Wow, That Was Fast

It only took six days, but the Mavs swept the Evansville IceMen in the first round of the Turner Conference bracket of the CHL playoffs.  Here are links to the summaries of each game, and video highlights (if available).


Game One
Mavs Win 3-2
Game One Summary
Game One Video:

Game Two
Mavs Win 7-1
Game Two Summary

Game Three
Mavs Win 3-2 in OT
Game Three Summary

Game Four
Mavs Win 3-1
Game Four Summary
Game Four Video:

This is the third time in three years of existence that the Mavs have made it to the second round of the playoffs, but the first time they have made it to the Conference Finals (the previous two years the second round was a semi-final round).

The Mavericks are patiently waiting for the winner of the Fort Wayne and Rapid City matchup.  Fort Wayne leads the series 3-1, and can wrap it up at home on Sunday.  As mentioned before, the Mavs tied the season series with Fort Wayne (1-1), and a 4-1 record against Rapid City.

On the Berry Conference side of the bracket, Wichita leads Rio Grande Valley 3-1, with the next game this Saturday in Wichita.  They will play the winner of Texas and Allen(, Texas...).  Their next game is this Friday at (North Richland Hills,) Texas.

Grab some Conference Finals tickets over at the Mavs official site.

Hey, also, you should be reading any and all of the hockey coverage on Grantand.  It's easy to avoid Bill Simmons if that's a problem for you.  So, what are you waiting for?  Go.  GO!

s/t to Katie Baker

Where Will the Mavs Finish in the Turner Conference?

Third.  How do we know that?  Well, according to sportsclubstats.com, after the Mavs still had a 1% chance of finishing fifth in the conference even after they clinched.  That's not right...

To the standings!

Remember the tiebreakers:
1. Most non-shootout wins
2. Head-to-Head record
3. Goals for/Goals Against Differential

Fort Wayne won tonight, moving them to 85 points.  They can only be overtaken by Evansville.  So, not first.

The Mavs cannot catch Evansville because, although the Mavs can win tomorrow and tie them in points, Evansville will still have one more non-shootout win.  Thus, not second.

It's a battle between the Mavs and Rapid City for the third and fourth spot.

Rapid City is done playing, and they are tied with the Mavs with 82 points.  The Mavs have a game in hand, and if they gain a point by going to overtime, they will finish above the Rush.  If the Mavs lose, move on to the next tiebreaker.

The Mavs and Rapid City are tied in non-shootout wins.  If the Mavs win in regulation or overtime, obviously they will have more points and more regulation/overtime wins.  If they lose, they are still tied.  Move on to the next tiebreaker.

The Mavs won the season series 4-1 record against Rapid City this season.  The Mavs will finish third.  Though, props to the Rush for their amazing goal differential.

This means the Mavs will either play the #2 seed Evansville IceMen or the #2 seed Fort Wayne Komets in the first round of the playoffs.  Oh, and it could definitely be either of those clubs, depending on what happens Sunday.  Evansville clinches first with a win and Fort Wayne loss in regulation.  With a Fort Wayne OT loss, Evansville needs to win to a) have as many points as Fort Wayne AND/OR b) force a tiebreaker.  That would give them both 86 points, and 37 non-shootout wins.  Then, Evansville needs to do some serious goal differentiating to force the deciding tiebreaker, a 7-6 season series over the Komets.

Or Fort Wayne could win and ruin all of the fun.

By the way, the Mavs were 4-2 against the IceMen this year, and 1-1 against the Komets (what an odd, unbalanced schedule).

Go out and support the Mavs tomorrow as they battle no one for third place!

Mavericks Clinch 2012 CHL Playoffs

They Mavs have beaten the Bloomington Blaze, clinching the final spot in the Turner Conference of the Central Hockey League.  They have eliminated the Quad City Mallards.  The conference is so tight that the Mavs can still finish as high as first.  Fort Wayne, the first place team, has 83 points after a win tonight, but the Mavs can still overtake them by winning their final two games this weekend.  The tiebreakers are all kinds of messy and sordid, but let's not get into that right now.  Let's not worry about it. Let's dance!

Again, it's not the NHL, but it is a playoff hockey team in the Kansas City area.  It's better than no playoff hockey in the Kansas City area.

Are the Mavs in the Playoffs Yet?

Short answer: Not quite, threat level "Blue"

Long answer: ...

Well, close.  They still wouldn't have clinched with a win over Tulsa on Sunday, but if so they would only need a point.  Rapid City had themselves an excellent weekend, and clinched with a win tonight.  That being said, it’s down to the Mavs and Quad City.  The Mavs still need three points to finish off the Mallards, or hope they lose two of their final three games.  The Mallards went 1-1 this past weekend and lost tonight.  Also, they have played one more game than the Mavs, and trail by four points.  Let's look at the standings:

Remember, the tie-breaking procedures work thusly:

-Most Wins (not including shootout wins)

-Head-to-Head Record

-Goals For/Against Differential

With Rapid City clinching tonight (it is mathematically impossible for QC to catch RC), let’s just look at Quad City.

The Mavs do not have the tiebreaker with Quad City, having lost five of the eight games.

Quad City plays this Wednesday.  If they lose, they are not eliminated since they can conceivably still win their final two games, tie the Mavs on the first tiebreaker, and beat them on the head-to-head tiebreaker.  If the Mavs go 1-2-1 in their final four games, they clinch because Quad City is mathematically unable to catch the Mavs.  But, if the Mavs fail to gain at least three points in the next four games, AND Quad City wins at least two games of their final three, they will clinch over the Mavs.  Oh, Quad City, will you ever just go away?  

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.  Go out and support your Mavs this Friday and Saturday!!!

Mavs remaining schedule:

@Evansville, Wednesday
vs. Bloomington, Friday
vs. Tulsa, Saturday
@Tulsa, Sunday

Presenting the Missouri Mavericks Playoff Threat Level

Hey, are you a Mavericks fan worried about their playoff chances?!?!?!  Do you want a more visual way to understand how close the Mavericks are to the playoffs?!?!  Do you like threat level charts?! Well, worry no more because Lost City of Bettman presents the Missouri Mavericks Playoff Threat Level indicator!  Currently, the Mavs are in the "Blue", meaning they are every bit as good as last year's Mavs, and should make the playoffs.  But, really, how close are they to the playoffs? 

Remember, the top four teams in each conference makes the playoffs.  The Mavs have seven games remaining, and they are third in the Turner Conference with 72 points.  They are ahead of fourth place Rapid City (72 points) because of their head-to-head series, and fifth place Quad City (70 points).  The Mavs probably will not catch second place Fort Wayne (78 points).

The Mavs will definitely clinch one of the four Turner Conference playoff spots with a 5-1-1 record (83 points), which will be one more point than Quad Cities can possibly obtain.

Oh, this may be of some importance.  The CHL tiebreakers, in order of importance:

-Most Wins (not including shootout wins)

-Head-to-Head Record

-Goals For/Against Differential

Here are their respective records:

The final number is Regulation and Overtime Period Wins.  Notice how the Mavs really cannot afford to have the tiebreaker come down to the GF/GA differential.

The Mavs have a 4-1 record against Rapid City this season, with no games remaining against them.

Tha Mavs have a 3-5 record against Quad City this season, with no games remaining against them.

Message to other teams in the league: Keep the Mallards out of the playoffs, please.

The Mavericks remaining schedule:

@Bloomington, this Friday
vs. Tulsa, this Saturday
@Tulsa, this Sunday
@Evansville, next Wednesday
vs. Bloomington, next Friday
vs. Tulsa, this Saturday
@Tulsa, next Sunday

s/t to The Royal Half for inspiration (i.e. stealing his idea)