After a hard-fought ACCHL Championship game against Penn State, the Virginia Tech Men's Ice Hockey team returned empty-handed to Blacksburg. Fortunately, the 5-2 loss did minimal damage as to ending the Hokies season, for the road to nationals still thrives with ACHA Southeast regionals next weekend.
Entering the weekend in Winston-Salem, the Hokies were ranked fifth in the ACHA Southeast Region. In other words, it would have taken a miracle for Tech to miss regionals based on how the team has performed all season long with a 24-4-1 record.
Regionals: How Does the Format Work?
This year's ACHA M2 Southeast Regionals will take place at the Swonder Ice Arena in Evansville, Indiana from February 21st-23rd. Twelve teams will compete in a tournament-style format over three days, with two winners on Sunday advancing to Nationals held in St. Louis this March.
On Tuesday, February 11, the final ACHA rankings will be released to the public, setting the stage for regionals. The first two teams seeded (currently FGCU and Liberty) will earn automatic byes to nationals. Seeds 3-6 will attend regionals, though will earn a first-round bye and play on Saturday. Finally, the remaining 7-14 seeds will match up with one another and face off Friday in the first round of the regional tournament.
The first round of games will take place on Friday, February 21st, followed by rounds two and three on Saturday and Sunday. After each round, the teams will be reseeded. The tournament finals on Sunday will consist of two games, with the winners of each moving on to nationals.
Where do the Hokies Fit into all of this?
After a highly competitive weekend that saw wins over Rider and North Carolina State, the Hokies' impressive resume will most likely have them fit in the 3-6 seed range. This means Tech will travel to Indiana and play their first game on day 2, against an opponent who already has a game under their belt. The Hokies will not know who they will face until the night before or the day of their game.
Prepration for regionals begins this week as the Hokies will have three practices (weather pending) to get healthy and scheme against some of the best teams in the nation. Although nothing has been set in stone on who Tech will play, opponents could consist of the reigning national champions Indiana, Lousiville, Michigan, North Carolina, and Cincinnati, with rematches against North Carolina State and Penn State on the possible horizon with a nationals bid on the line come Sunday.
Every game is a must-win. Lose and your season ends. For the Hokies, a historic season filled with individual and team milestones needs to be capitalized on. Evansville, Indiana will not be kind in offering Tech its strongest battles of the season. From here on out, every game, every period, every minute, every second needs to be won.
Comments