That was the mantra among players, coaches, and fans alike when official word came from the PAC 8 Conference that USC did indeed qualify for the PAC 8 Tournament after their 2 wins last weekend against archrival UCLA. The players found out at practice the following Monday.
The PAC 8 Tournament is hosted again this year by Washington; the Huskies also hosted last season.
The typical excitement surrounding playoffs was replaced with some confusion because of the complicated ranking system the PAC 8 uses to determine conference standings, which includes a weighted point system which values victories over teams with higher winning percentages higher than wins against underperforming teams.
In fact, before playing the Bruins, on behalf of USC, I asked for clarification from PAC 8 Commissioner Roger Kulpa, who is an accountant by day, on how different results would have affected the final standings.
"I was wondering about that myself," quipped USC head coach Jeff Langille.
Based on the information provided by the league, most scenarios required USC to win at least one game against Oregon the following week to secure a spot in the playoffs. The information also seemed to indicate that UCLA was a lock for going to Seattle.
"Are you sure?" UCLA head coach Mark Francis asked me before Friday's game in Anaheim. It seems confusion is just a part of being a member of the PAC 8.
It was clear that Washington (being the host and receiving an automatic bid) and Utah (2nd place and well ahead of 3rd place UCLA) would be at the tourney. What was unclear was the effect that #5 Oregon would have should they win against their remaining opponents, 1st-place UW (which would given UO bonus points under the PAC 8 system) and 4th-place USC, who was trying to hold off UO in the standings, especially with the head-to-head match up.
USC decided to bring in some Zen and simplify things: win the last remaining games and there's no question about who's going and who's not.
So when the buzzer sounded last Saturday after the 2nd win against UCLA, half of the mission was complete, and the Trojans were celebrating because of the crosstown victory, with no thought given to PAC 8s at that point.
USC also got some help from Washington, who defeated Oregon twice on the weekend.
When the new standings came out, we thought it was a typo: the Trojans had skipped over the Bruins into the 3rd spot, pushing UCLA into 4th.
Queue the phone calls, emails, and texts being exchanged between all parties, along with the mad calculations and recalculations. After 2 days, the official confirmation came through.
There was indeed a mistake, and not only was the field of 4 teams finalized, we even know the matchups... (1) Washington vs. (4) UCLA, and (2) Utah vs. (3) USC. There was no possibility for Oregon to gain enough points to secure their berth, even with help from other teams.
And there you have it... the wild and wacky world of PAC 8 hockey.
- Johnny
Notes:
- While this week's game vs. Oregon will have no effect on PAC 8 standings, they still count for ACHA consideration.
- Game 5 of the Crosstown Cup series vs. UCLA does not count for PAC 8 standings; a league rule counts only a maximum of 4 games per opponent.
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