the widely recognized now 65-team bracket in college basketball’s Big Dance, only 12 teams compete in college hockey’s NCAA Tournament.
MSU, as the No. 1 team in both national polls and the Pairwise Rankings, looks like a lock to get the top seed in the West Regional to be held on March 24-25 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The Spartans have a hefty lead over No. 2 Boston College in the Pairwise, which heavily influences NCAA Tournament seedings.
The system is similar to college football’s Bowl Championship Series in that it mathematically ranks teams based on measurable criteria - supposedly eliminating any pollster biases.
And the top two seeds in each region get a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, which means MSU will have the luxury of sitting back and watching the first-round games from the stands.
Not to mention it will only have to win one game to qualify for the Frozen Four on April 5-7 in Albany, N.Y.
Despite all of the hoopla surrounding tournament placement, senior left wing Sean Patchell said it doesn’t really matter. Good seeds are nice, but they won’t win a national championship.
“In playoff hockey, it doesn’t matter if you’re the lowest seed or the top seed,” Patchell said. “Everyone gets up for the playoffs. It’s a battle every night.”
But before the Spartans can focus exclusively on the national tournament, they have to concentrate on their CCHA playoff task at hand.
A CCHA semifinal date with a yet-to-be-determined opponent looms at 5 p.m. Friday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Then, if they win, they will play for their second consecutive CCHA playoff championship - and the Mason Cup - at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Even though the Spartans won’t know their Friday opponent until after Tuesday night’s play-in game between the lowest-seeded remaining teams, senior right wing John Nail said it shouldn’t cause any problems for MSU.
“Right now, our team knows our system and knows how we play against any team,” Nail said. “There are basic rules that we go by, and I think that as long as we follow those rules and make the last-minute adjustments, we’ll be able to handle it just fine.”
