There are 110 games left in the season and 21 of them were scheduled for Sunday, with 12 taking place in Foxboro at the South Shore Kings Presidents Day Showcase.
Southeast Division
Richmond (third) hosts Carolina (fifth). Both teams were in contention for third, but a Richmond shootout win today guaranteed them at least third. That will leave Carolina and Nashville arguing over the fourth and final spot.
Nashville is done playing. They have to hope that Carolina drops two of their last three games next week.
Richmond’s loss yesterday guarantees at least second for idle Potomac.
Pacific Division
Fresno’s win over Seattle guarantees first place for the Monsters.
Ontario (second), San Diego (T-third) and Las Vegas (T-third) are all playoff bound, but only one of them will get the coveted second place home ice.
San Diego hosts Ontario today. Two (maybe three) points will be awarded in that game, so Las Vegas will need a win over Long Beach (sixth) today to keep pace.
A Las Vegas win and an OT loss for Ontario will show three teams tied for 2nd.
Northwest Division
Vernal (first) hosts Rogue Valley (fourth)
Each of Rogue Valley and Bellingham will have three games left after today to determine who clinches the fourth and final playoff spot.
Mountain Division
Provo (fifth) losing to Idaho Falls (sixth) yesterday ensures that both teams will be traveling for Round 1.
Ogden (second) hosts Northern Colorado (third) and Pueblo (fourth) hosts Utah (first).
The Colorado teams will host the first round, but we don’t know who – and we won’t know soon.
Florida Division
The Eels (first) host Palm Beach (fourth). Palm Beach need points in their battle to hold off the Florida Jr. Blades. Nothing binding will happen with today’s game results, however.
Midwest East Division
Cincinnati hosts Fort Wayne (first) today. A Spacemen win will clinch first for them and a first round bye.
MJDP (second) can create a little distance against the Gamblers and Cougars with a win today at Foxboro over the Islanders Hockey Club. Game begins at 4:10 p.m.
Midwest West Division
A win by the Riverkings (fourth) over the Mullets (ninth) will see them lock in 4th and the final home ice advantage in the first round.
South Shore Kings Presidents Day Showcase
Buffalo (ninth/Mid-Atlantic) was eliminated from playoff contention with their morning loss to the Boston Advantage.
The Cyclones (first/New England) played the Metro Jets and will later Hershey (sixth/Mid-Atlantic)
Islanders HC (second/New England) play the Aviators (first/Mid-Atlantic) and MJDP
The Cyclones hold the tie breaker, so a win by the Cyclones with a loss by IHC will clinch first for the Cyclones. They’ll have to wait until later Sunday, however, after a win by the Metro Jets in their first Sunday outing. The Aviators did defeat the Islanders, so a night win alone will now clinch first for Northern.
The Bruins (third/New England) play Utica (fourth). They can’t catch IHC today, but they do hold the tiebreaker. IHC can relegate them to third with two wins or one win and a Bruins loss.
Bridgewater (fifth/New England) fell earlier today to the Rockets (third/Mid-Atlantic).
Springfield (fourth) play Wilkes-Barre (second/Mid-Atlantic) at 2:10 p.m.
Both New England teams are scrambling for fourth place and home ice. They are a point apart, so obviously, they could flip today if the right events take place for one or the other.
The Aviators (first/Mid-Atlantic) defeated IHC and play the Advantage tonight.
Wilkes-Barre (2) will play the Pics (4)
The Aviators need one more win and a WBS loss to clinch first. The Aviators hold the tie breaker.
The Rockets (third/Mid-Atlantic) play New Hampshire later after defeating Bridgewater.
The RHC can’t catch the Aviators. WBS holds the tie breaker, so a WBS win or the Rockets earning less than 3 points today will guarantee WBS finishing ahead of them.
Utica (fourth/Mid-Atlantic) plays the Bruins and needs two points and a WBS loss to continue their quest for second place.
The four Mid-Atlantic teams just discussed have all clinched home ice, so the drama is only which name goes on the “Welcome” banner.
Hershey (sixth/Mid-Atlantic) play the Northern Cyclones later on Sunday after falling to New Hampshire (ninth/New England). They will travel the first round, but can they bank points today against idle Elmira?
