First things first, the Tornado came to play today and won 4-3. A much better effort against the Express. Because this was a semifinal game, the winner would head for the Championship Game regardless of win-loss records (After todays’ game, both the Express and the Tornado had a record of 2-1). I’ll get to that in a moment.

Bozeman dispatched the Mahoning Valley Phantoms easily, shutting them out 3-0. They’ll also play in the Championship Game. The Express and Phantoms are playing for third place.

When I first started this post, it was originally going to be a gripe about how confusing the new playoff system is, but after seeing today’s results and thinking about it a little, it does make sense.

On the first day, the Division Winners are seeded. Seeds 1 & 4 square off while seeds 2 & 3 are matched up. Bozeman beats Cleveland and Southern Minnesota beats Texas. Now, the two losers have to play an extra game. But who plays Mahoning Valley when they enter the tournament?

Well, it would be the lower seed from the two winners, which was the Express. They got the extra game.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Bozeman, as the higher seed of the winners from opening night, got to play Mahoning Valley, because they lost their first game, the one against the Express. That leaves the two winners of yesterday’s games to play each other. The winners from those games play in the Championship and the losers play in the 3rd Place game.

So let’s play What If? in order to make this crystal clear. Here are the seeds as they were when the Robertson Cup Tournament started:

  1. Bozeman
  2. Texas
  3. Southern Minnesota
  4. Cleveland

Suppose that Texas beats the Express and Cleveland beats Bozeman on the first night.

This is how things would be scheduled for the next day:

  • Game 3: Southern Minnesota vs. Bozeman (losers from Games 1 & 2; the home team would be the team with the best regular season record).
  • Game 4: Cleveland vs. Mahoning Valley (lowest seed of winners from Games 1 & 2; Cleveland is lower seed than Texas. Home team determined same way as above).

Now, let’s say Bozeman loses to the Express…and Mahoning Valley sticks it to Cleveland for knocking them out back in the Divisional Semi-Finals. You then have Day 3 shape up like this:

  • Game 5: Southern Minnesota vs. Mahoning Valley (winners of Games 3 & 4. Again, best regular season record determines home team)
  • Game 6: Texas vs. Cleveland (higher seed of winner from Games 1 & 2 vs. Loser of Game 4. Home team, best record, you get the idea)

From there, the winners go to the Championship and the losers go to the 3rd Place game.

So, obviously, win-loss records don’t mean a thing like they did in years past. Also, the new playoff format places a premium on how a team finishes the regular season. Now, it’s not just enough to win your division; you also need to finish out the regular season strong in order to get that extra little bump that might give you a day’s rest.

It also pays to be the host team apparently. Back in the real world, Cleveland beat Mahoning Valley in the Semis. Now, look. Cleveland goes home empty-handed, Mahoning Valley could finish third.

Very interesting.