As the Hockey East quarterfinals approach (they’re one week away from this Friday), the Huskies can mathematically finish anywhere between fourth and ninth in the standings. At extreme ends of the spectrum are home ice and missing the playoffs, and somewhere in the middle lies the Huskies’ most probable outcome.

At the very least, Northeastern needs either two points or a single UMass loss to be guaranteed a playoff spot. From there, the Huskies’ final seeding is as much determined by their own play as it is by the rest of the conference - the logjam from fourth to ninth has created many seeding scenarios.

Much of the confusion is due to the tiebreaker system in Hockey East. At this time, Northeastern holds tiebreakers over Merrimack, Boston University, and UMass. Any point total tied with any of these three teams gives Northeastern the advantage and guarantees the Huskies a playoff spot.

There are five different outcomes Northeastern can get this weekend: anywhere from 0-4 points.

• With 0 points, NU can finish 7th through 9th
• With 1 point, NU can finish 6th through 9th
• With 2 points, NU can finish 5th through 7th
• With 3 points, NU can only finish 5th
• With 4 points, NU can finish 4th or 5th

1st-3rd place are mathematically impossible.

To finish 4th:

• Northeastern must sweep Boston University this weekend AND:
  • Vermont and Lowell must split their weekend series OR
  • Lowell only takes 1 point from Vermont.

To finish 5th:

• If Northeastern splits with BU:
  • Lowell must get at least 3 points from Vermont AND
  • Providence must get at least 1 point from Merrimack
• If Northeastern gets 3 points from BU:
  • Lowell must get at least 2 points from Vermont
• If Northeastern sweeps BU:
  • Lowell gets at least 3 points from Vermont OR
  • Vermont sweeps Lowell

To finish 6th:

• If Northeastern gets only 1 point from BU:
  • Vermont must be swept by Lowell OR
  • Providence must get at least 2 points from Merrimack OR
• If Northeastern splits with BU:
  • Vermont must get at least 2 points from Lowell OR
  • Merrimack sweeps Providence

To finish 7th:

• If Northeastern gets swept by BU:
  • Providence must get at least 3 points from Merrimack AND
  • Maine gets at least 1 point from UMass
• If Northeastern gets only 1 point from BU:
  • Vermont must get at least 1 point from Lowell OR
  • Merrimack gets at least 3 points from Providence OR
  • UMass sweeps Maine
• If Northeastern splits with BU:
  • Vermont must get 2-3 from Lowell AND
  • Merrimack must sweep Providence

To finish 8th:

• If Northeastern gets swept by BU:
  • Merrimack must get at least 2 points from Providence OR
  • UMass gets at least 3 points from Maine
• If Northeastern gets only 1 point from BU, two of these scenarios must happen:
  • Vermont gets at least 1 point from Lowell
  • Merrimack gets at least 3 points from Providence
  • UMass sweeps Maine

To finish 9th:

• If Northeastern gets swept by BU:
  • Merrimack must get at least 2 points from Providence AND
  • UMass gets at least 3 points from Maine
• If Northeastern gets only 1 point from BU:
  • Vermont gets at least 1 point from Lowell AND
  • Merrimack gets at least 3 points from Providence AND
  • UMass sweeps Maine

It should be interesting to see where the Huskies land, but at the very least, the mission must to get at least two points in order to control their playoff destiny.

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